Origin: Cafradia, Honduras
Wrapper: Ecuador, Connecticut
Binder: Connecticut
Filler: Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua
Size Name: Governor
Length: 6.125
Ring Gauge: 50
Strength: Medium – Full
Some time ago I purchased a sampler from Cigars International, called Heavy Honduran Hubbuba from their Friday Night Fights samplers. Included in the sampler I received were 5 CAO Brazilia and 5 Hoyo de Monterrey – Factory Fresh Governors. I bought the sampler more for the Brazilias, but looked forward to the Hoyo cigars as well because I had never had a factory fresh before.
The Factory Fresh cigars came shipped nude with a dry looking wrapper. When inspecting I noticed that the wrapper appeared to be very delicate and much lighter in color than the typical Hoyo Governor. The texture of the cigar was slightly rough with a firm feel. During cutting I had a problem with the cap splitting. After I got the cap taken care of, I checked the draw and found it to be rather tight.
Lighting this cigar was difficult due to the tight draw. During the lighting process the foot of the cigar developed a split. When I got it completely lit I was not getting much smoke with each puff. The smoke that I was able to get was flavorful. The flavor was a solid Honduran tobacco flavor that was full bodied and light on the pallet.
During smoking I was beginning to taste some peppery notes as well as some slight spice. The body was still full with a light to medium finish. The smoke was thick, smooth and creamy making for an enjoyable experience.
A little further into this stick I began to develop some burn issues. The burn was not correcting itself right away, it took some touch ups to even things up. Once things were evened up I did not have any trouble later on.
When I reached the final third of this cigar the base flavor was beginning to build. The original Honduran flavor was now becoming bold and began to get heavier on the pallet. The smoke continued to stay thick and smooth, which was making way for a nice finish.
When removing the band, I had the wrapper come apart on me. It seemed as though the band was the only thing holding the wrapper together.
Overall I think that this wasn’t a bad cigar, it just did not compare to the typical Hoyo de Monterrey line. Personally I think that the factory fresh portion of the name is just a gimmick and not worth all of the wrapper problems you will encounter with this cigar. The flavors were much like the regular line, just muted in comparison.
My Rating Sheet can be found below.
I completley agree. I have had three or four factory fresh Hoyos. The cap has cracked on all of them and the wrapper is in horrible condition. I did, however, find the smoke to be very flavorful. The flavor is so good I keep trying another stick. I find the wrapper to be very fragile, but all of the sticks have had excellent plumage.