Caught in the Crossfire – Platinum

Crossfire Cigars is a cigar importer headquartered in Louisville, KY that selects its own blends of filler, binder and wrapper and has the cigars made in the Dominican Republic. Scott Meneffe, the CEO, formed this boutique cigar company several years ago as a means of producing flavorful cigars while also stimulating the Dominican Republic economy and relieving poverty. Not just the cigars but also the boxes, labels and bands are produced there.  Scott also points out that Crossfire’s profits are redirected back into the Dominican Republic and other third world countries through a Kentucky based mission activity. Note the Cross in the Platinum’s band logo. Crossfire uses the well-known William Ventura cigar company for the Dominican Republic activities.

The Platinum comes in 2 sizes – the Gordo at 5.5 X 56 and the Magnum at 6 X 60. I was given the Platinum Gordo at the 2013 IPCPR to review.The wrapper is a rich looking Ecuadorian Habana – Oscuro and the binder and filler are Dominican. The oscuro process is known for producing richer, deeper flavors and that is true here. The Platinum’s construction was firm but not hard except for one spot around the middle of the stick.

The pre-smoke aroma was slightly sweet with an interesting chocolate and cherry flavor.  The stick light well enough and the draw was quite open so the small hard area turned out to not be a problem.  Immediately there is a strong taste of earth and spice with sweet cherry in the background.  The smoke volume was very good and the ash remained even for the entire 1 hour and 15 minutes of   smoking. There was no significant change in the taste from the first to the final third of the cigar although the sweet cherry undertone did decline over time. There is a heavy aftertaste of the earth and spice and the cigar is clearly full bodied yet pleasant enough for a medium body smoker to also enjoy.  The SRP is around $8 and I give this one an overall rating of  3.5 out of 5.