Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Montecristo M Toro is dark tan with some thick veins and a network of fine veins. The seams are smooth and the caps well applied. There are two bands, with the primary being the traditional design for the brand, in a gold and white color combination. The secondary band is gold, white and red and denotes the line name. The aroma from the wrapper is a mix of hay, cedar and cardboard, while the foot brings cedar, bread and stone fruit sweetness. The pre-light draw brings cedar, bread and light spice and there is a decent level of spiciness on my lips.
Seth: The Montecristo M Toro is a nice looking cigar. It has those classic Montecristo bands and a beautiful Connecticut wrapper. The color is golden hay. It is silky in texture with small veins present throughout. It is firm in hand with lovely aromas of cedar, tobacco, earth and cream. Pepper spices are present as well.
John: The Montecristo M Toro came in cellophane and had a UPC sticker with the cigar information which tore when opened. There is a primary Montecristo band and a secondary ‘M’ logo band. I weighed the cigar at 16.4 grams.
Jiunn: The Montecristo M Toro has a uniform golden brown Colorado claro wrapper shade. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light experience gives ample barnyard, cedar and mixed nuts.

Montecristo M Toro

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with in your face black pepper and some creamy cedar. At a half inch in, the pepper eases up ever so slightly to let the creamy cedar shine a bit more. At three quarters of an inch in, the pepper mellows a bit more as some earth joins the profile. The retrohale is zingy black pepper, toasted cedar and mild earth. At an inch and a quarter, the creaminess of the cedar eases up a bit and the overall profile becomes slightly dry. At an inch and a half in, the pepper has now mellowed so that it is even with the toasted and light creamy cedar. As the third comes to a close, the black pepper and lightly creamy, toasted cedar are even up front, with earth a bit behind. The strength began at medium-full, but settled in at medium.
Seth: The first third starts out with a classic Connecticut profile. Lots of cream and cedar notes, and they are paired with some nice tobacco and earth qualities. I am picking up some nice spices as well, and the finish has a white and black pepper quality. Medium in strength and body.
John: My initial flavor impressions are sweet tobacco, wood to follow and then mild spices and wood to finish and define the post draw. After just a few puffs, the spices have moved up just a hair over medium strength. The spices on the post draw become defined more as black pepper as the first third continues. As the profile continues to develop, the wood on the post draw takes on a damp, musty quality. On the retrohale, some mild milk chocolate components are present in the center. Moving towards the halfway point, some light-plus strength bread notes come into the finish.
Jiunn: The first third shows good structure and decent nuances. The profile is cedar and dried red pepper spice forward with trailing mixed nuts. Retrohaling intensifies the pepper spice but also gives a meatiness. The finish is medium length with bitter roasted nuts. Strength and body is medium.

Montecristo M Toro

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, some light leather joins the profile. At a half inch in, the earth is now even with the lightly creamy, toasted cedar as the black pepper moves to slightly behind them. The retrohale is now toasted cedar, earth and leather. At an inch and a quarter, the black pepper is now pretty mild. At an inch and a half in, the earth takes a slight lead in the profile. As the third comes to a close, the earth is a bit ahead of the lightly creamy, toasted cedar, with black pepper and leather in the back half of the profile. The strength remained at medium.
Seth: The second third delivers a flavor profile that shows more tobacco, earth and pepper spices. I am still getting that cedar and cream profile, but it is not the main profile in this third. It follows up those stronger flavors. Bits of coffee as well. I would classify the cigar as medium in strength and body.
John: The second third opens with creamy, sweet tobacco and mild wood. The mild wood lingers well into the post draw. For the retrohale, some medium strength spices define it out of the gate. Sweet wood and mild tobacco are defining the profile as the cigar moves to the halfway point, with wood still present on the post draw.
Jiunn: The second third showcases much more cedar and dried red pepper spice than the first third. Furthermore, the finish is also lengthened with the same bitter roasted nuts. Strength and body remains medium.

Montecristo M Toro

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the earth extends its lead a bit. At a half inch in, the leather picks up a bit. The retrohale remains toasted cedar, earth and leather. At an inch in, the strength has sneakily increased and it’s nearing full strength. As the cigar wraps up, the earth is a bit ahead of the lightly creamy, toasted cedar with leather in the middle of the profile and the black pepper in the background. The strength was just shy of full.
Seth: The final third delivers a flavor profile of strong coffee notes with some pepper spices and tobacco. Cream and cedar have returned to the forefront, and it has a long but smooth finish. Some faint mocha qualities on the end. Like the first two thirds, medium in strength and body.
John: Creamy bread and wood notes take the cigar into the last third, with a mildly, tannic wood to finish. Chocolate, wood and sweet tobacco combine to define the retrohale. The spices move up to medium strength in the center of the retrohale and finish moving towards the halfway point. Wood takes over the post draw at just under medium strength. Through the bottom half, the profile is primarily sweet wood.
Jiunn: The final third brings some baking spices and tinny minerals into the mix. The profile is still very much cedar and dried red pepper spice centric though. Strength and body finish the same medium.

Montecristo M Toro

Burn

Aaron: The burn was straight throughout and the ash held on in inch and a half increments.
Seth: Burn was outstanding from beginning to end.
John: The burn was excellent through the review, with a razor straight burn in each third.
Jiunn: Perfect burn performance providing an even burn, ample smoke production and cool burning temperatures.

Montecristo M Toro

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
Seth: The draw was perfect.
John: The draw was at most 1/2 of a notch towards the resistant spectrum, which puts it in the ideal zone between open and resistant.
Jiunn: The draw was also perfect, providing the ideal balance of air flow and resistance.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with in your face black pepper and some creamy cedar. Some earth joined a bit later. The pepper mellowed to become even with the cedar and earth. The second third saw some leather join in and the earth took a slight lead in the profile. The final third saw the earth and leather both increase a bit. The construction was absolutely perfect. The Montecristo M Toro had a nice start with the bold black pepper and creamy cedar. The second third took a step down as the pepper mellowed significantly and remained that way for the remainder of the cigar. Overall, not a cigar I’d see myself coming back to, and with the extremely high price point, it makes that decision even easier.
Seth: This Montecristo M Toro is a pricey cigar, which is not fun, but it’s a high-quality Montecristo. It’s the best Montecristo I have smoked in some time. Right now I would buy this over a Cuban Montecristo, and those are probably similar in price. In some ways, it captures some of the qualities that a Cuban Montecristo delivers when it is on point. Not entirely, but that coffee, tobacco and cream quality for sure. It also delivered quality Connecticut profiles. Cedar, cream and pepper spices. The construction and burn were fantastic, and it had nice transitioning with a solid level of complexity. At no point was the cigar harsh, and the strength and body were great with the flavors.
John: I thought the first third in the Montecristo M Toro had an interesting start, with complex and balanced flavors that kept me engaged. As the cigar continued, the flavor combinations were more simplified and lacked the same dynamic combinations as the first third. The construction was amazing for both the burn and the draw. My overall experience was an above average flavor profile, and while it was enjoyable to smoke, this isn’t something I could justify returning to at a $32.00 MSRP. Total smoking time was 1 hour and 50 minutes.
Jiunn: How do you justify a $32 cigar? The brand name? The packaging? What certainly isn’t justified is the subjective tasting experience. The flavors of the Montecristo M Toro heavily lacked sweetness and creaminess for especially being a Connecticut shade. The earth heavy notes of dried red pepper spice and cedar isn’t enough to be a “good” cigar.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

6.10

Cost/Point

$5.25

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

7.52

Cost/Point

$4.26

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

6.10

Cost/Point

$5.25

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$5.57

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Montecristo M Toro