Partagas Black Clasico

Wrapper: Medio Tiempo Sun Grown
Filler: Nicaragua & Dominican Republic
Size: Clasico (5.2 x 54)
Strength: Medium-Full

The Partagas Black is a cigar that is produced by General Cigar Company. Daniel Nunez is the mastermind behind this blend and he has “…spent 10 years perfecting the Medio Tempo wrapper and the La Vega Especial binder“.

Medio Tempo wrappers, according to the General Cigar marketing machine, “are darker, heavier and richer than other wrappers because they are harvested only after they have been allowed to age on their plants 50% longer than other wrapper leaves“.

While I am not entirely sure if this is factual or strictly good advertisement: The classic Partagas Black cigars are dark, oily, and one of the best cigars you can-and-should have in your collection.

Construction: First thing you will notice of the Partagas Black cigars is the dark, dark, dark color of the wrapper.  The perfectly wrapped cigars are oily and covered with small veins that do not effect the burn. Like most General Cigars the Partagas was firm and had no soft spots.

Draw: Punch or cut the Partagas Black is going to give you a good draw.

Burn: In my box of Clasico cigars I would say that half of them burned a little jagged but gave me no problems while the other half burned perfectly. Either way the cigars burned at just the right speed.

Taste: Your first couple of puffs on the Partagas Black will deliver a slight spicy taste.  The spice is second to a earthy flavor that is easy on the pallet.  Ending the first third of the cigar introduces a sweetness that stays through the entire smoke. Ash on the cigar is peppery and solid.

The second third of the cigar is when the spicy after taste becomes more prominent. The finish is now earthy and still leaves a sweet aftertaste on the pallet. At this point the body of the Partagas is starting to creep a little more into the full range.

You reach the strongest part of the cigar at the end (like most cigars) but it is still in the medium range, the dark oily wrapper had more bark and not so much bite. The flavor profiles stay very consistent through the entire smoke. So I can only tell you that it had spice, an earthly flavor, and sweet finish.

Final Verdict: The Partagas Black is a must buy cigar. The cigar it self retails for about $6 a stick and is easy on the wallet. Thanks to the way General Cigar Company sells their products to everybody and anybody (even 7-11 carries their brands) you can find a box of Partagas Blacks online for $70. If paying $3.5 a cigar wasn’t enough incentive - most of the online retailers will even send you a hat or shirt for taking a General Brand cigar out of their inventory.

Ashton VSG Belicoso No. 1

Wrapper: Ecuador Sun Grown
Filler: Dominican Republic
Size: Belicoso (5.25×52)
Strength: Full

Ashton VSG Belicoso is one of my all time favorite cigars. I was looking for a good way to introduce the VSG to you, the readers, but could do no better than the Ashton website it self. And after reading about who is involved in creating this amazing stick - you too will realize that the Ashton VSG is something special:

“For those who desire a powerful and intoxicating flavor with a complex rich finish, look no further than the Ashton VSG. The VSG is blended exclusively for Ashton by Carlos Fuente Jr. using 4 to 5 year old aged Dominican tobacco taken from the finest and most fertile plants. The distinct flavor of VSG comes from its wrapper grown on a private estate in Ecuador owned by the Oliva family where this proprietary wrapper leaf is grown for the Fuente Family exclusively for Ashton VSG.”

Construction: Dark, spicy, and perhaps rugged are just three words I would use to describe the look of the Ashton VSG wrapper. The Ecuadoran Sun Grown wrapper has an oily sheen that not only looks amazing, but makes this cigar such a great build. Little veins run through the firm stick but do not effect the cigar in a negative way. Smoking down to the nub will not be an issue with this perfectly rolled stick.

Draw: Belicoso shapes do not leave many options for obtaining your draw: Cut or V Cut. Choose your preferred method of cutting and enjoy because the draw is perfect. In reality this is the kind of draw I wish every cigar had.

Burn: How picky do you want me to be about the burn? Had this cigar been in the 5 dollar range - I would say it was perfect. Except this cigar sits in the $10-$12 range (depending on markup, taxes, etc) so I have to say… the burn is good. While it does get a little off track the stick did a great job of correcting itself.

Taste: Let’s start by giving the Virgin Sun Grown cigar the “nose” test. Doing so will give you an indication of the spice you will soon encounter, the sweetness, and what I would call a light mocha smell.

The 1/3 of the cigar punches you with an amazing amount of spice - it is a medium-full bodied smoke from the start. Once you overcome the spice you get an amazing nutty flavor with a hint of coffee - or perhaps a light chocolate(?). The smoke is full and flavorful giving you a nice creamy finish and a firm white ash.

At the 2/3 point (midway of the cigar) the spice of the Ashton seems to die a bit and take backseat to a sweeter taste. This “sweet” taste only introduces what’s to come: leather, woodsy, and cedar like notes. The body is now in the full spectrum and the smoke is just as creamy. The ash is still white and firm but burned a little uneven.

Grand Finale: The VSG is still in the full range and the leather flavor is what dominates the smoke. The leather taste is supported by the spice (this spice never fades) and something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Perhaps it is a sweeter cedar - but it compliments it very nicely making the Ashton VSG easy to smoke to the nub. Again the smoke is creamy and the ash is firm and white. I would like to note the uneven burn corrected it self.

Verdict Is: This is a cigar you should have in your normal rotation and can easily be found in many retail tobacco establishments. I also found that the VSG is even more amazing when aged. So while this is a bit expensive to some (or anyone who smokes everyday) it is okay to buy some and save the VSG for that perfect day.

Other Cigars:

At this current time the only other cigar I can recomend (as in same spciy taste, full body smoke, and quality) is the Opus X.

Chateau Fuente King B

Wrapper: Sun Grown Ecuadorian
Filler: Dominican
Size: Belicoso (6×55)
Strength: Medium

The Chateau Fuente King B was officially released in 2005 at the then RTDA convention. Released to the market as a limited cigar; you can usually find this cigar at your local B&M - and you can surly find this cigar online.

Story has it that the King B was named after a local tavern that Carlos Fuente Jr very own grandfather liked to frequent. This tavern was conveniently located behind his grandfather Arturo’s house and it was the place all the cigar makers would meet. The King B tavern no longer stands but this cigar gives proper tribute.

Chateau Fuente King B comes well protected in a cellophane wrapper. Underneath the wrapper is a large cedar sleeve secured with the signature black ribbon across the bottom. The King B has a beautiful presentation and I almost hesitate to undress the cigar.

Construction: The reddish brown color wrapper looks familiar to Fuente’s other sun grown cigars in the lineup.  Small veins covered the entire King B - however they were small enough to not effect the smoke. It was tightly wrapped which enabled it to hold its composure while smoking (no unwrapping). Again - the Chateau Fuente is a quality build from the Fuente family. Nothing is unusual with this.

Draw: I would have to say the King B has a medium draw, depending on the stick you happen to select. I usually have perfect luck with the Fuente products but many sticks in this box required me to double cut. Either way I given it has a medium draw - or a draw that you can fix with very little effort.

Burn: The Chateau Fuente King B burned perfectly. I was a little hesitant with the cigars that had the tougher draw - but stick after stick my worries were put to rest. King B created a thick white ash that was well formed.

Taste: As expected the King B had the initial taste of the cedar it was wrapped in and a bit of sweetness that just stays in your mouth. I detected a hint of spice throughout the finish of the first third of the cigar.

Two thirds of the cigar brought out the pepper and the spice stayed around to make it a great smoke for me. Everything is really smooth and compliments each other quite well.

The King B is still a medium bodied cigar and it remains a medium body cigar through the entire smoke.

Finally the spice seemed to fade away as the cigar was coming to an end. You could really get more of the earthy type of flavors. This finish was still smooth but there seemed to be a hint of bitterness that just faded into the cigar.

Final Verdict: You can add this cigar to your humidor. Going into a cigar lounge to purcahse the stick will cost you around $9.xx. You will not have any trouble finding this cigar online and the price is a bit better at $7.xx.

The Chateau Fuente King B is easy to smoke in warm weather, cold weather, morning, day or night. It’s a versatile cigar that everyone should at least try.

This would be a great pick up at the $7 range but I as you get into the upper $9 range there might be some better cigars out there. If you don’t have a cigar budget - or have everything else in stock - then pick this King B cigar up.

Other Cigars:
Lower Priced: JFR
Same Price: Fuente Cuban Belicoso
Higher Price: Ashton VSG