Another Old Review : Hoyo Epicure #2 and WT 12 Year 101

Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure #2
(4 7/8" X 50 ISOM)
&
Wild Turkey 12 Year 101 Proof


I wasnt sure if I was going to get to smoke this beauty today. While it was not overly cold out in my opinion, it had been snowing all day and a little windy from a strange direction. Usually my front porch is sheltered for such things but the snow was accumulating on my porch swing! But nothinng was gonna stop me. And it seemed that God wanted me to have my fun too, because as soon as I headed out on the porch with this cigar and a few drops of WT 12, the snow stopped and the wind died out. No problems the whole time. This cigar looked innocent enough, a medium brown wrapper that was a little bumpy with a few veins. When I removed it from the little baggy that it was shipped in, and took a sniff there it was. I had always thought folks were strange when they said that cuban cigars smelled of a barnyard, but it did! Specifically damp hay in a horse stall. It lit easily. The first few draws were VERY VERY intense, and menthol, and it made me wince a bit and wonder what exactly I was getting into. Thankfully that did not last. It settled in to being medium in body with stronger (and yet smoother flavors) than most I had ecperienced before). There was an earthy undertone, like a damp peat bog that carried the base all the way through, with several rotating notes coming on top of it. Wood, almonds, butterscotch, a vegetal quality like fresh cut broccoli and blasts of black pepper (like I have experienced in domestic Partagas cigars, without the harshness though), all wafted in and out of the tremendous volumes of blue grey round smoke this cigar produced. Suprisingly, and unlike almost all cigars I have smoked to this point, this cigar got noticably sweeter as in neared the end, with the almond and butterscotch gaining momentum. Yummy Yummy Yummy. The only drawback to this cigar was that it did not seem to want to burn evenly, although this was never a major concern as it did not get ridiculous. The ash wash very dark in the center and mottled on the outside and held for about 2". As a final note, it would be remiss of me not to mention that I got a pretty decent buzz offa this one .

The Wild Turkey 12 year is delicious and paired well with this stogie, but I dont thing I am ready for quite that heady of a combination yet. After a few tiny sips to compare tastes I gave up on the whiskey to make sure my buzz didnt turn bad. All round sweet vanilla caramel and molasses in the mouth with the long spicy signature Wild Turkey spicy rye finish, it is a classic that is sorely missed in the US. This will be a must try combination again, as I gain experience.


TomC