Tuesday, January 25 2011
Some cigars are good, while others are great, and then you have cigars that are so fantastic they defy description. Such was the case with the Zino Platinum Crown Series Double Grand I smoked this past weekend.
Prior to heading out for the Famous Smoke Shop retail store to watch the Green Bay-Chicago NFC Championship game, I rummaged through my humidors and saw a long cigar jutting out of the bottom row. There it was. It had to be at least a couple of years old, too. As I examined it, I thought, Why wait any longer. Smoke the damn thing!
At 7 1/2 x 50, this is a mighty impressive cigar. The
wrapper is a flawless sungrown Ecuadorian Connecticut seed that caps a core of extra-long-aged Peruvian & Dominican
Ligero bound in a Connecticut shade leaf.
Davidoff refers to this cigar as a "powerhouse," though I found it anything but. Maybe it was the couple years of home aging, or my so-called "educated" palate, but this cigar never tasted stronger than medium-full, and that wasn't 'til the final act.
As per, the
cap clipped-off in a perfect circle and the pre-light
draw was earthy and sweet. Once lit, it emitted a marvelous aroma; so much so, that several of the other smokers complimented it immediately. And that was just the warm-up. The first few creamy puffs offered flavors of cocoa, nuts, and a note of sweet grass. By the end of the first act, the flavor was dominated by flavors of nutmeg, cocoa and sweet tobacco, which continued through the middle section of the cigar. In the last several inches, the flavors intensified, yet were rounded-out by flavors of cream on the
finish.
All-in-all a "perfect cigar" in terms of the overall flavor, complexity, balance, finish, plus the fact that, despite its length, the cigar never turned bitter. To help prevent this, too, I let the cigar rest a decent while between puffs, and the cigar never required a relight either.
Now for the coup de gras. These cigars sell for around $33.20 apiece. That's a light-year away from my budget, but it was so enjoyable, it was almost worth it. I believe this is what they call "the Davidoff experience," and it was fun while it lasted.
One final note: If you can't get your hands on a Zino Platinum Crown Series, you might want to try the Zino Platinum Scepter selection. The blend is pretty much identical, a bit more modest in price, and will give you a very good idea of what I experienced.
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