Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Seleccion cigars are made in Honduras with proprietary Cuban seed wrapper, binder and filler tobaccos. The cigars began shipping to retailers during April 2020, and are available in three sizes, as indicated below:
- No.1 (5.6” x 46) -- $8.79 SRP per cigar
(sampled for this review)
- No.2 (4.9” x 50) -- $8.49 SRP per cigar
- Toro Especiale (6” x 50) -- $8.99 SRP per cigar
For more information about these cigars, please see the press release.
The Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Seleccion No. 1 cigars sampled for this review began with a modest and enjoyable sweet and spicy flavor. After a few puffs, an earthy flavor joined the mix along with some hints of pepper. The earthy flavor was not a deep rich earthy taste found in some fuller bodied cigars. Hoyo Epicure Seleccion cigars are medium-full bodied, which just happens to be my preferred level of fullness. The flavors remained pretty consistent throughout the duration of these smokes, and provided me with 50-55 minutes of enjoyment down to two inches remaining.
The cigars were very well made and had a good draw, even burn, and held a long ash. No relights were required, but I did apply one very minor touch-up to one of the samples.
I liked the 5.6” x 46 size of the Epicure No.1 cigar. It's smaller than what I usually smoke, but it performed very well. I enjoyed the flavors enough to rate these cigars with 4-plus points on a 5-point scale, meaning that the Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Seleccion No. 1 is a very good to superior cigar.
I could not help but notice that the Toro size might also be worth a try. For only 20-cents more per stick, you get a lot more cigar (6” x 50). How the Toro Especiale compares to the No. 1 will have to be the subject of another review. As every cigar connoisseur knows only too well, the proof is in the puffing.
Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer.
