Montesino is one of the oldest, continuously made Arturo Fuente cigar brands. The brand peaked in the early 1990’s and has struggled to maintain its popularity in recent years. Similar to the Casa Cuba cigar brand by Arturo Fuente, Montesino lacks the name recognition. As such, Montesino is criminally underrated and underappreciated. This cigar brand represents fantastic value and flavor. Cigar plume is another factor to consider with Montesino. Many Montesino cigars sit in inventory, waiting to be smoked by someone with a discerning palate. Montesino is a lady-in-waiting, then, and the exquisite plume on the wrapper is Montesino’s dowry to the cigar afficionado. The natural wrapper on these Montesino cigars was a Connecticut Shade, crystallized with plume.
The Montesino Sampler is a sampler box of six Montesino cigars with the natural, Connecticut Shade wrapper. The six sizes you get are Diplomatico (5.5” x 42), No. 2 (6.25” x 44), Robusto (5” x 50), No. 1 (6.8” x 43), Toro (6” x 50), and Gran Corona (6.75” x 48). Handmade at Tabacalera A. Fuente is the Dominican Republic, the binder and filler of these cigars are Dominican tobaccos. The cigar blend is an elegant, mild blend of tobaccos with tasting notes of cedar, grasses, nuts, baking spices, toasted wheat, and brown sugar. With the smaller ring gauges, such as the Diplomatico or the No. 1, you taste more of the phenomenal Connecticut Shade wrapper. The three cigars smoked for this review were the Diplomatico, the No. 1, and the Robusto. The smoking duration for these cigars ranged from forty-five minutes to an hour and a half. The cigars lit well and evenly. The quality of the cigar’s flavor was consistent and pleasant. throughout the smoke. At $26.95 for six cigars, the Montesino sampler is great value and even greater gift for the cigar smokers in your life.