Pre-light Experience

The Zino Platinum Exclusive Series Washington D.C. is nice in hand and sports a light Colorado wrapper. The veins are small to meidum in size and the wrapper is silky in texture with a slight bit of grit. The aroma on the foot and wrapper is that of manure, cherries, chocolate and cedar, and it’s quite lovely. The one thing I am not crazy about is the golden Zino band against the cigar wrapper. I would have gone with a different color. Maybe platinum.

First Third

The first third opens up with some amazing flavors and I am getting some seasoned oak with this dark cherry and mushroom profile. There are some earth, cedar and hay notes, and the finish is of coffee and nuts. It is medium in body and strength and flavors are medium-full. Elegant first third.

Second Third

The second third shows a slight transitioning from the first third and is still quite lovely. I am getting an emerging Asian spice flavor and it is going against the earth, musty wood and mushroom profile quite well. There is a bit of oak on the finish and with that some coffee and toasted nuts. Like before, it is medium in strength and body and medium-full in flavors.

Final Third

The final third delivers some nice closure to a great start and second third. I am getting those earthy and mushroom flavors and it is followed by some sweet spices and woody qualities. There are touches of cherries present again and the finish has this coffee, nuts and oak profile. It is medium in strength and body, and the flavors are right there as well.

Burn

The burn was very good on the cigar from start to finish. Not perfect, but very good. I didn’t need to touch-up the cigar and while there were slight bits of waves present, they evened themselves out. Beautiful ash that held on well throughout as well.

Draw

The draw was great on the cigar. I was afraid it would be a bit loose with the size, but that was not the case as all!

Overall

The Zino Platinum Exclusive Series Washington D.C. was a great cigar and all the Zino Platinum Exclusive Series smokes have been. From my understanding, it’s the same blend so that would make sense. It is complex and balanced throughout and it has a nice body and strength level with the flavors. The cherry and oak qualities were lovely, and the pairing between those and the musty wood were quite enjoyable. Construction was great, not a surprise, and it leaves the smoker with the opportunity to sit back and relax. Zino is one of those brands that I wish was more prevalent in cigar shops, but even with past attempts and marketing pushes the brand keeps a low profile. This is one of those cigars that I wish was national and readily available for consumers like myself. I may not smoke it everyday, but I would smoke it quite frequently.

Seth Geise

SCORE

7.98

Cost/Point

$1.63

Scoring System

Personal Cigar Review: Zino Platinum Exclusive Series Washington D.C.