Hoyo de Monterrey Primaveras

Habanos S.A.

• Country of Origin: Cuba
• Factory: Not Disclosed
• Wrapper: Cuba
• Binder: Cuba
• Filler: Cuba
• Length: 6 7/12 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 48
• Vitola: Churchill
• Est. Price: $52.77 (Box of 18, $950)
• Release Date: Jan. 13, 2021
• Number of Cigars Released: 8,888 Boxes of 18 Cigars (159,984 Total Cigars)
• Original Score: 91

For the second time this week, I am writing about the Hoyo de Monterrey Primaveras. This is Habanos S.A.’s second foray into the genre of making limited edition cigars based on the Chinese Zodiac calendar. This time the company chose the Hoyo de Monterrey brand and the Hermosos No.1 vitola, probably best known for its use on the Montecristo Dantés Edición Limitada 2016. Like so many other Chinese Zodiac calendar-themed cigars, Habanos S.A. used red and gold—colors that symbolize good fortune and wealth in Chinese culture—as well as uses of the number eight, by way of 8,888 boxes of 18 cigars produced, incorporating a number considered lucky in Chinese culture.

In his review, Brooks Whittington noted that the cigar had the ability to change flavors at nearly every puff during certain parts of his time smoking it. While that can make the reviewer’s job more challenging, it does make the time smoking the cigar more interesting. For the most part, we tend to agree with the adage that Cuban cigars tend to smoke better after a bit of rest in the humidor, but there are exceptions and cigars like the Primaveras show exceptions can be very enjoyable.

Unfortunately, the Primaveras follows another trend of increasingly expensive limited edition Cuban cigars. And not just $30 expensive; this cigar was routinely priced at more than €50 per cigar in some of the lower cigar tax European countries. As always, price is subjective, but I’d rather pay more for a good cigar than a plugged one and in that regard, we’ve had no issues with the Primaveras we’ve smoked. — Charlie Minato.