Partagas 898V 2002

[Kingantz]

Smoked this bad boy early Saturday morning (6/26). The wrapper was a rosado in color, not much oil noticeable, and patchwork veins throughout. I dry boxed the cigar for several days and found it very firm with a bit of crunchiness when squeezed. I punched the cap and found the draw perfect with a sweet, but musty, taste of tobacco coming through.

As I was torching the foot, the smell of the smoke rising up to my nose was incredible. After taking a few puffs and letting the cigar sit for several seconds, I then took a long draw and was greeted with a mild to medium strength smoke with a mild amount of spice on the tongue. Flavors however were full bodied and incredibly rich from first exhale with strong tastes of cocoa, citrus, earth, and baked bread. The finish was simply amazing, and I couldn’t help but want to take another draw almost as soon as I’d finished exhaling.

The burn was sharp through the first third, however the medium gray ash dropped on its own at one point. The strength and spice intensified the further in I got, becoming more and more my speed being a good medium. I just can’t say enough about how rich and smooth the smoke was coming through the perfect draw of this cigar. Just amazing and complex with perfect balance. The finish was absolutely incredibly after exhaling slowly, again making me want to take another draw.

This was one cigar I hated to see end with sharp burn, perfect draw, incredibly rich and creamy smoke with bold, full-bodied flavors. It just wouldn’t do to have a box of these laying around as I would go through them like crazy. Fantastic cigar!!

 

[stepthirteen]

Excellent Review Greg!! I have an entire box of these yet to be cracked . I am eager to burn some from the box now!

Jim

 

[bluue13]

Sounds like a fantastic smoke! I'm gonna need to get my hands on some of these. Thanks for the review, Greg!

 

[thechenman]

Ah...my favorite vitola from the Partagas marca. An outstanding review of an outstanding cigar.

 

[mjolnir01]

Greg, I smoked one of these guys a week or so ago, I kid you not. It was from roughly the same time frame, the early '00s according to my B&M. It had a nice wheat-like flavor that was quite enjoyable. Thanks for the review!

 

[ManInBlack]

Thanks for the great review Greg. I have some of these winging their way to me as we speak. The anticipation is now killing me!

 

[throwbacksf]

hey great reviews greg, what punch cutter do you use? it seems from your reviews it has the ability to punch three different sizes.

 

[vortex]

hey great reviews greg, what punch cutter do you use? it seems from your reviews it has the ability to punch three different sizes.

Greg has some fancy multiple sized one, Keith. Don't be shy about PMing members with specific questions. You'll find everyone very helpful - and them some.

Steve

Oh, and thank you, Greg. for that smashing review. I love the Partagas flavor profile but I've never tried any Party marca with more than three years age. You make it sound like I'm missing something! Which I guess is true - boo hoo.

 

[investandprosper]

I totally forgot about the 8-9-8 Varnished. As soon as there is room in the Vino, this one's going in! Great review Greg.

 

[MadMonk]

hey great reviews greg, what punch cutter do you use? it seems from your reviews it has the ability to punch three different sizes.

Greg has some fancy multiple sized one, Keith. Don't be shy about PMing members with specific questions. You'll find everyone very helpful - and them some.

Steve

Oh, and thank you, Greg. for that smashing review. I love the Partagas flavor profile but I've never tried any Party marca with more than three years age. You make it sound like I'm missing something! Which I guess is true - boo hoo.

I had of a box and a half of 2006 PSD4 that I actually got in 2006. This was my introduction to anything more than one occasional cuban cigar. Not enough to really learn a whole lot, but enough to give me some insight into, at least, one marca. I smoked them slowly, over the course of several years, smoking the last 5 the first half of 2010. I suppose we can say that they had 3.5 years on the last 5. They were fantastic fresh. As the years passed, the flavors went through several changes, from flat, to a tangly leathery thing which I don't like. The last 6 months they sort of went back to the fresh profile, but with less tannic, more balanced flavor. Having aged them myself (at 69% boveda and 68 deg) I was finally able to get a glimpse of what a decent aged cuban is like. Definitely worth the effort.

 

[vortex]

hey great reviews greg, what punch cutter do you use? it seems from your reviews it has the ability to punch three different sizes.

Greg has some fancy multiple sized one, Keith. Don't be shy about PMing members with specific questions. You'll find everyone very helpful - and them some.

Steve

Oh, and thank you, Greg. for that smashing review. I love the Partagas flavor profile but I've never tried any Party marca with more than three years age. You make it sound like I'm missing something! Which I guess is true - boo hoo.

I had of a box and a half of 2006 PSD4 that I actually got in 2006. This was my introduction to anything more than one occasional cuban cigar. Not enough to really learn a whole lot, but enough to give me some insight into, at least, one marca. I smoked them slowly, over the course of several years, smoking the last 5 the first half of 2010. I suppose we can say that they had 3.5 years on the last 5. They were fantastic fresh. As the years passed, the flavors went through several changes, from flat, to a tangly leathery thing which I don't like. The last 6 months they sort of went back to the fresh profile, but with less tannic, more balanced flavor. Having aged them myself (at 69% boveda and 68 deg) I was finally able to get a glimpse of what a decent aged cuban is like. Definitely worth the effort.

You also get an idea of what you pay for when you buy an already aged box. Usually well worth the extra money. At 69%, I would expect the lighter flavors to be somewhat subdued in a Partagas. Although, "to each his own" when it comes to personal tastes.

Also, you can find out when(and if) a sick period may be occurring in your Cubans be asking someone with a copy of "Min Ron Nee's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Post-Revolution Havana Cigars". Or buying one yourself. A new edition is due out next year.

Do you have a copy, Greg?