Is it true that you just puff on cigars, and not actually inhale the smoke? Curious is all

Yes, it's about flavor profile and aroma.  Personally I find cigarettes gross and have never smoked one.

Hoyo De Tradicion, Hoyo De Monterrey Excalibur, Punch Rare Corojo 2014 Limited Salomones, H. Upmann Banker, Montecristo Espada.



La Aroma De Cuba Mi Amor, La Antiguedad, My Father, Pepin Blue, Alec Bradley Tempus, Opus X, Rocky Patel 1992, Rocky Patel Fusion (new blend), La Herencia Cubana Core (San Cristobal and La Flor De Las Antillas not shown).



Sancho Panza, Sancho Panza Extra Fuerte, Oliva Master Blend 3, Perdomo 10th Anniversary Champagne, Perdomo ESV, Palo Prieto, Montecristo Churchill Extra.



Camacho Corojo, Camacho 10th Anniversary, Camacho Pre Embargo, select Camachos (Double Maduro, Diploma, CLE, Libertad), Spectre, Ramon Bueso Genesis, Cusano 18 year old, Romeo y Juiletta Vieja.



Hugh Heffner by Don Diego and assorted trial blends.



Almost forgot mazos of Gurkha Centurian and La Perla Habana Grand Pearl.  Macanudo Gran Cru, Excalibur Cameroon and Prensado Oscuro not shown.

What do you usually smoke?  If you aren't getting the aroma off My Father cigars, you are really missing out.

If you like the medicinal effect, try a San Cristobal Revelation Leviathan (6.5x64).  That size will pump out a decent amount of nicotine.

I don't smoke much now that I moved to a place without a terrace. I really like Cuban Montecristos when available; otherwise Dominican Fuentes. My taste hasn't changed over the years, but my wrapper and size preferences have. I always smoked only maduros and sometimes oscuros roughly toro-sized. Now, I prefer natural wrappers roughly robusto-sized. It's been too long, so thanks for the recommendation. I'll hunt that one down.

Partagas Series D, No.5 (tubos) Impressions:
Bugatti triple torch lighter
Xikar V-cutter
Glass of ice water
Hoyo De Monterrey Excalibur 'Cameroon'





So I decided to finally light up a Habano Partagas Series D No.5 I've had in the humi for over a month.  With all the new limited premium offerings coming after the IPCPR, I decided to see if attention would be better paid on those or the Habanos.  It's been more than 15 years since I was into Habanos so I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  After talking to some old timers in the industry, it seems there have been some serious changes to the Cuban industry since then.  Economics and weather has forced the use of different strains of tobacco and even the fertilizers used to produce some profound wrappers in the past have been replaced by newer, possibly cheaper formulations.  Just a few changes among many I'm sure.

So I fired up the No.5 and immediately noticed a reminiscent taste and aroma which reminded me of past Habanos.  Good sign.  It also reinforced my belief that Honduran tobacco is still the closest in profile to the Cubans when compared to the Nicaraguans, Dominicans, and others.  They just have this extra earthiness and heartiness to their flavor the others tend to miss out on for me.  This really reminded of some pre-Davidoff/original Christian Eiroa Camacho Corojos and Anniversarios that just scream Honduras I have resting at the moment.  The usual flavors and scents are there like leather, wood, and nuts but in just a somewhat tweaked balance from what you normally would find in the Non-Cubans.  Right off the foot I was greeted by a long lost friend, brighter blue smoke rising in a richer, more viscous plume that just tends to linger a bit longer and slower than the Non-Cubans (NCs).  I've always felt the smoke from NCs just tend to seem in a slight hurry to be somewhere compared to the Cubans.  I was pleased to see this part of the experience intact.

To make sure I wasn't crazy, I went inside and grabbed a Honduran Hoyo De Monterrey Excalibur 'Cameroon' I had laying about for comparison.  After lighting, that first taste confirmed a more lean and delicate flavor normally found in the NCs.  It seems I haven't quite fully succumbed to a general memory decline yet.  Right off the nose, the blue smoke from the Partagas wrapper seemed very reminiscent of the Ecuadorian Sumatra wrappers used by many NCs these days with a slight difference.  The Sumatrans from Ecuador seem to lend a rather welcome rich sweetness often reminiscent of raisins to me.  What's different here is rather than raisins, the Partagas seems to be emanating a more hearty brown sugar character. 

After about an inch in, this where that Cuban fickleness and lack of consistency seemed to rear it's ugly head.  In this case, I started getting sharply bitter blasts of espresso grinds on my palate.  I've had this before but in a more rounded and diffuse manner (NCs) rather than being so focused as it was with the Partagas Series D.  In my experience, this can tend to be a result of a cigar running too hot and charring the tobacco yielding what seems to be coal dumped on your palate.  I was certainly taking it easy relative to my NC protocols, but I did notice the No.5 seemed to be drawing down rather quickly so I'm sure heat management was a component to the problem.  I did leave the ash alone to test for construction but perhaps if I dropped it sooner, the heat would have probably been better regulated.  Regardless, it lasted only about an inch and a half, but did blast my palate and was not pleasant to say the least. The HdM was, as ever, consistent and predictable. 

In contrast, the HdM being a Cameroon which is known to be a sweet wrapper as well, let itself be known when switching back and forth.  Unlike the No.5 or your typical Ecuadoran Sumatra, I find the Cameroons to present more of a simple sugar note of sharp plain sweetness.  This is much like the flavor you find in a simple syrup one might make for a cocktail.  Sweet, but one dimensional and lacking complexity.  Having plowed through the No.5's trouble spot, that normal profile of leather, wood, and nuts comes back but with a change that became quite apparent and surprising to me.  Notes of what were brown sugar are now vanilla malt or milkshake?!  The closest I've gotten from a NC in the past has been traces of honey, but never quite Vanilla bean.  I continue to go back and forth between the two and notice how the Series D No.5 seems to change rather quickly compared to the HdM.  Jose Gener Hoyo De Monterrey's are known for their stable and predictable profiles so this is not all that surprising relatively speaking.

As the Partagas draws to a close (it's a short cigar and burns somewhat fast) I sense another very noticeable change.  The Vanilla is gone and replaced by...Bananas?!  F*cking Bananas!!  Are you kidding me?  This is another area I find Habanos to simply differentiate themselves from NCs.  Flavor and aroma presentation.  NCs seem to offer the more analytic experience where notes of flavor and aroma often involve more delicate traces that require more cerebral parsing.  On the other hand, Cubans just seem to be more impactful in power and flavor.  I don't have to try as hard to pick out the subtleties because very often, they are not that subtle.  Whereas a San Cristobal from Pepin and Garcia (not a subtle NC) might present a sense of dried cherry, this Partagas along with prior Habanos like my very first and favorite Punch were dropping Bananas, Oranges and other fruit right on my head as if falling from a tree.  The flavor did start to get a bit rough though as the filler clearly seemed to be too young providing that sort of bitter herbal, hay and grass profile.  Even though it was getting to the nub and turning into that nasty tar/Espresso profile due to lack of adequate leaf filtering, I felt compelled to keep it going just for the sense of Bananas.  I ended up with toasty fingers as a result, but it was worth it.

I have to say, I was happy that a Habano could still offer such a different and unique experience compared to a NC.  It was also not as bad as I was expecting the new Cubans to be, I will certainly seek to replicate the experience and I have a few more different options resting away for future testing.  While this is only my first Habano in a long time I do feel I can agree and disagree about a few generalizations when comparisons are made between the two.

When comparing to the premium NCs, Cubans truly do offer a poor value when comparing price to flavor ratios.  I'd say for half the typical cost, you can sometimes get NCs that are equal or superior in quantity, build, flavor and overall consistency.  There are immensely more choices to choose from outside Cuba, and there are many master blenders offering cutting edge blends and experimental profiles that are usually backed with more consistent logistics and methodologies provided by large corporate sponsors.  However, Habanos SA is now under a European corporate umbrella (Altadis) so that is improving.  This can also be a bad thing if you look for brands or models which offer deals or seemingly super value.  You might get front loaded blends that disappear after a few inches.  Find the sa me exact monotone fillers that are boring or young stuffed into almost every different wrapper, binder and brand owned by the parent corporation designed to maximize profits.  Things like that.

While this example of the Series D No.5 blew out my palate a few times indicating consistency and age was lacking, when it shined it shined, as some Cubans can when given the chance.  Some say they need 3-6 years of aging minimum to shine.  I am skeptical about such claims though I do know and believe aging does change the profile for various reasons (humidor and cedar influence, evaporation, fermentation, etc.), 5-6 six years seems a bit of a ridiculous extreme especially since Habanos usually come uncello'd.  I will certainly put some away though to test this notion and report back in 5-6 years.  So stay tuned I guess....

So what's better, Cubans or Non-Cubans?  Really, neither.  Just different.  Depends on the make/model and end user's preferences.  Determining the best cigar is really no different than picking the best car.  You figure it out for your needs.  I have to say that for myself, the Cuban experience of power and richness does speak to a more reminiscent experience and time in my life.  So given the choice of a false dilemma, I suppose I would tend to reach for a Habano even with all the uncertainty and surprise that could follow.  Since most of my favorite NCs are kept for their Cubanesque profiles, I imagine that isn't a surprise either.

 

Crazy good deal for anyone interested. Basically $2.99 per for one of the best cigars out there in the $7-$10 range

http://www.cigarsinternational.com/cigars/88557/aging-room-quattro-f55/#p-170392