Partagas Lusitania EBO JUN 20 (12DCRC)

[karp]

Cigar is nice and oily looking with a few small tears that occurred during shipment: it arrived slightly curved, but straightened out on its own over a month or so.

I used my punch, but paired no booze with this holiday offering. The draw was firm. It was firm throughout the smoke, too firm in fact... needed the Perfecdraw at 2/3 to get past a plug located in the head. No touch ups were needed for burn though - when it got wonky it would straighten out by itself. Ash was circular and very solid, did not fall off easily. Smoke output was excellent and the smell was surprisingly sweet and rich.

Cigar started off mild, and a bit woody with a toasted tobacco flavour. With each inch it kept changing over time. I’ve heard on this forum that the Lusi is a journey and this was very accurate. After an inch or so some sweetness emerged, kind of like a butterscotch flavour. Then some cream and mild coffee flavour. It got stronger at halfway - strong nutty flavours intensified (toasted hazelnuts or toasted almonds?). In the last part rich woody flavours joined (oak?), and the last third was very good and rich with these flavours strengthening. Definitely not a boring experience.

This is a d--mn good cigar: overall 4 out of a 5 point scale… Why not higher? One, it probably needed more rest, since I got some spicy harshness at the end. Two, it’s a long smoke. Real long. The vitola just doesn’t fit my personality: I max at 1-1.5 hours. This one needs 2.5 hours time to give it proper justice. I guess best to save and age for those special occasions.

Cheers!