TheMontecristo Espada Conquistador Guard may be the purest expression of the Conquistador blend. At a classic6" x 50 Toro, there is nowhere for the tobacco to hide—the wrapper, binder and filler must work in proportion, making the Guard an especially revealing showcase for this sophisticated Nicaraguan puro.
Developed byRafael Nodal in collaboration with the Plasencia family and produced at Plasencia in Nicaragua, Conquistador draws its character from four of the country's most important tobacco regions. AJalapa wrapper surrounds anOmetepe binder, with fillers fromCondega and Estelí—an intentional marriage of the refinement and natural sweetness of Jalapa with the darker, more forceful character found elsewhere in Nicaragua.
The Guard's 50-ring format keeps that relationship beautifully focused. Expect the Jalapa wrapper to remain present throughout the smoke, with cedar and restrained sweetness giving way to deeper earth, coffee and pepper as the Nicaraguan core develops. Conquistador was deliberately blended to occupy the ground between the original Espada and the more powerful Espada Oscuro, and the Guard captures that intent particularly well.
For the experienced smoker, theConquistador Guard is arguably the connoisseur's size of the collection: balanced, expressive and substantial without allowing ring gauge to dilute the character of the blend.
