Wrapper: Mexican San Andres
Binder: Cameroon
Filler: Nicaraguan
Vitola: 6 ½ x 52 (Belicoso)
Strength: Medium
Purchase Link: Partagas Valle Verde
PARTAGAS VALLE VERDE REVIEW – DOM
Summary: This soft box press has the perfect “3 o’clock shadow” amount of tooth. Vanilla, cream, and ginger spice waste no time with backstory and jump straight into the action. While the flavors are certainly top tier, the balance of flavors, body, and strength is equally striking. It’s like driving a luxury vehicle: sure, there are plenty of faster cars on the streets, but a quality set of wheels feels tuned for efficiency and comfort. Milk chocolate, buttered toast, and cardamom add layer after layer of flavor.
The Tower of Babel of tasting notes halt production in the second half, but it’s already high enough to BASE jump. Sourdough at the finish brings some acidity that makes me salivate. More, please.
If You Like That, You Might Like This: Flying squirrels
Pairing Suggestion: Rye
Perceived Strength: Medium
Purchase Recommendation to a Friend: Box
PARTAGAS VALLE VERDE REVIEW – RICH
Summary: This cigar brought notes of leather, oak, cereal grain, coffee, caramel, earth, and a bit of creaminess. There was a nice pepper on the finish. Everything worked together beautifully to make an excellent flavor experience.
Construction was on point, and smoke was voluminous. If you like a lot of smoke pouring from your cigar, this one is a winner for you.
If You Like That, You Might Like This: Effortless delight
Pairing Suggestion: Bourbon
Perceived Strength: Medium
Purchase Recommendation to a Friend: Box
PARTAGAS VALLE VERDE REVIEW – BEN
Summary: Leather and cocoa for most of the first half. The addition of toasted almonds and dried fruit were, in my opinion, a really yummy combination. There was a little uptick in warm subtle spice on the front end of my tongue, like a bell pepper rather than pepper. Wood enters the chat. It burned quicker than I'd like; I wanted a little more time.
If You Like That, You Might Like This: Indulgence
Pairing Suggestion: A red blend
Perceived Strength: Medium+
Purchase Recommendation to a Friend: Box
PARTAGAS VALLE VERDE REVIEW – TED
Summary: This was a nice looking, softly box-pressed cigar. Initially, I tasted a lot of floral flavors mixed with notes of fresh cut wood, walnuts, and some mineral notes as well. Admittedly, I had not smoked a lot the week before this review, but this cigar hit me with a lot of white pepper spice in the retro hale smoke. A bit later, the wood notes were less sharp, and some baking spice notes jumped in along with the addition of coffee notes.
In the middle section the floral notes disappeared so fast it spurred a new episode of Unsolved Mysteries. Hanging tight were the wood notes, mixed nuts, cinnamon, a hint of mineral flavor, coffee along with the addition of mild leather notes. The burn got a bit crazy in the middle as well.
By the end portion of the cigar, the wood notes moved to a very rich, dominant flavor in the profile. Joining it were baking spices, a hint of caramel, leather, and coffee. The mouthfeel of the smoke at the end was rich and smooth.
If You Like That, You Might Like This: Cigars with nuanced, but flavorful transitions
Pairing Suggestion: Hard apple cider
Perceived Strength: Medium
Purchase Recommendation to a Friend: 5-pack
Participants in this blind review were completely unaware of the cigar they were evaluating until all submissions were received and processed. Each participant was asked to answer a summary paragraph, an if/than statement, a pairing suggestion, and a purchase suggestion. Cigars were provided by Small Batch with only the expectations of candid responses. All pictures, information, and formatting were completed by a Coordinator outside of the reviewing process.
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