A quick Montecristo No.4

I don't smoke many of these, but when I do I generally enjoy them.  And why not?  It's the most popular, largest-selling havana cigar in the world.  But it is far from my favorite Montecristo.  That award goes to the GIGANTIC flavor-bomb Monte No.5.  But I am guessing you read this drek from time to time, so you KNOW that.

This Montecristo No.4 was a pale brown, kind of a washed-out looking wrapper, and slightly box-pressed.  This was once my favorite factory size, the Mareva.  There are SO many cigars that are classics in this size, plus short of coronas gordas, it might be the perfect cigar size.   I think the coronas largas are actually better, but all three have excellent length to girth ratios.  And now the perlas and minutos are my favorites, because I am easily bored, and they burn in a short amount of time.


The Monte 4 lit well and burned fast.  I drank a beer with it but I can't recall what it was.  Nice, huh?  
The cigar burned SO WELL, even though it developed a hard left turn in the ash.  

It was one of those cigars that you constantly look at, I never understood why, but it is sort of an amazement as to how wonderful the flavor is.  It gave up a wonderful cocoa powder taste that I associate with an aged Montecristo.  There was a strong tobacco and steak flavor, too, that was kind of strange.  I always wondered what people meant when they say a cigar tasted like roasted meat.  Not that I do not know what charred meat tastes like, but it's an odd flavor in a cigar.  


But there it is.  
The smoke continued to get stronger as it burned down, but never got tarry or bitter.  Had I any light, I would have photographed the tiny speck of cigar that was left after I was done.  


DOGFISH HEAD INDIAN BROWN ALE!
THAT'S what it was.  HA.  Thought I was getting senile.  Outside of the terrible "dried out" cigars I have smoked lately that are my own fault, I have been getting really jazzed up, because I have been having some real winners lately, and that is a bit of a BUCK to a trend around here.  This smoke is another good one for the books.  And I am really looking forward to my next cigar, because I have decided to bust out one of my LAST 2005 Partagas Serie P No.2 this weekend.  LOOKS fantastic.  We'll see how it smokes.........


This Monte............89 points.