And so it came to pass that a box of Panatelas came across my desk the other day. Naturally I grabbed a handful and ran. I have always been intrigued by this cigar, and the vitola in general. It is a completely handmade cigar, and specifically it is a charter member of la Linea Clasica of Cohiba, the first selection of vitolas, 3 if I recall correctly, that were introduced with Cohiba in it's first public appearance. They were the Panatela, the Coronas Especiales and the Lancero. Seems Fidel liked his long and skinnies. I wish he still held sway with Habanos S.A. because they apparently no longer care for the long, slim panatelas. 7 or 8 years later the Robusto, Esplendido and the Exquisitos were added and it was some time before the Siglos came along.
But I digress. There are two other cigars of this vitola one From Punch, the Margarita, and another from Montecristo, the Joyitas. All are wonderful little hand-made smokes, and how they get any flavor out of the tiny, prohibitive mix of leaves in a panatela is beyond me. But perhaps none does it as well as the Margarita and Panatela, and by virtue of price, perhaps the Panatela is the best of all. But I still think it is a tie. But in general I feel that all 3 cigars are over-priced for what you get. They all provide a satisfying, truly unique smoking experience, but at $130-$180 a box, I just can't get behind that.
And I digress again. So I have this cigar, and I know it is too young to smoke. But I took one to work the other day and smoked it in my car at lunch. Now this is a mistake in any trip other than an interstate trip of constant motion, if you want your car to smell nice. (I have a way of keeping 'new-car smell' in a car for years after purchase). I spent the rest of the day airing out the vehicle. But while I was smoking, I was treated to a great mix of flavors and PERFECT performance. I specifically chose the heaviest cigar I could find to tempt fate with the draw-gods. Not a lick of trouble, even after de-capping the cigar with my teeth. It lit well, and was a rich mix of musk, blackberry, vanilla and cocoa. The cigar was also STRONG. When I let it go at the 1/3 mark, I was woozy. I was walking into HOAM DEEPOT and looking to all the world like a drunk on the way home from a pub. I had a SLIGHT queasy feeling and sweat began to roll a bit. I KNEW I had smoked a cigar after that little number. The burn line was perfect the whole way down, and it never went out, except for when I went into the store and laid it on a garden center pull cart and went in to get safflower seed. When I came back to it, it was out, but I admit I was thinking, 'wouldn't it be cool if that sucker was still burning?' So I laid it on the car mirror and took a picture. I was going to light it up for another go, but as I was about to ride in the car again, I thought that I should use my road time to air the car at high speed instead.
After my experience I had some thinking to do. Is this cigar WORTH 7 dollars? If you were buying a five pack in cardboard, perhaps. $35 bucks for the luxury of having the best short smoke money can buy for 5 separate occasions would be fine. Having 25 of them is a bit of a stretch. I can buy two boxes of Partagas Super Partagas for $175, and MAYBE enjoy them as much as the Cohiba. I could buy a box of San Cristobal El Principes which I KNOW I like more, and have enough change left to buy that 5 pack of Panatelas anyway. So in the main, no, I do not think these are a good buy. Whether or not they are a good cigar is not a question at all in my mind. This is a fantastic smoke. AGED, I think they would be truly exquisite. In fact a few years ago, I had one brought to me from Mexico, and even after a ton of trepidation over it's certain fake pedigree, found out that no, it was indeed real and, how does the saying go, "it was fabulous". No idea how old that one was. It was likely 2-3 years old, since I am not sure how fast this cigar sells in shops with so many other choices. But I could taste all the pre-cursors of real flavor in this 2011 cigar, a ton of tannic power, hints of sweetness and DANK aroma unlit, chocolatey goodness when lit. The flavors I tasted were certainly near unique, with dark berry fruitiness, chocolate and a little vanilla. Not much 'grass' whatever that tastes like, but I am glad that the few leaves they had to work with left the "Cohiba grassiness" out of it. If you find yourself ordering a few 5-packs and 3-packs, these would be an excellent choice. If you had a chance to grab one in a box pass, it would be another great way to smoke the Cohiba Panatela. But buy a box at your own risk if you are budget-conscious at all. A great little cigar though...91 points
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