Couple of questions on current-ish releases

[WadeFillingame]

A long time ago I stocked up pretty well on cigars to the point that I've actually not ordered anything from over seas in about 13 yrs. Toss in a couple of bundles from JO and I've been covered.  

Kind of browsing out there and I have a couple of quality questions.

Monte 2s - I can honestly say I've never had one that was worth finishing.  I remember back in '98 or so with Cigar Aficionado rated them the best cigar in the world.... eh..  not so much, haven't had on in 20 yrs, are the newer ones any good?  In general Monte has always been way to mild for my taste so it's probably a moot point anyway.

BBFs - again, old experience.  I used to be a fan of Bolis in general and really liked BBFs and Inmensas, then came[s] 2001[/s] 1999 and the entire Boli line (along with everything else when they started rolling with the [s]2001[/s] 1999 crop) went to crap.  I gave away boxes of them to people who couldn't tell the difference, and warned them, but they were unsmokable to me.  The Bolivar line in general, Have they actually come back?  

[i](edit) I got to thinking and it was the 1999 crop that was such a dud. I never got a real good answer about what happened but it was bad.  Pretty much all of '99 and '00 went to hell.  Things started getting better in '01. [/i]

[Pole Lock]

Like you, I've typically found Montes to be mild.  They're great when I want a background cigar with pleasant flavors, but they don't wow and command my palate and I'd pick any other piramide over a Monte.  Even the new Linea 1935 line still have that restrained mildness.  Throw in the fact that Montecristos such as the no 2 & 4 are produced in large quantities at multiple factories & you've got a roll of the dice when purchasing a box.  They have their fans.

Bolivar has definitely come back, especially in the last couple years.  Still crap boxes out there (being Cuba and all), but the BBF have been pretty solid; so much so that I'm not a huge Boli guy, but am contemplating a cab of the BBF soon.

If it really has been that long since you've looked at Havanas, be ready that a lot of classic cigars have been discontinued and there are a ton of lackluster newbies on the market.  Plus, a lot of cigars are being underproduced for the sake of churning out more regionals and ELs.  Also, many cigars that used to need years of age before being approachable are now smoking great with little to no resting time (Trinidad Fundadores being a notable example).  What this says for long-term aging is anybody's guess.

[WadeFillingame]

I have noticed over the yrs that Habanos has learned some marketing tricks.  I remember when they came out with the very first ELs in the Monte Robustos and the Partagas Piramides and they sold for about $10 more than similar sized sticks.  They aren't following that model any more for sure, and I have noticed that many of the old sizes are gone. 

I've still got a few yrs worth in my humidors but finally getting some warm weather up here and getting out in the evenings a few days in a row with a cigar and a rum has made me start shopping around again.

I had a 2008 Boli Gold Medal and a good rum Monday night that made me nostalgic.

[Pole Lock]

Now those 2008 release were some cigars!  Bought a box and smoked through them slowly.  Best Bolivar I've had in 15 years of smoking.  I can't imagine they've aged into anything better - the punchy flavor was what made them so good!  Even after a couple years (last I had was in 2012), they had seemed to start becoming a tad too mellow, if that makes sense.

[WadeFillingame]

Still have bite.  When I first hit it I thought it was going to be harsh, mellowed in a couple of puffs though.  My first thought was darn, this is going to be a one dimensional ligero bomb, turned out to be really good. 

[Havanaaddict]

Like you I have never been a fan of monte No.2 even back in the late 90's.
I had tried a few from the 15' through 17' and were so inconsistent on flavor and draw. I Just picked up a box from 18' as I wanted to see if anything has changed. Well not a lot of Monte flavor so far just a lot of raw strength. Maybe they will come around and mellow!!! As for Bolivar to me the whole line has lost that rich cocoa flavor they had in the 90's. You are right about the 08' Gold medal I was gifted one lately and it was very good. I had bought a box when they came out and 5 out of 10 were plugged so I never ordered another box :'( There are quite a few lines that just have not been consistent from box to box, even in the same box. For awhile I like the SLR Reigos dark wrappers rich butted steak flavor I then got a box in 16' light wrappers no rich flavor. I would have to say 13' was a great year, I had a few RASS cabs that were outstanding along with some Coros that were like a dream :bait: 

[kingcohiba]

I am not a fan of the monte 2 either. In fact I have a full box a friend of mine brought me back from Shanghai a few years ago (cost me 600 bucks too, wish he had followed my advice about the 10 box.....and not mc2s). Still an absolutely beautiful box of cigars.

Can't comment on recent mc2s but the bbf I've had recently have been good.

[Yellot00tr]

The Monte 2s have been shit.  Going back to 10-11 I haven't gotten a great box at all.  The problem is that when I get a few great sticks in a box, it makes me chase them like a f'ing toothless crack whore giving gum jobs.

[CigarLlama]

I haven't had good success with Monte 2s recently, but some of my older stash is very good to smoke. After reading this thread & seeing they are being made in multiple factories makes a lot of sense as to why they went downhill.

BBFs are very popular, but I have not had good experiences with Boli in the past few years either so my opinion on them is fairly negative.