The Particulars

The Review

This review for the Montecristo Espada Oscuro (Guard) - Toro (6 x 50) is based on the journal entry dated 2026-09-02

Appearance & Construction (0-3):  Good (3)

Much like the natural Espada, this is a beautiful cigar. It’s a reddish, dark chocolate brown color with few and thin veins. There’s a very nice oily sheen, good color variation and mottling, and a little bit of tooth to the wrapper. The seams are tight and difficult to see, and the cap is beautifully done. It’s a very firm cigar. There are only two bands on this—missing the foot band of the natural Espada—but they still cover most of the cigar, which is a shame. Beautiful leaves should get the chance to shine!

Draw (0-3) & Burn (0-4):  Good (3) / Great (4)

The draw has some extra resistance—not quite enough to go grab my draw tool, though. I’m hoping that it will loosen with the burn, which it does, but the resistance remains on the tighter side of my ideal throughout. The burn starts off dead-even, but begins to get wavy over time, though it never gets out of control. It creates a medium-to-dark gray ash with a handful of oil crystals embedded in it. The ash itself has incredibly tight striations, looking like a stack of silver dollar pancakes. Before the ash falls at the end of the first third, the burn line resolves into a beautifully flat and crisp edge as sharp as a knife—or I guess in this case, an Espada.

Flavor Profile (0-5):  Great (4)

Immediate flavors of rich dark chocolate, earth, slightly charred oak, and sweet raisin start things off. There’s a lot of earth to start, with the charred oak adding character rather than being a domineering note. The dark chocolate flavors are very dominant and introduce some light coffee notes alongside them. But the raisin is thick and syrupy, paired with a slight citrus bite and bits of cinnamon. There’s a very minor white pepper; the spice is more of an earthy, nutmeg-like baking spice along with the aforementioned cinnamon notes. Leather starts to pick up, but it’s refined and delightful. We’re off to a great start here.

The second third begins with the leather notes receding and more spice becoming present with a noticeable uptick in pepper. This lets the coffee and dark chocolate notes become more prevalent alongside a hint of anise. The charred oak, earthy, and leathery notes still define the base, giving it a very dark profile. As the midpoint approaches, an interesting mix of spicy ginger and molasses cookie appears, overtaking the charred oak while the coffee notes hit full intensity. I’m getting that hit of fresh dark roast in my sinuses on every single draw. There are no harsh notes; it’s just dark, smooth, spicy, and carries varying levels of light natural bitterness that is capped off with a lot of sweetness.

With the final third, the coffee and its aromatic qualities are still hitting hard. I’m smelling the coffee more than tasting it, really hitting the nasal cavities. Meanwhile, charred oak and leather have displaced that brief molasses cookie note that popped up in the middle. Spice levels are still strong, with enough pepper to leave a tingle on the lips and tongue, while the raisin sweetness has fallen off. Even though this cigar lacks any harshness, it’s not particularly creamy on the finish either.

This is a cigar where I initially struggle to decide how much I really enjoy the flavor profile. It’s a bit heavy on the charred oak and leather for my personal tastes. This is all personal preference, but for me, it doesn’t resonate quite as well as the natural Espada. But as these are aging, they are absolutely getting even better with time.

Overall Experience (0-5):  Excellent (5)

Compared to the original Espada, it lacks that amazing complexity and is a little more linear. As mentioned in the flavors section either due to age or my palate changing, these are definitely growing on me with time.  Initially I was very meh on the Oscuro but more recently it’s growing on me.  Could be me or the age, but I’m happy to see the upward shift either way.

What I find interesting is that with the natural Espada, they hype all the vintage and aged tobacco and the various growing regions, but not here. It’s all just generic “Nicaraguan.” Supposedly it’s the exact same binder and filler as the original Espada, but I’ve been unable to get concrete details on that, and there isn’t a huge overlap in the flavor profile either. I’m willing to bet it is just a wrapper swap but the wrapper is doing a lot of the lift in that case.

It does offer a really interesting counterpoint in flavors. The natural offers a lot of bright and crisp flavors, while this is darker and smoother with way more earth and leather. It’s a very yin-yang, back-to-back experience. Now that these are pushing an $18 MSRP, I don’t think I want to pay full price, but you can easily find deals on these (I’ve seen sub-$80 for 10-packs) which drastically helps. For those who enjoy darker, earthier flavor profiles that are rich in coffee and dark chocolate, you will be quite pleased.

Overall Score and Individual Journal Entries

While the review is based off one instance of journaling this cigar; there's a number of reasons you can have different experiences smoking the same cigar multiple times. A blend can evolve with age (for better or worse), palates evolves, preferences change, and sometimes you just get a bad example!  This section captures the ratings from each journal entry and the related journal photo.  Below you'll find an aggregate score based on every time the cigar has been journaled. Unless it was a gift or on-off smoke, this section will be updated every time I journal this cigar!

The Flavor Wheel

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.