The study cigar tonight was the Partagas Spanish Rosado, San Agustin. Accompaniments were chocolate brownie, freshly brewed java and water.
This is a cigar that I was looking forward to for some time and one that I really wanted to like. The wrapper was a lovely medium-dark brown with tinges of reddishness. Grown in Honduras, this wrapper is supposed to be something special. As I found out in the course of smoking it, I never discovered what that "specialness" was supposed to be.
Prelight and Initial Stage
The barrel or body of the cigar was firm with just the right amount of resiliency. The wrapper was lightly veiny, fairly smooth and slightly oily. The scent of the stick was light, almost too light. Wrap and construction were good. Not picture beautiful but good.
Light-up was trouble-free and a few puffs later, the game was underway. Draw was on the light side of average and smoke volume was moderate. The smoke aroma was light and inoffensive. Initial flavor notes were mild pepper, some light woodiness and light earthiness. Early indications was that this was a light-bodied smoke. Burn was good and straight and slow.
It did not strike me at all as rich, meaty or heavy bodied. This seemed to be quite contradictory given the appearance and reputation of the wrapper. Huffing brought out some more pronounced earthiness and a slight nuttiness, but that was about it. I kept waiting for this stick to get started.
Late Stage and Finish
The ash built up nicely and as you can see, was solid and pale gray. Aftertaste was light and had really no character to note. Aroma continued to be light. And then it happened. Over the course of a few minutes, at about 30 minutes in, this cigar fell off the truck. I mean it went completely dead. What little flavor there was seemed to have been exhausted and all I was left with was mouthfuls of hot, ashy air. I have no idea what happened but what I was smoking was now no more interesting, maybe even less so than my Backwoods lawn-mowing cheroots. It started to get a little hot and huffing only made what I drew worse and more perplexing.
This was so strange that I stopped my reading to try and puzzle out what was happening. After another 10 minutes or so I simply put it down. I just had no more justification to keep sucking on this thing. All in all, this cigar was a strange, disappointing experience. Neither rich and powerful nor light and balanced, it simply did not deliver upon promises made. I may try this again to give it another chance, but not anytime soon.
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...rtSpanRosSA.jpg)
In the end, to console myself, I had to light up a Sancho Panza Double Maduro Quixote robusto...and I was not disappointed. Good, deeply earthy budget stick with a nice mash of barnyard and rich tobacco.
Wilkey
This is a cigar that I was looking forward to for some time and one that I really wanted to like. The wrapper was a lovely medium-dark brown with tinges of reddishness. Grown in Honduras, this wrapper is supposed to be something special. As I found out in the course of smoking it, I never discovered what that "specialness" was supposed to be.
Prelight and Initial Stage
The barrel or body of the cigar was firm with just the right amount of resiliency. The wrapper was lightly veiny, fairly smooth and slightly oily. The scent of the stick was light, almost too light. Wrap and construction were good. Not picture beautiful but good.
Light-up was trouble-free and a few puffs later, the game was underway. Draw was on the light side of average and smoke volume was moderate. The smoke aroma was light and inoffensive. Initial flavor notes were mild pepper, some light woodiness and light earthiness. Early indications was that this was a light-bodied smoke. Burn was good and straight and slow.
It did not strike me at all as rich, meaty or heavy bodied. This seemed to be quite contradictory given the appearance and reputation of the wrapper. Huffing brought out some more pronounced earthiness and a slight nuttiness, but that was about it. I kept waiting for this stick to get started.
Late Stage and Finish
The ash built up nicely and as you can see, was solid and pale gray. Aftertaste was light and had really no character to note. Aroma continued to be light. And then it happened. Over the course of a few minutes, at about 30 minutes in, this cigar fell off the truck. I mean it went completely dead. What little flavor there was seemed to have been exhausted and all I was left with was mouthfuls of hot, ashy air. I have no idea what happened but what I was smoking was now no more interesting, maybe even less so than my Backwoods lawn-mowing cheroots. It started to get a little hot and huffing only made what I drew worse and more perplexing.
This was so strange that I stopped my reading to try and puzzle out what was happening. After another 10 minutes or so I simply put it down. I just had no more justification to keep sucking on this thing. All in all, this cigar was a strange, disappointing experience. Neither rich and powerful nor light and balanced, it simply did not deliver upon promises made. I may try this again to give it another chance, but not anytime soon.
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...rtSpanRosSA.jpg)
In the end, to console myself, I had to light up a Sancho Panza Double Maduro Quixote robusto...and I was not disappointed. Good, deeply earthy budget stick with a nice mash of barnyard and rich tobacco.
Wilkey
