Partagás Serie du Connaisseur No.1 OSU EA00 (August 1999) (PTGSRW)

[Bijan]

One of six I have. I was saving them for warmer weather, but the Partagas review contest seemed like a good excuse to try one out.

Cigar was considerably underweight, so I went with 7mm punch, which worked out well.

Aroma at cold and pre-draw of savoury spice.

110/100 for complexity. Only comparably complex cigar I've had was a La Gloria Cubana No. 4 but that was fruity and this was savoury.

The flavours might not correspond exactly to the thirds but are in sequence. I had to start noting them as I went along as I wouldn't be able to remember them all. Started to write them down towards the end of the first third.

First third (in order):

Spice

Pepper

Leather

Cedar

Spice and leather

Perfume

Sweet Hickory BBQ (got this in the Connaisseur No. 3 last year)

 

Second third:

Sweet spice

Sweet citrus twang

Cedar

Bitter spice and can feel smoke on the tongue

Bittersweet citrus peel

Smoky savoury bbq

Sourdough

Smoky liquorice smoke felt on the tongue again

 

Final third:

Mint

Slightly Sweet citrus

Smoky bitter almond

Aniseed

Savoury BBQ

Tarragon

Smoky liquorice

Sweet smoked BBQ smoke on the tongue

Sweet smoked BBQ with tarragon and mint

Finished with above and aniseed or sweet fennel

 

66 minutes to the nubbiest of nubs (continued just past the last photo).

5/5 probably tied for best cigar of last year and this year with a Cohiba Coronas Especiales from last year that was not at all complex but intensely pleasant sweet ginger all the way through including on the retrohale.

Weather was just below freezing with humidity in the high 70s.

Burn was very sharp and didn't require any touch ups.

My palate is totally exhausted from the wild ride.

[NSXCIGAR]

The later 2000s versions never quite captured the brilliance of the pre-01s. The SdCs, Charlottes and Princess were great examples of how great CCs could be.

[PigFish]

2 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

The later 2000s versions never quite captured the brilliance of the pre-01s. The SdCs, Charlottes and Princess were great examples of how great CCs could be.

Agree. Millennial cigars get a bad rap. My feeling is that people would rather ‘band wagon’ the prevailing opinion than be open to smoke in a good cigar.

Cheers! Piggy

[Chucko8]

Nice review and pictures mate. Sure sounds like it was quite a treat 

[Monterey]

14 hours ago, PigFish said:

Agree. Millennial cigars get a bad rap. My feeling is that people would rather ‘band wagon’ the prevailing opinion than be open to smoke in a good cigar.

Cheers! Piggy

No.  For most of us who suffered thru that time, it is a time best forgotten.  Hating cigars from the worse period is not band wagonning.

-Someone who smoked thru that period.

[PuroDan]

6 minutes ago, Monterey said:

No.  For most of us who suffered thru that time, it is a time best forgotten.  Hating cigars from the worse period is not band wagonning.

-Someone who smoked thru that period.

There were plenty of good and bad sticks in that period.

-Someone who smoked thru that period.

[Monterey]

7 minutes ago, PuroDan said:

There were plenty of good and bad sticks in that period.

-Someone who smoked thru that period.

I didn't say there wasn't.

[Markspring1978]

The two best cigars I smoked in 2020 were a 2001 ERDM Tainos and a 1999 Bolivar Inmensas. 

Time has been good for a lot of millennial stock. 

That being said, I am always super leery of buying anything from ‘99-01. 

Good review @Bijan. And holy smokes, that is a heck of a lot of flavors you picked up.