PARTAGAS SERIE E NO. 2
Origin : Cuba
Format : Robusto Extra / Duke
Size : 140 x 22 mm (5.5 x 54)
Released in : 2011
Hand-Made
The Partagas Serie E No. 2 was officially released at the XIII Habanos Festival in Cuba in February of 2011. Distinctive features include a large ring gauge and simple but beautiful packaging. It took me about an age to try one of these, but now I am so glad I did. This cigar is not cheap, but it is a real treat.
Appearance :
This is a very nice-looking cigar. It’s large and has some real heft to it because of the wide ring gauge, but it doesn’t feel all that heavy. Squeezing it, you won’t find any soft or hard spots. It was very consistent all throughout. The wrapper is a very light brown colour with some noticeable seams. What initially concerned me about it is the fact that it doesn’t have that much of a sheen—at least not the ones I tried. The wrapper seemed like it might be a little on the dry side, which made me worry about the cigar. As it turns out, I needn’t have worried at all. It was just right.
Construction :
Aside from a few very minor touch-ups to the burn line, the construction on this cigar was flawless. The draw was perfect right from the start and stayed that way the entire time. You cannot ask for better construction than this. It was pretty much perfect!
Flavour :
This is another area where the Partagas Serie E No. 2 excels. At $15 a stick, my expectations were sky high. So the fact that this stogie met and exceeded them says a lot about the flavour profile.
Initial notes kicked in with wood, leather, tobacco, and an earthy backdrop, with something of a “barnyard” motif. There was a hint of sweetness right from the beginning, but very little spice.
The earth note didn’t stay in the background. It rose to the forefront during the middle third. At this point, a creamy texture emerged, along with some nuttiness. There was still almost nothing in the way of spice. The sweetness got stronger, but still remained in the background as an undercurrent.
A lot of cigars kind of drift off in the final third. Either they loop through flavours you have already experienced, or they keep doing more of the same, or they get hot and harsh. The Partagas Serie E No. 2 did none of those. This is a cigar that really shines in the final third. Going into the last third, the sweetness finally came out of the shadows, revealing itself as an incredible honey flavour. Some spice finally emerged, balancing out the sweetness. This was very unexpected, and was a delightful surprise. I also detected wood and hay notes again, as in the beginning, and a hint of either coffee or chocolate. The creaminess toned down a bit, but remained a key element.
Value :
I am usually tempted to rank something down in this category simply because it was expensive. But that seems rather unfair. There has to be something worth a high price, and in this case, I would say I’ve found it. The Partagas Serie E No. 2 is exactly what I want when I pay $15 for a cigar.
Overall Rating :
This is just a top-shelf smoke. I literally have no complaints. The construction is superlative, and the flavours are amazing. It isn’t just the flavours individually as notes, but the way they blend together and the way the cigar evolves. The Partagas Serie E No. 2 is like a fine piece of classical music. It evolves in directions you never expect, and is a beautiful symphony of flavours from start to end.
PARTAGAS SERIE P NO. 2
Origin : Cuba
Format : Piramide
Size : 156 x 20.64 mm (6 1/8 x 52)
Year : 2009
Hand-Made
I am a huge fan of robusto size cigars of late. Before that, however, I was predominantly a smoker of figurado cigars. I am quite familiar with the old go-to cigar in this vitola, the Montecristo No. 2, but there are many other figurado cigars that rank just as high. After having focused on smoking some of the others lately, I thought I would reach into my humidor and pull out a Partagas from my box given that I had not had one in a while. I remember smoking this cigar when it was young. It wasn’t bad but it could have used some additional age. With over 2 years of age on it now, I feel the time is right to start enjoying these. So how did the Series P No. 2 score?
Appearance :
The cigar had a nice dark wrapper with an elegant rustic look. There were some reddish spots over the wrapper. It had a nice oily sheen to it with no visible seams or distracting veins. There was some spotting visible on the cigar as noted in the image. I was greeted with a pre-light aroma of sweet tobacco, cedar and cocoa. The foot offered up some great tobacco and cedar aromas.
Construction :
Construction of this cigar was good. While the draw was good, the cigar did need to be touched up on occasion. The burn did get out of control now and then and did not appear to start self-correcting, requiring me to put flame to cigar on a couple of occasions. The draw was perhaps a tad loose for me but it wasn’t completely wide open as to force the cigar to burn too fast. The ash was firm, never flakey and the cigar was very well balanced in my hands.
Flavor :
The cigar itself was very “Partagas” but not as strong in body or nicotine content as say for instance the Series D No. 4. It is less peppery than most Partagas but still has that distinctive peppery zest combined with a perfect salty-sweet balanced tobacco flavour.
The first third reminded me why I love this vitola. Super thick clouds of cool smoke loaded with obvious Cuban tobacco flavors. The smoke was thick and velvety and had a caramel nectar texture to it. The finish had some faint pepper and some very pleasing cocoa and leather notes. That distinctive Cuban saltiness on the palate greeted me immediately and stayed with me for the duration of the cigar. For an extra peppery blast I exhaled through my nose.
As I approached the second third some notes of dried fruit with a hint of citrus appeared on the front of the palate with some light cedar and pepper lingering on the back of the tongue and throat. As I noted earlier, the pepper was there but not distracting. It seemed that each puff offered something different with instances of leather and coffee creeping into the flavour profile. The smoke remained lush and creamy.
The cigar continued to burn flawlessly as I started the final third of the cigar. The ash remained thick, firm and had a nice aged grey colour to it. I would help it off every two inches or so but it would have probably held longer. The final third offered up hints of sweet coffee, citrus with cedar and leather notes. The smoke volume was still there but it wasn’t as creamy or velvety as it was during the first half of the cigar. The cigar did take on a little more pepper than the first half of the cigar but again, it was relatively mild compared to some other cigars in this vitola, namely the Montecristo No. 2. The flavours did start to take on slight bitterness shortly after removing the band and it was at that stage where I put the cigar to rest not wanting to ruin the experience. All in all, age did this cigar wonders.
Value :
If purchased in Cuba, you can’t go wrong with this cigar. The current Cuban price of $6.60 for singles is a steal for such a flavourful and long lasting cigar. For that money, one can buy cheaper cigars that offer up similar flavours but in all honesty, won’t give you the complexity that this cigar did. Still cheaper than the Monte No. 2, I would say that this cigar offers great value when compared to that cigar. If you have the opportunity, pick up a 10 count box. Every humidor should have a few of these, even if you have to pay the out of Cuba prices. Ask to see the box codes and search out ones that already have a year or two of age to them.
Overall Rating :
While this cigar was utterly enjoyable, it did have some sections that exhibited very little flavour which kept it from scoring a 5 in the flavour category. The complexity of the cigar was nice, the burn was a tad erratic but the overall flavour profile is extremely pleasing. The fact that it had 3 years of age to it helped it dramatically. A touch more pepper would have been nice but this is subjective and depends on your own personal preferences. Overall the cigar offered a great buffet of flavours and I never came across any bitterness until after removing the band. The salt on the palate remained constant and helped to balance the sweetness of the overall cigar with the mild pepper offering up just enough spice. The cigar wasn’t a woodsy/grassy cigar. It was more of a cocoa, sweet cigar with only occasional hints of wood and leather. All in all, notwithstanding the few glitches here and there as noted above, this is a very fine cigar and one that I will always ensure to have some supply of in my humidor. This cigar would pair nicely with a scotch or a nice beer. I wouldn’t smoke it with a sweet beverage because I found the cigar offered up plenty of sweetness on its own. As for the nicotine, I highly recommend smoking this on a full stomach.
PARTAGAS SERIE D NO. 4
Origin : Cuba
Factory Name : Robusto
Size : 4.8 x 50
Weight : 11.66 g
Hand-Made
The Partagas D4 comes with a simple label and a wrapper full of veins. The wrapper is a light tan colour with some noticeable bloom and plume. And the construction is perfect. It’s a pretty good looking cigar and I like the “non traditional” label it comes with.
Smelling the wrapper is amazing and it was one of the highlights of this cigar. There’s a strong sweet tobacco aroma with a little cedar smell behind it. It was strong and in your face and I just sat there awhile smelling the wrapper because it was that good. It’s not too often that you can just sit there and enjoy the aroma of only the wrapper.
Lets talk about the flavours… There’s something about this cigar that makes you stop and look at it. And that’s the first puff. On the first puff I picked up absolutely no pepper and no spice (which is great) like I did on the pre-draw, but what I did pick up was smoothness. Now I know smoothness is not a flavour, but sometimes I feel like it is. When you can “feel” the smoothness of the smoke on your palate it leaves a soft complex taste and I love that!
I was in heaven with this flavour profile because it’s something I am not used to, and this Cuban is nothing like the other Cubans I’ve smoked. I also picked up some flavours of nuts, roasted coffee and more earthy undertones.
The flavours don’t change and remain consistent throughout the entire cigar. It picks up in strength a little towards the end, but for the most part this cigar stays in the mild and medium strength level. It also remains smooth and so fresh on your palate and you got to love that!
By the time I finished my cigar I was feeling good. I was impressed with the flavours and even more impressed to find no spice and no pepper. I would absolutely smoke this cigar again and of course I recommend for you try it out.
Final Note: I would probably crown this cigar as the best Cuban I have smoked.
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