Last year, Habanos S.A. released the first two cigars in a new series named Añejados, the Romeo y Julieta Píramides Añejados and the Montecristo Churchills Añejados. According to Habanos S.A., the cigars included in this program will all have been aged between five and eight years in their original packaging after being rolled. However, before being shipped, the boxes are opened so the cigars can have the bands and the date of the inspection added, and the boxes get a stamp on the back of revisado, which translates to checked.

The press release for this year’s Añejados cigars explains further:

Through the aging process, the cigar has developed, becoming rounder and mellower to the palate with touches of delicate and sweetish taste and, above all, obtaining shades of woody taste because of being placed for all those years near the cedar from which the boxes were made.

The two newest entries into the series are the Partagás Corona Gorda Añejados (5 5/8×46) and the Hoyo de Monterrey Hermoso No. 4 Añejados (5×48), both of which are packaged in dress boxes of 25. Unlike with the Romeo y Julieta Pirámides released last year, the vitolas for both of the new cigars are unique in each of their respective brands.

The Añejados line now encompasses four different releases.

Anejados Vitolas

Hoyo de Monterrey Hermosos No.4 Anejados 11

  • Cigar Reviewed: Hoyo de Monterrey Hermosos No.4 Añejados
  • Country of Origin: Cuba
  • Factory: n/a
  • Wrapper: Cuba
  • Binder: Cuba
  • Filler: Cuba
  • Length: 5 Inches
  • Ring Gauge: 48
  • Vitola: Robusto
  • Est. Price: $14.14 (Boxes of 25, $353.50)
  • Release Date: Jan. 20, 2016
  • Number of Cigars Released: n/a
  • Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Covered in a medium brown wrapper that is both rough to the touch as well as devoid of any overt oil, the Hoyo de Monterrey Hermosos No.4 Añejados features a number of bumps running up and down its length. The cigar also features a slight box-press and is quite spongy when squeezed. Aroma from the wrapper is a combination of manure, hay, cinnamon, leather, earth and sweet apples, while the cold draw brings flavors of barnyard, earth, sweet nutmeg, peanut shells, black pepper and slight floral.

Starting out, the Hoyo de Monterrey Hermosos No.4 Añejados features strong spicy cedar and leather as the dominant flavors, followed closely by notes of cereal, dark chocolate, hay, earth, nuts and slight floral. There is a bit of indeterminate sweetness on the finish, but it is overwhelmed by a spiciness on both the palate as well as the retrohale that is surprisingly strong. Both the burn and draw are excellent, with the burn being the real standout, and smoke production is about average. Strength-wise, the Hoyo de Monterrey shows some teeth early on, but eventually settles down, ending the first third short of the medium mark.

Hoyo de Monterrey Hermosos No.4 Anejados 2

The spiciness in the profile becomes very obvious on the retrohale in the second third of the Hoyo de Monterrey Hermosos No.4 Añejados, reminding me strongly of barbecue and mesquite wood. Other flavors of grass, espresso beans, cocoa, leather and earth flit in and out as well, and the sweetness has increased enough to pin it as a maple note. Construction-wise, the Hermosos No.4 continues to impress, and the smoke production has actually increased a bit as the halfway point is passed. In addition, the overall strength has increased enough by the end of the second third to hit a solid medium, but I don’t see it going much further than that.

Hoyo de Monterrey Hermosos No.4 Anejados 3

Unfortunately, the spicy mesquite and barbecue note that was so strong in the second third of the Hoyo de Monterrey Añejados really falls off a cliff in the final third, replaced by flavors of oak, leather, earth, grass, floral, almonds and toast. The maple sweetness from the second third is stronger now, bolstered by the lack of the barbecue mesquite note, but it is still far too light to really make an impact on the overall profile. Both the burn and draw continue to be excellent, and the smoke production remains at the same level, while the strength barely budges from the medium mark by the time I put the nub down with a little less than an inch left.

Hoyo de Monterrey Hermosos No.4 Anejados 4

Final Notes

  • Somewhat appropriately, Añejados translates to aged.
  • While both the burn and draw were excellent overall on all three samples, the ash fell off quickly and at very inopportune times, which is why the first third photograph is missing part of the ash.
  • There is no doubt that the middle third was superior to the other two, with the spicy barbecue note that really bumped up the complexity in the overall profile significantly. Sadly, it did not stick around longer, or the score would have been quite a bit higher.
  • Along with the above, that was the first time I can recall having tasted anything remotely similar to  a barbecue flavor in a Cuban cigar, although it was quite obvious in the El Güegüense Corona Gorda.
  • Habanos S.A. did not disclose how many of the Hoyo de Monterrey Hermosos No.4 Añejados were released.
  • The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
  • The final smoking time for all three samples averaged one hour and 15 minutes.
88 Overall Score

This is actually the first Añejados release I have reviewed, and although I enjoyed it, I was left with a feeling of wanting more after I was done with each cigar. Construction was excellent and that spicy barbecue note that was present in the second third of each sample really improved the profile overall, but in the end, it was just not enough to keep the Hoyo de Monterrey Hermosos No.4 Añejados from being anything more than an average Cuban release.

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Brooks Whittington

I have been smoking cigars for over eight years. A documentary wedding photographer by trade, I spent seven years as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I started the cigar blog SmokingStogie in 2008 after realizing that there was a need for a cigar blog with better photographs and more in-depth information about each release. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars. I am a co-founder of halfwheel and now serve as an editor for halfwheel.