Partagas Lusitanias

Description

An Hour or Two With A Partagas Lusitania There are few cigars as respected as the Partagas Lusitania It’s a big beast of a cigar, not particularly fat, but longer than most people could even fit in their mouths and at about 2 hours to smoke the thing has its own micro-climate around it the entire time. Last June, I was sitting at my cousin’s wedding reception, nestled in a corner of an expansive Virginia estate. The sun was setting, casting the sky in these bruised purples and burnt oranges, and everyone’s mood finally began to mellow. You know how weddings are: There’s that anxious atmosphere during the ceremony, everyone struggling through stilted small talk that bleeds into cocktail hour, before at long last the “relaxed” part of the night when ties come off and real stories start to flow.

Product Specifications

Really it doubled as a cozy anniversary dinner for my wife and I, given that the ten-year gauge rang the same week. We’d eventually lucked into a small table along the fringe of the patio, far from the reach of the DJ’s speakers. I delved my hand into my travel humidor and lawd yes, I saw the light. I had been hoarding this one for five years.

I am not kidding — five years of checking the humidity, rotating the box, and simply waiting for a clear-enough window during which to actually do justice to the thing. My wife saw the size of his stick and laughed. She knows the drill. Guess I’ll see you in three hours?” I said she was hopeful,” I told her.

I’ve had these go longer. I clipped the cap, felt its weight in my hand — for the next several hours, I would not be a guest, or cousin, or husband on an anniversary date. I was no more than a guy in possession of an incredibly long, very brown piece of Cuban history. That smoke?

The

Partagas Lusitanias. If you’ve ever seen a cigar and said, “Yeah, that looks like I could use it for a backup baton,” then you must have been looking at a Lusitania. It’s a beast, but it’s an upscale beast. It’s not screaming at you; it just sits there and waits for you to realize how much fun the next three hours of your life are going to be.

The Specs
Product Name
Partagas Lusitanias
Wrapper/Binder/Filler
Vuelta Abajo (Cuba)
Weight
17.86 grams
Building It: So Much Tobacco, One Hand

Right there, let’s look at the massive physicality of this thing.

Owning a Lusitania statement. It’s 194mm long. That’s a lot of real estate. I saw the wrapper immediately when I took it out of the tube.

It’s a rich, oily brown, like old leather. I’ve seen some Cubans that look a tad rough, maybe a loose vein here and there, but the Lusitanias tend to receive the “A-grade” leaves. It takes a large, clean leaf to wrap a Prominentes (or any of the new Gran Reserva releases), and the torcedores at the Partagas —that’s been rolling cigars since 1, mind you—don’t play around with these. I gave it a gentle squeeze.

It was dense, and tight enough to give a bit. I’ve had some big cigars that were just a wet log, but this was balanced. The weight is approximately 17.86 grams, which I know sounds specific because it is. It’s a heavy hitter.

The pre-light draw was perfect for me: a touch of resistance but smooth, tasting coldly like cedar and just soursourdough bread. I gotta say, just sitting holding it unlit for five minutes while I watched the wedding guests dance was a vibe unto itself. It’s a cigar that makes you slow down without even lighting up. The First Third: The Awakening
There’s an art to lighting a cigar this long

.

You can’t just hit it with a triple-torch and hope for the best. I single-flamed it and tosasted the foot gently, slow even draw. The first few draws were unexpectedly mild. A Partagas is supposed to punch you straight in the teeth, but Lusitanias are a different breed — particularly since they modified the blend in 1.

It has livened up and become more of a medium-bodied cigar concentrating more on aroma and ‘richness’ than the sheer power of it’s Ligero leaves from the Vuelta Abajo region. For the first inch, it was all about cedar and baking bread. It was creamy, as though it were a latte but without the sugar. I picked up these little hints from baking spices — maybe nutmeg or an extremely subtle cinnamon — that were floating around in the background.

It wasn’t overwhelming. It felt like a warm-up. Thick gray smoke belched out, streaming white swirly lines into the moist Virginia air like an upside-down cloud. My wife leaned over and said it smelled “actually good,” which is the closest thing a non-smoker can offer in terms of praise.

It has that classic Cuban smell that’s a tough one to find anywhere else. The Second Third: The Sweet Spot

It was only after about 45 minutes that I started hitting the second third.

This is where the Lusitania begins to flex. The flavors transitioned from that bready, cedar start into something much richer. I began to pick up honey and caramel. It wasn’t that “sweet” like you’d find from a candy bar, however; it was more of this natural sweet floral note that contrasted nicely against a developing cocoa characteristic.

It’s a complex dance, man. One puff is full of almond and roasted nuts, the next with a bit of citrus zest. What I am noticing is the burn staying impressively straight for such a long cigar. This one has a lovely volume and an impressive, straight burn for a D.

Corona; usually this size you’re wrestling with at least the “canoe” effect at some point but not here. The ash was which became sort of light grey before I decided to tap it off at about two inches. I was enjoying that relaxed feeling the prompt described — hanging back, observing the wedding party and letting those honey and cocoa notes lap over me. It’s a very “meditative” smoke.

You can’t rush it. If you try to puff too hard, it’ll get bitter; on the other hand, if you treat it with respect, you’re rewarded with layers of flavor that just keep changing. Last Third: The Power Play

When I reached the bottom third, the wedding reception was starting to taper off.

The older people were riding out, and the morose “anniversary dinner” feeling between me and my wife had segued into an intense discussion of the past decade. The cigar apparently felt the change. The flavors got darker, heavier. The sweetness of the honey and cream dissipated as leather, black coffee (none of that weak stuff), and a punch of black pepper took over.

Here’s the thing about Lusitanias, of course: if they’re young (younger than 5 years old) that last third can be a bit of a bully.

It can sound punchy and a little “hot.” But since I had aged this one for five years, that leap happened smooth. The heat was there, but not ragged. It seemed like the cigar was, at last, revealing its true Partagas DNA — that earthy, spicy Cuban soul. Roasted nuts and woody as well, like an old library whipping me with a strip of leather.

It remained as cool as I could stand. I’ll be honest, I smoked this baby down to the fingertips. Pairing Recommendations

I’m at a wedding so my choice is a bit restricted to what the open bar has, but I made it work.

If you’re going to be sharing a table with the Lusitania, you want a drink that will keep pace. You don’t want something that’s going to burn out your palate in 20 minutes.”
Aged Rum:

This is the classic choice. A nice 12 year old Cuban or Nicaraguan rum will set that honey and caramel in the second third aflame like nothing else.

Black Coffee/Espresso:

You’re going to want a strong, dark roast coffee if you’re smoking this in the afternoon. The cigar’s sourdough and cocoa notes love the bitterness of the coffee. Single Malt Scotch:

Opt for something sweet, and a little Highland profile — you don’t want something too peaty; it’ll fight with the cedar notes. Anything with a sherry-cask finish is a winner.

The Verdict

Listen, the Partagas Lusitanias isn’t a hump-day smoke.

But unless you have three hours of leisure on the daily (in which case, I’m jealous), this is a “special occasion” stick. It’s a commitment. But it’s an investment that will repay you. There’s a reason it is considered one of the best hand-rolled cigars to come out of Cuba.

Despite the wrapper leaf shortages that traditionally plague larger vitolas, Partagas appears to do a good job of maintaining quality on the Lusitania. Is it worth the wait? Absolutely. If you buy a box, do not touch them for at least five years.

I know, it’s hard to believe, but these things take a time to settle down, and for those honey and almond notes to truly develop. As young ones they are good; when aged, a top five experience for any serious smoker. It is also a substantial, full-bodied cigar that embodies the best of what Vuelta Abajo tobacco can provide. By the time I dropped that nub butt in the ashtray, wedding finished, anniversary “dinner” logged, and mission accomplished.

It’s not simply a cigar; it’s quality time spent on an afternoon. If you find one, buy it. If you have one, wait. And when the time comes, be sure to have a comfortable chair and no place else to be.

Final Thought:
It’s a flavor marathon that never gets old.

You just need your lighter filled and your calendar cleared.