Partagas Short SINGLE: Ode to the 40 and 42 gauge review week

[Guest Nekhyludov]

Dimensions: 42 x 4 3/8"

Box Code: Unknown

Date Purchased: April 17, 2017

Date Smoked: April 20, 2017

The Party Short was my first go-to cigar when I started smoking CCs in the late 90s. For several years, they were reliably satisfying and, more importantly, affordable (I was a student at the time, and this last point was critical). Within a few years, however, this cigar became the canary in the coal mine for me, in terms of quality. I started getting boxes with 5 or more unsmokable sticks (mostly plugs), wild variation in flavors, bad wrappers. So I started obsessively chasing factory codes on the internet, burned out on that, then resigned myself to NCs. I didn't come back to CCs until 2015 after news of (mostly) reliable quality was so widespread that I actually believed it. So this is the first Party Short I've had in nearly 15 years. I went into it with high hopes of reacquainting myself with an old friend ...

Appearance and Aroma: This is a tidy cigar, well made - firm and consistent - with a medium colorado wrapper. But otherwise unremarkable is appearance. The pre-light aroma is typical barnyard, but mild.

First Third: It tales flame readily, but produces a thin smoke from a slightly too-firm draw, and a flaky gray ash. The burn remains uneven and requires relighting. From there, the frequent draws needed to maintain the light leads to a hot, harsh burn. At this stage, the flavor is just charred tobacco; managing performance is the main chore here.

Second Third: There is a leafy, sweet floral flavor that just peeks through occasionally. But generally, not a great improvement in performance or profile. The aroma, however, is pleasantly peppery.

Final Third: Hot, harsh, and soggy. I gave up attempting to slog through the final third. My notes from that day read, "The performance suggests the cigar was too wet and would benefit from dry boxing." That sentiment seems to have been confirmed by a few of the other reviews here. I don't necessarily think this is a bad cigar, or even a bad example, it just appears to require very different treatment than the rest of my stash.

Score: 80

 

[TheMonk]

Another very nice job!

[JohnS]

12 hours ago, TheMonk said:

Another very nice job!

Wish it was better for you. Thanks for your efforts!