Last fall, Habanos S.A. released the newest Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure.
It’s the Epicure No.3, a 125mm (4 11/12) x 54 petit belicoso. This is the first time that this particular vitola—known as originales within the Cuban vitola naming system—has been used for a Cuban cigar. It’s offered in multiple different packaging options:
- A 10-count sliding-lid box
- A 15-count box that contains five cardboard packs of three cigars, each packed in a tube
- A 25-count sliding-lid box
While it’s called Epicure No.3, it’s the ninth modern Hoyo de Monterrey that has used Epicure in its name:
The Epicure de Luxe is an exclusive release for La Casa del Habano stores, while the Double Epicure was created for the travel and duty-free market. The Epicure Especial is also notable for debuting as an Edición Limitada release in 2004 before being added as a regular production line in 2008.
- Cigar Reviewed: Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No.3
- Country of Origin: Cuba
- Factory: Undisclosed
- Wrapper: Cuba
- Binder: Cuba
- Filler: Cuba
- Length: 4 11/12 Inches
- Ring Gauge: 54
- Vitola: Petit Belicoso
- Est. Price: €20 ($21.75) (Box of 10, €200/$217.50)
- Release Date: September 2023
- Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
- Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3
Maybe six or seven years ago, I realized that amongst the non-luxury Cuban cigars, the Hoyo de Monterrey brand seemed to hit the right notes for me. As such, the looks of the bands and wrappers are familiar to me. We purchased a five-pack of these cigars, so it’s not surprising that there’s not much aroma from the cigars. There’s some mustard-like acidity and something that reminds me of the smell of wet newspaper. One of the three cigars has a bit more of a barnyard smell, but all three cigars are medium with little in the way of distinct smells. The feet of the three cigars are full, with some artificial chocolate smell—think the smell of room temperature Yoo-hoo—over cranberries, woodiness and artificial sweet citrus. While the wrapper was muted and medium, the feet smell quite full. The mustard acidity makes its way over to the cold draw of one cigar, joined by some floral flavors and milky creaminess. The other two cigars are more classic Hoyo de Monterrey: Cuban twang, oatmeal raisin cookies, earthiness and some muted creaminess. Regardless of how firm the cigars feel, the cold draws are all great with medium-full profiles.
Two of the Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No.3s begin in ways that remind me of other enjoyable Hoyos: deep earthiness and bread sensations over cedar, toastiness, creaminess and some bitter coffee. Those cigars are medium-full with a really thick flavor profile. Unfortunately, the third cigar’s draw tightens up a lot and there’s not as much smoke as I’d like, though I taste some herbal flavors, earthiness, creaminess, leather and some fruitiness. Five minutes later, the third cigar’s draw isn’t improved and it’s on the trajectory of being a plugged Cuban cigar. As for the other two cigars, there’s nuttiness accented by some burnt coffee flavors. Secondary notes include bread, creaminess, mineral flavors, pepper and some bitterness. At times, puffs remind me of some sort of coffee drink that is being served way too hot. The finish has soft peanut flavors with bread, nuttiness, freshly rained-on mud and a tingle of pepper. Retrohales deliver even more of the bread flavors—reminding me of the inside of a French loaf—with acorns, black pepper, white pepper and some creaminess that ties everything together. The finish gets sharper with milky creaminess and bread flavors on the tongue, combined with bright pepper flavors on the back of the throat. Once I take a dry swallow, herbal flavors emerge. Flavor is medium-full, body is medium-full, and strength is medium. Construction-wise, one cigar requires a touch-up and one cigar has a very tight draw. On the best cigar—the second one I smoke—the burn line is quite ugly, though smoke production is massive and flavor is great.
By the midpoint of the Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No.3, the cigars don’t taste similar. The first one has a more open draw with some saltine cracker and dry pasta flavors leading earthiness, white pepper, some sweetness and bitterness. The second cigar has mineral flavors over saltiness, woodiness, creaminess and black pepper. As for the third—the one that is plugged—it’s performing like a plugged Cuban cigar: earthiness and terroir, creaminess, sweetness, woodiness and some pepper; some puffs are great, some puffs are harsh, some are disjointed. Every once in a while, there will be a puff that is extremely bitter. The finishes of the cigars are predictably similar to when the flavors are in the mouth, though I find an added creaminess on two cigars and, in general, a slight increase in sweetness. Retrohales are similar, with nuttiness over some salty bread, sugary sweetness, bitterness and occasional touches of the acidic mustard flavor that I found earlier on. The larger change for that cigar is the disappearance of bitter and harsh accents. There’s not much consistency on the finishes. One cigar has a lot more woodiness, presenting itself in a way that reminds me of sawdust, with earthiness, black pepper and white pepper. Another cigar heads in the direction of damp earth, accented by creaminess and some pasta water flavors. Flavor is full, body is either medium-plus or medium-full, and strength is medium. Construction-wise, the second third is pretty good outside of the tight draw on the third cigar, though it’s improved slightly.
The two better Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No.3s turn to earthiness with leather and terroir accents breaking out at times. Thanks to an uptick in black pepper, the flavor is now spicier. Fortunately, it’s just spicier and not as harsh. As for the plugged cigar, it’s got creaminess, nuttiness, woodiness, leather and a harsh white pepper. The first cigar’s smoke production is declining, which adds some bitterness to the profile, though there are remnants of sugar cookies, toastiness and earthiness. The second cigar—the best of the bunch—has nuttiness and creaminess over some starchy pasta. There’s a sharper white pepper and roasted flavors underneath like in the first cigar, but overall the cigar isn’t as sharp as before. Retrohales of the first cigar remind me of Rold Gold pretzels over earthiness, leather and a classic Cuban twang flavor. The final cigar is sweeter than ever before with both the Cuban twang and some generic sugar, though the sweetness quickly gives way to saltiness, earthiness, cedar and toastiness. Flavor is full, body is medium-full and strength is medium-full. The first and second cigars need touch-ups in the final third. Somewhat interestingly, the third cigar—the one with the bad draw—doesn’t need any help from the lighter at any point of the cigar.
Final Notes
- I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: the Cuban Hoyo de Monterrey bands are some of the best in the business. I’m a huge fan of everything about the bands. While Cohiba is far and away the most iconic brand, if I had to pick one band design as my favorite, the Epicure design language would be my first choice.
- I was concerned about the first cigar’s draw. It was tight, but it felt like there was one decent channel that allowed more than enough air to get through. This is not how I’d like to have the draw, but it worked.
- The second cigar was one of the stronger Cuban cigars I’ve smoked in quite some time. It was also amongst the best Cuban cigars I’ve smoked in the last few years.
- Oddly, the plugged cigar didn’t have a single issue when it came to burn or smoke production. That said, the number of point deductions for draw issues absolutely torpedoed the score.
- These cigars are listed at 4 11/12 x 54.
- Cigars for this review were purchased by Woggi from a German retailer. We paid €100 for a five-pack.
- Final smoking time was one hour and 45 minutes.
84
Overall Score
After finishing the second cigar, I wondered whether the Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No.3 would score well enough to be eligible for the Top 25 of 2024. That second cigar was one of the best new Cubans I’ve smoked over the last few years, especially if I were to exclude the Reserva and Gran Reserva cigars. And then the third cigar smacked me in my face and reminded me of what irks so many Cuban cigar smokers: the duds. The third cigar was not bunched properly and was flawed from the first puff to the last one. For better and worse, this is something that I’m experiencing with new cigars, regardless of whether they are Cuban or non-Cuban. At its best, the Epicure No. 3 was more than good enough for me to want to add it my proverbial rotation of Cuban cigars. At its worst, well, it’s just another plugged cigar.