Revisiting the Le Hoyo du Depute

I had a friend comment that it seemed like I was smoking a lot of bad cigars lately.  It is true, not many have broken 90, and the majority are struggling in the low 80s.  But I am not involved with sponsors, no one really sends me cigars for the blog, and I don't want them to.  So if I smoke a cigar and it sucks, I can just say it sucks.  But a few people who know me also know that my best cigars might never be smoked.  I just don't smoke em.  So from time to time when I get in a slump, I tend to go back to the pay window.  I like to smoke a cigar that is good every time, all the time.

And so to came to pass that I poked around in the ice chest for a box that has barely seen the light of day since the turn of the century.  The Le Hoyo line of Hoyo de Monterrey cigars was developed as something of an answer to the Chateau line from Davidoff.   They are built around the classic lost sizes of havana cigars.  You will not find a robusto or a churchill in THIS line.  One of the cigars, the Le Hoyo du Maire is so small as to seem a bit of a ripoff when you pay for a box.  Not a whole lot bigger than a cigarette, it still manages to please when you see the tiny wooden cabinet that they are packed in.  And for this cigar, the Le Hoyo du Depute, things are not much bigger.  

The cigar is a little longer than a minuto and about as big around as a perla.  It is not blended for eye-popping changes either.  It is a straightforward, woody and lush blend with a nice balance...the smoke never dries the mouth, and it is a killer mix of herbal, woody and lightly creamy flavor.  I have never had one that drew anything less than perfectly, and as you can see, 13 years in a box has yielded a cigar that burns like a mathematical wonder of straight angles.  

It is a pleasure to see the burn line, but even more of of a treat to smoke the cigar.  It is a treat as I sit out in the back yard by the pond.  There are no less than 4 spiders building webs that stretch from the azaleas to the rocks across the pond.  A nice idea in a HOT spring that has produced more weeds and insects than in the last 100 years after a non-existent winter season around here.  I paired it with a Ommegang Abbey Ale and it is a relaxing combination.  he cigar smokes with a perfect aroma, perfect taste, and stunningly crisp flavors that belie its age, a 12-13 year old cigar.  There are hints of ginger, rosemary, parsley, mint and a toasty tobacco core that is lip-smacking good.  It is a physically beautiful cigar, perfect in its straight and neat construction and it's color and sheen.  These are not always beautiful cigars.  They do not require a large perfect leaf to wrap, so a lot of times you get two or even three cigar wrappers out of a leaf which can lead to some rumpled and veiny cigars.  This smoke is just lovely to look at and it scores high...Its hitting on all the cylinders and I rate it a 91.