Partagas Edicion Limitada Piramide 2000: Remarkable

[jdbrown]

Makes me want to buy two more Boxes of Regalos and seal until 2014 just for shits and grins!..who knows! Nice to see reviews on the earlier EL's.

Thanks

[gyosa]

Rob ,

Great review . It is my all-time favorite cigar ! i wish i had bought more boxes ...... funny thing is , when they were released , they were no more expensive than any other torpedo ..... i bought the 4 boxes , smoked a few sticks and was relatively unimpressed - tight draw , wouldn't stay lit , average flavor , etc ... so i didn't buy any more ... i put them away and literally forgot about them ... well , after they hit about 5 years of age they blossomed. the draw was perfect , thay stayed lit , and great flavor.... moral of the story - if a box of cigars sucks (but has potential) , let them rest for a few years......

i really wish i had bought more ...

anyways , i'm glad you enjoyed it rob ! anytime , mate !

-bk

ps - couldn't let it rest for 30 days , huh ? :-D :-D

ha ha ha !!

[Mike33]

Great review Rob! Your descriptions were nearly spot on with mine. I love this cigar, the only issue is construction. Some too loose, others too tight.

[bobsled]

Thanks for the great review! I can only dream of smoking a stick like that, lucky bastage! :-D :-D

[jdbrown]

So true! I had a Cab of RASS a few years back that tasted similar to the old Barley Backwood Smokes. Not good at all. I was clearing space for new stock and decided to fire one up. Rich Chocolate with hints of lemon peel throughout, superb sticks now. Almost gave them away.

[Mr.T]

Great Review and pictures Prez, I purchased a few singles of these last year and decided to fire them up at my wedding with my father and uncle. Absolutely amazing! We all burned our fingers smoking them to the nub. One of the best cigars I have ever had the pleasure of smoking.

[xibbumbero]

Every one I've seen has been the dark wrapper version. I have been unimpressed w/those. X:-(

[bassman]

By far, my favorite EL. delicious from release. Sadly, I've smoked all of mine & with so much talk over the years of these being widely faked, I'm not up for risking current market value on something that may or may not be what I'm expecting.

[servebig]

Wonderful review Prez!

I haven't been able to be on the boards lately as I am doing a study in sleep deprivation associated with the birth of twins :-D

I had to chime in on this one though. I remember these first coming out and getting burned on the purchase of some obvious fakes. While the decision was made never to deal with that particular retailer again, I have to admit that my desire for the vitola was tarnished. Fortunately, I obtained a few samples through passes and the like, and read reviews from others that had tried "authentic" versions that were very positive. I put it in the back of my head that if I ever had a chance to buy a real box that I would consider it. Along comes a vendor offering a Hunter & Frankau sealed box....yeah I had to pay UK prices, but WTF...I didn't have to buy diapers at that point!

When they finally arrived, being the heathen that I am, I instantly opened the box at the local B&M and took out 2...one for Mario (Josie), and one for me. They were two totally different cigars and it served me right for not having let them settle. Of course I got the plugged version...Mario's was fantastic. I have since smoked about 1/2 the box and I have to say that these are all over the place. I have had a couple that brought me to my knees they were so full bodied, while others have been medium full. The draws have also been eratic...some tighter than I like. Buuuuuut....the ones that have been on have been incredible. Absolutely incredible.

Of course the wise thing would be to let them rest for another couple of years, but I have never been accused of being wise. About 9 months ago I noticed some for sale on the Czar aged stock list. They dissapeared quickly...might have been 2 boxes, but I forget. For those of you that have multiple boxes of these, give some thought to either losing one for 5 more years, or sending it to me as a baby gift ;-)

[josie67]

» Wonderful review Prez!

»

» I haven't been able to be on the boards lately as I am doing a study in

» sleep deprivation associated with the birth of twins :-D

»

» I had to chime in on this one though. I remember these first coming out

» and getting burned on the purchase of some obvious fakes. While the

» decision was made never to deal with that particular retailer again, I

» have to admit that my desire for the vitola was tarnished. Fortunately, I

» obtained a few samples through passes and the like, and read reviews from

» others that had tried "authentic" versions that were very positive. I put

» it in the back of my head that if I ever had a chance to buy a real box

» that I would consider it. Along comes a vendor offering a Hunter &

» Frankau sealed box....yeah I had to pay UK prices, but WTF...I didn't have

» to buy diapers at that point!

»

» When they finally arrived, being the heathen that I am, I instantly opened

» the box at the local B&M and took out 2...one for Mario (Josie), and one

» for me. They were two totally different cigars and it served me right for

» not having let them settle. Of course I got the plugged version...Mario's

» was fantastic. I have since smoked about 1/2 the box and I have to say

» that these are all over the place. I have had a couple that brought me to

» my knees they were so full bodied, while others have been medium full. The

» draws have also been eratic...some tighter than I like. Buuuuuut....the

» ones that have been on have been incredible. Absolutely

» incredible.

»

» Of course the wise thing would be to let them rest for another couple of

» years, but I have never been accused of being wise. About 9 months ago I

» noticed some for sale on the Czar aged stock list. They dissapeared

» quickly...might have been 2 boxes, but I forget. For those of you that

» have multiple boxes of these, give some thought to either losing one for 5

» more years, or sending it to me as a baby gift ;-)

Yup Barney, the one I had was INSANELY good...spicy, peppery, and STRONG...so strong that I felt nauseated for about an hour afterwards. Luckily I got the good one :-D , and yours was a bit tight...at least you have a half box left. This ranks as one of my alltime favorite cigars, and they are worth the premium if you can find some more. And for GOD's sake Barney, forget about the diapers...let them go au naturale for a bit so you can get some more rare cigars for me to try :-P

[cadillacdoc]

I initially had a terrible problem with burn issues with these sticks. They would "tunnel" terribly. Loved the flavor though and now they are tremendous without any burn issues. My pet theory is the binder is ligero which doesn't burn as well as seco or volado, but has "married" with the wrapper and filler after aging for a few years hence the improvement in "burn". Anyone have thoughts on this?

[El Presidente]

» I initially had a terrible problem with burn issues with these sticks. They

» would "tunnel" terribly. Loved the flavor though and now they are

» tremendous without any burn issues. My pet theory is the binder is ligero

» which doesn't burn as well as seco or volado, but has "married" with the

» wrapper and filler after aging for a few years hence the improvement in

» "burn". Anyone have thoughts on this?

I have seen a few boxes with the notorious Habanos 2000 wrapper which would be better put to use as a flame smother blanket. This wrapper is thick, initialy bitter to the taste in the early years, fireproof, and takes a long time to meld to the cigar.

[sje]

fantastic review,

A terrible lesson well learnt was when i bought a box of these on first release from a good melbourne vendor, (cos there are some bad ones). tried 2 and thought they were horrible, so i gifted some, then some more then some more after that.

found the box some years later and there were 12 remaining, of which i had only smoked 2, tried the third from the box and was blown away. just brilliant.

only last week i traded one of my boxes of D4 reserva for one box of Partagas 2000 Pyramides and a 2007 Por larranaga regional. i was feeling down about the trade but now feel much better about it.

again great review. (and a reminder of lessons we learn in this cigar caper).

[56Tweed]

Good review, and interesting notes from the time period. I never bought any boxes, but I had the pleasure of sampling a few and enjoyed them all.

[shrink]

Fine and compelling review, Prez! Never bought any of these, when I had the opportunity. I made up for it when the P2 was issued. Those I have sampled from the initial distribution have been stellar.

[Ken Gargett]

pretty much spot on review, even if i do think you are a bit stingy with a lousy 96 points. where is the love?

i'm interested you say that they sold like hotcakes. i had memories that they were a bit sluggish but that may have been in havana as we certainly got to buy a few there. and for some bizarre reason, they always missed the price rises in cuba. must not have been on the right list. i don't have the notes (computer melt down has made this a terrifically fun festive season) at the moment but i think that the price sat around $130 a box. always been one of my faves, LE or otherwise (and a day or two ago, had a plugged, or as near to it as one could imagine, PSS2 which i did not get from you for am change). tried to hold off the first box but it went very quickly, they were just sooooo good. hung on to a few and they have been superb but all gone. one box left and that is in deep, deep storage.

one of the greats and i know that the price has skyrocketed but anyone chasing a simply brilliant cigar, if they come across a genuine box, bite the bullet. you will never regret it.

[El Presidente]

Partagas Edicion Limitada Piramide 2000

A huge thank you to Bill Kelley for shooting me a pair of these beautiful Piramides to review. Thank you mate...totally unnecessary but very much appreciated

Check out the bunching on that beauty...sheer perfection

Bill tells me that the cigar was one of 4 boxes purchased in Switzerland (and authentic ;-) ) which have ben stored in his Aristocrat at 65%. Lisa has held them for the best part of our humidor at 65% for two weeks. Friday afternoon, a good week, a bottle of French wine....no better time to sample a cigar that I have not tried very often.

Visually it is a treat. It is important to remember the history of this cigar. Altadis had just purchased 50% of Habanos s.a for $500 Million.

The Cuban Cigar industry was in shambles after the diabolical year of 1999 in which the push for productivity raised questions from dealers worldwide if the days of the great Cuban cigar were over. I personally wrote off in June 2000 (our financial year) just under $100,000 worth of stock that was plugged (Ken can't take all of them). In those days I was a parallel importer into Australia (one of the finest if I say so myself ;-)...Swedish Match the Authorised dealers at the time would not deal with me on terms I felt acceptable) and there was no question of returns or rebates. Our business absorbed the financial hit....just...Habanos s.a launched the Hoyo de Monterrey Particulars, Montecristo Robustos,Partagas Piramides and Romeo y Julieta- Exhibicion No.2

We held our collective breath for better days. Would these cigar be the vanguard of the turnaround so desperately needed in the industry? Would they stand the test of time?

They sold like hotcakes. Even so I couldn't get my hands on enough of them through Meditra. I new that Parallel importing would need to change if more specialty items were to be released. in 2002 I signed an exclusivity agreement with PCCHK but that is a story for another day. Remind me next week and I will be happy to tell members a no holds version of the world of Parallel importing.

So I now hold in my hand something that to me is more than a cigar from a friend. This cigar has personal symbolism. I remember wanting to keep some boxes for myself at the time of release but after the hit of 2000 I couldn't justify it. I recified that in 2002 when PCC sent me some boxes for personal use one of which continues to age in my humidor.

The wrapper is soft. The oils are not obvious to the eye but come alive at the sense of touch. There is little aromma at cold. I sniff the foot and it reveals a slight aroma of tobacco and leather. The wrapper is equally as secretive....slight old leather...a little tobacco....some floral note that I can't put words to.

Clipped the cap and took a long deep draw. I was a little disappointed....easy draw which I am always suspicious of...just a hint of aged tobacco on the tongue.

Gently fired up the foot, remarkable woody and light lavender aroma. The first draws confused me entirely, no Partagas white spice through the nose, medium...light medium body, sweet paprika on the palate but I struggled to identify where the Partagas wanted to go. I could taste other flavours but could not readily identify them. To be honest I was becoming frustrated. Fine cigar, the draw did not bother me...billowing levels of white smoke with an intoxicating aroma but the flavours...I could place the sweet paprika...but the others just remained outside of any definitions I could label...I swear I was being led along by the dance of the seven veils...I could sense them, taste them but they were all one monogamous group from which I could not tease any single identifiable line.

And then it happened.

From just before the one inch mark the cigar exploded in flavour...it transformed itself..it excelled beyond imagination. In terms of flavour it was a fireworks display of the higest order.

It started with loads of white pepper through the nose and an increase in body from light medium to medium full. In a remarkable transformation the sweet paprika was joined by a real earthiness and a troupe of flavours which played like a symphony around the outskirts;Fresh apricots, clean toasted tobacco, toasted almonds and lavender. There were elements of coffee and licorice and now I stopped what I was doing and simply focused on this display of Habano brilliance because I know that cigar experiences like this are far and few between.

What a cigar! The performance went on and on and on and on. My mobile rang and I did not answer it. Nothing was going to interrupt this surreal experience.

Down to the last third and I find wthat while the bidy and white pepper intensity is diminishing the kaleidescope of flavours continue. The burn is perfect, the balance of the cigar incredible. Apricots, almonds, cream, paprika and now a little charred wood. My God I am in heaven and thankfull that Bill has not only generously sent me a great cigar but a chance to reminisce on good times and bad.

I will rate this cigar a 96 and I only deduct a few points for the draw and opening. But I am really picking at the edges here. The cigar was one of the best if not the best I have had this year. One of the top 10 of my lifetime and one that I will always remember.