Montecristo No. 4 House Reserve Aged & Rare 90th Anniversary Special Release

• Length: 130mm
• Gauge: 42
• Flavour: Med-Full
• Cuban
• Aged for 10 Years

If there’s one cigar that defines Montecristo, it’s the No. 4. The best-selling Havana of all time — not because it’s common, but because it’s correct. Everything about it is balanced: the size, the draw, the way the smoke fills the room with that unmistakable Montecristo spice. This one, though, isn’t just another No. 4. It’s part of the House Reserve Aged & Rare 90th Anniversary release — a proper piece of Cuban history that’s been resting for more than a decade before ever seeing daylight.

Back in 1935, when Alonso Menéndez christened his new cigar line after The Count of Monte Cristo, he couldn’t have known he was about to define Cuban flavour for generations. The No. 4 became the standard-bearer of that vision — 4 ⅞ inches by 42 ring gauge, compact yet complex, smooth yet unapologetically Cuban.

The House Reserve programme, overseen by Hunters & Frankau, took a small number of boxes — just 135 numbered sets of ten cigars — and stored them in perfect conditions for over 10 years, sealed, tested, and periodically inspected. Every box carries the “Revisado” mark and a signed certificate of provenance, while the cigars wear an elegant “Aged & Rare” foot-band to set them apart from their younger kin.

And what a difference time makes. The once-sharp Montecristo pepper has mellowed into a velvety hum of cedar, roasted coffee, and old leather, with a faint sweetness at the core that only the slow tick of years can conjure. The smoke is still distinctly Montecristo — earthy and disciplined — but it’s wearing a dinner jacket now instead of a guayabera.

Collectors are circling this release like hawks. It’s not hype — it’s heritage. You can light it, if you’ve got the nerve, or tuck it away with the knowledge that few cigars are ever this complete. The No. 4 is the benchmark by which countless cigars have been judged, but none carry the provenance of this release. Decade-long ageing has rounded every note and given it an ease of draw that only time can teach.

With the House Reserve vault now almost empty, this cigar has joined the ranks of true collectors’ pieces. And the provenance — EMS documentation, “Revisado” mark, and the Hunters & Frankau certificate — ensures authenticity for investment.

Keep them stored at 70 % RH, 21 °C, and they’ll outlast you handsomely.