2022 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List): #9: Montecristo Epic Vintage 12 Blue Toro by Altadis U.S.A.

“The Montecristo 1935 Nicaragua certainly has garnered a lot of acclaim, but the Montecristo Epic Vintage 12 deserves to be in the same sentence. The Montecristo Epic Vintage 12 Blue Toro delivers a fantastic smoking experience.”

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican (including tobacco from 2012), Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacalera de Garcia
Blue Toro: 6 x 52
Price: $17.75

Sponsor: Yes
Samples Provided for Initial Review: Yes
Review: Montecristo Epic Vintage 12 Blue Toro by Altadis U.S.A. (3/8/22)
Appearances on Countdown (By Year/Company): 7 (2010, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022)

Coming in at #9 is the Montecristo Epic Vintage 12 Blue Toro by Altadis U.S.A.. In 2021, Altadis U.S.A. introduced a new installment to its Montecristo brand under its Epic line – the Montecristo Epic Vintage 12. The Epic series focuses on using vintage tobaccos. In the case of the Montecristo Epic Vintage 12, the blend incorporates vintage tobacco from 2012 into the filler. This is a crop that Altadis U.S.A. has deemed exceptional. As for the blue name, it is the color that adorns the packaging and band of this cigar – and it’s the first time this color has been used on the Montecristo brand.

The Montecristo Epic Vintage 12 features an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper over a Dominican binder and a combination of Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. The Dominican component of the filler contains tobacco from 2012. The Toro size is a classic 6 x 52 offering. As for production, it originates from the famed Tabacalera de Garcia in the Dominican Republic. It’s a project that was developed by Rafael Nodal and Altadis’ famed Grupo de Maestros team.

As the name indicates, this cigar produced an epic experience – especially when it came to flavor. Notes delivered include coffee bean, natural tobacco, chocolate, earth, hay, and black pepper. It’s a medium-strength and medium-bodied smoking experience. You can’t underscore enough the job that Nodal has done as Altadis’ Director of Product Capability. Whether its working with his own factories or outside ones, he is delivering some amazing cigars – and the Montecristo Epic Vintage 12 Blue Toro is no exception.

The Montecristo Epic Vintage 12 Blue Toro joins the H. Upmann Nicaragua AJ Fernandez Heritage Toro as cigars by Altadis U.S.A. that have placed on the 2022 Countdown. This is the seventh year Altadis has landed on a Cigar Coop Countdown. It also gives the Dominican Republic a fourth cigar on this year’s Countdown.