More From My Archival Notes: Partagas Spanish Rosado and Four Roses

Name : Partagas Spanish Rosado San Agustin
Size : 5 1/2" X 52
Wrapper : Rosado (er, duh)
&
Four Roses Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey


Partagas is proud to introduce a new line to its family of cigars, Partagas Spanish Rosado. The Spanish Rosado name is derived from the wrapper that is grown exclusively for General Cigar in the San Agustin Valley in Honduras. "Spanish" refers to the country of Spain's influence in Honduran history, while "Rosado" refers to the reddish hue found in each wrapper. The new Partagas Spanish Rosado offers a new, unique taste that consumers have come to expect from Partagas. The Honduran-shade wrapper offers a rich, oily appearance with a consistent dark reddish-brown color. Because of the uniqueness of the soil, the wrapper provides a spicy taste with hints of cinnamon that burns white, leaving a beautiful ash. A Connecticut Broadleaf binder with a blend of Dominican, Honduran and Mexican tobaccos combine to make this medium to full-bodied cigar a must-have for serious cigar smokers.

Well it was a nice day for late November here in North-Central Ohio, nice enough in fact (a pleasant 47 and sunny) to wander out to the front porch with a good smoke. I have had one of these from a three pack partagas sampler I bought a couple of weeks ago and because of all the good stuff I heard about them I decided today was the day to try it, so i grabbed it, an nice pour of Four Roses Bourbon and headed out.

Everything about this cigar was pleasant, the wrapper had this nice amber glow to it and smelled fabulous as soon as I removed the cellophane. For once I nailed the way I wanted it cut and it lit easily, and drew perfect the whole time. Initially it was very mild and creamy with almond notes everywhere, with a nice fresh oaky undertone. It drew nicely and had plenty of smoke and because it seemed packed better than the Naturales I has had from this pack it burned slowly and evenly the whole way down (which also leads me to believe I finally pegged the right balance of humidity in my humidor). About a third of way in it gained some momentum with added coffee and dark chocolate notes, and that great crisp smell of a campfire off in the distance. This was sublime, to say the least. The last third kept the cocoa and coffee notes, and started to add the white pepper and sage that I had experienced in the other partagas smokes I have had, but not nearly as strong as the brick wall I hit with the Naturales. It never stopped being pleasant. This is what a partagas cigar should taste like to me. Take the regular ones, tell them to chill out a bit, and act a bit more refined and that is what you got here. From what I can tell these are rather reasonably priced as well, so I am surely going to get more. YUMMY stuff.

I have a real love hate relationship with Four Roses bourbon, when I am in the mood for it, nothing else will do, but when I am not it just doesnt impress me. Today it did not. It was underwhelming and had a sharpish finish today that I hadnt experienced much before. It was not nearly refined enough to match the cigar well. I will not pair these again.

TomC