Monte Pascoal

Due to new government regulations bloggers now must disclose if a product was given to us as a gift from the manufacturer, so with that said today’s smoke was a gift from Eduardo Braghin of the Brazil Tobacco Group. Mr. Braghin sent me some sticks for review at the suggestion of Gary J. who is a cigar aficionado and a terrific writer. He just launched his own website and it will be in tomorrows Sunday Links.

The Monte Pascoal is touted as “the real flavour of Brazil”. The cigars from Tobacos Mata Fina Litda and is owned by the Orsi Family Group. Tobacos Mata Fina was launched in 2007 making this a new company in the cigar industry. Tobacos Mata Fina goes on to guarantee the best Brazilian tobacco available. Some interesting facts about the Mata Fina region of Brazil. It gets over 47 inches of rainfall a year and all tobacco in the region is sun grown. Wrappers are hand cut and dried in a barn while the binders and fillers are stalk cut.

Tobacos Mata Fina has a workforce of 20 people and they produce about 300,000 cigars a year. After a cigar is rolled they let it sit for one year before shipping them out to retailers and a reviewers like my self. So with all that information let’s see how this cigar smokes…

Cigar: Monte Pascoal
Size: 7 x 49 (Double Corona)
Wrapper: Brazil (Mata Fina)
Binder: Brazil (Mata Fina)
Filler: Brazil (Mata Fina & Mata Norte)
Strength: Medium

Appearance and Construction (16/20): The cigar features a rustic looking wrapper with some faint tooth and minimal veins. However one can make out some veins from under the wrapper in this tightly rolled cigar. There are some creases on the wrapper, but other then that the cigar has a nice appearance to it. There is a nice weight to this stick with no soft spots. The label is a nice red with gold and a touch of yellow making it eye catching even though it has a little bit of a bundled cigar appearance.

Flavor & Notes (26/30): Prior to lighting up the cigar there are some slight coffee notes off the draw while the foot offers some wonderful cedar notes. Once lit the cigar has a very dry taste with nuts being the primary note here and you can even smell it in the aroma of the burning tobacco. As we approach the second third of the cigar the rich nutty notes and aroma continue you. There is some wood at this point and as I sip a cup of black coffee it really seems to make the notes of the cigar explode. The final third the cedar notes really begin to shine but there is also a very dry earth present so make sure you have a beverage. This cigar is making me thirsty.

Burn/Ash/Draw (24/25): The cigar burns like a dream straight and with a narrow carbon line. The ash is white with some dark spots that holds on very tight and at great length. The draw is a little tight, but nothing to get upset at. The burn and the ash have me mesmerized and may be among the best of what I have smoked this year. .

Overall (22/25): This Brazilian puro was a really interesting smoke but the flavor profile wasn’t what I expected. It was an interesting stick though and I might smoke another one in the future. I think the company behind this cigar has a very promising future and I’ll be sure to try anything they make in the future.

Rating: 88
Price: Under $8.00 a stick at Randy’s Tobacco in Indiana (24 % Tobacco Tax included in prize)