Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Honduran San Augustin
Filler: Nicaraguan, Dominican
Size: 5.5 x 49 Robusto
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $14.99 (Around $12.00 online)

Today we take a look at the Partagas Limited Reserve Decadas 2019.

BACKGROUND:
From Cigar Journal:
“Partagas returns with its limited Edition Partagas Limited Reserve Decadas in 2019. It was originally released between 2005 and 2009. Only an average of three per thousand Cameroon wrapper leaves were hand selected for Partagas Limited Reserve Decadas, each having been set aside in 2009 for ten years of aging.

“Partagas Limited Reserve Decadas 2019 will be presented crystal tubes in ten-count boxes. Just one size has been created for the 2019 release. The 5.5 x 49 robusto will sell for $14.99 per cigar, until the limited supply is depleted.”

APPEARANCE:
A lumpy and bumpy stick. Not a beautiful cigar. The wrapper is espresso In color in normal indoor lighting but exposed to the sun, it gleams with reddish tones.
A small amount of tooth envelops the entire cigar. There are a lot of veins which detract from its appearance. In fact, there are two veins that permeate the triple cap disrupting its flow.
The cigar feels filled right except for the area behind the cigar band. It feels plugged.

SMELL THE GLOVE:
I’m greeted with a tartness composed of lemon/lime citrus and a touch of grapefruit. It is followed by a mélange of floral notes whose sweetness partner nicely with the tartness. In addition, I can detect aromas of dark chocolate, espresso, malt, black pepper, cedar, barnyard, black licorice, and pretzel.
The cold draw presents flavors of barnyard, chocolate, black coffee, pretzel, malt, cedar, and black pepper.

FIRST THIRD:
There is, indeed, a plug near the cigar band so a couple swipes with my PerfecDraw draw adjustment tool and the problem is solved.

Big plumes of smoke fill the air around me coating me in a faux London fog. The draw and resistance is on the money.

The strength begins at a potent medium.

Immediate complexity kicks in with flavors of black pepper, malt, cedar, creaminess, chocolate, and licorice. Good start.

The burn ain’t so hot for a $15 stick. It is going to need a touch up very soon.

Half an inch in, the blend soars. It doesn’t fuck around with getting down and dirty. My palate is in overload at this very early stage; but then it is exactly what I expect if I’m to spend $15 on a single cigar. I want the blend to start with an aggressive attack so it has room to spread its wings later on.

I reserve judgment on a cigar’s construction during the time I need to stop writing and take photos during the course of the review. If a cigar is still lit when I’ve processed my pics, I’m a happy fella and duly impressed. If a stick fails to remain ignited, then clearly the rolling process is subpar. The Partagas Limited Reserve Decadas 2019 passed the drill with flying colors.

An inch in and I’m floored with the newly arrived complexity, flavors and balance. Wow.
Goddammit…the ash falls right into my lap. I mean, WTF? Do I have a target painted down there or what?

Color me impressed. I’ve only had the cigars for a month. The decade of aging on the Cameroon wrapper is magic. Flavors and intensity are awesome.

It is a meaty blend in that it warms the heart and soul. It took no time at all to dispel the singularity of individual flavors and morph them into one big spectacle of ‘one-ness.’

This is one of those blends that guys who know what they like and don’t like will love this blend. You don’t need a sophisticated palate to fall in love with this cigar. But if you do have a spot-on palate, this will be a huge treat. So much going on that I believe each smoker will find his own flavor bits throughout the experience. The base flavors will always remain but the ancillary flavors are totally up to your own palate.

The burn sort of sucks.

Strength is a mild medium/full…if you know what I mean. It is so bloody smooth that the strength sneaks up on you. I’m getting a body buzz but no mind fuck.
I can’t wait to see what the second half is like.

Why do classic rock stations play Frampton’s “Show Me The Way” on a loop? I’m so sick of that mediocre pop song. If they play any Eagles, I’m going to Jeffrey Epstein myself.

The creaminess seems to be a major mover and shaker. The finish is so intense that my lips feel like I’ve just slurped on a vanilla milk shake.

I’m not a big fan of Partagas as they are strictly hit or miss and make a gazillion bundle blends. Of course, there are exceptions but this baby is spectacular.

SECOND THIRD:
I take my first sip of water. My face peels back exposing Dorian Gray.
Strength hits full tilt. Still, the nicotine level is minimum.

The cigar goes out on me. What do I do? Ummm….fire….good.

Without even reaching the halfway point, I will stick my neck out and say this is worthy of a $15 price tag; but even better at the $12 price.

There is a Padron-ish quality to this blend. It’s dark and foreboding. It’s a heavy blend. Very intense and won’t let go of your balls.

I love a cigar that doesn’t need 6 months of humi time before it’s ready to smoke. Partagas made sure the aging was optimum. I wonder how it will taste in half a year…will it be better or will the month I’ve had it prove to show off not only its potential but reach the Zen zone of being wonderful as is?

There is a slight edge to the blend that causes a tiny amount of bitterness that more time may vanquish. Not sure. I don’t find the use of reviewing a limited-edition cigar 4 months after its sold out in perpetuity.

The halfway point is reached and that slight bitterness disappears. Das is gut.

I know fully how odd I am. When I find an incredible blend, I prefer to smoke it without the interruption of being in the company of other smokers; especially when the cigar ain’t cheap. I like to focus entirely on the blend and soak up what it is slinging at me.

There are no newer flavors to mention at this point. It is staying on track with its base coat. It doesn’t require additions. The balance of sweet and savory is perfect.

The heavy creaminess relents and gives way to a meatier version that includes baking spices and black walnuts. A slight woody smokiness enters the picture.

Since the start of the second half, the burn issues disappear completely. Go figure.

Other than the initial plug, construction is first class.

A little bit of cardboard shows up. I don’t like that. Hopefully, it is momentary.
As strong as the cigar is, I’ve yet to lose my mind. The smoking gods are looking out for me.

LAST THIRD:
For being a Robusto, it is showing off its construction by being a nice slow roll. It doesn’t hurry. It takes its time allowing the blender to exhibit his jabs and punches.

The complexity is deep enough that the cigar blend is constantly changing. It evolves. It is now a richer blend than an hour ago.
Each puff is nirvana. I allow a couple minutes between puffs so as to savor the broad spectrum of its finish. It goes on for miles and miles.

The Partagas Limited Reserve Decadas 2019 is better than the iconic Partagas 170. Both use the Cameroon wrapper and the fillers are both from Nicaraguan and the DR. But the Decadas is a much better smoke. And cheaper than the $17 MSRP of the 170.

For the most part, this is a highly consistent smoke. There is no retreating; only full steam ahead. It begins with an impactful impression and then just keeps getting better.

I’m very impressed that this strong cigar shows very little attack of Vitamin N.

In the 80’s, I was flying home from NYC and sat next to Dale Bozzio. She was the wife of drummer Terry Bozzio. She was also the main attraction in a spread in Hustler Magazine…which had just come out a couple months before I met her. What a skank.

She sat there in all her wacko splendiferous majesty and would not stop talking to me the entire 5 hours. When we landed, I had a friend pick me up. She followed me out to the curb and pleaded she had no ride and asked if we could take her home? I had enough of her and made my excuses and left her standing there wondering how she was going to get home. She just freaked me out.

Where was I?
The Partagas Limited Reserve Decadas 2019 is a splendid example of master blending.

For regular Joe’s like me, $15 is a lot of dough…especially when a fiver is $75. I sought out better prices and they are fruitful. A lot of online stores are selling them for around $12…I believe the packaging of being in a wax sealed tube really jacks up the price. And if you purchase one at your local lounge, you will pay full MSRP plus taxes.

Still, this cigar should not be missed. With only 2500 boxes of 10 on the market, they won’t be around much longer.

RATING: 94

And now for something way different:
Had a Cannagar lately?

From a blog called “The Potlander”
“A New Site Selling Luxury Cannabis Cigars Bills Itself as “420 for the 1 Percent”—So We Tried It
Smoking just got a whole lot bougier.”

“What’s the most money you’ve ever spent on weed?
Until last week, mine was a $79 one-gram gram of Sitka Gold flower rolled in 2 grams of hash—an indulgence for a visiting friend’s first legal pot experience.
But I am decidedly part of the 99 percent, which means I’m not the target market for Leira Cannagars, which bills itself as “420 for the 1%” on their slick website.”

“Seattle-based Leira rolls cannabis cigars, the smallest of which is a petite three-and-one-quarter-inch cigarillo size that retails for $110 in Washington shops, like Freedom Market of Longview, where I snagged mine. They sell out “within hours or the weekend they are dropped,” the company told us, as cannabis users splurge on a product that “represents success, luxury, and sophistication.”

“This cigarillo includes 4 grams of flower, coated with a half-gram of rosin, wrapped in cannabis leaves. It’s advertised as burning slowly over an hour. They also sell a six-inch Corona, which retails for $420, and which is filled with 12 grams of flower, sealed with 3 grams of rosin and also covered in cannabis leaves, that they claim will burn for us to five hours.

“Leira works hard to make the packaging look lux as well: each cannagar is sold in a corked glass jar, topped with drips of purple wax. While I hesitate to embrace weed as a product for the bourgeoisie, I am a sucker for marketing.

“My smoking history begins with Marlboro Lights in middle school and has plateaued at frequent bong rips and the occasional celebratory joint, so the information I have about cigars primarily comes from the media. Specifically, my firsthand knowledge is limited to the boxes making great pencil cases, and the flavored ones are best served gutted and refilled with weed, then sealed with saliva. Buying a cigar already made with Grape Diesel saves so much time (and saliva), even if it costs 100 times as much!

“Leira has a lengthy video with instructions on cutting and lighting the cannagar, claiming you need a cigar cutter and a butane lighter. Considering my weed budget was already shot after this purchase, I decided to go rogue and skip the step of buying equipment that I likely wouldn’t use again. (My kitchen scissors and a classic Bic worked just fine, which was somehow both a relief and a disappointment.)

“Here is one of the things I didn’t know about cannabis cigars: They’re hollow in the middle! If you smoke them in the manner you usually smoke a joint, your mouth will be burned. A lot of times, even! This was a surprise—I was expecting the density of a blunt, but the cannarillo was shockingly lightweight.

“Since I have smoked pot way more times than I have smoked cigars, it took a long time to figure out the best way to hit this thing.

“The two friends I shared with were equally baffled, and I ended up offering up a regular old-fashioned preroll once we were tired of the discomfort. At one point, we recalled media impressions of people smoking cigars, and puffed out our cheeks and inhaled while giving tiny wet smooches to the cannarillo, a method that finally resulted in less burning and deeper hits, but also made the whole thing sort of gross to pass around.

“One friend wisely said, “I wish we would have figured this method out $60 ago.” Indeed, for a 99 percenter like me, it was hard to enjoy the curling smoke without seeing it as money burning away between my fingers. I have to wonder why Leira didn’t bother adding inhalation instructions to their video—I suppose one percenters already know these things.

“My final impression of the Leira Cannarillo is one of disappointment.

“The idea is great, but the execution makes this a better novelty gift for a friend than a smoker’s splurge. I found the presentation tacky, reminding me more of Maker’s Mark than Montecristo. If I’d gone for the Corona and spent four times the money, I’d be outraged since you could buy an ounce of weed for that much and roll a ton of old-fashioned blunts.

“Since I’m middle class, I’ll definitely be scraping the debris of the finger-burning stump left behind into my bong instead.”

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