The next cigar I am going to try as part of my cigar challenge is from the Montecristo cigar brand. I will be smoking the Montecristo Linea 1935 Maltes.
The stats:
Length: 6’
Ring Gauge: 53
Strength: Medium to Full
Country of origin: Cuba
Cost: £34.02 @ Havana House
Background:
Alonso Menéndez created the Montecristo brand in 1935 after taking ownership of the Particulates Factory – famous at the time for making Particulares and Byron cigars. He named the brand after Alexandre Dumas’ famous novel The Count of Monte Cristo.
Initially, the brand only had five cigar sizes available, with a tubed cigar produced during the 1940s. The Montecristo, a Cuban brand, remained essentially unchanged until after nationalisation occurred in 1960. After the brand moved production from Cuba to the Dominican Republic, the cigar brand was open to the US and beyond.
To date, the Montecristo cigar brand accounts for approximately ¼ of worldwide cigar sales, and as a result, is touted as being the most popular Cuban cigar in the world.
The Montecristo Linea 1935 was created to celebrate the creation of the Montecristo brand in pre-revolutionary Cuba. These cigars are made with tobacco from the legendary Pinar del Rio region, perceived by connoisseurs as the finest growing area in the finest tobacco-growing region in the world. They have been uniquely blended to offer the fullest flavoured Montecristo experience available today.
This cigar is available in three different vitolas (a cigar factory term for a cigar shape). The Dumas (49 x 130 mm), the smallest of the three cigars, the Maltés (53 x 153 mm) and the Leyenda (55 x 165 mm), the largest of the three cigars.
These cigars are presented with three distinctive bands: the classic band of Montecristo, the second band, which denotes the Linea 1935 brand and size and a unique Montecristo foot band that has the additional benefit of protecting the cigar.
As I can’t afford a whole box of these cigars, I will just put this video of the unboxing experience here to watch with utter delight and envy.
https://youtu.be/mrKmvXcjxLM
My experience:
I have been really looking forward to this one, as this is one of my favourite cigar brands. I recently smoked the Montecristo No2, Montecristo Open Eagle, Open Regata and a Montecristo 80th Anniversary cigar.
The Montecristo Linea 1935 Maltés is a pricey but terrific looking cigar.
For me a perfect size at 6 inches with an unusual ring gauge of 53″. It has a dark chocolate looking wrapper and a whiff of cedar and cocoa aroma.
After lighting up, I get sweet earth flavour notes and later on a bit of pepper. The smoke is thick and creamy. The cigar has a great construction to it and doesn’t burn too hot. Rich in its flavour; this feels more like an extreme medium cigar, as opposed to a full on full-bodied cigar, but this maybe because I am a fan of really full-bodied cigar and I’ve tried others that have more oomph.
My rating: 8 out of 10 – A beautiful smoke. I want to try the Montecristo Linea 1935 Dumas & Leyenda cigars now.
You can see how this rating compares with the other cigars I have smoked at Cigars A-Z.
Next up… a Nat Sherman cigar!
London Cigar Smoker 
Sounds like a very pleasant afternoon smoke before moving on to something with a more full bodied flavour. I have always enjoyed the Montecristo No 4 and the Edmundo.
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I am so jealous. Being in America Cuban Montecristo’s are hard to come by, the Platinum label is enjoyable though if you can get your hands on one.
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