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Hoyo De Monterrey, Epicure Especial ISOM Review
JonathanE
Posts: 401 ✭
My recent reviews, all featuring a selection of ISOMs, are turning into a bit of a series. They are at least building on one another so, if you havent read the first two, I recommend looking them up and reading at least the portion on the company history for each cigar. Youll do well to know the background.
1) Romeo y Julieta, Romeo No. 1 ISOM Review
2) Montecristo, Tubos ISOM Review
Todays cigar is the Hoyo De Monterrey, Epicure Especial. After assigned ratings of 73 and 64 for the RyJ and Montecristo reviews, you may be glad to hear that the Epicure Especial changed my Cuban paradigm by scoring an 85! Any score in the 80s is an accomplishment in my log book as the overall average score to date is a 78.
The history of the Hoyo De Monterrey brand is similar to the first two brands I have reviewed. Recognizing this in my initial reading I was compelled to try to develop a big picture of the current Cuban market brands and examine their ligitimacy.
I find that there are 23 Cuban cigar brands, only 6 of which are non-disputed. Of the remaining 17, 12 were stolen from their rightful owners (IMO) during or after the nationalization of the Cuban tobacco industry while 3 have legally marketed, Dominican Republic versions sold in the U.S. by parent company Altadis SA. I reserved judgment on the final two brands for lack of information.
If we limit our scope to the top 10 Cuban cigar brands as far as U.S. common name recognition is concerned we have the following:
Top 10 Cuban Cigar Brands
1. Bolivar
2. Cohiba
3. Fonseca
4. H. Upmann
5. Hoyo De Monterrey
6. La Gloria Cubana
7. Montecristo
8. Partagas
9. Punch
10. Romeo y Julieta
Of these ten brands, Cohiba is the only brand to belong legitimately to Cuba (Habanos SA) by virtue of lineage. Every one of the remaining nine share a similar story with the RyJ, Montecristo and Hoyo De Monterrey in that they were adopted, stolen, taken over pick your term by Fidel and friends after the original brand owners left the country taking their rightfully owned brand names with them.
They Hoyo De Monterrey story begins in 1831 when the 13 year old Don Jose Genery Batet emigrated from Spain where he worked for his uncle at a tobacco plantation in Cubas famous Vuelta Abajo region. By 1855 Jose had opened his own cigar factory in Havana producing his own brand, the La Escepcion.
The success of his brand enabled Jose to purchase one of the best tobacco farms in the prized Vuelta Abajo region. The result of this purchase was the establishment of a new brand named in honor of the regions ideal, concave geography which made it renown for producing superior tobacco crops: The hole of Monterrey, or, in Spanish, Hoyo De Monterrey.
José Gener died in 1901 but the business stayed in the family for another 30 years before it was sold to the firm of Fernández, Palicio y Cía. By the late 1950s, however, Fernando Palicio had become the sole proprietor of the business due to the death of Ramón Fernández. What happened to Cía? I have no idea.
Then, of course, Uncle Fidel stepped in and nationalized the cigar industry at which point Fernando Palicio moved to Florida and sold his cigar lines to the Villazon family. The Villazons established production of the brand in Tampa, Florida utilizing Honduran tobacco making it legal for distribution in the United States. Currently, the brand is owned by General Cigar Company and, despite the historic tension with the Cuban lineup and Habanos SA, the two companies are managing to market the one brand simultaneously in a state of tenuous equilibrium.
I suppose someone could invent an argument contending that these famous cigar brands, largely famous because they are from Cuba, should legitimately belong to the ISOM instead of to the legacy of the relocated founders for some mildly defensible reason. My counter argument is and will always be, as a freedom loving American, that the fella that came up with the idea owns the idea. No government is entitled to his legacy because of its governance of the land in which he first sowed the seeds of genius.
Maybe youll have to excuse me for saying so but I think that 9 of the 10 Cuban cigar brands (all but Cohiba) should be embargoed world-wide until Fidel and friends select new names for their wrongfully expropriated cigar brands. We can talk about suing for trademark infringement and damages another day!
Ok, having lambasted Cubas illegitimate claim against all but one of their cigar brands let me continue by saying that the stuff theyre selling, at least in the case of the Hoyo De Monterrey lineup, regardless of its stolen name, is quality tobacco. As youll recall, the Hoyo De Monterrey Epicure Especial is the first Cuban to really catch my attention by scoring in the 80s. On my scale, your average cigar scores in the 70s but the excellent to exceptional score in the 80s and 90s.
The Epicure Especial is a very complex cigar with a fuller bodied flavor and a very sweet bouquet. It opens up with a broad, herbal tea and spice taste to compliment the sweetness with a little cinnamon and cedar yielding a strong yet balanced savor. I enjoyed the robust finish along with the introduction of pepper and increased spice by the time my 69 minutes were up.
Burn temperature was very touchy and proper wrapper combustion was essential but very rewarding when you got it right. I thoroughly enjoyed the cigar!
JDE
1) Romeo y Julieta, Romeo No. 1 ISOM Review
2) Montecristo, Tubos ISOM Review
Todays cigar is the Hoyo De Monterrey, Epicure Especial. After assigned ratings of 73 and 64 for the RyJ and Montecristo reviews, you may be glad to hear that the Epicure Especial changed my Cuban paradigm by scoring an 85! Any score in the 80s is an accomplishment in my log book as the overall average score to date is a 78.
The history of the Hoyo De Monterrey brand is similar to the first two brands I have reviewed. Recognizing this in my initial reading I was compelled to try to develop a big picture of the current Cuban market brands and examine their ligitimacy.
I find that there are 23 Cuban cigar brands, only 6 of which are non-disputed. Of the remaining 17, 12 were stolen from their rightful owners (IMO) during or after the nationalization of the Cuban tobacco industry while 3 have legally marketed, Dominican Republic versions sold in the U.S. by parent company Altadis SA. I reserved judgment on the final two brands for lack of information.
If we limit our scope to the top 10 Cuban cigar brands as far as U.S. common name recognition is concerned we have the following:
Top 10 Cuban Cigar Brands
1. Bolivar
2. Cohiba
3. Fonseca
4. H. Upmann
5. Hoyo De Monterrey
6. La Gloria Cubana
7. Montecristo
8. Partagas
9. Punch
10. Romeo y Julieta
Of these ten brands, Cohiba is the only brand to belong legitimately to Cuba (Habanos SA) by virtue of lineage. Every one of the remaining nine share a similar story with the RyJ, Montecristo and Hoyo De Monterrey in that they were adopted, stolen, taken over pick your term by Fidel and friends after the original brand owners left the country taking their rightfully owned brand names with them.
They Hoyo De Monterrey story begins in 1831 when the 13 year old Don Jose Genery Batet emigrated from Spain where he worked for his uncle at a tobacco plantation in Cubas famous Vuelta Abajo region. By 1855 Jose had opened his own cigar factory in Havana producing his own brand, the La Escepcion.The success of his brand enabled Jose to purchase one of the best tobacco farms in the prized Vuelta Abajo region. The result of this purchase was the establishment of a new brand named in honor of the regions ideal, concave geography which made it renown for producing superior tobacco crops: The hole of Monterrey, or, in Spanish, Hoyo De Monterrey.
José Gener died in 1901 but the business stayed in the family for another 30 years before it was sold to the firm of Fernández, Palicio y Cía. By the late 1950s, however, Fernando Palicio had become the sole proprietor of the business due to the death of Ramón Fernández. What happened to Cía? I have no idea.
Then, of course, Uncle Fidel stepped in and nationalized the cigar industry at which point Fernando Palicio moved to Florida and sold his cigar lines to the Villazon family. The Villazons established production of the brand in Tampa, Florida utilizing Honduran tobacco making it legal for distribution in the United States. Currently, the brand is owned by General Cigar Company and, despite the historic tension with the Cuban lineup and Habanos SA, the two companies are managing to market the one brand simultaneously in a state of tenuous equilibrium.
I suppose someone could invent an argument contending that these famous cigar brands, largely famous because they are from Cuba, should legitimately belong to the ISOM instead of to the legacy of the relocated founders for some mildly defensible reason. My counter argument is and will always be, as a freedom loving American, that the fella that came up with the idea owns the idea. No government is entitled to his legacy because of its governance of the land in which he first sowed the seeds of genius.
Maybe youll have to excuse me for saying so but I think that 9 of the 10 Cuban cigar brands (all but Cohiba) should be embargoed world-wide until Fidel and friends select new names for their wrongfully expropriated cigar brands. We can talk about suing for trademark infringement and damages another day!
Ok, having lambasted Cubas illegitimate claim against all but one of their cigar brands let me continue by saying that the stuff theyre selling, at least in the case of the Hoyo De Monterrey lineup, regardless of its stolen name, is quality tobacco. As youll recall, the Hoyo De Monterrey Epicure Especial is the first Cuban to really catch my attention by scoring in the 80s. On my scale, your average cigar scores in the 70s but the excellent to exceptional score in the 80s and 90s.The Epicure Especial is a very complex cigar with a fuller bodied flavor and a very sweet bouquet. It opens up with a broad, herbal tea and spice taste to compliment the sweetness with a little cinnamon and cedar yielding a strong yet balanced savor. I enjoyed the robust finish along with the introduction of pepper and increased spice by the time my 69 minutes were up.
Burn temperature was very touchy and proper wrapper combustion was essential but very rewarding when you got it right. I thoroughly enjoyed the cigar!
JDE
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Comments
Keep up the great reviews brother. I love the history and unique tidbits of info you include in your write ups. Very enjoyable reads. Still hoping you get something special since other than this one your experience with CCs has been less than stellar. Are you overseas? If so, when you get back to the world, let me know, and I'd be stoked to trade you or hit you with some of my favorites.
Yes, I'm overseas in Qatar and I'm all there for a trade. I'll be in touch when I get closer to heading home!
JDE