There’s a certain mystique about Cuban cigars that would have many believe that Cuban tobacco is all about sheer power. Actually, in my experience, nothing could be further from the truth. When I think of a Cuban cigar, what really comes to mind is a good balance between flavor, ease of smoke, and punch; the latter being the last and least. I mean, sure there are some Cuban powerhouses out there, but when the whole story is told, even those cigars are very well balanced and extremely full flavored.

Cuban Montecristos are a favorite of many connoisseurs. They are very rich tasting, rather complex, and pack one of the mildest punches of them all, making them an easy pleasure to smoke. It is just this fact that has made me acquire all kinds of vitolas from this brand; and today’s review features the relatively affordable Montecristo No. 4.

This cigar sports a beautiful, mouth watering, dark brown wrapper that, on the nose, hints of the earth, grass and pepper notes that will punctuate the smoke at various times. I couldn’t wait to light this one up.

Now, every time I have one of these, I pay a lot of attention to lighting up. It has to be done thoroughly and patiently to ensure an even burn to follow. The few puffs after lighting were immediately rewarding with a rich smoke that was full of a sweet woody and yet earthy predominant note. It’s a stick that doesn’t wait before kicking the flavor up a few notches. Soon thereafter, the dark earthy notes were bellowing from it, but still laced with those buttery sweet cedar undertones.

I always find the draw on these a bit on the tight side, but not so much so as to ruin the cigar. Still, I try not to rush it; instead, I draw slowly as I monitor the burn to void tunneling and allow it to even out as I go. The resulting smoke is pleasantly rich. You can expect a bit of pepper to surface a tad about half way and along with bit of leather, while remaining to turn out more sweet woody notes toward the end. The sweetness will dominate the classic Montecristo finish.

I didn’t have any problems with the burn and took it right to the end. I should probably point out, though, that one in every few cigars from a box can be difficult on the draw and so develop burning issues. So, if you’ve had one and thought it burned poorly, you probably got the occasional dud. Overall, I recommend this cigar as a great tasting example of the more reasonably priced Cubans.