Cigars.ie

Partagas Serie D Especial EL 2010

For the past two weeks I have been battling against a chest infection (also known as man-flu in female terms) which has left me unable to enjoy a cigar… A couple of attempts have been unsuccessful; but eventually, I have managed to get rid of it, just in time to start getting my lungs “into smoking shape before Cuba” like my friend Dara says! So, the cigar I have chosen to get me back into shape is a 2010 release, one of last year’s three limitadas; the Partagas Serie D Especial.

The D Especial is the sixth addition to the Serie D family. It is a Robusto Extra, measuring 5.6″ in lenngth by 50 ring gauge and it comes into semi-boite-nature boxes of 10. This cigar has been sitting in my humidor for a while now, while I have been trying to resist the temptation of smoking it. I have always found the young limitadas from Partagas need at least two years before they start showing their potential. I have only recently started to enjoy the D No.5, but this D Especial smells too good to resist. With a cup of green tea on the one hand and the D Especial on the other, I retire to my smoking attic for my first review in the last month.

The Serie D Especial is a beautiful and well constructed cigar, as you would expect from a Partagas Limitada; it wears a dark brown oily wrapper with very few veins. The bunch is hard, almost solid and the triple cap is very rounded and well applied. It sits well on your hand with its good ring and generous length. The wrapper has a mild barnyard scent, while the foot has hints of liquorice. The prelight draw is good, slightly on the tighter side, which is perfect for me, with sweet flavours of chocolate.

Upon lighting, the cigar fills your mouth with rich flavours of wood, coffee and cashew nuts. The smoke has a smooth texture and the finish is long and woody, with hints of ammonia. The draw is good, with the cigar delivering plenty of thick grey smoke. After the initial burst of flavours, the cigar settles down, with familiar “serie D” flavours kicking in. Earth and wood dominate and the finish is sweet and spicy.

In the second third the cigar loses any harsness or edge and becomes smooth and complex. Dark chocolate, cedar, wood, earth and leather are some of the flavours that I could identify, all in good balance and depth. The body is still medium and the finish is long and sweet.

While the second third was enjoyable, the last one is not. The cigar shows no more smoothness and complexity, but becomes a little rough. Wood and earth are the dominant flavours now with just a little spiciness and noticeable ammonia on the finish. Although there is no burn issues at all, I had to put the cigar to sleep early, as it was getting too bitter for me.

As I said before, I have yet to try an EL partagas on the year of its release and enjoy it… I have had fresh D no.4’s, P no 2’s and shorts, only two to three months after they have been made and they have been great. It seems that the aged tobacco leaves used in the partagas limitadas are a little too strong and need plenty of time to accord. However, this cigar seems to have tremendous potential. If you lay them down for 4 years, they will be as good as the 2004 D no.1 tastes today. Bottom line: buy them and forget about them… !

TOTAL 85 / 100