Origin : Cuba
Format : Piramide
Size : 124 x 19.84 mm
Ring : 50
Weight : 11.66 g
Hand-Made
Price : ~$25 each
More info about purchasing Hoyo de Monterrey cigars...
This Hoyo de Monterrey belongs to the Seleccion Piramides Series, a limited edition of 5 Cuban piramides released in 2003.
This is the very first cigar that I smoked out of that little beautiful box and I enjoyed the experience. Although the Cohiba and the Montecristo were superior (reviews coming up), this Hoyo is undoubtedly an excellent smoke.
Appearance : 
The wrapper is quite dark and a little coarse. The weight of the cigar surprised me - it is in fact very light. The pre-draw is very earthy (common to other Hoyos I tried).
Construction :
Easy clipping, easy lighting, easy draw. The Seleccion Piramide produced quite a lot of white thick smoke. The burn became a little irregular in the second third and remained this way until the end.
Flavor :
Whereas the beginning is quite spicy and dynamic, heavy and powerful earthy notes rapidly appear near the end of the first third. I first thought that these flavors will dominate all the way, but I was mistaken. After this initial hit, in the second third the taste becomes much lighter and almost elegant. It was quite complex as well, I was able to make out vanilla and cedar. Earthy scents are back in the last third, skillfully linked with woody notes. A pity I only had one to try.
Value : 
The Habanos Seleccion Piramides is sold at around $120 (5 cigars), which makes it about $24 a single stick. This is of course expensive but seems to be a decent price for a limited edition cigar. Even better if you had it as a gift :)
Overall Rating :
It definitely was an interesting experience and I could even call this a real introduction to this format (I've smoked a few in the past but they haven't impressed me more than that). Big thanks to CigarOne!
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