Another new cigar from the folks at Altadis, the Montecristo Platinum Series sports a shiny silver band and a boatload of expectations.  We smoked the Robusto, a standard size 5 x 50 cigar with a light wrapper.  Altadis describes their Platinum Series in the following way:

“The Montecristo Platinum Series sets new standards for hand-made, luxury cigars. Crafted with selected Mexican Cubano wrapper, these exquisite cigars offer the connoisseur a rich, sensual smoking experience without equal. The original painting on the box, depicting Havana's famous harbor in an earlier time was created by Michel Delacriox, the acclaimed French master of the naïf tradition. The Platinum Series is truly a reward for all of the senses.”

Realizing that ½ of their description refers to the art on the box, we weren’t sure what to expect.  Was this another over-hyped marketing gimmick from one of the monsters of the industry?  It turns out our experience said “no”.

As mentioned earlier, our Robusto had a lighter wrapper, and ended up being an interesting smoke.  The draw and construction was average, about the same quality you have come to expect from non-Cuban Montecristo products.  The wrapper felt light in our hands, but showed no signs of breaking our performing negatively in any way.

The Montecristo Platinum Series Robusto had a nice flavor throughout the cigar.  With soft tones all through we could see this cigar appealing to beginning cigar smokers, and those looking for a gentler morning smoke.  The Platinum series compares favorably to the original Montecristo line, with the Mexican Cubano wrapper adding a slight bit of spice to this cigar.

Towards the end of the cigar, you could feel it heating up and adding a little charcoal to the flavor, something mentioned by a few reviewers, and not appreciated by any.

Overall, this is a cigar that is worth trying, with the only real downside being the ridiculous price they expect to get for his cigar.  We’ll leave you with some reviewers’ comments.

“A mellow cigar that kept it’s personality throughout”

“I was expecting some grassy flavors with the lighter colored wrapper, but I really appreciated the consistency of this smoke.  If the price were right, I could make this one of my standard rotations.”

Vital Statistics:
Size: 5 x 50
Shape: Robusto
Wrapper: Mexican Cubano
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Peru
Est. Cost: $7.00