Aw Shucks! A Cigar I Can No Longer Buy!

Back in June, my good buddy Lee and I traded cigars, and one of the cigars he included in the trade was a Montecristo Desde 1935 Club Selection. I thought it was a Monte Classic which is a cigar I’ve loved – come to think of it, I need to write a post on that one – and when I got home after the event where we traded, I put it in my humidor and there it sat until this evening when I was looking at what I wanted to smoke tonight.

Then I saw it and asked myself, do you really want to smoke a Churchill right now? And after thinking about it for a few seconds, I said aloud, “What the hell!”

So I proceeded to go out to my backyard sitting area and I lit it up. The reaction I had was visceral. It wasn’t like any other Monte I’ve smoked! After the first puff, I knew this was a sophisticated cigar. The flavors were subdued, yet sublime. Into first inch and the strength has barely notched above the mild side of medium. It was originally classified as medium body, but it’s medium-mild at best.

I liken the experience of smoking this cigar to drinking a glass of very old, Grand Cru Burgundy. For those who haven’t experienced that, it can be a life-changing experience; a lesson in subtle complexity, it inundates the palate with a kaleidoscope of flavors while maintaining a light, graceful touch. For the uninitiated, they will drink the wine, shrug, and say it’s good, but will question what all the fuss is about. But for those who’ve learned to take their time with a wine that magnificent, they’re rewarded with a tasting experience that is rare. It will wreck them.

This Desde 1935 is much like that experience of drinking an incredible Burgundy. The subtlety of the flavors mask the incredible complexity contained in the smoke. Most folks who mostly smoke bold cigars would possibly dismiss this cigar as weak and boring. But it’s anything but. It’s almost as if the stick is saying, “I know what I bring to the table. Fuck you if you can’t see it.”

And the ONLY downside I see to this cigar is that it’s no longer being made. The last review I could find of the cigar was from 2018. I don’t even know if it had already been discontinued by then. Forum posts on the cigar are ten years old. And while online stores still list it, it’s just not available. Damn!

This is a cigar that I wish was still around. I’d probably buy a couple of boxes and it would be a regular smoke for me. It’s THAT good. But alas, it will never be unless Montecristo decides to bring it back.