Partagas Astorias and Blonde Lager - 2002 (MM&SRW)*

[CaptainQuintero]

  Two weeks of rain and wind have finally given way here to scorchio levels of heat so a combo I've been missing for a while is up. Nothing too fancy just a decent Italian lager but it's a cool relief on a hot day, plus I get to pretend I'm in Ice cold in Alexandria!

  The Astorias were the result of a desperate struggle to find something quality and corona sized from Partagas around ten years ago, eventually a 2002 box was discovered.

  The beer is your typical blonde lager, lightly hopped and a sweet aftertaste. 

  First third opens up to what you'd expect from a well aged Partagas: cream spiced with nutmeg, hint of leather and there's an undercurrent of an almost blueberry nature. Draw is a little tight but I had given it the old quick in and out with a perfecdraw to ease it a little

  Second third and the draw tightens up a tad more, smoke output is struggling so I give it another little like and twist; back to perfect! Flavours come back and it's more of the same although that blueberry element has gone

  Final third and that spiced cream has mellowed into more of a creme brulé style, something I love to see but not a flavour that I see in Partagas often. 

  Starts to run a little hot towards the end and I call it and settle back to finish the beer. It's been a refreshing accompaniment but as something to pair with a cigar it's a little jarring

89/100 flavours were great but at times a struggle to get in decent quantities due to the tightness of draw. The lagar was probably the more enjoyable of the two!