Partagas Serie D No. 4 : GEO DIC 14 : Partagas Review Comp 2016

[Philc2001]

The striking red and gold band of the Partagas Serie D no. 4 robusto caught my eye as I rummaged through my winedor. This fine cigar came with a birth mark of GEO DIC 14. It is the first of its brethren to take to the flame. This is one of the younger specimens in my collection as I've been on a cigar buying hiatus for a few years and smoking through my aged stock.

The milk chocolate colored wrapper had some notable small to medium veins with a lovely oily sheen to it, and it was well applied with barely any visible seams. The cap was glued on evenly and did not crack when I punched it. There was quite a solid pack under the cap so it took a few seconds to work the punch through. The punch clawed out a rather substantial circular chunk of tobacco, leaving a notable tunnel in the head of the cigar. Draw was a little tight, but adequate.

The first few draws produced a moderate amount of smoke and a medium bodied flavor loaded with a solid earthy, rich tobacco core. The aroma had some of that distinct barnyard twang that I like to seek out, it reminds me of being on a farm with rich fertile loam after a brief rainfall as the parched hot earth turns the rain drops into vapor. There is a slightly spicy finish on my tongue, not too hot. As I smoked past the first inch the smoke became creamy and smooth, though the spice intensified a bit.

The second third of the cigar warmed up some more and produced a creamy rich plume of smoke with each draw. The flavor was getting a little more intense with hints of burnt toast and charred wood on the finish, and the spiciness was getting stronger.  As the cigar progressed into the final third, the smoke volume died down considerably, causing me to take longer and more frequent draws. That made the cigar get hotter, so I had to purge it and slow down a little. The spiciness was getting more intense and beginning to be distracting. The flavor was still quite rich and creamy, and body was quite strong, but there was a somewhat grassy bite to the finish.With about 2 inches left, the smoke volume returned, the flavor actually became even creamier, while the spiciness smoothed out a little, which kept me interested and prevented me from putting the cigar down to extinguish. Although still a bit hot and spicy, the rich tobacco flavor was quite enjoyable so I smoked down to about the last inch before letting it slip into the ashtray among the ashes.

This cigar was a decent treat and a complex flavor bomb, but somewhat edgy for my taste. I can’t help think that it needs another couple of years to smooth out and reach its full potential.

[TheMonk]

Nicely done! I agree, D4s really do need time, at least for me.

[Akela3rd]

Excellent review. Puts my PMF one to shame, but then again so does the cigar...

Sent from my HTC One M8s using Tapatalk

[Bohn007]

While I am not a Partagas fan, it was a good review. Nicely done.