Cigar Review: Partagas Black Label Clasico

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Patrick at The Stogie Guys has a short review of the Partagas Black Label Clasico up. The Black Label is a cigar that I like. Indeed, I like virtually all Partagas cigars. Patrick seems to agree on this one, giving it a four out of five on their rating system.

Here’s an excerpt of what Patrick had to say,

“while the cigar’s appearance makes it stand out in the humidor, this stogie can only fully be appreciated after enjoying its distinctive flavors, which are so unique they are difficult to properly describe.

The Clasico is a 5.25×54 large Robusto made at General Cigar’s Dominicana factory. I would characterize it as a medium-to-full bodied smoke with a full flavor that is spicy or peppery and yet very smooth at the same time. A lot of the special character of the cigar comes from the care that went into its development.

Partagas Black Label Clasico The Partagas Black Label was created by master cigar blender Daniel Nuñez over a ten year period in which he worked to perfect the Medio Tempo technique for the wrappers — keeping some of the leaves on the stalk half again as long as normal in order to increase nutrients and flavor — and the La Vega Especial binder.

Cuban-seed Medio Tempo wrappers are Connecticut Broadleaf, but darker, thicker and richer because they are harvested only after having been allowed to age on their plants for 50% longer than other similar wrapper leaves. The La Vega Especial binder is sun-grown in the Dominican Republic to give it a deep, rich flavor of its own.

The filler is a blend of Nicaraguan Ligero and Dominican Piloto Cubano Ligero tobacco that further enhances the flavor and fullness of the cigar. Add to that a larger ring gauge and you have a superb example of the art of blending.

If you’d like to give this stick a try, the best online price I know of at the moment is US $63.95 per box of 20 at TNT Cigars. Atlantic Cigar has the next best price at $65.63. Most other dealers charge a couple of bucks more

Mike’s Cigars has the five pack for $17.50, which is about 20% less than the next best price I’ve seen them going for and is quite a bargain. If you haven’t tried them, and you like strong, full-flavored cigars you might just find the Partagas Black Label is one of your new favorites.

Posted on Friday, June 23rd, 2006 at 12:33 am.