Introduction
Montecristo is a brand that needs no introduction. Perhaps the most beloved Cuban cigar brand globally, Montecristo has a long and storied history.
Founded in 1935 the company started when Alonso Menendez purchased a factory owned by Byron. The facility was manufacturing a brand called Particulares with which Menendez would replace with his own new brand, Montecristo.
The brand name was adopted from the famous novel that was popular with the torcedors “The Count of Monte Cristo” by French author Alexander Dumas. Over the years the brand would achieve huge success, being consigned by prominent figures such as Alfred Dunhill.
Today Montecristo accounts for around one quarter of all HabanosSA sales, making it the undisputed No.1 Cuban cigar brand. To celebrate its 80th anniversary in 2015, Montecristo would release a new range dubbed the “Linea 1935”.
Linea 1935
o truly honour this landmark occasion the team at Montecristo set about creating some special blends. These would be premium blends that would be representative of the very best of Montecristo.
No small feat to be undertaken, but Montecristo surpassed every expectation. For the first time ever the team settled on a full strength and flavour blend over the usual medium strength and flavour.
A combination of the finest filler tobacco from the vegas of Pinar Del Rio, superb binder and Carmelite Colorado shade wrapper aided in the resulting masterpieces. Each cigar is hand rolled “Totalmente a mano con Tripa Larga” by some of the best torcedors. Once rolled, each cigar is adorned with a unique base band placed around the foot along with the Linea 1935 band atop the cigar.
The Dumas
-
VITOLA: Dumas
-
RING GAUGE: 49
-
LENGTH: 5⅛ Inches – 140 mm
-
ORIGIN: Cuba
Named after the famed French Novelist Alexandre Dumas, writer of the Count of Monte Cristo and other works, the Dumas is a beautiful homage to both the inspiration behind the company name as well as the landmark 80th anniversary of Montecristo.
Out of the three cigars released in the Linea 1935 range the Dumas is the vitola closest to a robusto, being a little longer (140mm) with a slightly smaller ring gauge (49). As such it is naturally the vitola that most customers will gravitate towards.
When holding one of these cigars in your hand the first thing to note is the fantastic oily complexion of the wrapper. The texture is slightly rough to the touch with some veins being visible but not too pronounced.
If you are to nose the foot of the cigar you will immediately pick up on subtle notes of rich earth and fresh cedar. When first lighting the cigar a noteworthy verdant flavour is present with nuanced peppery spice and sweeter notes of fresh toast.
As the Dumas progresses into the midpoint the full bodied flavours become present. Here a cacophony of spice becomes dominant, any vegetal flavours fade away into the background. This is a cigar for fans of those big and bold flavours, not for newcomers to Cuban cigars.
For the final act the heat created by the spice subdues making way for softer sweeter notes. Now creamy coffee and more of those earth like tones come to the front for a truly rewarding finish to this magnificent cigar.
When reviewed by Cigar Aficionado the Montecristo Linea 1935 Dumas scored a solid 90/100 rating.
