Partagas 8-9-8 varnished
Partagas 8-9-8 Varnished
The Partagas ("Party") 8-9-8 is a classic Cuban cigar. '8-9-8' refers to the box - it has curved sides, and holds three rows of cigars - eight on the top row, nine in the middle row, and eight on the bottom row. The cigars are not box-pressed, but held in place with a ribbon. The original 8-9-8 was made pre-Castro, and came in an unfinished box. It was known as a mild cigar (ref. MRN's book). A slightly larger and stronger cigar was introduced in the 1970's in a varnished box. The larger cigar was reblended to be milder ten years ago. Due to the relative airtightness of the varnished box, MRN opines that these cigars will age slowly, will grow in strength while aging, and should be rested for five years before smoking. YMMV.
With the exception of the 8-9-8, Partagas is not known for mild cigars (although it does make some others). Partagas cigars generally fall into two types: the traditional Partagas taste, which has an in-your-face earthiness, and the new Partagas taste, which is still earthy but not so in-your-face. The Party Short is an example of the traditional taste, and the Series D Number 4 is an example of the latter taste. Both of these cigars are favourites of mine, although the SD#4 is now so popular that it is one of the most-counterfeited Cubans (after Cohiba and Montecristo).
The 8-9-8 is a different cigar altogether. It was once Partagas' flagship cigar, and carries a premium price - about the same price as EL's - and, while there is a Partagas family resemblance, it turns out to be a much more subtle and refined cigar.
This particular box is from Nov 08. I smoked a couple cigars this spring (after five months), and I noted back then that the cigar was "underwhelming, and lacking in strength and richness." It is now one year from box date - time to see if they've improved!
The first impression of the cigar was the striking uniformity of the cigars in the box. The wrappers are identical; the presentation perfect. What was perhaps most noticeable were the small veins in the leaf, particularly in comparison to some other manufacturers. For example, Oliva rollers roll a small steel cylinder across the wrapper to flatten the veins in the wrapper leaf before rolling. This results in a smooth appearance of the wrapper leaf on the cigar. The 8-9-8's are not like that. The shade-grown wrapper is thin, so even small veins stand proud. The wrapper was also a lot lighter than seems fashionable these days.
Pre-light, the cigar did not have a strong smell. There was a very faint organic smell at the foot (a.k.a. "barnyard," i.e., the smell of decaying fermented vegetation), and a lick of the exposed head showed a bit of umami taste. (Umami = the fifth basic taste, a.k.a. savoriness, meatiness, richness - typically found in fermented and aged foods according to Wikipedia, and termed "leather" in Cigar Aficionado-speak.)
At 6.75" x 43, this cigar is considered a Lonsdale. (The original (and also mild) Flor de Rafael Gonzalez cigar made for Lord Lonsdale was 6.5" x 42.) Lonsdales are not a popular size these days - the smoking time is longer than is convenient for most, yet the cigar isn't as impressive-looking as a Churchill. The 8-9-8 burned perfectly for well over two hours, and the smoke was always cool. This reflects high-quality construction - it is easier to roll a great-drawing (and hotter-smoking) cigar if one uses less tobacco in a given size (and less tobacco means less cost and shorter burn time. Ever wonder why lots of cigars of different sizes all seem to last about the same time?)
After lighting, the first 1/2" was, well, bland. By 1", the cigar had run in nicely and was showing delicate and subtle tastes - a mild cigar, but with more character then a few months ago. There was none of the tannic taste that one would expect to find in a year-old Partagas. Very smooth smoke. No saltiness, no sourness, not much sweetness, and just a hint of bitterness. There was also also almost no aftertaste ("finish") and minimal room odour. This was a cigar that was very different from the medium-full Nicaraguans that many of us prefer, e.g., Padrons. It was closer to Connecticut-shade-wrapped cigars, yet also different from them as well.
All in all, a high-quality (and expensive) mild cigar. It kindof reminds me of Davidoff in that it is a high-quality mild cigar that I won't be buying again. The cigar seems well-suited for that imagined past when Jeeves' Bertie Wooster could go to his gentlemen's club, have lunch, and spend the afternoon smoking a cigar. It doesn't have the oomph that an after-dinner cigar typically has, it smokes too long for a daytime cigar, yet it was too subtle and required too much attention to appreciate to be an outdoor (golf or yard) cigar. It was, however, perfect for a three-hour teleconference - an activity that I wish upon no one.
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