Viaje Platino Reserva - Initial Impressions

[jimmyk26]

To preface this review, about 10 minutes ago I decided to smoke the only Viaje Platino Reserva that I had in my humidor. Like I often do, I hopped onto the Asylum to see whats up and did a quick search for any reviews on this cigar...surprising I don't find any. Then I got sucked into some of the other great reviews on the site and spent 10mins reading through a few. While reading, I realized that it has been a while since I reviewed a cigar. So coupled with the fact that I didn't find any reviews on this Viaje release, I decided to make this review post.

I haven't smoked any of these Reservas before and this particular cigar has been sitting in my singles humidor for about 5 months. Upon inspection, the cigar seems well constructed and has a rough looking wrapper with a few veins. I didn't smell it before I lit it up so I don't have any comments on the pre-light aromas. The draw is perfect with just a slight bit of resistance.

The first section of the cigar is surprisingly muted, especially considering my previous experiences with Viaje blends, presenting light cedar, leather, and clove. Through the nose is a bit different story, the sharp spice and rich leather bring the whole flavor experience alive.

As the cigar progresses, the flavors start to pick up on the palate with some of the spice coming through and the wood leather picking up a bit more. This cigar is smoking very well and the burn continues to be straight and true. So far the cigar has performed well.

I was hoping that the last section of this would bring more progression of flavors, but the cigar doesn't deliver. At least it is smoking perfectly.

Summary: At the outset I wasn't looking to write up a full review, but alas, I couldn't really help myself. This cigar was a pretty bland experience overall. I was hoping for more complexity or at least more in my face flavors, as described above mostly wood and leather. There was a pleasant addition of spice and richness through the nose, but not enough to save the overall experience. I do wonder what the long term effects of having the cigar in the singles drawer were on the flavor of this cigar, because it was much flatter of an experience than I was expecting. I won't, however, be rushing out to find more of this cigar to explore that idea.

For your visual pleasure: