Cigar Info
In May of 2021, General Cigar announced Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur Black, a new full time addition to the Excalibur line. The Hoyo brand has been produced in Honduras for 40 years, and this latest addition marks on of its strongest offerings to date.
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.
The blend for Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur Black uses a USA Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Ecuadoran Sumatra binder, and Honduran and Nicaraguan ligero filler. Excalibur Black is produced at General Cigar’s HATSA factory in Danli, Honduras. Excalibur Black comes in three sizes: Robusto (5 x 50) MSRP per cigar $8.49, Toro (6 x 52) MSRP per cigar $8.69, and No. 1 (7.25 x 54) MSRP per cigar $8.99. All are presented in 20 count boxes.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Honduras
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Ecuador Sumatra
Filler: Honduras, Nicaragua
Factory: STG Danlí
Blender: Jhonys Diaz
Number of reviewers: 4 – Ryan H. (Ryan H.) Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard) Sean F. (fullermaine) Alan (Eulogy)
Price: $8.69
Age: 1 Year
Release Date: June 2021
Contributed by: General Cigar
Initial Impressions – Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur Black Toro
Appearance: 88
“Very veiny construction with a dark chocolate wrapper.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)
Aroma: 88
“It is very inoffensive since there is almost no smell. I can pick up a very light cedar note on the foot but that is about it.” –Alan (Eulogy)
First Third
Flavor: 89
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The first third started with cocoa notes on the lighting of this cigar and give way to notes of leather to round it out.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)
“Right at the start, I get notes of wood, some ginger, and a hint of spice on the back of the throat.” –Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard)
Second Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“The coffee note is kicking, meaning it is present and strong throughout every quadrant of the palate where the leather is hit or miss it will be present every couple of draws and not the same in the intensity of every draw that is present. Sometimes it is a musty old leather and other draws it is a sweet oily leather.” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
“This continues to let its freak flag fly. At times there is a very strong flavor of salty meat which is oddly enjoyable here. When the profile shifts it becomes amazing. It has a dark chocolate syrup flavor that is very singular but awesome.” –Alan (Eulogy)
Final Third
Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“Sweet leather becomes the primary note with coffee and earth finishing it off. Draw and burn still performing well. My first impressions were this was not going to be a good experience, but the cigar really tasted well with some transitions and tasted nothing like it smelled.” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
“The black pepper notes stick around and mix with a combo light chocolate and jalapeno notes.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)
Overall Impressions – Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur Black Toro
Draw: 93
“One of the best draws that I have had this year. No complaints and the smoke output was fantastic.” –Alan (Eulogy)
Burn: 88
“Needed a few touch-ups but nothing to be concerned with.” –Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard)
Construction: 89
“The wrapper was very rustic and toothy to the touch but it was perfect otherwise.” –Alan (Eulogy)
Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Experience Overall: 88
“I enjoyed the product very much. It didn’t smell appealing but tasted very good was very consistent and a balanced burn was a nice to draw was nice. the few negative drawbacks were minimal and, in the end, had little effect on the experience as a whole. I would buy a box without question.” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
“A good solid smoke, a great combo of flavors with the added meaty mouthfeel. Very enjoyable.” –Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard)
“A very simple cigar with notes of chocolate, leather, black, and jalapeno pepper. A hard cigar with a tough draw that needed help with the airflow. Nice even burn that didn’t need touching up. Not a cigar I’d seek out and try again.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)
“I’m not always a fan of mineral and meaty notes in cigars but this was actually very good. When the rich chocolate flavor developed it became pretty awesome. It is very unique and rich in flavors and I can easily recommend this.” –Alan (Eulogy)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 83
| Reviewer | Appear. | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall Experience |
| Ryan H. | 85 | 85 | 88 | 88 | 90 | 90 | 87 | 85 | 87 |
| Joseph S. | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 87 | 90 | 90 |
| Sean F. | 85 | 87 | 85 | 88 | 88 | 78 | 87 | 88 | 85 |
| Alan | 92 | 87 | 92 | 95 | 95 | 97 | 92 | 92 | 95 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.