Cigar: Viaje Platino
Website: http://viajecigars.com
Vitola: Chiva 5×52
Filler: Cuban-seed Nicaraguan
Binder: Cuban-seed Nicaraguan
Wrapper: Cuban-seed Nicaraguan Corojo 99
Price: $7-$8

Pre-light Appearance and such:
I got this cigar from the girl who manages my local shop. I had read a little bit about them in a recent cigar press magazine, and it all sounded very nice, I was looking forward to trying them. This particular line is one of two blends and is the medium bodied of the two, the other is called the Oro. Get it, platinum and gold. The construction of this cigar seems to be very high quality. There are no hard or soft spots anywhere on this stick and it has a very nice looking triple cap. The wrapper has somewhat of an oily sheen to it and smells slightly like earth with a little bit of chocolate. The flavor on the pre-light was a little hard to place, but it had a faint flavor that reminded of an Andes mint chocolate along with a very slight spice. Very interesting. There are a few small veins on the dark brown wrapper with a single larger vein down one side, but I don’t see this as problematic. The draw on this stick was pretty good but seemed a little tight, but thought that it might give a little more after it is lit.

First Third (time: 35 minutes)
The cigar lit very well and gave off a ton of resting smoke. When I drew from it, the draw opened up a lot and became almost perfect and produced a large amount of smoke. As for the burn, it started off kind of wavy with one side burning much faster than the other. The ash was nice and compact and was a darker gray color. The flavor of this third was extremely full. There was little bit of spice, a hint of leather, and a pleasant medium coffee flavor (reminded me of a Guatemalan blend). The main flavor though was a very nice earthiness. The body of the cigar was very medium.

Second Third (time: 40 minutes)
By this third, the burn has completely corrected itself. The draw was still optimal, and the amount of smoke pretty massive. There was also a lot of resting smoke. The amazing thing at this point was the ash. It was still holding strong, and held on all the way to the band. I couldn’t believe it, it that isn’t a sign of great construction then I don’t know what is. The flavor began to change into this third as well. The Earthiness that was more prominent in the first third was still great, but it took a back seat to the leather taste. There was still a subtle spice to it as well as a very small hint of the coffee flavor from the first third. All the same flavors, but the amounts of each changed, and this was very tasty so far. The body is still very medium.

Final Third: (time: 30 minutes)
Getting into the final third, the draw is still awesome, and the ash is still holding strong, but since the first time it dropped, I began to ash a little more often. The color of the ash remains a darker gray color. The flavor kept on shifting. The leathery taste picked up a little more, but so did the spice. It wasn’t by any means an overwhelming spice, but just enough to really compliment the leather. The earthiness was still there and also picked up. Also, there was still that subtle taste of coffee and now a little cocoa. The body was still well within the medium range but picked up a little bit.

Final thoughts:
This cigar was effing amazing. The only thing that will keep me from buying them up at my local shop is that $7-$8 price tag. The flavor shifts were all excellent, and for a medium body cigar, and even a full-bodied cigar, the flavors were full and very complex. There really isn’t anything bad about this one, and I will be keeping these in stock for along time. Because this cigar was so great, I am really looking forward to smoking and hopefully reviewing the Oro line, which is advertised as a medium to full bodied cigar with a Nicaraguan Corojo 99 Café, which is just a tad lighter.

Like it: Definitely
Smoke it again: As soon as possible.
Recommend it: Absolutely. This is quite possibly one of the best medium bodied cigars out there.