Partagas Presidente GOS 18 12DCRC

[99call]

Partagas Presidente  GOS 18 

Aroma at cold:   A bit like 'Jos' (incense) sticks, vegetal, and a bit soapy.

1^st 3^rd        The start of cigars like this are often a little hollow, as your chuffing on filler, and getting little binder or wrapper. Quite an open draw even before the fattest part of the cigar!. This is the second from the box, and they are so odd, like a Fonseca No 1, crossed with a Party 898. aka Sweet marshmallow meets forest floor/leather and paprika. This cigar is so smooth, switches into mushrooms and popcorn. Such an interesting blend, very little power, but all of the flavours you would associate with a strong cigar. 

2^nd 3^rd       The profile just continues, so silky, like a porcini and peppercorn cream source poured over a marshmallow……..you’d never order it in a restaurant, but magic in a cigar. Draw just a little too loose. The slightly confusing blend is a bit vegetal in periods. Hard cigar to roll, but this is way too spongy. A victim of the same underfilling as the Solomones of late?

3^rd 3^rd        This cigar is so entertaining, its construction needs improvement, but the play between light and dark is wonderful. Mid bodied (if that) sweet and fungal, one of the most intriguing Party blends still going. Wow, not retro’d all smoke until now, and there is bags extra in the retro,  forest floor, and lots of more porcini. Little touches of the smell of the hospital.

Conclusion      I bought this box to hopefully blow my socks off with ‘party power’ but sometimes you don’t get what you want, but get something much better instead.  These cigars are for people who want to be challenged, Like a old powerful cigar, mixed with a young sweet fresh one……hats off Habanos, knocked it out of the park.

Score         Points deducted for a little underfilling, can see improvement with more age. so for now a very mean 89 

[RDB]

Fascinating. I’m really looking forward to trying this from the sampler now. I don’t really think of myself as a Partagas fan, but I absolutely loved a recent Lusi, and I bought the sampler in part to test out some of their blends.

[99call]

1 minute ago, RDB said:

Fascinating. I’m really looking forward to trying this from the sampler now. I don’t really think of myself as a Partagas fan, but I absolutely loved a recent Lusi, and I bought the sampler in part to test out some of their blends.

Mediocre Partagas can be some of the most boring cigars you'll ever smoke, but good ones i.e SDC series, E2s, D4s, 898s, Privada etc etc can be some of the best. 

To me the truly fascinating cigars are the ones trapped in some weird place between sweet and savoury, and this has that in spades. It manages to be enjoyable, but also keep your brain ticking. 

I really hope you enjoy this as much as I did 

[Chucko8]

Wow great review thanks. I need to try one of these now. Porcini and peppercorn cream sauce drizzled over a marshmallow sounds I like a dish I could happily tuck into ?

[Raskol]

Great review. Thank you.

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[Fugu]

18 hours ago, 99call said:

The start of cigars like this are often a little hollow, as your chuffing on filler, and getting little binder or wrapper.

In fact, in a belicoso, the wrapper/binder to filler ratio is larger at the start and again towards the end. Perhaps another indication supportive of the view of those who are convinced that the wrapper plays a more subordinate role in the overall taste, flavour and body in a cigar than is widely believed....

Good job! Thanks for the interesting review on what is sort of the odd-one-out of the Party family.

[99call]

1 minute ago, Fugu said:

n fact, in a belicoso, the wrapper/binder to filler ratio is larger at the start and again towards the end. Perhaps another indication supportive of the view of those who are convinced that the wrapper plays a more subordinate role in the overall taste, flavour and body in a cigar than is widely believed....

I agree with you in principle, but I'm convinced that as you start (figurado), and proceed to draw the cherry of the ember develops within the cigar and burns away the filler preferentially, with the wrapper then catching up. 

I'm not saying its fact just a theory I have.  Might cut open a divino one day and see if it's true.

 

 

[Fugu]

Oh absolutely, if talking about just the first few puffs, then you may indeed be right. But I think, that would then be more the effect of just very little tobacco burning upon lighting in a perfecto anyway as compared to a parejo, and not necessarily being related to the amount or proportion of wrapper burning (actually, my comment was a bit tongue-in-cheek, as I think it proves just nothing in this regard... ). And what little smoke a perfecto produces after start is being filtered by a comparatively large volume of tobacco before it reaches the smoker's mouth. So, yes indeed, that's the typical impression you get from a perfecto upon start.

[leafdream54]

Great review - it sounds like a really interesting cigar experience...I can't wait!