Vitola: Robusto Gordo
Size: 5.50″ x 52 ring gauge
Price $7.26 MSRP
Obtained From General Cigar as a review sample
Background
Today I’ll be taking a look at the online only Extra Oscuro from Partagas. This is a follow up to my review from last week of the Extra Fuerte. This cigar is comprised of barrel aged Nicaraguan, Dominican, and Honduran ligero, a Dominican La Vega Espeicale binder with a Connecticut Habano Oscuro wrapper. This cigar comes in five sizes packed in boxes of 18 and ranges from $7.00-$8.50 a cigar. This was my first experience with this cigar.
Prelight
The wrapper on this cigar was an even dark brown in color with a slight mahogany tint to it. The wrapper was very oily and had some tooth to it with a lot of veins to it as well. When I gave it a squeeze there was a slight amount of give with no soft spots. When I put my nose to the wrapper I got notes of barnyard with hay and leather coming from the foot. I will also note I appreciate General making it very easy to tell which cigar it is by the band. While they are all the same design they are different color: gold and black for regular, silver and black for extra fuerte, and purple and silver for extra oscuro. This one also had the very thick head of the extra fuerte. After taking a cold draw on it I got notes of sweetness with a good draw.
Flavor
When I was toasting it the aroma I got was of a grilling hamburger. A very interesting start to be sure. The cigar starts off with a wasabi like blast of spice especially on the retrohale with notes of leather coming through on the tongue. The spice did tone down quite a bit by the end of the first third. The only other flavor I noted during the first third was a maple like sweetness on the finish. The cigar never built out of the medium range in regards to strength by this point. The flavors in the second third changed slightly to leather, sugary sweetness, hints of grilled meat with a slightly creamy finish. The cigar stayed firmly in the medium range. The flavors really didn’t change a whole lot in the final third with the exception some bits of cinnamon thrown in. The spice did start to build a bit and it maybe got into the medium-full range.
Construction
Construction on this cigar was just about perfect. The draw continued to be easy throughout and in spite of the gusting wind the burn was almost straight through the entire cigar.
Value
In looking online these cigars pretty much sell for their MSRP with the occasional sale. It looks as though they are trying to make sure the online and B&M release are pretty much the same price and the selection is about taste.
Conclusions
Overall it was an ok cigar. There wasn’t anything wrong with this cigar but it just didn’t do much for me. I don’t know if the wind gusting caused any problems. I will note that (surprisingly) I haven’t really found a cigar that uses barrel aged tobacco that I really like, with maybe the exception to the occasional Añejo. I would give this cigar a try again but I don’t think it would be something I would seek out.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10
Medium is my thing, but this doesn’t sound like a wow, must try cigar. Thanks.
8.5 for a cigar thats just OK? I’m a Partagas fan so I will try and find these and see what I think. The grilled hamburger is a different twist. I like they they used the Classic band with a twist of color.
Hey! If a cigar scores below 85 in that big “lifestyle rag” it’s pretty much a complete failure!
Please don’t compare your site to that Magazine…. I enjoy the unbiased opinions of your reviewers.
Just ok to ME. You might find it different.
Great review. I see the shop version all the time and might have to pick one up just to give it a try. Sounds like a good cigar just to have on hand for an everyday or golf or poker night cigar.
I haven’t seen the Extra Fuerte in shops yet, just the original release. But that could just the the shops I frequent.
Almost positive that Old Oaks had the Extra Fuerte, but then again I could be wrong. I am always on overload looking for new stuff to try when I go in there.
I’ll have to add this one to my try list. Sounds like I might really enjoy it.