REVIEW--Hoyo de Monterrey Governor

If I had my way, all I would smoke would be Hoyo de Monterrey or Punch, in their various sizes. These are my favorite cigars. The blends are full but at the same time have a mild creaminess and I think that comes from the Dominican leaf they use (mixed with Honduran and Nicaraguan leaves). They're just plain good cigars, and I was able to experience the Hoyo Governor, their 6x50, tonight (it's the same as the Punch Pita). I can't remember the last time I smoked a Hoyo, so I was eager to light up. The usual flavor was there along with a terrific draw and slow burn. A friend was over at the house, and he lit up his pipe using his preferred Balkan blend, and we sat on the porch solving the world's problems and watched the fog roll in and listened to the coyotes in the hills wail and spotted a pair of stray deer that had wandered in from other parts of those hills.

Not a bad way to kill a Saturday night.

I smoke a lot of cigars so popping close to $100 for a box of my favorite Hoyos and Punches is out of the question. I like the Consuegra brand because those are Hoyo and Punch's seconds (and the seconds of other similar cigars) and I take the Connie band off right away so the only giveaway that the Consurgra isn't a "first" is the lumps or discolored wrapper--and those blemishes needn't bother anybody because it all goes up in smoke. These "seconds" are terrific cigars. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise. And it's the best way for me to enjoy my preferred brand; every now and then I'll pop for a single or five-pack and leave the band on, but then I ask myself why I'm paying full price for a "pretty" cigar that also goes up in smoke.

For a while I was smoking the JR Alternative to those cigars, and JR makes a fine product, no question, but while they are "similar" they are not "the same" and the Connies are truly "the same" and can't be beat.

Everything else I buy is an attempt to find a similar blend that's cheaper, and while I find really good cigars and enjoy every single one of them (I've really been impressed with the Cubita Nicaraguan, for example, as an under-$50 premium bundle; another brand, Riata Nicaraguan, is a powerful smoke with it's Honduran blend and Mexican binder that's also a winner), I keep coming back to my opening statement: if I had my way, all I would smoke would be Hoyo de Monterrey or Punch.

Maybe when I get rich selling books I'll buy only those.

Then again, maybe not. There are so many cigars to enjoy....