Montecristo Platinum Series No. 3

Gotta give my mind a break tonight, so I'm doing a smoke and review! Had this one lying around; it's one I've smoked a couple times before and have always enjoyed, but I don't come back to it often... either because I'm trying something new, or because I'm going back to a familiar robusto, rather than a familiar corona. For some reason, I just prefer the robusto vitola in general. But getting back to this one tonight, and I'm sure it'll be a good one.

Cigar: Montecristo Platinum Series No. 3

Vitola: Corona (5½” x 44)

Price: ~$7.60/stick

Origin: Dominican Republic

Wrapper: Mexican Cubano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan, Peruvian
Body: Medium

Rating (out of 10): 9.5

Appearance:
The wrapper is a medium chestnut-brown, with a slight reddish tint to it; it is lightly veined, and there is a slight tear shortly before the halfway point, where it looks like maybe the wrapper leaf was pulled too tightly. The band is primarily black and silver, with the name 'Montecristo' in red lettering and the classic Montecristo Fleur-de-Lis in gold. A secondary band, silver with gold lettering, identifies ths stick as a Platinum Series cigar.

Construction:
The stick is a bit firm, with just a slight bit of give between the fingers. It is neatly capped, and cuts perfectly with my punch cutter (which I used tonight because of the smaller ring gauge, and also because it happened to be more accessible when I sat down to smoke).

Aroma:
The barrel smells of aged wood and baking spices, spices which are far more prevalent at the foot.

First Third:
The cold draw is perfect, neither too much nor too little resistance, and offers a buttery, wheaty flavor, like toast.

Got what looks like a perfectly even light (we'll see), and some subtle coffee notes under that buttered toast profile.

Despite what looked like a perfectly even light, it doesn't take long to abandon perfection in favor of near-perfection. The burn's not razor-sharp, but it's at least still pretty even.

There's some nice smoky cedar laying over the toast as it burns.

There's a neat column of medium-to-dark grey ash, with some very light flaking around the outer edges.Looks like it will continue to hold on firmly, but if you've read my other reviews, you know I'm paranoid as hell. Gonna ash it off, just in case. It's beautiful, actually. The ash is still in one piece, standing completely upright.

There's some pepper and baking spices creeping in about an inch into the burn. Just a bit of a stinger to the flavor.

Second Third:
The coffee is picking up, along with a bit of cinnamon.

Definitely a spicier second third... quite tasty.

The burn is still nice and even, no relights tonight!

Subtle hints of cedar continue to pop in and out.

Final Third:
The coffee flavor becomes a lot more prominent in the last third. The spice is still there on the finish, but it has toned down quite a bit.

I was a bit worried about the burn on one side toward the end, but right before I went to relight it, the wrapper lit up in a bright red-orange and self corrected. It was beautiful.

Closing Thoughts:
The Monte Platinum did not disappoint. I'll be honest, I don't remember these ever being quite so spicy, but it has been a while since I've lit one up. It's got a nice, medium body that's packed with wonderful flavor, and I may one day have to buy these by the box... but I don't have room for them, right now. Too many other sticks to smoke and review!