Check out this review of our Marco V Platinum X La Canela.
This review was done by Wolfie from Wolfe's Den Cigar Reviews.
M. Vito Platinum Reserve by Marco V Cigars Date: April 02, 2012
Wrapper: Brazil
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua
Size: Fabuloso, 6” X 50 (Figurado)
Strength: Medium
One of my greatest enjoyments in writing these reviews is finding great cigars. As a working class cigar smoker, I especially enjoy finding great, affordable sticks. I have found a cigar that fills the bill perfectly, the M. Vito Platinum Reserve by Marco V cigars. The story behind the cigar is one of the most remarkable I have read. Marco Vito (born as Marc Keiser) grew up in a family of cigar smokers. He enrolled in the Entrepreneurial Studies Program at the University of St. Thomas in his hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota. An undergraduate assignment required Marco to develop a business plan. Working with the Business Plan Center in St. Paul, Marco developed a workable business plan for a cigar company. He put that plan (which garnered an “A” for the assignment) into practice and created Minnesota’s only cigar brand, Marco V Cigars. Part of his reason for developing his own cigar brand was his frustration when attempting to find cigars he both enjoyed and could afford. Even in Minnesota, with horrendous taxes on tobacco products, Marco V cigars cost about $6.00 a stick, an amazing bargain for a cigar of such high quality.
The company launched in 2009 with two full-time employees, Marco (President and CEO) and his father, John Keiser (responsible for sales). Currently Marco V Cigars maintains contracts with five representatives who help distribute the company’s products. Marco V Cigars sells about 100,000 cigars annually in more than 100 retail outlets in 20 states. Most of the tobacco used in Marco V cigars is grown on an exclusive farm in La Canela, Dominican Republic. Their farm is not accessible by motor vehicles, so the farming is done by hand and authentic “horse power”. The cigars are manufactured in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Each of the rollers of Marco V cigars has more than 15 years of rolling experience. The vertical integration of Marco V Cigars allows Marco to control the entire process from seed to smoke in their premium boutique brand cigars.
I enjoyed my M. Vito Platinum Reserve Fabuloso, a beautiful maduro figurado, in the inaugural Marco V Lounge at Golden Leaf Ltd Tobacco in St. Paul. The lounge was a great “man-cave” with red brick walls, plush leather chairs and a wide-screen TV for sports viewing.
The top-notch construction of the Marco V demonstrated itself in the beautiful appearance and feel of the stick. The almost black, seamless, rare Arapiraca wrapper looked almost too good to smoke…almost.
There wasn’t much aroma at the foot of the cigar, but due to the Fabuloso’s shape, the stick was fluted to a very small opening at the foot. A cold draw brought the basic flavors of a maduro, coffee and chocolate. Once the cigar was lit the complexity of the blend of four premium tobaccos took me by surprise. This was not just another maduro. This was a great maduro. Upon a base of strong coffee and semi-sweet chocolate, notes of raisin, cinnamon, freshly baked bread, roasted almonds, red pepper and cedar mingled deliciously. I’m sure the pepper was the result of the Esteli ligero in the filler, but the pepper lacked the “pop” of many Nicaraguan cigars. Instead it was a subtle note that mixed with the other flavors. Just about the time I thought it was gone, it would pop back in with a wake-up call for my taste buds. The blend of Nicaraguan leaf with Pilato Cubano from La Canella resulted in a first-rate smoking experience. The draw of the cigar was perfect with slight resistance and billows of smoke. Marco V is the only cigar brand to guarantee draw and construction of every stick. The burn was perfect. Even though I didn’t light the cigar evenly (that’s hard to do with a fluted figurado) It self-corrected within the first inch and from that point burned evenly to the nub. And I certainly nubbed this delicious beauty. If your local tobacconist doesn’t carry Marco V Cigars, and they probably don’t at this point, tell them to order some. I recommend this cigar very highly. I’ve never before rated my reviews, but I would give the M. Vito Platinum Reserve five “Howls” (the highest rating) from the Wolfe’s Den.
—Wolfie
@WolfieCigars
This review was done by Wolfie from Wolfe's Den Cigar Reviews.
M. Vito Platinum Reserve by Marco V Cigars Date: April 02, 2012
Wrapper: Brazil
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua
Size: Fabuloso, 6” X 50 (Figurado)
Strength: Medium
One of my greatest enjoyments in writing these reviews is finding great cigars. As a working class cigar smoker, I especially enjoy finding great, affordable sticks. I have found a cigar that fills the bill perfectly, the M. Vito Platinum Reserve by Marco V cigars. The story behind the cigar is one of the most remarkable I have read. Marco Vito (born as Marc Keiser) grew up in a family of cigar smokers. He enrolled in the Entrepreneurial Studies Program at the University of St. Thomas in his hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota. An undergraduate assignment required Marco to develop a business plan. Working with the Business Plan Center in St. Paul, Marco developed a workable business plan for a cigar company. He put that plan (which garnered an “A” for the assignment) into practice and created Minnesota’s only cigar brand, Marco V Cigars. Part of his reason for developing his own cigar brand was his frustration when attempting to find cigars he both enjoyed and could afford. Even in Minnesota, with horrendous taxes on tobacco products, Marco V cigars cost about $6.00 a stick, an amazing bargain for a cigar of such high quality.
The company launched in 2009 with two full-time employees, Marco (President and CEO) and his father, John Keiser (responsible for sales). Currently Marco V Cigars maintains contracts with five representatives who help distribute the company’s products. Marco V Cigars sells about 100,000 cigars annually in more than 100 retail outlets in 20 states. Most of the tobacco used in Marco V cigars is grown on an exclusive farm in La Canela, Dominican Republic. Their farm is not accessible by motor vehicles, so the farming is done by hand and authentic “horse power”. The cigars are manufactured in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Each of the rollers of Marco V cigars has more than 15 years of rolling experience. The vertical integration of Marco V Cigars allows Marco to control the entire process from seed to smoke in their premium boutique brand cigars.
I enjoyed my M. Vito Platinum Reserve Fabuloso, a beautiful maduro figurado, in the inaugural Marco V Lounge at Golden Leaf Ltd Tobacco in St. Paul. The lounge was a great “man-cave” with red brick walls, plush leather chairs and a wide-screen TV for sports viewing.
The top-notch construction of the Marco V demonstrated itself in the beautiful appearance and feel of the stick. The almost black, seamless, rare Arapiraca wrapper looked almost too good to smoke…almost.
There wasn’t much aroma at the foot of the cigar, but due to the Fabuloso’s shape, the stick was fluted to a very small opening at the foot. A cold draw brought the basic flavors of a maduro, coffee and chocolate. Once the cigar was lit the complexity of the blend of four premium tobaccos took me by surprise. This was not just another maduro. This was a great maduro. Upon a base of strong coffee and semi-sweet chocolate, notes of raisin, cinnamon, freshly baked bread, roasted almonds, red pepper and cedar mingled deliciously. I’m sure the pepper was the result of the Esteli ligero in the filler, but the pepper lacked the “pop” of many Nicaraguan cigars. Instead it was a subtle note that mixed with the other flavors. Just about the time I thought it was gone, it would pop back in with a wake-up call for my taste buds. The blend of Nicaraguan leaf with Pilato Cubano from La Canella resulted in a first-rate smoking experience. The draw of the cigar was perfect with slight resistance and billows of smoke. Marco V is the only cigar brand to guarantee draw and construction of every stick. The burn was perfect. Even though I didn’t light the cigar evenly (that’s hard to do with a fluted figurado) It self-corrected within the first inch and from that point burned evenly to the nub. And I certainly nubbed this delicious beauty. If your local tobacconist doesn’t carry Marco V Cigars, and they probably don’t at this point, tell them to order some. I recommend this cigar very highly. I’ve never before rated my reviews, but I would give the M. Vito Platinum Reserve five “Howls” (the highest rating) from the Wolfe’s Den.
—Wolfie
@WolfieCigars
