Professor Twain Posted February 10, 2007 Posted February 10, 2007 Partagas Culebras LOC AGO 00 I go this box about 2 months ago, and after giving it the Racer47 60 days, I was eager to try these out. This machine made cigar is from 2000, and although the machine made version was discontinued, a hand made version is supposed to be released soon. I had one a couple of days ago with Tampa1257, and then this morning I tried a second one, camera in hand, after breakfast. My review is a combination of both of the cigars I have tried. Since this was another beautiful day in Florida, I enjoyed this out by the pool with my morning paper. The Culebras is 39 RG, 146 mm, but numbers can’t really describe the size of this cigar. It comes in a box of 25, 8 bundles of 3 cigars (each bundle wrapped in aluminum foil), and with 1 extra. MRN says that the extra cigar is straight, but mine was nicely twisted. After removing the label from the foil, and unwrapping the foil, I had three nicely braided cigars. The cigars are machine made and tied together with light twine, which can be cut or untwisted. After unbundling, my cigar was pretty funky looking. Indentations remain at the head and foot where the twine had been, and since the three cigars had been pressed together, the cigar had all sorts of irregularities in its shape. Fortunately, these did not have any ill effect on the burn or draw of the cigar. This cigar had a mild, light tobacco smell, and an easy draw. Because of the thin ring gauge it was necessary to draw lightly. After lighting up, I immediately enjoyed a smooth tobacco and light white pepper taste. Over the first third of the cigar, it had a kind of creamy smoothness that reminded me of a Partagas 898V. Middle third, this cigar got a bit stronger. It did not have a strong kick and the relatively mild white pepper taste remained. In the final third, this cigar developed a stronger, hot red pepper type taste. The one I smoked a few days ago was strong and smooth to the end. Today, I got a bit of a bitter strong taste in the final third, and I realized that I got the head of the cigar a bit too wet. I tend to be somewhat of a wet lipped smoker. I took a tiny second clip off of the head to get rid of some of that wet bitter taste and it worked like a charm. I smoked this cigar until my fingers could no longer stand the pain. In summary, this was a great cigar, lots of fun and definitely worth 4 smoke rings on the 6 ring scale. Beyond the great look and shape this cigar had great taste compared to other machine mades I have sampled. This one will be a lot of fun to share with others. I’m going to bring some to the Sit Down scheduled for this Thursday in St. Pete, and hope to get a group picture of all of us with these twisty cigars burning in full glory.
shrink Posted February 10, 2007 Posted February 10, 2007 Thanks a lot, Professor! This is the first review of the Culebras that I've read in a long time, and I really enjoyed it. The pictures were excellent, and accompanied the text perfectly. I felt as if I were smoking one right along with you. Despite the fact that a hand-made version is upcoming, we are losing a real piece of Habanos and Partagas history along with this machine made cigar. It was a curiosity, an oddity, a good smoke, and an entertaining one as well. RIP, MM Culebras!
Colt45 Posted February 10, 2007 Posted February 10, 2007 PT, thanks for the review - I've never tried this one, it looks just a bit too strange for me.
DrAlejandro Posted February 10, 2007 Posted February 10, 2007 thanks a bunch and great review prof... Ive always wondered about those smokes and am anxious to get my hands of the hand made variety when they come out :-D
Tampa1257 Posted February 11, 2007 Posted February 11, 2007 Professor, Excellent cigar review and the photos make it exceptionally well done! I enjoy the straight forward sweet typical peppery Partagás spiciness of the cigar the other evening with you. I remember mentioning to you how leathery the flavor was along with the rich earthiness. Your description of the white pepper during the first half is dead on while to me, from about the mid way point, the sweet peppery flavor turned toward a spicy Cayenne pepper taste. All in all, an excellent cigar, in todays world a treasure for sure. I am looking forward to the release later this year of the new Hand Rolled version of the Culebras. I am interested in doing a side by side taste test to compare them to the older machine made version. Again, thank you for this wonderful review! Tampa
Wolfe Tone Posted February 13, 2007 Posted February 13, 2007 Super review, Bill. I look forward to even laying eyes on one of these oddities.
El Presidente Posted February 13, 2007 Posted February 13, 2007 :ok: Well done PT. We will look back to the days when these were as cheap as chips and realise how lucky we were :crying:
Tom Bolivar Posted February 15, 2007 Posted February 15, 2007 Very nice review with very nice pictures, Professer Twain! Thanks for sharing! This brings back memories of the only Culebras I smoked. This was at the time when they where ready available in Switzerland. I remember smoking it while taking long walks with the dog and I thought it delivered nice tasty smoke (the cigar;-) ). But that is all I remember. :-( In a German board somebody posted some info about Punch Culebras. The German distributer certifies genuineness and says the sticks are from 1968. I'm looking forward to the handmade Partagas Culebras. Regards, Tom PS: The cigar is not the only thing funky looking. What's up with the bird ashtray?:-D
Bubba -NJ Posted February 23, 2007 Posted February 23, 2007 » Partagas Culebras » LOC AGO 00 » » Very nice review . Wish I had some of these . Just can't seem to find any . Someday soon I hope .
Professor Twain Posted February 23, 2007 Author Posted February 23, 2007 » » » PS: The cigar is not the only thing funky looking. What's up with the bird » ashtray?:-D Whenever I get into a hobby I get into it hook, line, and sinker. I have been looking for antique cigar related stuff and found this bird ashtray on Ebay. It is silver plated, Victorian era. I have some bigger ashtrays but this one is just the right size for a petit corona or other relatively small cigars. Makes me feel like a Victorian Gentleman.
Ziggy Posted February 23, 2007 Posted February 23, 2007 Excellant review PT. I have seen cigars bundled like this before but have never seen anyone actualy smoking one before. I must admit, I probably would have clipped all three and tried to smoke the whole bundle. Now I'll know better. Zig
Jimmy2 Posted February 23, 2007 Posted February 23, 2007 Someone please hook me up with one of these or a box or let me know where i can get a box. I just have to have one for the collection will trade or $$$. Help a brother out.....
Wolfe Tone Posted February 25, 2007 Posted February 25, 2007 » » » » » PS: The cigar is not the only thing funky looking. What's up with the » bird » » ashtray?:-D » » Whenever I get into a hobby I get into it hook, line, and sinker. I have » been looking for antique cigar related stuff and found this bird ashtray » on Ebay. It is silver plated, Victorian era. I have some bigger ashtrays » but this one is just the right size for a petit corona or other relatively » small cigars. » » Makes me feel like a Victorian Gentleman. Professor, The Culebras was an ideal cigar with which to kick off an evening. I had more fun just unwrapping the things than I've had smoking some, others. It was areal treat. If I had known about your Victorian Gentleman fetish I'd have been happy to wear a lace collar and recite lines from "Martin Chuzzllewit." Oh well, there's always next time. Jacko
Professor Twain Posted February 25, 2007 Author Posted February 25, 2007 Jacko, it was indeed a pleasure to enjoy the Culebras, and a number of other great cigars, with you during your recent visit. Here is a photo of all us us looking rather unlike Victorian Gentlemen: Tampa1257, Wolfe Tone, Professor Twain, and Pyro--Culebras in hand.
Tom Bolivar Posted February 26, 2007 Posted February 26, 2007 » Whenever I get into a hobby I get into it hook, line, and sinker. I have » been looking for antique cigar related stuff and found this bird ashtray » on Ebay. It is silver plated, Victorian era. I have some bigger ashtrays » but this one is just the right size for a petit corona or other relatively » small cigars. » » Makes me feel like a Victorian Gentleman. I look at the bird in a whole new light now! :-D Seriously, nice collectors item! Can I persuade you into opening a thread with some nice pictures of antique accessoir? Would be great! Regards, Tom
Professor Twain Posted February 27, 2007 Author Posted February 27, 2007 Can I persuade you into opening a thread » with some nice pictures of antique accessoir? Will do, but my collection is small at this point...
.png.15b5f6bc4159a73805a9f118f79a68ca.png)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now