Starting the year with good Habanos vitolas

In order to start the year off on the right foot, we could say that a visit to the cellars will give us a magnificent result to choose and select those Habanos vitolas that offer us the guarantee of being able to enjoy a splendid hobby.

For this first quarter of 2023 I have made a very special selection since I have put together a set in which two of the cigars respond to some of the latest novelties that have arrived in the cellars of Spanish tobacconists, while the other pair is made up of two Cuban cigars of shorter duration, which is very much in keeping with the temperatures of these months.

The most habitual aficionados to visit the cigar cellars of our country know that they can choose between Cuban cigars of “the usual” and also choose some of the vitolas that have appeared in the last months as a magnificent selection to enjoy one of their most hedonistic pleasures.

We taste Habanos with the conviction that the delight or pleasure we feel when we light up and fill our mouths with smoke is a true tasting, just as it is done with food or drinks, because the sensations perceived in the mouth cavity can be perfectly integrated into pleasant sensory perceptions.

Indulging in a Havana cigar is sometimes as intimate and personal as when we do it alone with ourselves it can also refer to our puffs and the blue smoke of our Cuban cigars as in other moments when we do it in good company.

Most of us look for something in our cigars that is not purely material, something elusive, that is why those who could respond to surveys conducted years ago today would surely do so in the sense that “it cheers our soul and spirit” the fact of being with our cigars from the moment we choose the desired vitola in the corresponding cellar, when we make the cut, when we light it and of course in each of our aspirations.

The first of these is the Diplomáticos Colección Privada II (135 x 52), a Regional Edition exclusive for Spain that arrived in the cellars a few months ago, which has been enjoyed by many Spanish smokers and foreign visitors, and which is made in the same factory where the famous Montecristo® are produced.

Arrived in cellars around the world just a few months ago under the name of Montecristo Wide Edmundo, this is one of the most modern works of the brand, with a unique format (125 x 54) that offers a splendid shot and the certainty that the dense smoke will fill the mouth cavity with pleasant flavors.

Next to them, one of the richest and tastiest -but not at all strong- Habanos is the H. Upmann Half Corona (90 x 44), whose small size guarantees exquisite sensations in a short period of time, which in no case will exceed half an hour.

Finally, the Partagás Capitols (129 x 42) is an edition corresponding to the brand’s Retro Line, with a special presentation in metal patecas, reminiscent of the pocket packs that became very popular in the 1970s.

DIPLOMATICS PRIVATE COLLECTION II  (Ed. Reg. Spain 2022)

FORMAT: Length: 135 mm. Diameter: 20,64 mm. Strain: 52. Weight: 15,16 gr.

TOBACCO: Vuelta Abajo (Pinar del Río, Cuba).

BEFORE LIGHTING: Color: carmelite. Aroma: floral and woody.

COMBUSTION: First third: rather mild flavors and aromas. Second third: white pepper mixed with spicy notes. Third third: wood and earth are well perceived in the mouth, without any sharpness.

Smoking time: 55/60 minutes 

SHOT: Excellent

ASH: Light and consistent gray

COMMERCIAL PRESENTATION: 25-cigar boxes

COMMENTARY: This Regional and Exclusive Edition for Spain brings a different touch to the rest of its peers that come from the benches of the Montecristo factory where they are produced, with a somewhat lower strength than those of the neighboring brand.

MONTECRISTO WIDE EDMUNDO

FORMAT: Length : 125 mm.  Diameter : 21,43 mm.  Stock : 54 Weight : 15,78 gr.

TOBACCO: Vuelta Abajo (Pinar del Río, Cuba)

BEFORE LIGHTING: Color: colored. Aroma: fresh hay   

COMBUSTION: First third: smooth and with good tobacco flavors. Second third: white pepper and some earthy tones appear. Third third: increasing strength of flavors mixed with notes of cocoa.

Smoking time: 55/60 minutes

SHOT: Excellent

ASH: Gray rather light

COMMERCIAL PRESENTATION: Boxes of 25 cigars

COMMENT: This is the last vitola incorporated into the Montecristo brand, with the widest diameter, a large amount of tobacco, full of nuances and without any kind of edges in the mouth.

H. UPMANN HALF CORONA

FORMAT: Length: 90 mm. Diameter: 17,46 mm. Strain: 44 Weight: 7,00 gr. 

TOBACCO: Vuelta Abajo (Pinar del Río, Cuba)

BEFORE LIGHTING: Color: light carmelite, Aroma: herbaceous 

COMBUSTION: First third: soft and well flavored beginnings. Second third: not very defined earthy hints and some wood. Third third: strong flavors and good traces of tobacco.   

Smoking time: 25/30 minutes

SHOT: Excellent

ASH: Gray rather dark gray

COMMERCIAL PRESENTATION: Boxes of 25 and cases of 5 cigars 

COMMENT: The tasting is exquisite despite its low strength (two out of five), but it gathers some excellent tobacco traces and flavors in its short three thirds.

PARTAGAS CAPITOLS

FORMAT: Length: 129 mm. Diameter: 16,67 mm. Strain: 42 Weight: 8,46 gr

TOBACCO: Vuelta Abajo (Pinar del Río, Cuba)

BEFORE TURNING: Color: light ripe. Aroma: old hay

COMBUSTION: First third: with character from the first puffs. Second third: increases the power of its spicy touches with earthy notes. Third third: exponentially more intense finish.

Smoking time: 40/45 minutes

SHOT: Perfect

ASH: Gray with black stands

COMMERCIAL PRESENTATION: Metal boxes of 5 cigars

COMMENTARY: With a strength that evolves from medium to strong, this Habano confirms all the typical character of Partagás, for its intense flavor, toasted, roasted and with sweet notes, thanks to the higher proportion of the so-called ligero tobacco in its blend.