Montecristo's First Nicaraguan Puro
Altadis USA, owner of the non-Cuban Montecristo brand, has been releasing one creative iteration of Montecristo after the next. On July 1, tobacconists will receive the Montecristo Espada, a bold blend marking the first time that a Monte has been rolled with only Nicaraguan tobacco.
Montecristo Espada is described by Altadis as a spicy cigar that owes its strong, piquant character to a variety of growing regions in Nicaragua. Featuring a Cuban-seed Habano wrapper and binder from Jalapa, the cigar combines several different Nicaraguan tobaccos in the filler from Jalapa, Ometepe and Condega.
The new smokes are made in Nicaragua at Nestor Plasencia's Plasencia Cigars S.A. factory and are a collaboration between Plasencia and the Altadis blending team, known as the Grupo de Maestros.
Espadas come packaged in striking suede boxes of ten, each adorned with three bands: a primary Montecristo band, a foot band that reads "Espada" and an ornate certificate wrapped around the middle of the smoke. Spanish for "sword," Espada is also a reference to the rapiers found on the iconic Montecristo logo, which was reinterpreted for this line to focus on a single sword rather than the traditional six.
Three sizes are available—Ricasso, 5 inches by 54 ring, Guard, 6 by 50 and Quillon, 7 by 56—and they're set to retail for $11.25 to $12.50 each.
Each tobacco used in the Espada is vintage dated and listed on the inner lid of the box.
