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I really haven't been smoking for much time compared to some of the older members here on the Forum. But, having started 5 years ago one of the first Cuban cigars I started smoking was the Partagas Short. The box I'm smoking from today was one I put away shortly after I began smoking, a cabinet from 2013. I was a Freshman in college at the time, and my friends and I though smoking cigars made us look cool (it did), but it also gave us a chance to relax during the week in between studying. I was even more naive then than I am now, and really did not have many obligations. It is interesting to see how that has changed to today. Relatively cheap, consistent, and having much praise on the forums the Partagas short was a convenient cigar for me to have regularly in the humidor. Especially, being that I really wasn't making much money from my work study job. Plus, I didn't mind passing them out to friends to have them enjoy as well. The opening has traditional Partagas sourdough bread, a bit of spice and leather. Interestingly, there are some floral notes when retro inhaled through the nose. A touch of sweet bell pepper enters the palate, a welcomed addition. To drink today I decided to do a comparison between the new Ardbeg An Oa and the Ardbeg 10. The new An Oa is slightly darker in the glass with less peat and more fruity notes, where as the original 10-year is more pale and has much more intense peat on the nose. I must say, the sweetness of the cigar is lasting much longer on the palate opposed to fresher versions of the Partagas Short. Age really does add more to this small cigar. A couple strong draws makes the ash fall prematurely but there is a lot of sweetness on the palate. More of a bell pepper/ leather note through the retro inhale than earlier in the cigar. The original Ardbeg 10 has classic sharp peat, not as much sweetness is noted in the new release. Red fruits, cherries are noted in the An Oa where is there is a slight citrus note in the older Ardbeg 10. As the second third opens all the floral has disappeared. There is still consistent leather, sourdough bread and bell pepper sweetness. Not much change or evolution. Some roasted nuts occasionally but not a dominant flavor. The burn is fairly good. Only one touch up is needed at the beginning of the final third. Not much change to the cigar. But, it's a good honest, not overpowering, flavorful, short smoke. Exactly what you expect from a five-year-old minuto. Consistent and reliable, better than right off the truck and well worth the time and effort age them. The Ardbeg An Oa is recommended. Very consistent with the typical Ardbeg flavor but more fruit. I will be purchasing it again. Thinking back to where I was 5 years ago, while not a long time, reminds me of what I learned in that time. Needless to say, I am excited to see where I will be in another 5. Hopefully, not studying.

Very nice presentation box of 20 cigars. Fairly cheap. Machine rolled Cuban cigar with short filler and precut. Honestly, I bought these cigars on their price and the Corona in the name. Was surprised (but not shocked) when I found out that these are not Corona sized but Universales. Cooler name and very nice shape - perfect for winter. Comes with some hard plastic friction tubes with a rubber knob. Prefer it to the aluminium tubes as they're not crushable in my pocket. Oh how many times I've had to take wire snippers to a tube to save a cigar with the Jaws of Life. Prelight Ritual Moments ANYWAY, Back to the cigar: Took it out during work with a can of Schweppes Ginger Ale. We lit it up on my break in the heated shed which was very nice. Left the door open so my legs were freezing but the hot air was blowing continuously on my head. That thing could've heated an entire baseball stadium. ANYWAY, Back to the cigar. Very toothy wrapper as expected from a machine roll and very sweet, cedary draw that reminded me of the nectare of a Sprite. Kinda like what honey from heaven would taste like. Or if you licked Tinkerbell. I could actually feel a retrohale on the cold draw which was odd but pleasant. Enjoyed it very much. First Half Great first bit. Tasted like what San Pelligrino if they made a Marachino cherries flavour. Brilliant smoke and pumping out record smoke. I would be taking full draws without getting any sort of harshness. Mouthful upon mouthful of smoke later, you could feel a cedar taste creep up on your palate and tell you that there is SOME complexity with the cigar. It was absolutely brilliant. Flavour was on every time with no surprises or sudden changes of heart. Retrohale had no harshness but does bring out the woodiness more than the sweetness. Nearing the second quarter, the cigar started to really intensify with the flavours as all pistons were pumping. I can tell it has some nicotine/ tannic polymers/ nitrosamines that normally makes cigars harsh. But that was masked by the continous sweet aroma of the cigar. Tasted more like black forest cake near the end... Less like Maraschino Cherries. Second Half I wanted to review this cigar in quarters. But the subtle changes were too gradual to justify typing out these long winded paragraphs FOUR TIMES for this cigar. On top of that, I was with my supervisor who was talking for a bit. Lucky I even remembered to snap these pictures! ANYWAY, Back to the cigar: Still strong with sweet tang. I am really enjoying the hell out of this cigar. It's something that has produced an ass kicking which was surprising considering the sweetness. It was gradual so I didn't even notice. The strength came in the form of a woody zap that reminds me of engraving maple wood or cooling maple sap in the snow. As a child, I would take a stick, put it on a wooden board layered with snow, and pour maple sap over the board. The sap would harden and you would roll it around in the snow to create a lolly that was absolutely delicious. That's what it tastes like right now. Damn I missed those. The retrohale continued to bring out a strong wood taste that masked the sweetness. I stopped retrohaling because the nostalgic beauty of the cedary maple candies outweighed any sort of need to taste burnt wood. It gradually faded away, unfortunately and the cigar started to taste more like the retrohale. It got bitter near the end but not something I could taste. It was kind of like burning plastic... But it was a good kind of 'gasoline' taste. Something I can't describe too well in words. I didn't bother retrohaling at this point. It ended quite small and I would've nubbed it if my break didn't end 15 minutes ago... Final Thoughts A great, predictable, know-what-you're-getting cigar. I stocked up on vintage RA Belvederes for this winter but I think these will dominate what I'm going to smoke for the next little while. These are too good to put down. 45 minute smoke time and would've easily gone to 55 if I cared to nub it. If I was taking my time smokin this cigar, it would've stretched up to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Absolutely brilliant. Red Stagg bourbon has a taste profile very similar to the first half of this cigar. I would buy a bottle just to pair with this cigar. Call them 2013 heroine/crack/PCP/meth, etc. But I call them my winter smokes and perhaps even my summer smokes. Rating: 87/100. Only thing it lacks is complexity which is why I can't justify giving it a higher rating. Contest Part Will give 3 of these cigars (a whole whopping three!?!) to anyone who can guess the box code of this cigar. Date is not needed. But guess the box code. (CaptainQuintero... you're banned from guessing. And so is anyone who KNOWS the box code of this cigar!) Hint 1: They're not an old box code.