baldheadracing
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- Joined
- Nov 6, 2008
- Messages
- 245
Partagas Limited Reserve Decadas 1997 #4
Size: Churchill 7.5" x 49
Wrapper: Cameroon, 10 years-old at rolling (hence 'decadas'), "3 in 1000" leaf
Binder: Honduran San Agustin
Filler: Dominican Republic/Nicaragua (Ometope)
Est. Internet price: $17.80 / MSRP: $19.80 (!!!)
Smoked with: Alberta Premium Rye Whisky (and quite a bit of it :whistling: )
Smoking time: 100 minutes
Summary:
A quality mild cigar with fancy packaging and a Cameroon wrapper - but, for half the price, consider a Cuesta-Rey Stanford's Cameroon Reserve.
A big thank-you to Anthem for this cigar - this was not my usual kind of cigar, and I would never have experienced it otherwise :thumbs:.
Pre-light:
The Decadas was presented “en vidrio,” i.e., in glass. It looked like a cigar in a test tube to me, but perhaps I’ve seen too many B-52’s in test tubes. The test tube was sealed with a cork, wrapped in plastic, just like a bottle of wine. One suspects that the RH inside the tube should be constant, but just to be sure, I stored this cigar in my humidor – after all, there was nothing to keep the cork wet.
Through the glass, the wrapper looked flawless, with an extremely even brown beer-bottle colour. Surprisingly, the second band was on crooked. Ah well, I'm not smoking the band. On un-corking, the smell was old, old, tobacco. The cigar had a couple soft spots. The cold draw was easy, even though I removed only a bit of the cap. There was no appreciable taste with the cold draw.
First third:
The overwhelming first impression of the cigar was smoothness. On lighting, the cigar was very smooth, with no pepper, and just a hint of fruity sweetness. This was not a strong or full-bodied cigar. What stood out was the aftertaste – it was a refreshing taste that I was having a hard time placing.
At 1" inch, the cigar was smoking nicely. There was now a very slight hint of nuts/leather, and also a hint of pepper. However, the predominant taste was one of fruit, perhaps pear with a hint of mint, with something vaguely familiar in the fresh aftertaste.
Middle third:
This was not a cigar for a long ash contest. Although the burn line was even and well-defined; the most I ever got was a couple inches before the light-grey ash fell off.
The tastes changed slowly. The cigar was still predominantly fruity/floral, but became a bit meatier and richer. The cigar was still very smooth, and there was still a pleasant aftertaste with just the slightest hint of mint – and I figured out what the aftertaste reminded me of – Mentos!
Just before the halfway mark, the wrapper split. Spring may have officially started, but there was still three feet of snow in my yard, and the ambient RH was around 25%. Cameroon wrappers are often delicate, so I was half-expecting a split. The split did not affect smoking, though. The smoke was voluminous at this point, and the cigar’s flavours were coming to a peak. There was no particular smell to the smoke other than a faint stale smoke odor, which was just slightly stronger then what remains after smoking cigarettes.
At the midway point, the cigar tasted its best with some real complexity showing. Mild and smooth, with pear, some vanilla, a bit of pepper, Mentos (regular flavour), plus a hint of banana … or maybe the rye was really having an effect. In any case, the cigar had a light sweetness, no bitterness, no saltiness, no acidity (sour), and a bit – not a lot - of umami.
Last third:
The cigar’s flavours were winding down. The smoke was getting a little hotter than expected, but the original tastes were still there, and the odd hint of leather was back. The cigar was smooth and mild right up to the nub.
Overall, this was a quality mild-bodied Cameroon-wrapped cigar. It was not rich, but subtle. My personal tastes are for more earthy, full-bodied cigars, but I enjoyed this cigar. The price (and packaging) are a bit much, though.
Size: Churchill 7.5" x 49
Wrapper: Cameroon, 10 years-old at rolling (hence 'decadas'), "3 in 1000" leaf
Binder: Honduran San Agustin
Filler: Dominican Republic/Nicaragua (Ometope)
Est. Internet price: $17.80 / MSRP: $19.80 (!!!)
Smoked with: Alberta Premium Rye Whisky (and quite a bit of it :whistling: )
Smoking time: 100 minutes
Summary:
A quality mild cigar with fancy packaging and a Cameroon wrapper - but, for half the price, consider a Cuesta-Rey Stanford's Cameroon Reserve.
A big thank-you to Anthem for this cigar - this was not my usual kind of cigar, and I would never have experienced it otherwise :thumbs:.
Pre-light:
The Decadas was presented “en vidrio,” i.e., in glass. It looked like a cigar in a test tube to me, but perhaps I’ve seen too many B-52’s in test tubes. The test tube was sealed with a cork, wrapped in plastic, just like a bottle of wine. One suspects that the RH inside the tube should be constant, but just to be sure, I stored this cigar in my humidor – after all, there was nothing to keep the cork wet.
Through the glass, the wrapper looked flawless, with an extremely even brown beer-bottle colour. Surprisingly, the second band was on crooked. Ah well, I'm not smoking the band. On un-corking, the smell was old, old, tobacco. The cigar had a couple soft spots. The cold draw was easy, even though I removed only a bit of the cap. There was no appreciable taste with the cold draw.
First third:
The overwhelming first impression of the cigar was smoothness. On lighting, the cigar was very smooth, with no pepper, and just a hint of fruity sweetness. This was not a strong or full-bodied cigar. What stood out was the aftertaste – it was a refreshing taste that I was having a hard time placing.
At 1" inch, the cigar was smoking nicely. There was now a very slight hint of nuts/leather, and also a hint of pepper. However, the predominant taste was one of fruit, perhaps pear with a hint of mint, with something vaguely familiar in the fresh aftertaste.
Middle third:
This was not a cigar for a long ash contest. Although the burn line was even and well-defined; the most I ever got was a couple inches before the light-grey ash fell off.
The tastes changed slowly. The cigar was still predominantly fruity/floral, but became a bit meatier and richer. The cigar was still very smooth, and there was still a pleasant aftertaste with just the slightest hint of mint – and I figured out what the aftertaste reminded me of – Mentos!
Just before the halfway mark, the wrapper split. Spring may have officially started, but there was still three feet of snow in my yard, and the ambient RH was around 25%. Cameroon wrappers are often delicate, so I was half-expecting a split. The split did not affect smoking, though. The smoke was voluminous at this point, and the cigar’s flavours were coming to a peak. There was no particular smell to the smoke other than a faint stale smoke odor, which was just slightly stronger then what remains after smoking cigarettes.
At the midway point, the cigar tasted its best with some real complexity showing. Mild and smooth, with pear, some vanilla, a bit of pepper, Mentos (regular flavour), plus a hint of banana … or maybe the rye was really having an effect. In any case, the cigar had a light sweetness, no bitterness, no saltiness, no acidity (sour), and a bit – not a lot - of umami.
Last third:
The cigar’s flavours were winding down. The smoke was getting a little hotter than expected, but the original tastes were still there, and the odd hint of leather was back. The cigar was smooth and mild right up to the nub.
Overall, this was a quality mild-bodied Cameroon-wrapped cigar. It was not rich, but subtle. My personal tastes are for more earthy, full-bodied cigars, but I enjoyed this cigar. The price (and packaging) are a bit much, though.
