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Montecristo Platinum Royale Delacroix
Posted on April 27, 2008 by cigarfan


It’s been a while since I fired up a Monte Platinum, and to tell the truth I was a little hesitant about this one. Back in the day they used an Indonesian wrapper that really put me off my oats, but they switched to a San Andrés maduro which has made a big improvement. Even so, this one has been languishing in my humidor for a couple years.

The “Cigare des Artes” line was introduced by Consolidated Cigar in 1998 (before the company was swallowed up by Altadis USA) as a fuller bodied version of the standard Montecristo. The original line had a Nicaragua wrapper, and the packaging was extravagant: cedar-wrapped cigars in aluminum tubes sold in specially decorated boxes or ceramic jars.

The art chosen for the line was unusual for the American cigar market: the paintings of French artist Michel Delacroix, most of which feature cityscapes of Paris and its environs prior to World War II. He paints in the “naif” manner — a simplistic, folksy style that ignores perspective and looks sort of like the art of Grandma Moses. Given the slick, cosmopolitan images used in cigar advertising today, this isn’t what I expect to see on a cigar box.

The painting commissioned for this line is called “Montecristo Royal,” a crisp looking winter scene of the city that includes a huge sign on a building that reads “Montecristo Fine Cigars” with the Montecristo logo. The sign looks out of place, just as the painting does on a box of cigars. It took a while, but eventually I began to see its charm.

When the original “Cigare des Artes” blend was discontinued in 2002 it was replaced by the Platinum blend, but the commercial vitolas and the artwork still bore the impression of Michel Delacroix. The 7.25 x 52 double corona up for review here is called the “Royale Delacroix.” This size was discontinued in 2004, so this stick has a few years on it. (I received it in a trade about two years ago.)

The wrapper on this slugger is a Habana 2000 grown in the San Andrés Valley of Mexico, normally known as a great producer of maduro wrapper. The binder is Nicaraguan, and the filler is a blend of leaves from the Dominican Republic, Peru and Nicaragua. And like most (if not all) Montecristos, it is rolled in the Tabacalera Garcia factory in La Romana, DR.

The wrapper on this cigar is dark, nearly maduro, with a lot of oil. The overall appearance is rough, but attractive nevertheless. The roll is solid and the draw is just right. It lights up easily and starts to build a solid light gray ash.

The first third is marked by a sweet hickory flavor and a mild body. For the first inch there’s just a hint of bite, but this vanishes as some cocoa flavors make an entrance. Into the second third the finish grows and leaves an earthy aftertaste. The flavors get a little more chocolatey but in a muted rather than a robust way. A good contrast is the RP Olde World, which has similar flavors but articulates them much better. The aroma up to this point is of sweet wood and is generally quite pleasant.

After an hour I find that I’m becoming bored with this cigar. It’s burning well and tastes fine, but it’s lacking in substance. Maybe if I were sitting in a Paris cafe, circa 1895, watching the snow fall on a horse drawn carriage while I sipped my coffee, perhaps then I might find the patience to smoke this big boy to the end. As it is now, in the twenty first century, watching the jets streak across the night sky bound for Nellis AFB, I’m ready to call it quits.

The Montecristo Royale Delacroix is fine cigar, no doubt. Fans of mild to medium bodied cigars will find this double corona very enjoyable, but if you’re looking for a little more flavor, you may want to look elsewhere.

I found this online that I think is them :sh

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Welcome to the Asylum.

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Those are the original / limited run Montecristo Cigar de Arts cigar from 1999. IIRC, the aluminum tubed ones came later.

They were rare when they came out. I'm sure the are even more rare now. I think the last time I saw one was 10-11 years ago. I have no clue whatsoever as to their value nor do I know if the cigar got better or worse with age.

Welcome aboard.

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Hello, I'm new here and to cigars in general. I have spent an enormous time soaking up information but decided to join this forum so I don't read the same information multiple times.

Being so new I have not settled on what I prefer. A friend gave me a Gurkha Euphoria that I did enjoy. I've searched high and low but can't find anything about it. Can anyone enlighten me about them?

Thanks and I am looking forward to the day I enjoy the right cigar with a good glass of whiskey.

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Gurkha makes about 400 different cigars, give or take a few baker's dozens, Bill....but I can't find a single thing about a "Euphoria".

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That is what puzzled me Tom. The only thing I found was a picture of one. I have found no mention of it anywhere via google. This is the picture that was posted. Any idea where else I might look?

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Might have been a one off for an event or a specific shop. Could try emailing Gurkha cigars directly, they might be able to help.

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Have not been too lucky with that so far Adam. I was hoping someone here was familiar with them so that if I couldn't locate any then maybe they could steer me towards something comparable.

I do plan on trying a few sampler packs but being OCD I am trying to find out some more about the Euphoria.

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SnP,

I am among those that would typically give you a snarky response to a Gurkha inquiry, despite the fact that I sheepishly admit to having enjoyed some in years past.

Snarkiness aside, there is a strong case to be made for abandoning your quest. Even if it is a GREAT cigar...and even if you can find the lone source....and even if they don't charge you an exorbitant price....very few Gurkha cigars are long for this world. You may find your holy grail of cigars early in your adventure...but you will be disappointed because it is highly unlikely you will access a reliable, recurring supply. Worse, you may find Euphoria again a year or two later, and find that while it has the same name, it could be a totally different blend, crushing your enthusiasm for Gurkha and turning you into the same crotchety, cynical Gurkha basher that so many of us have become.

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Dave is wise.

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Thank you gentlemen. I appreciate the advice.

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:tu

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I have a three drawer Humidor and its hard to keep the humidity at 70 percent. Any suggestions? I have Xikar Crystal Humidifier 100 Count and two Xikar Crystal Humidifier 50 Count.

My wife got me a humidor that has four glass sides and the top and bottom is wood as well as the drawers. I did season the humidor before the cigars went in.

thanks

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IMO:
70% is a bit high
Ditch the crystals and get beads or Boveda packs
Ensure the seals along the glass panels are intact.

Also, what kind of hygrometer (analog or digital) do you have and has it been salt-tested and calibrated?

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The hygrometer an analog and I have a small digital one in the humidor, has not be salt-tested how do I do that? I was thinking about the beads. I have close to 50 cigars in my box lots of good gifts from friends.

any suggestions on earthy full cigars?

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Ignore the analog.

Salt test - http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showth...highlight=salt

As for cigar suggestions, all I can tell you is to read the Cigar Discussions and Reviews here. Tons of information.

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thanks

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If you have to pick ten cigars to live off of what would you pick and why?

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Bolivar Petite Coronas
Cohiba Siglo IIs
H. Upmann Connnie 1s
Montecristo #4s
Partagas Shorts
PSD4s
Quai D'Orsay Coronas
RASCC
San Cristobol El Principes
Trinidad Reyes

Why? 'cause they're all so ****ing delicious!

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I have a question. Not to change the subject. I heard that an igloo cooler with crystals and a hygrometer can make for an effective humidor for long term storage. Is this accurate? Does not having the Spanish cedar make a difference?

I was planning on using the cooler system for bulk storage and then transferring to my square box cedar humidor as space allows.

Thoughts?

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Just saw the bit about beads vs crystals. Sad because I just upgraded from the sponge and standard hygrometer to the xikar digital hygrometer and crystals thinking I was getting the best setup. I had never heard of beads...

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Also, I have the hygrometer magnesium adhered to the lid but it keeps falling down. Thinking of using gorilla glue or epoxy to get it to stay...

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hygrometer "magnet". sorry.. autocorrect

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Get these HCM BEADS


Just toss it in and leave it on top... no need for it to be glued on the top. Hell i don't even use one.

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Coolers make great humidors. They seal well and hold lots of cigars and are relatively inexpensive.

Spanish cedar aids in humidification, and can impart some scent or flavor to your cigars, but it is not needed. More like a nice-to-have -- which you can still have by taking Spanish cedar from cigar boxes and placing it in your cooler.

Finally, if you do add cedar, consider seasoning the cedar first, otherwise if the wood is dry (or wet) it is likely to play havoc with your RH.

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Not sure where you live, but where I live we average 11% Ambiant RH so two way humidification is less necessary. I used crystal for quite awhile before switching to beads. Beads are unmistakably better, but with some playing around I was able to make the other methods work fine.

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Remdoc10 I have a coolidor and I use the hearfelt beads. So far they work fantastic. That doesn't mean there isn't something better out there.

On a different topic, I'm wanting to understand all these other descriptions people use for cigars. I understand the hay bail smell, several cigars I've had, had that smell when I got them. I know chocolate and coffee of course, but when you say leather, or earthy, I'm not exactly sure what that means. Does it smell like dirt? I'd like to get a list of a few cigars that are good examples of these different flavors. Hopefully some not very expensive ones if they have off flavors, but good examples. I've had some peppery ones and I do like the peppery flavored ones too. Can you guys give me some examples of cigars that would be good examples of these descriptive or off flavors?

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I don't have some recommendations, but this might help:


[IMG]http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...stingwheel.gif[/IMG]

It's a good reference on flavor categories and can help you look for more nuanced flavors in your cigars. So when someone describes a stick as "spicy" or "woody" it can get you thinking more how those break down further.
There are dozens of these out there; just google "Cigar tasting wheel" if you want more options.

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Thanks Porch Dweller, that's a good start for me I think. That will kind of help me know what to look for. I do that with craft beer all the time.

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Mark if you have people to herf with it's always great to have someone smoking a cigar they are picking up such and such a flavor or tasting note, then you get to hit that same cigar and try to pick up the same flavor notes, everyone has a different palate (I personally have the palate of a goat), but you can learn a lot and learn what to look for, sometimes ... rarely but sometimes I'm able to pick something out that others are struggling to name. (Ok maybe twice :lr ).

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I put this question here because this is new for me.

I was reading somewhere a post by a "cigar expert" that "one should expect a tubed cigar to have burn issues". I have never heard of this nor experienced this before.

Anyone has any insight on this idea? Thanks.

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Is the expert smoking Gurkhas? The cognac infused ones in the glass tubes with the wax seals are the only ones that I've consistently heard of burn problems with and it seems to be because the cigars are packed too moist and then sealed up. No air exchange happens at all so the cigar stays overhumidifed until it's opened and smoked. The people who I knew who had the burn issues with the tubed Gurkhas started pulling them out of the tubes a few days early and dryboxing them, once they did that, the burn issues went away, so that definitely points to humidity/moisture.

This is not an exclusive problem and could happen with any cigar, boxed, bundled, loose or tubed.

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Thanks Adam, that makes sense. I hadn't considered the glass tubes being so tightly sealed.

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I recently purchased the humidor posted bellow, but I only used distilled water to fill the humidifier, not propylene glycol. The instructions say to use a 50/50 solution of both. I have some propylene glycol on its way by mail. The humidifier isn't over filled, but it is close to it. Would it be a bad idea to wait until the humidifier dries before using propylene glycol on the second fill, or should I be a little more proactive about getting the proylene into the humidifier?



http://www.amazon.com/Mantello-Deskt...ywords=humidor

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So you are saying tubed cigars are okay? My go to cigars at the moment are tubed Ashtons. What are those tubes all about? So far I've found them useful for putting cigars out for saving, if one must be saved. Depriving the cigar of oxygen with the closed tube seems to produce a bit of moisture in it from the heat of the ember. I open it after the cigar goes out to blow the smoke out, then recap for saving. I don't save them for very long though. They usually get smoked the next day. I know cigars aren't generally saved for later after being lit, but this method seems to work relatively well.

I don't have a comfortable setup for smoking cigars. I prefer to smoke only half, sometimes less. This is why I gravitated towards tubed cigars. It contains the cigar quickly, even if it's lit, with no smell.

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I would suggest pitching the humidifer and getting some humidty beads. Member CigarNut sells them and has a link in his signature for purchasing them. They can absorb humidity as well as giving it off, keeping your humidor more stable. There are several threads on the advantages of beads over other forms of humidification.

Not a fan of relighting cigars, but to each his own.

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Agree wholeheartedly on both points.

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Tubed cigars ok for what? I don't understand what it is that you are asking.

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What I mean is, are they generally at a good humidity level? I started rambling a bit.

Those beads sound great. I'll check them out, thanks. What size would you recommend for the humidor I posted above?

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Anyone's guess really. Generally speaking in my experience, the Gurkha wax sealed tubed cigars are packed moist with the cognac infusion. This might be intentional so that the pre-light aroma hits you hard, but I don't know for certain. "Normal" cigars, in "Typical" tubes can be high or low, or spot on - kind of depends on the day and the cigar batch. In my experience, if you put them in your humidor for a few years with the cap sealed, you are often rewarded with a very delicately aged smoke.

I'm not sure what size your humidor is, but you can put the dimensions in at the vendor website: www.hcmbeads.com it will give you the weight you need. I would recommend oversizing by 50% or so to give yourself extra capacity, better buffering and margin for error. The owner of the company is a member here, he goes by "CigarNut" he can answer any of your questions via PM. Don't tell him I sent you though, I think he might still be upset at me about the time I accidentally ran over and smooshed his pet llama with my taxidermy penguin skateboard.

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1 ounce is just about right, thanks. As per the instructions that came with my humidor I've currently got a shot glass of water sitting in it along side the filled humidifier. I was worried I might break the box popping out the hygrometer, and at the time I wasn't sure if it was designed to come out, so I didn't test it. I have a digital one arriving monday. Would it be a bad idea to put my cigars in the humidor now with the shot glasses of water still inside? It's had about 5 days to humidify. The hygrometer has stopped rising at 67 percent. I'm not sure if it's accurate, but it's level. And no worries, I won't say a word.

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5 days for one of the small humidors you could probably take the shot glasses out and just put your cigars and beads in. Generally speaking, the built in analog hygrometers that come with inexpensive humidors are typically junk, don't even waste your time with them.

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You were sure right about that. The analogue hygrometer was way off. Unfortunately my humidor is also a piece of junk. It will not hold humidity even after seasoning it three times. When I look at the seal I can visibly see that the wood does not make contact. I've ditched the entire thing for a sealable glass jar the owner of a smoke shop near me recommended.

Recently, when I've been smoking my cigars I've noticed something peculiar. I try to keep my cigars from burning too hot by keeping the ember low, but in the process of doing that what seems to happen is that only the center of the cigar burns. It winds up burrowing a hole into the cigar. Only the filler burns, not the binder or outer leaf. When I try to remedy this situation by keeping the ember burning hotter, I find that I get too much smoke and heat.

Once, I noticed that the hole burrowing itself through the cigar was tending to one side, and I also noticed that it seemed to take the shape of the cut I had made in the cigar. What I mean is, it seemed that I had made an insufficient cut and this was the source of the problem. However, making a larger cut did not resolve the problem. The cigar burned too loose and hot, and gave out too much smoke for my liking.

I enjoy a "cool" smoke. Sometimes when I smoke a cigar just right, I notice that it leaves a cooling sensation in the mouth that I love. What measures can I take to encourage this? Also, how can I discourage only the filler from burning?

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This burrowing is called "Tunneling" and often happens when the cigars are too wet. You might try dry-boxing your cigars for a few days before smoking them to see if that helps.

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My wife got me a nice Lotus lighter a while back. It is the one with a cutter as part of it.

When I fill the lighter I do not see the bubble that says it is filled and it does not seem to last near as long as it should. I am using quality fuel, and doing the routine of purging, turning volume off, filling then letting it sit.
No bubble to show fuel level is ever visible and after toasting and maybe relighting maybe 3 or 4 sticks it needs to be filled again.

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I understand that the proper way to refill a butane lighter is to bleed it of all gas that is in it and fill after the old gas is out. I do this and it seems to fill nicely and last a long time.

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Thanks FBing, I have ensured the lighter is empty and turned all the way down as instructed. Don't know what else to try. Maybe Lotus fuel? If not send it in I guess

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This might sound really dumb but what the heck...

Is it ok to stack a ziplock baggie with 1 non-Cuban cigar and one 69% Boveda pack in it (that I've been using for almost a month) on top of another Ziploc baggie with 5 Cubans in it and a new 69% Boveda pack (that I just activated) and got today???

Having 2 ziplocks laying on top of each other (with Bovedas and cigars in each) on my desk (until I get my tuppador) wouldn't do anything bad would it??

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Nothing bad will happen

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Your cigars will be fine for a long time