Patoro Platino Perfecto

Patoro was founded in 2001 by Patrik Martin, who had previously spent 13 years with the Oettinger Davidoff Group as the product manager for AVO and The Griffin’s and brand ambassador for the country of Switzerland.

The company’s first release—the Gran Añejo Reserva line—was launched in 2001, followed by additional lines through the years including Patoro Vintage, Patoro VA, Patoro Brasil and Patoro Serie P.

However, the second of those releases was the Patoro Platino line that debuted in 2003. Available in just two vitolas when it launched, the Dominican puro was notable for its incorporation of “about 60 to 70 percent” piloto cubano tobacco as well as corojo and “a pinch” of San Vicente into the blend.

After that launch, not much was seen from the line until earlier this year, when the company started shipping a 6 3/10 x 50 perfecto vitola. The new size carries a retail price of $20.36 per cigar that are sold in boxes of 25. As is the case with the rest of the cigars in Patoro’s portfolio, are being produced by De Los Reyes in the Dominican Republic.

There are now three different vitolas in the Patoro Platino lineup:

• Patoro Platino Robusto (5 x 50) — $17 (Box of 25, $425)
• Patoro Platino Toro (6 x 48) — $18 (Box of 25, $450)
• Patoro Platino Perfecto (6 3/10 x 50) – $20.36 (Box of 25, $509)

• Cigar Reviewed: Patoro Platino Perfecto
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: De Los Reyes
• Wrapper: Dominican Republic
• Binder: Dominican Republic
• Filler: Dominican Republic
• Length: 6 3/10 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Vitola: Perfecto
• MSRP: $20.36 (Box of 25, $509)
• Release Date: June 2020
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Visually, the Patoro Platino Perfecto is an interesting cigar in the visual sense, with a perfecto cap and foot and a huge piece of black-lined cedar covering the entire middle of the stick. Removing the cedar wrap reveals a milk chocolate brown wrapper that is fairly smooth to the touch, albeit with a large number of veins protruding from it. Aroma from the wrapper and foot is a combination of aromatic cedar, earth, hay, barnyard, dark chocolate and coffee beans while the cold draw brings flavors of strong cedar, leather, earth, cinnamon, lemongrass, tea leaves and a small amount of indeterminate sweetness.

The first third of the Patoro Perfecto starts off with a blast of both spice and black pepper on the palate and retrohale respectively, but they quickly start to fadem leaving behind dominant notes of cedar and powdery cocoa nibs. Secondary flavors of generic nuts, leather, cinnamon, hay and earth flit and out in various amounts, while a distinct maple sweetness takes the top spot on the retrohale where it combines nicely with some black pepper that is still present. The draw is excellent so far with just the right amount of resistance after a Dickman cut, but the burn needs a couple of touchups almost out of the gate to stop it from getting out of control. Smoke production is extremely copious and thick off of the foot, while the overall strength increases to a point between mild and medium by the time the first third ends.

While the maple sweetness on the retrohale does become a little more prevalent during the second third of the Patoro Platino, it is still not strong enough to really affect the overall profile that is still dominated by flavors of creamy cedar and cocoa nibs. Other notes are present as well, including hay, earth, espresso beans, sourdough bread, leather and dark chocolate, along with just a touch of floral that comes and goes. The amount of black pepper on the retrohale also increases, while the amount of spice present on tongue is holding steady. Construction-wise, the draw continues to impress, while the burn that was giving me issues in the first third even up nicely. In addition, the overall strength ramps up enough to approach the medium mark by the end of the second third.  

The final third of the Patoro Platino Perfecto is basically a carbon copy of the preceding third, albeit with a few changes. The now-familiar cedar and powdery cocoa nibs combination easily remain the top flavors, followed closely by secondary notes of gritty earth, hay, bread, tea leaves, coffee beans and a touch of cinnamon. While the amount of the black pepper remains about the same, the maple sweetness on the retrohale decreases noticeably, which in turn leads to less overall complexity in the profile overall. The draw continues along its excellent path, while the burn continues to be trouble-free and the smoke production is not letting up at all. The overall strength easily passes the medium mark but ends up stalling out there by the time I put the nub down with a little less than an inch remaining.

Final Notes

• I have to admit, the name Patoro Platino Perfecto does roll off the tongue nicely.
• If the name “Platino” sounds a bit familiar, it may be because Viaje also has a line by that name.
• The Patoro logo on the band is made up of a “P” positioned under a five-pointed star. According to the company, each point of the star symbolizes one of five different positive emotions that are experienced smoking a Patoro cigar: joy, serenity, inspiration, awe and satisfaction.
• Speaking of the band, that situation is a bit of a visual trickery: at first glance, the cedar wrap—which takes up about 90 percent of the available real estate of the wrapper—is one piece with an identical black band on either side. However, once you begin to remove the cedar wrap, you quickly realize that one of the bands stays put, which indicates which end is the cap that needs to be cut.
• As for the cap, both ends of the cigar are pointed, but only the foot is open, meaning you have to cut the cap in order to get a draw out of it.
• De Los Reyes, which produces these cigars, advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time averaged a surprisingly quick one hour and 48 minutes.