Smoking crack...ed cigars

I unpacked some Partagas Serie D No.4 cigars the other day and found three with cracks in the head or otherwise above the band, one of the cracks a full inch long.  Normally I would say toss em, but I had managed to greatly enjoy a Cohiba Robusto with the same type of damage, simply by covering the crack with a piece of clear packing tape.  This cigar that I smoked tonight was the worst one of all, and tape extended an inch below the band.  After I smoked one of the other 3 a few nights ago, I was not thinking this would be a problem.  The cigar was nothing to write home about, so I doubted seriously I would be nubbing this one tonight.  Naturally the tape would become a problem.  It had to.  We are having the hottest July on record and no rain for 3 weeks.  I no longer ask what else could go wrong.

I paired the cigar with a North Coast "Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout.  It poured SO black that the black graphics on the glass looked totally visible, as if they were light-colored.  The photo naturally doesn't do this contrast justice.  In fact, the cigar doesn't even look like it has a large piece of tape on it.  Must be on the other side.  So I lit the cigar and everything began to change.  I went out into the 100 degree night and it was 84 degrees and breezy!  I was hit in the face by a VERY stray raindrop.  What was going on?  The cigar lit up slowly and turned out to be outstanding.  Of course, this was a habano, so there was no guarantee that it would remain great, in fact, I fully expected that by the time the burn line reached the tape, it would have turned tarry and hot.  But it kept going and going, offering up rich and almost fruity flavors of tea, toasted tobacco, herbs and pepper.  From time to time a light twang would pop in and light up a smile across my face.  The cigar burned on towards the band and the tape which was much closer than the band.  There was but one thing to do...tear the tape off, which I am sure would take off all the wrapper beneath it.  It did.  And it did change the flavor a little, To be honest, it was getting to the time that I would normally let the cigar go out anyway.  But just to salute it, I smoked the cigar to the band.  The uneven burn sort of made this seem imminent, but in reality, I had a little more cigar to go before I tasted burning paper.  But the breeze had died down, the beer had run low and I thought that maybe it was time to let it go.

I suppose that it was not the fault of Habanos that the cigar developed a crack near the head, the box was undoubtedly  mistreated some time after it left the island.  So I will score this cigar as if it were a perfect cigar, because barring the tape I had to put on it, this was a fantastic Serie D. No.4.   I give it a 92!