Montecristo Platinum (?) Silver Band Belicoso 52x6-1/8

[Zippy The Pinhead]

I got a sampler from Altadis that was supposed to contain Montecristo Whites, but instead contained three Montecristos with silver bands (silver background, but otherwise the same band as the whites). Is this a platinum? I have no idea.

Anyway, one of the cigars in the sampler was the belicoso. I went out for a walk last night to take in all the Christmas lights that my neighbors put up and smoked the belicoso.

Back in late 2005 I had attended a Cadillac test drive event at the now-defunct USMCAS El Toro. Appearing at this event was Jose Seijas, and since I had zero interest in queueing up to drive a Cadillac, I spent my time there smoking a free MC White toro and chatting with Mr. Seijas.

Prior to that MC White toro, I had smoked just a couple Montecristos from the DR, as I regarded them as overpriced and generally too mild for my taste. But that toro wasn't half bad. I still view the DR Montecristos as being overpriced, but I'll take them if I can get them for a significant discount.

Before leaving on my walk, I had a dinner composed of leftovers from Christmas Eve and Christmas day dinners. I washed this down with some California Merlot, and after that was gone, switched over to the almost divine Jonesy Tawny Port.

At the Cadillac thing, Jose Seijas had explained to us that cigars coming from his factory are all tested on a "draw meter" to ferret out plugged/tight cigars. After they are bunched, the cigars are tested, and then the wrapper is applied after they pass the test. As one would expect of a cigar manufactured under such a controlled process, this belicoso had a perfect draw: not too loose, not too tight, just right. The construction was on par with the draw, as one might expect of a cigar that retails for nearly $11/stick.

The flavor profile of this cigar was more or less consistent with cigars coming from the DR. I've read that they use binders from Nicaragua, and I'm sure this is an improvement. But you could have removed the band and asked me where I thought it was from, and I still would have said "Dominican Republic." Even so, it tasted OK, to me. Good tobacco flavor, though I would have appreciated a stronger peppery flavor.

It did burn a little crooked at times, but I was walking the whole time I smoked, so that might have had an impact on the burn. Around the half-way point, I clipped an additional 1/8" off the head to loosen the draw, which had tightened up as the moisture from combustion and from my mouth had wetted the leaves at the head of the cigar.

All-in-all, a decent cigar, but not one I am willing to spend $11/stick for. At that price, I don't think it is unreasonable to expect more: more tobacco flavor, more peppery spice. The construction would be hard to improve on, though.