Partagas Maduro No.1 12DCRC

[Goodfortune]

After I finished my Cohiba Robusto last night, I had a little extra time before NYE festivities so I reached for another one. I have been intrigued by the Partagas Maduro line, but never had the opportunity to try one, so I was excited to see what this cigar had to offer.

Temps dropped into the high 50s F. Still very windy out. Paired with another Topo Chico, as it would probably be the only water I would drink all night ?

Great looking stick. Small snip of the cap and the draw was nice and open. Little bit of that maduro sweetness on the pre light draw.

1/3: As soon as I lit the cigar, I knew something was off. Burn went wonky immediately and the ash was extremely flaky. I didn’t drybox this cigar, it was kept at 62RH with the rest of my stock. In hindsight, I wish I would have tried that to rule out a humidity issue. Yes, it was windy, but I could tell this was an issue with the cigar. As far as taste goes, pretty much nothing for the first third of this cigar. Not the start I was hoping for ☹️
 

2/3: Weird burn continues, multiple touch ups required to get the wrapper to burn. Cigar kept wanting to go out, so I was having to puff more frequently. As far as flavor, I did have a few really great puffs that showed potential of what this blend could be. Unsweetened chocolate, sourdough and peanut were all very bold at several points throughout the cigar. Unfortunately, too few and far between.

3/3: As the night sets in, my frustration with this cigar continues to grow. A cigar that I was so excited to try, turned into a pain in the butt. Wouldn’t stay lit and the draw became very difficult. Every now and then I would get those glimpses of hope, that showed this cigar did have some enjoyable flavors somewhere in there. Cocoa, bread, some cinnamon and sweet wood did make appearances at times. Would love to smoke one that had those flavors shining through the whole time, but in all honesty I doubt I will try another one of these. 
 

I don’t feel I can even rate this on a 100pt scale as I typically do. So out of 5 stars, it receives 1 star for those handful of great puffs I did have and the hopefulness that this cigar had much more to offer.