Name of Cigar: Por Larraņaga Panatela
Ring/Length Shape: 5"x36
Filler/binder/wrapper:Vuelta Abajo, short-filler
Wrapper Colour: Colorado Claro to Colorado
Wrapper Sheen: a bit
Sample web price: $1.75US
Date of box: Jan 08
Date of last review: Nov 08
Date of review: Feb 09
Storage: sealed Mason jar in coolerdor, 65F/65%RH
(Aside: the storing of tobacco in sealed Mason jars is borrowed from pipe smokers, and is an old form of packaging Habanos - and a new form of packaging of some Tatuaje's. I tried jars with JLP's a while back (half the box in jars, half in a wooden box(SBN, not a dress box)) and after six months, I liked the mason jar'd cigars better. Currently I'm repeating the experiment with a number of other cigars. Interesting (to me) observations: Some cigars out-gas enough to generate positive pressure in a sealed jar, others do nothing. Also, the wrappers on jar'd cigars seem to not exude oils in the jar, unlike cigars stored un-cello'd in a box or humi. Once out of the jar, the oils seem to come out right away. Back to the PL ...)
These PL's have just hit one year of box age, and the improvement from the last smoking at nine months is noticeable. While a number of smokers like the tannic (sharp) taste of a young smoke, I prefer that the tannins be reduced. (I don't notice the tannins if I drink alcohol while smoking a cigar.)
Pre-light showed a typical Cuban short-filler wrapper: far from flawless, somewhat coarse, and with colour variations. The bunch was fine - no soft spots, and the cold draw was perfect. As is seemingly typical with a cigar taken fresh from a jar, the aroma was fragrant and generous. There was a definite fruity/floral taste to the cold draw.
Upon lighting the cigar, I was immediately hit with mild sweet smoke - although not an overwhelming sweetness. There was a lot of smoke, and a mild tickling of the sinus' if I exhaled through the nose. Not a peppery smoke. The trademark PL caramel taste was not very strong, and was overwhelmed by basic tobacco taste. No richness or leather, etc. - PL's, at least the Panatela and the Montecarlo, do not seem to have any ligero, or very little of it. A slight saltiness crept in about a 1/2 inch in, but a purge got rid of that. No bitterness at all.
The flavour of the cigar was not intense; fairly weak in fact. However, what was there was quite agreeable, though not complex. This is a mild smoke in terms of body, although it had a surprisingly strong nicotene punch compared to a similar non-Cuban.
The ash was very dark, but held up well for a short-filler. Burn and draw were perfect - a welcome contrast to the Quintero Breva's that I have been smoking recently, every one of which has needed a poke or two. (This is probably due to the relative amounts of ligero between the two smokes. Ligero holds more moisture than volado or seco.) Trying to smoke in a normal big-ring fashion did lead to hot mildly-burning smoke on the tongue, but being patient and taking it slow made all the difference. I took 45 minutes to get this thin-ringed 5"x36 cigar down to a 3/4" nub. (Most people rate this as a half-hour smoke.)
Overall, I'd say that this particular cigar was typical of a PL panatela. Not heavy, or rich, or full-bodied, or complex; but a straightforward mild-bodied smoke with hints of sweetness that would go well with coffee. (I had this one with water.) Note that when I say mild, it is relative to other Cubans; this isn't like a tasteless (to me) mild-bodied Dominican/Honduran that is prevalent in this price range. With one year of box age, these are ready to be smoked now, but I'll be waiting for the spring before I work them into rotation.
Finally, for those into numbers like myself, I scored the cigar at 74 without taking price into account - identical to the cigars-review.org rating of 7.4
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