Partagas Shorts UEB JUL 18 (PTGSRW)

[Bijan]

Cigar was heavy weight. Draw was tight but not plugged. Didn't use the perfecdraw as I would have if the cigar had been light but this tight (in that case I would have assumed a plug at the head or a stem). Instead I followed the advice I found on this thread:

And followed @fabes advice:

"I’ve also found that the best way to do battle with a tight draw is with slow puffing. Putting all your strength into the draw only makes it worse. "

So I puffed lightly but longer. I usually puff harder on tight cigars, but indeed that does only make matters worse in my experience.

Smoke output was lower than I would have liked but increased steadily as the cigar progressed.

Pre-draw and aroma at cold of mild barnyard.

First third: Opens with extremely strong earth. Then shortly after liquorice. Then sourdough and leather towards the midpoint and beyond of this third.

Second third: Smoky/toasty and some mint and a tiny bit of spice.

Final third: Opens with bittersweet almond or marzipan with a tiny bit of mint left, and then flavourful tobacco for the second half of this third with tons of smoke output.

84 minutes to a nub. Longest minutos by a mile for me. I've smoked double coronas faster than this

Weather was just around freezing, thermometer said just below, weather app said just over. 90% humidity.

Required 4 touch ups.

I'm torn whether to give this 3/5 or 4/5. Complexity and flavours were there, but tight draw, and the requirement to sip slowly muted the flavours some for me and I would have just enjoyed a lighter draw. Also liquorice is a flavour I don't really appreciate in cigars, though fortunately it gave way to other flavours so it was not so bad. In the end I'll give it 3/5, as I wouldn't have nubbed it had it not been for the review.

[GVan]

Two things working against you on the draw - the slightly overweight and the 90% humidity outside.  But, seems like the extra tobacco gave you more flavor than usual from the Parti short.  That's a pretty fair trade-off in my book.  Looks like you have a pretty good UEB box there and only a few months away from the magic 3 years old - should only get better and better!

Lately, when I get high humidity; I reach for a NC or one of the lightweight CC's in the box.

[rcarlson]

52 minutes ago, Lrabold89 said:

Best way to deal with a tight draw is throw the cigar across the lawn and go get a new one ...life is too short


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Quitter!  

[djrey]

Nice! When smoked slow even a properly bunched shirt can do an hour. 84 minutes is awesome. Now that’s some value ?

[bigkev]

The shorts are one of my favorites. In my last box, I also had more than a few that were very tight to draw and I just tossed them. This recent box was the first time I experienced this from Shorts. I'm getting ready to order a cabinet, so hopefully they will be better.

[Bijan]

7 hours ago, GVan said:

Two things working against you on the draw - the slightly overweight and the 90% humidity outside.

One good thing about the cold weather here (around freezing) is that 90-100% humidity is nowhere near as bad as in warmer weather. I've smoked on humid days outside in the summer (70-90F temperature) and it has a huge impact, but in winter (40F and below) it's not that noticeable.