Wrapper: Cuban
Binder: Cuban
Filler: Cuban
Size: 4.88 x 42 Corona
Strength: Medium
Price: €10.20 in 2018
First half:
Last time on the Katman channel, we talked about what turned out to be the poster boy for the perfect Cuban cigar (Partagás Lusitanias Cabinet Selection). Today, we go one step beyond and look at what, by rights, should be more of the same but even more special (Edición Regional, remember? That name is specific for a reason).
I aged this 2018 cabinet of 50 cigars in the same humidor that held my Partagás Lusitanias. This information is particularly significant at the end of my review. The draw is tight. Naturally. It’s a Cuban cigar. My PerfecDraw comes out and tries to do its thing, but the Por Larrañaga is stubborn. Eventually, I get a stubborn but manageable draw going. After the first few puffs, it turns out that I have the privilege of being in the presence of one of the most tannic cigars I ever encountered. Almost seven years of aging. Flavours are spice and some honey, but you must concentrate like hell to get them because the tannic overlay is ever so strong. The Katman would waffle on about malt flavours. I would challenge him to find any here.
To add injury to insult, the burn is wonky. I dry-boxed this cigar for two days so it should not burn this poorly. But it does.
If you read this review next to my last one on 30 September, or indeed in conjuncture with many reviews of the Petit Corona of the same make (“PLPC”), you will start to wonder what in the name of the smoking gods could have happened? The PLPC is universally loved, improving with age as you go, the older the better, and the Lusi was the same. But here? I get an unexpected transition from tannic to acidic. This has turned into a real chore.
So what happened? Cuba happened. I have mentioned Cuban QC, respectively the non-existence of same, and this is a prime example. But it is not just this cigar. The whole cabinet of 50 has so far smoked like this, with no change (forget about improvement) over the last 6 years. I do not know if it’s bad tobacco, bad workmanship, bad handling, or all three – but the damage is done. Let’s not forget that we are talking about a Edición Regional, something along the lines of a Limitada, marketed by Cuba with pride and fanfare.
So here comes another insight. When dealing with Cuban Limitadas or Ediciónes Regionales, make sure you get a box from the first batch. In that first release, the Cubans try to make a good impression and put effort in. Later batches however….
I do generally believe that those special editions are very rarely worth these days. It was different in the early 2000’s, and I might reveal an example of a great one in a future review.
For now, back to the grind.
Second half:
On a cigar with a total length of 4.88 inches, I had to correct the burn twice. However, three is the magic number, and barely into the second half out comes my lighter again. All this faffing about with a hot flame on a less than perfect cigar has done wonders and made it even worse. The flavours are not muted, they are gone. I put the cigar down with almost an inch and a half left. It says farewell with a last metallic twang.
Final thoughts:
So dear reader, this is why Cuban cigars might just not be worth it. If you catch a bad one, it’s really bad. And I say this with confidence as, once more, the whole cabinet of 50 was redundant. I keep trying one every few months now to see if there is any improvement, but no. Fellow Habana lovers, buyer beware.
The Cubans have had problems with their crops. For a good while, there has been insufficient harvest to satisfy the massive demand of the smoking world. The good stuff must be fed to Cuba’s prime marcas; and to keep investors happy who rarely smoke what they have. I am not convinced that what I have experienced today is an outlier. Ask yourself this: if you just spent around 20 or 30+ Euros on a “premium” cigar from the fabled isle of Cuba, will you admit even to yourself that it is below par? I don’t know. But you should. It will save you money.
RATING: 69
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
Thoughts and prayers to your humidor. 😔
I don’t have the patience – or the money – to buy and age Habanos. Even when I did back during the Internet’s infancy in the ’90s the lack of quality control drove me crazy.
I’ve been a Fuente and Padron fan forever because you can always rely on the consistency of their offerings. The best Cubans are amazing, but you never know what you’re going to get other than a big hole in your wallet.
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Hey Peter,
Patience. What’s that?
Thanks for your comment.
Phil
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Patience is what you can afford when price and quality are semi-reliably in an acceptable relation to one another.
Those days are long gone with Cuba. Unfortunately.
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The Cuban cigar industry and its products are an embarrassment. As a child of Cuban immigrants, I can only shake my head in disbelief at the misery that communism has wrought on this island. What a disaster – mediocre cigars geared toward fleecing middle eastern and Chinese businessmen with more money than taste. SMH.
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Ideology is the enemy of freedom and the pursuit of happiness. Anywhere, anytime.
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Well said Georg!
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Real talk. Hard for many to accept the truth. I’ve had some killer Habanos, recently a Cohiba sent back from Mexico by a friend of a friend that was excellent as arrived, a couple of great Partagas Serie Ds, but just as many that have been “wtf is this garbage?”… Here in the US especially if you ask, Cubanophiles will swear you got a counterfeit stick if it’s no good, but that’s not really rampant here, as in some countries, and if you know they’re wrong, the only real answer is that they’re making shit up to avoid the truth, as eloquently stated above: many/most Cubans don’t remotely meet the hype, let alone the price.. This isn’t the first time it’s been like this with Cubans though right? Predates my cigar cakeday, but I hear the mid 90’s was exceptionally bad?
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You have a point. As far as I remember, 2000/2001 were particularly abysmal. Nothing to do with Y2K, for those old enough to remember , but with the cigar boom of the mid to late nineties…. parallels to present day are not coincidental.
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Certainly looks that way, the crazy numbers they pulled at the Habano’s fest this year (seemingly, mountains of Asian money, reading between the lines?) as well as the general market insanity, and with zero reaction to them raising prices across the board, leaves me thinking that this round of neglected QC will eclipse the last few! Hell it’s bad enough already with non-Cuban’s, but there at least, I expect the market to react and deflate some, and quality (consistency rather) to rebound. I certainly have little plans to “invest” in Cuban sticks anytime soon however, as it doesn’t seem like it’s going to make a bit of difference whether they’re garbage or not when the people paying these prices are really just paying for status, and pretending to have taste.. What’s that old saying about not being able to buy class?
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Paying high premium and getting sub-par products? Did the German car industry suddenly settle in Cuba?
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