Montecristo Edmundo Tubo 5.3 x 52 Robusto

Those that remember back in December I spent four glorious days in Dubai, skiing indoors at the Emirates Mall, seeing all the tourist sites, drinking beer and scotch, and smoking cigars.

As soon as I got off the plane, I hit the Duty-Free shop and picked up a bottle of scotch and walked through the huge humidor. I picked up two 3-packs of Montecristo Edmundo Tubos. I burned through three in Dubai and let the other three sit for a while.

Why is it called the Edmundo? It’s named after Edmundo Dantes, the Count of Monte Cristo. Ah, I get it now…

Today dawned sunny and relatively warm, so after breakfast, I sat out with a cup of coffee and broke out one of the remaining three Edmundos. It’s as fat of a Cuban as I’ve ever seen. It’s a portly 5.3 x 52 and packed to the gills with tobacco. The wrapper is seamless and feels like satin. The pre-light smell is cedar and leather.

The draw is flawless and produces a ton of smoke. The dominant flavors are cedar and oak, leather, honey, and a touch of spice. This cigar is as smooth as a prom queens thighs. Not overly complex, the flavors never waver.

The strength starts out in the medium range, but as the cigar burns down, I can feel the back of my eyeballs tightening up. I don’t know how else to describe it, but that’s one of the indicators I use to gauge a cigars strength. Past the halfway point, the cigar is definitely in the "full" category.

By the end of the smoke, my knees are a bit wobbly, so I was forced to sit a while longer. The cigar finished up with a flourish and left my head spinning.

Don't get me wrong, I still prefer the complexity of non-Cuban smokes (see my "Top 5"). I'm not going to get involved in the politics of Cuba or the embargo. All I know is that there are some mighty fine smokes out there whether they're Nicaraguan, Honduran, or Cuban.

Again, I still haven’t tried the Cohiba Behike, but I’d place the Edmundo tubo right behind the Cohiba Maduro 5 Genios and the Cohiba 2006 Limitada as my favorite Cuban smokes.

Hmmmmm…I think one or two random BOTL may get bombed when I go home on vacation at the end of March.