Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Edición Diamante Robusto

There are a number of backstories when it comes to how cigars come to fruition, one of which is that when a project is being worked on, there are any number of blends created along the way. Some of those inevitably get discarded fairly early on, but others make it to the very end and could ultimately have won out, only to fall short.

It was that process—and a compelling blend—that led to the release of the Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Edición Diamante, which was one of the contenders to be the blend selected for the Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Nicaragua, which came out in November 2020. However, the tobaccos used in the blend were deemed to need more age, so the blend was set aside. It has now been released as the Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Edición Diamante, a new regular production line from Altadis U.S.A.

Blend-wise, the Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Edición Diamante is a Nicaraguan puro that uses a low-priming hybrid wrapper grown in Jalapa, a criollo-seed binder from Ometepe and fillers from Estelí. While the Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Nicaragua, is billed as a full-bodied cigar, the Edición Diamante is considered to be more medium-bodied.

Both blends were developed by Abdel Fernández and Rafael Nodal, the head of product capability for Tabacalera U.S.A.

The first four sizes of the Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Edición Diamante began shipping to stores in mid-June 2023, while the Icon and No. 2 were released closer to the end of the month. Like the Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Nicaragua, the Edición Diamante is made at the San Lotano Factory in Nicaragua.

• Cigar Reviewed: Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Edición Diamante Robusto
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: San Lotano Factory
• Wrapper: NIcaragua (Jalapa)
• Binder: Nicaragua (Ometepe Criollo)
• Filler: Nicaragua (Estelí)
• Length: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Vitola: Robusto
• MSRP: $22.86 (Box of 10, $228.60)
• Release Date: June 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

In this robusto vitola, it seems as if the bands cover almost half of the cigar, but what I can see looks good, as does the complete visual. I debate whether I like the relatively straightforward and easy-to-read font, or want something more dressed up and decorative beyond just the image of a diamond on the secondary band. Moving underneath the bands, the wrapper leaf is generally evenly colored, though one has enough variance that it looks like a very subtle barber pole. The leaf is fairly dry with a fine texture to the fingers, which matches up with my expectations from its matte color and lack of visible oils. The first cigar is firmer than I would have expected from a box-pressed cigar, as it feels almost a bit over-filled or over-inflated, if you’ve ever felt a tire or athletic ball in that state. There is some give, but it feels like the core is pushing outward on the binder and wrapper. The other two cigars are more in line with the firm pillow feel that I’ve come to identify with the box press treatment. The foot has the aroma of a chocolate chip cookie, sometimes cohesively and sometimes expressed as the individual components, with chocolate chips hitting my nostrils and then the crispy edges of the dough. One sample gives me some macadamia nut and black pepper as well, while one is quite restrained with the chocolate. The cold draw is smooth and easy, with a fairly simple flavor that reminds me of cookie dough as opposed to a baked cookie.

The Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Edición Diamante Robusto starts off with a fairly full profile driven by a decent amount of earth and black pepper, softened by a soft creaminess for a beginning that works well on both the palate and in the nostrils, though I could see it being a bit overpowering for some. I can’t quite tell if it’s familiarity setting in or a slight dialing back of the flavor intensity, but by the one-inch mark, the cigar’s impact on my senses has changed. One notable change is the development of dry earth on the finish, a fraction of the main flavor but a very clear one. Retrohales remain quite bright and vibrant, and if I take a pause just before exhaling the smoke, the white pepper fills and lights up my nostrils with a sensation that is fairly unique and very enjoyable. There’s not much in the way of flavor changes in the first third, but there’s plenty of flavor and physical sensation from the pepper to make up for it. Flavor is medium-full, body is medium-plus, and strength is mild, while construction is great in the early going.

Peppery retrohales remain a constant as the Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Edición Diamante Robusto gets into its second third. The flavor is a bit less earthy and tastes a bit like a chocolate shake as this section gets underway, though the finish is still marked by the dry earth I found in the first third. Around the midpoint, the overall profile lightens up just a touch, as the pepper loses some of its gravitas and a drier earth sets the most prominent base note for the taste buds. With that comes a bit of texture to the smoke, and while I don’t want to say it tastes like dusty earth, the way it finishes on my taste buds makes that the closest comparison, especially in contrast to the more compacted earth notes from earlier. While the flavor is on the lighter side of “earth-forward,” there is still a dry and somewhat robustness on the finish of each puff, as well as what lingers on my taste buds after each puff. There’s a bit of creaminess here, but it’s more for the benefit of the body of the smoke rather than the flavor, and whatever hints of chocolate have been in the profile have departed. Flavor remains medium-full, body is medium-plus and strength is medium. Construction is great with a smooth draw, even burn line and plenty of smoke production.

As the Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Edición Diamante Robusto gets into its final third, I find myself focusing on the body of the smoke a bit more than usual, as the flavor has held fairly steady. There is a bit more creaminess in one cigar than the others, but I wouldn’t call this section particularly creamy, as the light-bodied earthiness still leads the profile. Pepper isn’t as much of a factor on the palate as it has been, with the retrohales dialed back a bit as well, though there is still some sharpness to it on the exhale. In the one cigar that felt overfilled, combustion struggles in the final two inches or so, really needing frequent puffs to avoid going out despite burning beautifully to this point. The flavor continues to be dry, toasty and now packing a white pepper punch, which in turn leaves a long tingle in the front half of my mouth. Still, I’d put it around medium-plus, body is medium-plus and strength is mild. Outside of the one cigar, construction is very good with an easy draw, razor-sharp burn line and plenty of smoke.

Final Notes

• When thinking about the secondary band, I have this vision of someone trying to come up with the design and then just saying, well, it’s the diamond edition, right? Here’s a diamond.
• It reminded me of this concert poster from several years back.
• Given the anniversary theme of this line, I was thinking that the diamond theme might have a tie-in, but the diamond anniversary is the 60th anniversary, so that doesn’t seem like an appropriate tie-in.
• Instead, Altadis U.S.A.’s marketing materials says that “Much like the creation of a precious diamond, the tobaccos used in the Edicion diamante were pulled from the earth and have undergone an extensive honing process.”
• Other marketing materials describe how the second fermentation that the wrappers undergo “evens and develops the color of the tobacco wrapper and eliminates any potential rawness, accounting for much of the Edicion Diamante’s sweet, smooth, and polished rich flavor.” I can’t say that I got much sweetness from the profile, especially not the notes of honey the company says the cigar offers.
• I didn’t get any strength from any of the three cigars smoked for this review.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time was two hours and 10 minutes on average.
• Site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Cigars Direct, Corona Cigar Co., Famous Smoke Shop, Gotham Cigars, and JR Cigar carry the Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Edición Diamante Robusto. Cigar Hustler and LM Cigars both carry the line, but not in the robusto vitola.