Hoyo de Monterey Grand Epicure EL 2013
Initial Thoughts
The Hoyo de Monterey Grand Epicure Edicion Limitada 2013 is a very special and unique cigar. Starting in 2000 Habanos S.A. started releasing 3 cigars a year that were worthy of the Edicion Limitada name. These cigars have wrappers that have been aged an extra two years and typically result in darker leaves on the outside of the cigar. The rest of this cigar is all Cuban and there’s not much more of a backstory other than that. So let’s dive into it and see what it has to offer.
Looks
I have to say that this Hoyo de Monterey Grand Epicure Edicion Limitada 2013 is a gorgeous looking cigar. I love the main HdM band. It’s a bit taller than the traditional HdM band because they’ve squeezed in the words ‘Grand Epicure’ at the bottom. Great looking mix of white, red and gold. It’s a classic packaging that you can admire the entire time that you smoke it.
That aged wrapper leaf looks fantastic with minimal veins and a delicious looking chocolate brown color to it.
Function
The foot on the Hoyo de Monterey Grand Epicure Edicion Limitada 2013 is packed very firmly. In fact the entire barrel is packed to the brim with that delicious Cuban tobacco. This cigar is the perfect size to me, I’m a huge robusto and Corona Gorda fan. Anything that takes me under 1 hour to smoke is perfect to me.
I nipped the cap off and it took a bit of extra effort to cut through all of the tobacco but I finally made it. The dry draw was super stiff on this cigar. In fact I was really worried that I was going to have some issues during the lighting of the foot.
Smoking
For some reason the foot just didn’t want to take to the flame and it was difficult to draw some smoke up through the barrel. Finally it started to open up after a second or two and it began to draw a bit better. After that initial difficult it smoked wonderfully throughout the rest of the smoke.
The burn line got a little wavy at some points, but it didn’t bother me. I just kept plowing through and everything was perfectly fine at the end.
Most of the time the ash held on to right around an inch before I let it go. It was a very solid white grey ash. This cigar produced a ton of smoke. Very similar to the Liga Privada line. I had to turn my fan on a little bit higher to get it all out of the garage.
Flavor
Now, let’s get into the flavor of Hoyo de Monterey Grand Epicure Edicion Limitada 2013. See if it lives up to the hype of the Edicion Limitada claim. On the initial nosing of the wrapper I picked up a ton of chocolate and earth on the barrel. Some rich woody notes appear on the foot as well. There’s a nice little hint of spice on the cold draw as well which gives it a nice bit of complexity before I even light it up.
The first third of this cigar gave of a nice bit of creaminess and not on a ton of spice. That earthy note poured out as well. Hints of coffee were hidden underneath everything else.
During the 2nd third the spice began to really build and give off some leather notes that rounded everything out.
The final third is where this cigar really came out of its shell. The pepper which reminded me of black pepper got more noticeable and the earthy notes began to show up again. There was this nice savory meaty note all alongside that leather note that seemed to be backbone to the cigar. It never built over a medium bodied cigar to me. It was delicious, smooth and complex all the way through.
Would I Buy It Again?
Absolutely.
Is It an Every Day Smoke?
I wish I was so lucky to make it an everyday smoke.
Would I Buy a Box?
Without a doubt. In fact, as soon as they get them back in stock at Cigar Terminal I will probably buy a box for only $170. To me that’s a hell of a deal! Check them out here.
Conclusion
This Hoyo de Monterey Grand Epicure Edicion Limitada 2013 is a heck of a cigar if you ask me. I was blown away by. I’ve found my palate is now starting to enjoy cigars that don’t blow your doors off, but instead give you a nice sense of balance and depth. To me, that’s exactly what this cigar does. So I would easily recommend to go out and buy these anywhere you can find them.
