Hoyo de Monterrey

Oscuro

For customers at the beginning of their cigar journey, sometimes the weight and power of a traditional brand with centuries of experience can make finding the right cigars an easier process. For seasoned smokers seeing their favorite brands evolve over time and experiment with a more modern flavor profile makes the routine cigar all the more exciting.Both of these truisms make the Hoyo de Monterrey Oscuro a must stock in your store. Of course, your customers new and old are familiar with the 150-year-old cigar brand, which truly emerged onto the global market during the days of the Cuban embargo. By smuggling premium seed off the island and implanting it in Nicaragua, Hoyo was able to recapture the age-old Cuban magic by replicating timeless agricultural methods and taking with them hundreds of years of rolling and blending experience.The Oscuro marks a new venture for the Hoyo brand, which has been supercharged by the ownership of General Cigar Co. The Oscuro is meant to introduce Hoyo to a modern audience while still dazzling its massive fanbase of loyal customers with the same quality pricing and expert craftsmanship that has been its hallmark.This cigar features a blend of Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper, Ecuadorian Sumatra binder and filler from Honduras, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. Aficionados in your store may notice the delightful twist at play with this cigar. Many times, the Mata Fina wrapper is used as a binder in cigars. Rarely do we see it take centerstage as a wrapper despite its incredible flavor profile. Alongside the Herrera Esteli Brazilian Maduro, the AJ Fernandez Bellas Artes Maduro and the CAO Brazilia, Hoyo is took a risk that most certainly paid off with the flawless execution of this combination. Why is the Mata Fina so rare as a wrapper? Because it’s difficult to find Mata Fina that isn’t super rustic to the look. Mata Fina is sun grown on Brazil’s east coast in one of the region’s fertile micro-climates and carries with it a rough appearance. However, Hoyo managed to capitalize on some phenomenal growing seasons, which gave them access to bundles of quality aged tobacco that looks stately when packaged in this Oscuro set.The flavors of this cigar include cayenne pepper, white pepper and freshly baked bread. The star, though, is a poppier and more sugary cherry cola note which gives the blend a signature electricity throughout the smoking experience. Stout beers, sweet, aged rums and dark roasted coffee round out the pairing suggestions for the Oscuro, which makes the stick incredibly versatile as either a morning, afternoon or evening decadence. The rise specifically of coffee-based spirits and cocktails gives this cigar an incredibly wide range of pairing options. Espresso martinis, Kahlua and other coffee flavored liqueur along with craft canned beverages containing coffee and coffee flavored stouts round out a list of beverages your customers almost certainly have at their disposal already.Of the Oscuro and its sister Rojo, which was released simultaneously by Hoyo in the summer of 2024, senior brand manager Ed Lahmann said: “The launch of these blends represents more than just new cigars. They are about honoring the brand’s deep-seated foundation in Honduras. As one of the first Cuban ex-pat brands available in the US, Hoyo de Monterrey laid the foundation for Honduran cigarmaking nearly 60 years ago and has become a living legend in the world of premium cigars. With the launch of ‘Rojo’ and ‘Oscuro,’ the brand’s journey is reflected in its commitment to balancing traditional Honduran craftsmanship against the handmade cigar category’s ever-changing tides.”Rojo is the second blend being sent out at the same time as Oscuro. The Rojo is a combination of wrapper from the Jamastran Valley in Honduras coiled around Nicaraguan binder and filler from Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.Fans of Hoyo de Monterrey will notice the premium heft and