Partagas Culebras

This is a triple review with my wifey & Irish79 upon arrival home after the QSH this year (2011)

Smoke: Partagas Culebra
Drink(s): Water (me); Water (wife); Water (Irish79)
Tunes: I don’t remember. Maybe nothing.

Wrapper: ISOM
Binder: ISOM
Filler: ISOM
Draw: Me: Medium; Wifey: Easy, good draw & smoke; Irish79: no comment
Burn: Not recorded.
Misc: Not recorded.

Pre-light (Me): Funky kinked weird shape. Colorado shade wrapper. Good construction. Somewhat veiny with a musty tobacco scent. Sweet tobacco taste on the cut.
Pre-light (Wifey): Bendy and mushroomy. Crinkly
Pre-light (Irish79): Musty scent. Light tobacco scent. Twisted like a snake, hard to judge craftsmanship.

http://i487.photobucket.com/albums/r...ulebra/016.jpg

http://i487.photobucket.com/albums/r...ulebra/017.jpg

Light (All): Easy, medium draw; Easy, good draw & smoke; Don’t know which end to hold up, enjoyable 1st impression.

1st 3rd (Me): Light to medium draw. Toasty with a little tannic spice. Sweet hay tobacco taste.
1st 3rd (Wifey): Peppery. One with a mild flavor that leaves a “sting” in your mouth. Enjoying it, more than anticipated.
1st 3rd (Irish79): Some leather. Good…I like it. Spice on the exhale.

http://i487.photobucket.com/albums/r...ulebra/018.jpg

Ash (Me): Dark gray with light gray. Weak, but still hold for ¾”
Ash (Wifey): Still holding on. No opinion on the ash. Fun when it starts to bend around.
Ash (Irish79): Mottled dark gray.

2nd 3rd (Me): Similar in profile. More woodsy / nutty flavors blending with sweet tobacco. Medium flavor. Nice.
2nd 3rd (Wifey): Another flavor developing. A creamy layer with the spice. Can’t pinpoint.
2nd 3rd (Irish79): Still the same with spice. Spice on the end of the tongue. Still diggin’ it.

http://i487.photobucket.com/albums/r...ulebra/019.jpg

3rd 3rd (Me): Smooth with spice. That saltwater taffy background. Sweet tobacco and a little walnut shell oil zing.
3rd 3rd (Wifey): Agree with Dan, flavor I can’t describe. Creamy mint like aspect. Hard to explain. Some kind of mintyness…or something.
3rd 3rd (Irish79): Spice has really diminished.

http://i487.photobucket.com/albums/r...ulebra/020.jpg

Overall impression (Me): Interesting. Very enjoyable.
Overall impression (Wifey): I was skeptical it would be gimmicky, but it turned out to be a really nice cigar.
Overall impression (Irish79): Very good. I liked it & it exceeded expectations (even after 6-7 cigars today)

Thanks (Canada!) Craig

Will & Wifey, and Irish79

Awesome review, thanks.

I have one sitting in my humidor for a "special occasion", but haven't quite figured out when that might be...

Thanks for the review. Consistent with all of the other comments I've heard about the Partagas Culebra. And I would suspect that it would be a cigar someone without substantial cigar smoking experience would enjoy, even though it looks awfully weird.

Thanks for the review! I am jealous. And that party ashtray is cool, too.

Great reviews, nice to hear that it isn't just a gimmick.

They're discontinued, and have been a fairly good buy (in Canada) since then - a bit less per cigar than what would be the equivalent straight Partagas, so I was smoking them regularly for a while. Generally milder than a typical Partagas, but not always!

Glad you-all enjoyed them.