Sunday, August 30, 2009

Partagas Lonsdale (Box Date 1998)

This was another gift from my friend and I looked forward to smoking it after his rave reviews. The cigar is beautifully constructed with a wrapper the hue of cafe au lait, there is little veining and the silky smooth exterior is most appealing. The pre light aroma is of cedar and light tobacco essence. The pre light draw smacks of leather and light wood.

The cigar opens with an unexpected complexity. The core profile is of leather and light tobacco, but there are undertones of cedar and other wood. The draw is a bit tight, but I expect this from cigars of this geographic vintage. The burn is steady with a fantastic shoulder.

The development in this cigar is too difficult to describe in stages. There are three significant profile shifts during the duration of this smoke. The first described above. The second shift was to a core of rich tobacco with undertones of lemon zest and orange peel. The final shift was to a core of lighter tobacco flavors with undertones of leather, light earth, cedar and vanilla bean.

The finish of this cigar was long and smooth with notes of leather and rich tobacco. This cigar is a classic, and I wished it was longer for further evaluation.

Appearance- 92 a beautiful cigar with a bit of a ruddy look
Taste- 98 this cigar had complexity and depth that is seldom experienced
Construction- 98 this cigar performed extremely well, for this vitola the construction was nearly flawless
Strength- 95 a wonderful medium smoke that complements all other elements of this smoke
Overall- 95.75

No comments:

Post a Comment