The most wonderful Montecristo White: Tobacco Tuesday

I chose this cigar to start with because, frankly, it’s my favorite cigar I’ve smoked so far. The only thing close have been some CAO and Cuesta-Rey cigars, but those cost more per stick than the Montecristo Whites. The great thing about these cigars, and their more full flavored siblings, is that sometimes after smoking them, there’s this pleasant after taste and smell.

A Montecristo White sitting on my humidor

First, I’ll talk about the construction of the cigar: The wrapper, in my opinion, is one of the best. They’re extremely smooth, and I’ve yet to come aross one with any holes or irregularity. The color is smooth and uniform as well. The binder compliments the wrapper and the filler nicely. But the filler is one of the best — only the Cuesta-Reys I’ve had produced longer, stronger ashes. The filler is some of the longest and most quality I’ve come across.

The overall construction, however, tends to make the draw slightly more difficult than comparable cigars at the start of smoking. Once it’s warmed up and established, this difficulty fades away. But the construction also prevents the cigar from unravelling, even if (like me) you clumsily cut off too much of the cap on occasion. The cigars are rolled well enough to stand up to some serious abuse.

The White is a milder cigar, but this isn’t a bad thing: it’s not weak by any means. The flavor is very similar to the other Montecristos I’ve had, and very pleasant. The cigar itself is one of the better smelling too — both before and after being lit. As I was smoking one recently, I took a great deal of pleasure in just the scent of it as it burned. The flavor of the smoke is complimented by that smell.

These cigars go great with whisky. I’ve had them with Scotch (The Macallan, Glenlivet, and Glenfiddich — all greatly accompanied the smoke) and Bourbon (Maker’s Mark and Knob Creek, the 9 year single barrel reserve; both also accompanied well), but also with dark beers. The combination of a dark, almost burnt-chocolate flavored beer and a cigar has to be one of the better things in life. But the Scotch whisky seems to go the best, especially if sipped conservatively between puffs. You don’t want to dull your senses while enjoying a fine cigar.

As I said, this is perhaps my favorite cigar. It’s one I savor, not one I snip and light when I’m about to cut the grass. The flavor, the construction, the scent — it all goes well together and produces a fine smoke. The prices I’ve found locally range from $8-16, depending on the size of the cigar. This puts it in the same general price range with other great cigars — the CAO and Cuesta-Rey I mentioned above. It’s a great smoke on the porch with my wife, some whisky conversation, and her long legs. Ron Cavanaugh would definitely approve.

Also, sorry about the title. I couldn’t resist the MW-MW alliteration.