Montecristo Platinum Habana No. 2 Review

[punch]

This cigar came as part of a box of three cigars put out by Montecristo and JR Cigars for hurricane relief. I have been somewhat impressed with the Platinum line, and was saving this cigar for a special occasion. Today was a nice day and the end of a three-day weekend for me, so I decided to relax and give this cigar a go.

The Montecristo Platinum Habana No. 2 is a 6.125 X 52 Torpedo consisting of a Dominican, Nicaraguan and Peruvian filler mix bound by a Nicaraguan leaf and wrapped in a Mexican wrapper. The wrapper is a nice Colorado Maduro color, and the cigar is finished with a rather classy looking dull silver band with gold embossing and black lettering. This is a clear improvement over the rather gaudy looking bands adorning the rest of the Platinum line.

I had high expectations for this cigar since I have rather enjoyed most of the Platinum line that I have had opportunity to try. I have been thinking of springing for a box of the No. 2 cigars, but the high price and lack of available five packs has kept me from it. In actuality, this cigar is one of the reasons that I sprung for the special offering of this relief pack. The fact that the money was going to a good cause was a good excuse (I’m not buying any cigars honey. I just made a donation to hurricane relief and they sent me these as a token of appreciation). Is it a bad thing when you believe your own bullshit?

Anyway, the cigar was visually a beauty with the exception of one wrapper flaw. It looked like the wrapper got a bit wrinkled about ½ inch from the foot, and this caused the cigar to burn a bit at an angle until it got passed the flaw. After that, the burn was Montecristo straight. Pre-light draw was excellent with a hint of chocolate coming through. It took a bit to get the stick started, but once lit, the cigar smoked profusely for the entire burn. This has been typical with the Platinum line that I have tested to date. What surprised me was the mildness of this cigar. The other Platinum cigars I have tested were strong and harsh, with an emphasis on strong. Full flavored all the way. This cigar was quite mild, yielding very little flavor for the first ½ inch of burn. Flavor built up steadily as the stick burned, but remained subtle and subdued. This cigar was almost overpowered by the Scotch and water that I was drinking, which gave me a bit of a pause. I almost selected a good 100 proof bourbon based on my previous experience with this line. That would have been a mistake!

Smoke remained profuse during the entire burn, and draw remained perfect. Flavor built to a mild medium by the time I reached the last 1/3 of the stick. The usual spice associated with the Platinum was almost totally missing until I reached the band area. Burn was even and ash held on very good (once the wrapper flaw had been cleared).

My final impression of this cigar was a guarded favorable. I prefer this cigar to the regular line of Montecristo, as well as the Montecristo White line. However, I would not choose this cigar over the Afrique or H-2000 lines. Just not enough “oomph” for me. I rated this cigar an A- on my rating scale due to excellent burn and good construction. I did ding this particular cigar for the wrapper flaw. At $200 a box, I expect more attention to detail. But all in all, not a bad cigar if you like mild and have the money.

[SmokusMaximus]

Once again Punch, excellent review.

[Cap'n Mike]

Excellent review! Thanks!!

Mike