Todays review is of a special cigar, a 1998 Vintage Cuban Partagas Tres Petite Corona. This small cigar measures in at 4.6 x 40 ring gauge and was discontinued in 2001. The 2nd band saying 1998 was applied to mark the vintage. Hunters & Frankau, the two hundred year old exclusive UK distributors for Habanos, has selected certain cigars for a special ageing process. You pay a premium for aged stock like this, and H&F is one of the premier vendors for selling aged cigars. This was a gift from a great friend of mine and I have been waiting to smoke this cigar for some time now.
This cigar had a few water spots on the wrapper, but overall it was a very nice looking cigar. I was pleased to see a fair amount of oils still present on the wrapper considering its age. After clipping, the predraw flavor is light but of nice crisp toasty tobacco. The draw is absolutely perfect, which is a relief because I worry about the draw on small cigars like this.
After lighting, there is a ton of classic Partagas spice and cedar, its amazing how well these have aged! This cigar was so complex that I had a hard time really picking out different flavors at first. I exhaled through my nose, which I generally do not do as i don't like the way it tingles, but it brought even more flavorful spice and a really pleasant roasted peanut flavor that reminded me of creamy peanut butter.
At the halfway point this cigar mellowed out into a very solid medium bodied full flavored cigar. This had what i would consider to be a classic old school Partagas flavor.
Overall, it was a great experience to smoke an 11+ year old cigar. This is by far the oldest cigar I have had the opportunity to smoke and I was definitely not let down! It goes to show what aging can really do to a great cigar that has been stored in perfect conditions.
3 comments:
Hey, bud. I liked your review. the smoke sounds like something I might enjoy.
By the way, i added your blog to my blog's links. Sorry it took so long!
Nice review of a special smoke Ben. Now you have me thinking about lighting up one of the 1997 RG Lonsdales I got in the Secret Santa a couple years back and writing it up. It is funny, but I always find it hard to take that leap and smoke special smokes like that, waiting for some kind of mythical "perfect moment" to enjoy them. I hate that I do that. Afterall, the things are made to be smoked and enjoyed, not stared at...
Yeah, i definitely know what you mean Matt. When i have a cigar like that i have a really hard time finally lighting it up. I was planning on saving the Partagas for a special occasion, but when i got home late from work that night, it just seemed like the perfect smoke for the evening, haha.
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