Created in collaboration with Frothy Monkey coffee shops, the Frothy Monkey from Principle Cigars has been created specifically to pair with coffee. This blend is incredibly popular on The Cigar Farm, and for good reason. I thought it was time to finally give it a proper review. This morning I opted for the 5 x 40 Signature, as opposed to the 6 x 46 Corona Gorda, due to time restrictions, however, I may do a Corona Gorda review in the near future for comparison sake.
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Julian Sued & Compania, S.R.L.
Wrapper: Dominican Cotui
Binder: Brazilian Cubra
Filler: Dominican Republic
Vitola: 5 x 40 Signature
Price: $7.00 MSRP
Link to Purchase: The Cigar Farm (Use code “Review” to save 10%!)
This compact smoke has a medium brown, velvety wrapper. It’s firmly packed and sports a pretty cool looking band. The cigar smells like citrus and spices. The cold draw doesn’t seem to offer much. First light reveals medium bodied smoke with full flavors of oily, slightly tannic wood, some earthiness, and a touch of citrus sweetness. The retrohale is easy going and offers more citrus, some cocoa, and herbal notes. There’s a touch of pepper in there as well. About an inch in the tannins have settled down and the profile has become more herbal, like that of the retrohale. It actually reminds me a bit of green tea and honey (like actual loose-leaf tea that is steeped, not like Arizona or Turkey Hill Green tea). The performance has been flawless thus far. Nearing halfway the retrohale has amped up the cocoa and citrus. Entering the final third this Frothy Monkey is becoming a bit more earthy and I’m getting a bit more pepper. The citrus and herbal notes are still in the mix, but not as prominent. Coming to an end at about 50 minutes, the profile remained the same and the performance was perfect throughout.
Overall Experience
Overall this small cigar packs a punch. It creates plenty of smoke that is full of flavors with the primary components throughout being citrus, spices, and herbal notes. The burn time on this Signature vitola is also pretty impressive. Combine all that with perfect performance and a $7 price point and it’s not hard to see why I have trouble keeping these in stock. As for who I think this cigar is fit for - I would happily recommend this to most smokers to at least try, as it is more “middle of the road” in terms of flavor intensity and strength. If you are an extreme outlier (i.e. you only smoke dark, peppery, strong cigars, or only smoke light, creamy, mild cigars) then you may find yourself under(or over)whelmed. However, the majority of smokers would be happy with this blend, in my opinion.
Have you smoked this one? Let me know your thoughts!
1 comment
Nice review. This cigar is a real gem. I’d say the 5×40 is better than the 6×46, but both are good. The 5×40 flavors are more potent. I feel the cigar’s concept was achieved, it’s a great morning / coffee smoke