Montecristo FSG

Today, we review the Montecristo FSG. This limited edition is a store exclusive to Corona Cigar Company, produced by Altadis U.S.A. in conjunction with Plasencia Cigars. The Montecristo FSG contains what is known as Florida Sun Grown (FSG) tobacco. This is a Corojo varietal grown in Clermont, Florida, by Jeff Borysiewicz. Borysiewicz is best known as the founder of Corona Cigar Company. In 2013, he bought a plot of land intending to revive tobacco growing in the State of Florida, which had ended in 1977. In the case of the Montecristo project, Atladis worked with one of its Nicaraguan manufacturing partners, Plasencia. For the Montecristo FSG, the tobacco was used as a part of the filler. Since Borysiewicz could only supply 100 pounds of FSG tobacco, only a limited edition was possible.

Over the past decade, FSG tobacco has been incorporated into ongoing production and limited releases. Some of the featured companies that have used FSG tobacco include:

Drew Estate (20 Acre Farm, FSG)
J.C. Newman (The American, Corona Exclusives)
Davidoff (Davidoff Florida Selection, Corona Exclusives)
Aganorsa Leaf (Army of Angels, Army of Angels Connecticut)
Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust (Angus Ban)
Cordoba & Morales (Sante Fe, FSG Cameroon)
Altadis U.S.A. (Montecristo FSG)

Without further ado, let’s get back to the Montecristo FSG and let’s see what that cigar brings to the table.

Montecristo FSG – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

As mentioned, the Montecristo FSG came from Plasencia. This cigar is produced at Plasencia’s Nicaragua facility in Estelí, Nicaragua. Other than the Florida-grown FSG tobacco, the remainder of the blend features Nicaraguan tobaccos capped off by a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: FSG (Florida) & Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Plasencia S.A.

Vitolas Offered

The Montecristo FSG is offered in one size—a 6 x 52 Toro. The cigars are in 20-count boxes, and 400 boxes were produced.

Appearance (*)

The Montecristo FSG’s Nicaraguan Habano wrapper was medium-brown. The cigar had a light oil sheen, but I noticed more oil near the cap. There were some thin veins, and the wrapper seams were also prominently visible.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

Before lighting up the Montecristo MSG, a straight cut was used to remove the cap. Once the cap was removed, it was time to commence the pre-light draw. The cold draw delivered a mix of sweet natural tobacco and baker’s spice. As the name indicates this was a natural sweetness. Overall, this was a satisfactory pre-light draw experience. At this point, it was time to toast up this FSG cigar and see what the smoking experience would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Montecristo FSG opened with notes of orange sweetness, natural tobacco, baker’s spice, and earth. Early on, the orange notes moved into the forefront, with the sweet natural tobacco, baker’s spice, and earth notes settling in the background. Of the background notes, the baker’s spice was the most prominent. Meanwhile, there was a layer of pepper as well as an additional layer of orange sweetness on the retro-hale.

During the second third of the Montecristo FSG, the orange sweetness began to subside, and the natural tobacco sweetness increased. Natural tobacco joined the orange in the forefront during the early stages of the second third. Just past the midway point, natural tobacco took over as the primary note, and the orange became a secondary note. There still were notes of baker’s spice and earth present. Some black pepper also emerged earlier during the second third.

Late in the second third, some bitter qualities emerged with the natural tobacco. This wasn’t a negative, as it didn’t become aggressively bitter and balanced out some of the sweet notes of the natural tobacco. Meanwhile, the black pepper, orange, baker’s spice, and earth rounded out the profile. This is how the Montecristo FSG came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

Overall, the burn performed quite well on the Montecristo FSG. This cigar did not require frequent touch-ups to maintain a straight burn path and burn line. The resulting ash was close to medium gray. While there was some minor flaking, this was still an ash that was much on the firmer side. Meanwhile, the burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

Burn of the Montecristo FSG

Draw

The draw to the Montecristo FSG was on the open side. It wasn’t a loose draw, but I prefer more resistance. The open draw didn’t have any adverse effects; it was more of a personal preference.

Strength and Body

Regarding strength, the Montecristo FSG opened up in the medium range. There was a slight increase in the intensity of the strength, but in the end, the cigar remained in the medium range. Meanwhile, the flavors opened up medium-bodied. These flavors also increased in intensity, and by the 3/5 mark of the smoking experience, they progressed from medium to full.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

The Montecristo FSG has a straightforward two-band design. The primary band is the iconic Montecristo brown band with the gold fleur-de-lis and white font. The secondary band is also brown, with a gold and white font FSG logo on it. Overall, I like this design. The boxes (not pictured) are a variant of the yellow-colored Montecristo Classic Series boxes.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

There was a lot of sweetness out of the gate with the Montecristo FSG. It was a little too much for me. However, as the sweetness subsided and the natural tobacco emerged, this cigar started to take form, as I would expect from a Montecristo. FSG is a bit of a polarizing tobacco, but when blended right, it can result in some wonderful creations – and the Montecristo FSG is one of them. In the end, this is a cigar I would recommend to any cigar enthusiast. As for myself, I would buy and smoke this again. I sincerely hope we see more Montecristo FSGs (and maybe some different sizes) down the road.

Summary

Key Flavors: Orange, Natural Tobacco, Earth, Baker’s Spice, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium (1st 3/5), Medium to Full Remainder)
Finish: Very Good