Every year Pete Johnson brings us the Monster Series cigar sometime around Halloween. This year's version is a very large offering and it sports a band made of tobacco that is supposed to resemble Leatherface of Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame. The cigar also shows an unfinished foot, I always find this affectation to be gimmicky, and in some cases I have had an unfinished foot hinder early combustion and cause smoking issues that could have been avoided. Gimmicks aside, I have always enjoyed the Monster Series smokes and I will live with the strange and affected once per year.
The smoke itself is very large and thick. I am not a big ring guy, but in this case it seems right to me. The tobacco as a band idea has some cache and provides and interesting visual experience, plus it saves labor as I usually remove the band right away. An examination of the cigar reveals no issues, but I do notice that the wrapper seems a bit dry to me. There are very few veins, and aside from some visual dryness as well, the cigar seems well made. The pre light aroma is very strange, but pleasing, showing some sweet wheaty aromas. The pre light draw is very smooth, which indicates to me the unfinished foot will not be an issue, it shows some strong notes of tobacco and light spice.
The cigar opens with a profile that is a touch too thin for me. There are some nice ideas of spice, tobacco and sugarcane here but they are not deep or complex. There is a touch of early pepper here as well, but it is dry and not helping the cause. At the back of the palate there are some very nice flavors of wood and leather, but again the flavors seem a bit too shallow for me at this point. The draw on this cigar is a dream, I am having no issue getting ample smoke from each pull and the resistance that is present is nearly perfect. The burn is slightly askew, but cigars with an unfinished foot often burn oddly early on.
The first half of the cigar is a lesson in duality. There are some areas that I really like and when the smoke is in these phases I am nearing cigar euphoria. However, there are some times in the first half when I am seriously considering getting rid of the whole shooting match. The profile is alternately of spice and tobacco followed by shifts to grass and dusty presentations of cedar. There are some areas where a hint of vanilla might be coming through, but they are not anything I can isolate. At the back of the palate there are still some notes of wood, but the front of the profile leaves the final impressions wanting. The draw continues to be excellent and the burn has evened out.
The final half of the cigar is where I expect some development, but there really is none. The presentation continues to be schizophrenic, alternately showing excellence and mediocrity. The main profile continues to waffle between notes of tobacco and spice to notes of vegetation and grass. There is an odd aftertaste creeping in here that is sugary, but charred. At the back of the palate there are still some notes of wood that are acceptable and adding to the experience in a positive way. The draw and burn continue to be most impressive.
The finish was interesting, showing some ideas of sugarcane, tobacco, grass and spice. Overall this was not the most impressive of the Monster Series smokes, look to last year's Boris or Drac for better experiences (if you can find any).
Appearance- 88 an interesting visual approach
Taste- 86 there was just too much happening here for it to be any higher
Construction- 92 aside from some early burn issues, this cigar performed magnificently
Strength- 87 a solid medium that was not unique in any way
Overall- 88.5 based on solid construction and average taste
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