Partagás Serie du Connaisseur No 1 FPG OESU

Measures: 189 mm x 14,5 mm

Age: The cigar came from a box with the code FPG OESU = Partagás, 04/98.

Setting: After a series of meetings in the office, I felt the need to spend some time alone to think. I am very fortunate that an ideal circumstance for this is offered by a cigar-friendly café in the building just opposite my location, so I left the craziness of the office a bit early and seated myself there, with a cup of coffee and some ice water. And, of course, a cigar: the Serie du Connaisseur No 1 by Partagás which I had picked out from the humidor the previous evening, wisely anticipating a cigar session.

This is a cigar of unusual proportions: long and thin. It was clad in fairly dark brown Colorado wrapper. This, and the general rugged looks of the cigar make it fairly masculine in my eye: while it is expertly made, with very uniform feel, it looks more purposeful than pretty. After cutting, I tried the draw. It felt a bit to the tight side, and for a moment I considered the option of leaving the cut cigar for another day or two in my travel humidor. At the end, I decided against it because otherwise the cigar felt just right for smoking.

The first draws from the lighted cigar removed my worries about the draw: it was just right after all, in fact ideally resistive for this type of a cigar that benefits from slow smoking. The cigar produced a quite satisfactory volume of smoke. It burned perfectly evenly, producing beautiful ash that held easily in 1,5 inch increments.

But the story of this cigar is a story of flavour. It was so smooth and integrated that no description seems to make justice to it. I nevertheless sensed hints of pepper and sweet citrus, sometimes also earth (from burnt sugar field) and leather, sometimes even a bit of salt. These occurred on top of slowly intensifying core tobacco taste, the strength of which became apparent by the second half of the cigar. It was like bear's grip: soft but irresistibly powerful.

This cigar has been described as "old school Partagás" by those who know. Having never experienced old cigars of this make, I cannot comment on this. Yet this description caused my mind wander: I imagined that this cigar ought to be smoked at evening on a hacienda balcony, listening to sounds of crickets, exotic birds, and workers returning from days' toil in the cane fields. In short, this is an extraordinary and subtle cigar that gives an unique smoking experience.