Cigar Info
Back in 2017, during the XIX Festival del Habano in Havana, Cuba, Habanos S.A. showed off a brand new Montecristo line, the Linea 1935. This totally new line was blended using tobacco from the Pinar del Río region making it the strongest Montecristo line to date. Habanos believe this rounds out the Montecristo profile with the Línea Clásica being medium, and the Línea Open being milder. The Montecristo Linea 1935 also has special secondary bands with the name of the specific viola on it.
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
Montecristo Linea 1935 comes in three sizes, all in boxes of 20: 1935 Dumas (5 1/8 x 49), Maltés (6 x 53), and Leyenda (6 1/2 x 55). 1935 is the year that the Montecristo brand was born. There is also a Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Nicaragua by Altadis U.S.A. The names of the sizes come from Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 novel The Count of Monte Cristo. Dumas is of course the author’s name, Maltés refers is the main character’s nickname, and Leyenda is Spanish for Legend.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5 1/8″
Ring Gauge: 49
Country of Origin: Cuba
Wrapper: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Factory: Unknown
Blender: Habanos S.A.
Number of reviewers: 4 – Alan (Eulogy) Mickey T. (irratebass) John A. (Bostoneo) Doug S. (Unpossible_1)
Price: $22.00
Age: 1 Year
Release Date: April 2018
Contributed by: Blind Man’s Puff
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 91
“The wrapper that adorns this cigar is light butterscotch with just a twinge of a red hue.” –Doug S. (Unpossible_1)
Aroma: 89
“On a slightly tight cold draw, notes of sweetened earthiness with a side of caramel and cream burst onto the scene for maximum enjoyment. On the nose, peppery earth and pencil shavings perk up the nostrils.” –John A. (Bostoneo)
First Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Light-Medium
“On the cold draw, I get salt. oatmeal, some bread…this has a very tight draw. As this beauty progresses I pick up flavors of cream, mushroom, more oatmeal, and walnuts. It’s really a shame that the draw is so tight, I feel like this is holding back some really interesting flavors sadly. “-Mickey T. (irratebass)
“Let’s light up! Initially, a medium full-bodied profile of leather, brown sugar, cream, and vanilla wafer cookies explode post ignition. The profile quickly tames itself from the initial hot flames and settles down into a nice comfortable medium-bodied profile of its previous taste set. As this profile remains consistent and steady a nice one inch crack from going straight up this sample, however it doesn’t affect the performance.” –John A. (Bostoneo)
Second Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Not much transition from the peppercorn and citrus and I’m at the halfway point. For the most part, this cigar is pretty simple and that isn’t always a bad thing. I just hope the burn issues calm down. There is a slight bit of bread-like notes, almost yeast-like.” –Doug S. (Unpossible_1)
“Sliding into the second third, this sample continues the delicious medium profiled flavors of a leather base with complimenting flavors of vanilla wafer cookies and cream. Black pepper notes creep in every once in a while, but never strong enough to make a large impact.” –John A. (Bostoneo)
Final Third
Flavor: 83
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Light-Medium
“The last third is where the flavors begin to merge and concentrate together. Almost indistinguishable flavors of syrup, pencil shavings, and very faint leather. Other than that, the cigar kept going out on me, nearly impossible to keep lit on the last two inches.” –John A. (Bostoneo)
“The flavor profile continues to dwindle down as the cigar burns down. Ironically enough, One Step Closer by Linkin Park just came on as I’m one step closer to finishing this theme park kiddie ride of a cigar. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, the cigar gifts me some tar. Aaaaaand I’m done, as there isn’t really enough cigar left to trim.” –Doug S. (Unpossible_1)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 75
“Really tight draw, but since I was reviewing it I didn’t try to correct it other than rolling it in between my thumb and forefinger. ” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Burn: 79
“Burn immediately required a touchup not even an inch in. The need of another touchup after touchup continues for much of the session.” –Doug S. (Unpossible_1)
Construction: 88
“Great looking cigar with tight seams, well applied triple cap, and perfectly cylindrical roll. Some part of the construction had to be off to produce this plugged of a cigar though and the constant cracking and popping noises while I was smoking. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Experience Overall: 83
“I have a pretty bad headache from smoking this now and it would be easy to write something very mean. I will say that this ranks with some of the most plugged Cubans I’ve smoked but not quite as bad as the 2019 Boondock from BLTC. The first half-inch was very enjoyable and I have a feeling this is actually a very tasty cigar but having to puff as hard as I was made everything taste burned and bitter.” –Alan (Eulogy)
“This was a great smoke! I really wished the draw wasn’t so tight. I feel the cigar was hiding some interesting flavors, but I would definitely smoke this cigar again.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“Overall, a great-tasting medium-bodied cigar. However, the flaws in the construction and the tighter draw made this not as favorable as I had hoped. Not that it was bad, it just had so much more potential! ” –John A. (Bostoneo)
“Can’t always judge a book by its cover. This cigar looks nice, started out as such, and took a sharp turn towards Terrible Town. Maybe I got a dud, maybe not. All I know is that I was not a fan of the cigar I just finished.” –Doug S. (Unpossible_1)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 78
| Reviewer | Appear. | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall Experience |
| Alan | 92 | 90 | 90 | 80 | 78 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 83 |
| Mickey T. | 95 | 83 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 77 | 100 | 97 | 92 |
| John A. | 88 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 87 | 77 | 78 | 78 | 85 |
| Doug S. | 90 | 88 | 90 | 85 | 75 | 90 | 80 | 85 | 83 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.