Partagas Petit Coronas Especiales

[SteveGriff]

Hi all,

Here's a review of the Partagas Petit Coronas Especiales that I smoked a few months ago. Thought I'd share it online here, as it was a lovely little smoke and a nice surprise as they don't seem to get that much attention compared to the Party Short.

The bigger brother of the Partagas Short, the Partagas Petit Coronas Especiales also packs a might punch. A lovely evening Cigar with a nice strong coffee.

For my review I will be smoking the Partagas Petit Corona Especiales. One of the less common vitolas of the Partagas range, the Petit Corona Especiales measures in at 5.2†by 42 ring gauge.

As I write this review, I am on holiday in the Harbour Town of Paphos, Cyprus. This morning I had purchased the Petit Corona Especiales at the Casa De Habanos in the centre of town. One of the more interesting Casa's I have visited, the walk in humidor has in stock a vast array of well aged stock that includes discontinued brands such as La Troya, Superfinos and La Flor De Cano.

Mid-afternoon after a relaxing three hours sunbathing in the midday sun, I retire to the balcony of my room where there is a good amount of shade to smoke a Cigar and sip some Turkish coffee.

Most Turkish coffee consists of a soily flavour profile that I hope will match the body of the Partagas. I find that my palette finds the soily profile of Turkish Coffee alien on the first few sips but then becomes comfortable with the make-up of the brew.

Half way through the Coffee and tuned into what I'm drinking and about to smoke. I'm ready to begin.

On smelling the uncut Partagas, I detect some traces of hay, with a whiff of typical Partagas oiliness. The construction of the Cigar is magnificent. Dark and with a lovely oily sheen, the Partagas is an excellent looking smoke. Great care has no doubt been given when rolling this Cigar. There is a small amount of box press but overall the Partagas is as almost as round as the day it was rolled.

Today I am using a punch cutter to make the required cut to smoke the Cigar. As I write this I'm dreading the fact that my Paleo cutter had been confiscated by border police whilst transferring my hold luggage onto the plane in Gatwick at the start of my holiday to Cyprus. I'm certain I packed it with the rest of my luggage... I will have to wait until I am home until I can know for certain the fate of my once trusty Paleo.

Punching the Cigar only took fifteen seconds or so. Using my triple flame butane lighter I lit the Partagas and I was away.

First impressions were ' bloody hell'. What strength! If you have smoked other Partagas cigars of this size, you would already know that they are not tame smokes, they pack a punch! The Petit Corona Especiales reminds me a little of a Partagas P2 but without the suave of it's bigger brother. There is a meaty element that I can detect that is commonly apparent in the Partagas range. There is no spicy kick or white pepper bomb here however. The Partagas Short for example, is famed for it's peppery kick, that consistently punches above it's weight. They're the Cigar equivalent of firecrackers!

I've had a Partagas Petit Corona in the past, however I can recall the smoke being nothing like the Corona Especiales. Full bodied in it's own right, the Petit Corona however was a lot more timid. There were leather notes with a spicy finish but was never let loose when it came to unleashing anything close to a strong Cigar the Corona Especiales is. So, there you have it. Three Cigars of in a similar size range that smoke vastly different from each other. Obviously each Cigar had been designed for a certain type of Partagas smoker.

Half way through the first third of the Cigar, I cannot fault neither it's draw or burn. The draw is effortless. There is just enough resistance when drawing on the Cigar to remind you that you're smoking something of high quality, made to a high degree of detail. The ash so far looks a little brittle, but this is a very minor imperfection.

Towards the second third and the Partagas is still delivering the powerful kick of meaty, leathery flavours. There is no great degree of complexity here as the body of the Cigar is too strong. Think of maybe a Vindaloo curry. There are flavours underneath that thick blanket of spicy heat, but they are undetectable by your tongue as it's busy fighting the flames. I must stress however that this is not a bad thing as sometimes you're only after that strong kick. And who am to say there is some complexity underneath the strength of the main flavours? It doesn't mean that just because I cannot detect it!

At the final third and the Cigar hasn't evolved, it has just maintained it's strength. This doesn't mean however that the Partagas was boring, far from it! Every draw I took I blew smoke out of my mouth at amazement on how strong it is. This is defiantly an evening Cigar you would smoke to retire to when you only have a maximum of one hour.

I loved every minute of the Partagas Petit Corona Especiales. If you like your Cigars strong, then you should at least have a few of these in your humidor.

Smoke it: As your nightcap Cigar.

Pair it: With something strong to match the Partagas' flavour profile. Maybe a Scotch with a smoky element or an American Bourbon. If you dare smoke this during the day then drink will gallons of fine Espresso.

Appearance: 14/15

Draw & Burn: 17/20

Flavour & Complexity: 26/30

Overall: 33/35

Total: 90/100

[ksblazer]

Nice review and pic's of one of my favorites. A great cigar for the price IMO.

The 08's are smoking very well.

[Rooster]

Nice review, I'm a big fan of of the PCE.

[haistin]

nice review...like partagas cigars, especially PCE: quite tasty, burned smoothly to the end with the initial light... Nice little smoke...