Smoked: Hoyo de Monterrey Hoyo La Amistad Black

Smoked at: West Chester, Ohio

Hoyo La Amistad Black has a San Andres binder, Nicaraguan filler and a beautiful smooth oily toothy dark brown Ecuadoran Sumatra Oscuro wrapper with tight seams and just a trace of visible veins.

Charred wood - oak and cedar, spice, espresso, dark chocolate, earthy, hay, leather and a slight note that reminds me of white wine – a dry Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc - and dried fruit. I detect notes of cherries – a flavor note I rarely experience. Faint and fleeting, but it’s there. So are hints of ginger and nutmeg. Pepper stays in the background of the spice. There’s copious spice on the finish. This is a bold, robust AJ Fernandez blend.

I never pair cigars with wine. The experience of fine wine should not be impaired by smoke, in my humble opinion. I might make an exception with this cigar due to its fruit and wine-like notes. Maybe a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc or an Alsace, German or Finger Lakes dry Riesling could work. A dry French method Chardonnay might also be appropriate with this stick, but now you’re spending a good amount of dough on a bottle of wine you probably would enjoy more paired with a great meal of fine dining. But, I digress…..

The draw was a little tight initially. A toothpick poke opened it up for the remainder of the smoke. Major league construction otherwise: near perfect burn line, tight white ash and plenty of smoke output.

Full bodied, med-full strength that ratchets up considerably during the final third. By the end, I’m buzzin’ but the flavors remained consistent. The flavors are balanced with nice transitions and complexity. For such a small vitola, this thing smokes big and bold. I am impressed Nicely done, AJ.