Cigar Info
Towards the end of last year, General Cigar added another cigar to its Decadas collection, Partagas Decadas 2021. This limited edition cigar is dedicated to Partagas‘ founder Ramón Cifuentes. This version of the cigar uses a special Brazilian-grown Cameroon wrapper, a first for Partagas.
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
For the blend, Partagas Decadas 2021 uses a rare and proprietary Cameroon wrapper grown in Brazil’s Bahia region. General Cigar says that the microclimate of that region and curing process produce a “creamy” leaf. The rest of the blend fills out with a Connecticut Habano binder, and fillers from the Nicaraguan regions of Ometepe, Esteli and Nicaraguan Jalapa, and Dominican Piloto Cubano. The cigar is made in one vitola, a 6 x 52 Toro with an MSRP of $17.99. Each cigar comes in an individual coffin and boxes of 10. It is rolled at General Cigar Dominicana in Santiago, D.R.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Brazilian Cameroon
Binder: USA Connecticut Habano
Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua
Factory: General Cigar Dominicana
Blender: Jhonys Diaz and General Cigar Blending Team
Number of reviewers: 5 – Quinn (quinnpins269) Mickey T. (irratebass) Jason H. (Jokey Smurf) John A. (Bostoneo) Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
Price: $17.99
Age: 4 Months
Release Date: November 2021
Contributed by: General Cigar
Initial Impressions – Partagas Decadas 2021
Appearance: 89
“Very attractive dark brown wrapper with lots of mottling, almost to the point of appearing camouflage. The wrapper leaf has a very nice oily sheen, and there is quite a bit of tooth to it. The seams are not detectable, and there are a few raised veins visible throughout. The cigar is very firm from foot to cap, indicating that it is very well filled.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
Aroma: 90
“Chocolate, floral, hay, and some cinnamon on the body. Heavy barnyard on the foot.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
First Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The initial puffs of this cigar give me a really nice, open draw with mouthfuls of flavorful smoke. The first flavors are slightly biting pepper but the finish is vastly different with some nougat and burnt sugar sweetness. The stark flavor shift with each puff is interesting! Through the nose the smoke reminds me of horseradish as it is immediately sharp but quickly gone, leaving me with the impression of sweetness to match the finish on my palate. Unfortunately, the crack in the wrapper near the cap is peeling back due to sticking to my upper lip and driving me a little crazy…” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
“The cigar starts off with a heavy sweetness, having hints of cocoa and natural tobacco. Retrohale is almost all cabinet spice, with white pepper as the leading note, leaving a very nice smooth tingle on the palate. At about the one-inch mark, overall saltiness appears on the finish and really makes for an enjoyable overall profile. The draw is almost perfect, and the burn is wavy but good, with quite heavy smoke output. Strength and body are both in the medium range. The burn went awry just getting to the middle part of the cigar and required a touchup.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
Second Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“The second third brought in a richer and fuller profile from the first. The sweetness continued and the light cocoa notes transitioned to a dark chocolate profile. With the dark chocolate came a small amount of bitterness. I did get some mineral notes coming and going during this third.” –Quinn (quinnpins269)
“The second third begins to increase in body with an experience of brown sugar, leather, and a minor amount of white pepper that lingers on the tongue. As this cigar burns on, the leather profile becomes more dominant with some minor hints of graphite and salt.” –John A. (Bostoneo)
Final Third
Flavor: 86
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The final portion has the strength ramping a bit as the sweetness leaves and it’s replaced with slightly dirty earth. The finish is a bit leathery but primarily earth is dominant. The finish is clean though which I like.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
“I am picking up some cherry notes amid the earthy tones, but just barely. I just picked up a lot of salt on my lips. The wood is just overpowering this cigar. I may have just got some coffee.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Overall Impressions – Partagas Decadas 2021
Draw: 93
“I had no issues with the draw there was plenty of smoke with no bitterness or tar buildup. I used a straight cut.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Burn: 89
“I did not have to touch up or relight the cigar at any point. It keeps a nice even burn throughout the review.” –Quinn (quinnpins269)
Construction: 90
“Other than the cap not sitting cleanly, this cigar had a great roll to it. I did not encounter any snug spots or have any problems with the burn. The ash held very well throughout. I tapped it off every 1″-2″ and it held its shape in the ashtray.” –Quinn (quinnpins269)
Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Experience Overall: 86
“I would reach for this cigar again. The first third did not wow me in any way, but the second and third I enjoyed a good amount. The construction gave me no issues and that is always an important part.” –Quinn (quinnpins269)
“Overall this cigar really didn’t really hit home for me. It started out nice enough with some cream, earth, and nut flavors, but as soon as I tapped that first ash it went downhill. The cigar started out with an uneven burn that I had to continue to baby and relight so much that it became a chore. The second part of the cigar is when the earth tones showed up and made the cigar go from a mild/medium to a medium/full. In the final third the cigar generated a lot of salt, some cherry notes which was nice, and coffee, but the earth tones just overpowered it for my liking. I would not seek these out.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“This was a really flavorful cigar with three distinct sections and diverse flavors. As such, it was interesting to smoke and something I’d love to try again. If it weren’t for the annoyance of the cap coming off, and the resultant irritation of the feel of the binder on my lips I would have rated the overall experience higher. As it is, I would recommend this to any of my friends who have some nicotine tolerance and who like a changing profile.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
“Overall, this was a solid straight-shooter flavor-wise. Comprised of mostly leather, brown sugar, white & black pepper with some wood notes, this cigar meandered from medium to full body while it burned down. While it didn’t absolutely thrill me, it was an okay cigar that is sure to please somebody!” –John A. (Bostoneo)
“This one actually ended up being disappointing. It started off amazing, but then it went a little backward in the profile for me. Strength crept up a notch in the finish and made for a decent smoking experience, but not something I would want to revisit.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 91
| Reviewer | Appear. | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall Experience |
| Quinn | 88 | 88 | 88 | 90 | 87 | 92 | 90 | 88 | 87 |
| Mickey T. | 83 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 92 | 75 | 75 | 83 |
| Jason H. | 90 | 92 | 92 | 90 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 92 |
| John A. | 88 | 90 | 90 | 87 | 87 | 85 | 85 | 88 | 87 |
| Kevin A. | 90 | 90 | 90 | 85 | 85 | 90 | 88 | 90 | 85 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.