Partagás 160 Aniversario Humidor Gran Pirámides

In 2005, Habanos S.A. celebrated a special humidor commemorating the 160th anniversary of the original Real Fábrica de Tabacos Partagás factory, which was located across the street from the Capitol building in Havana, Cuba. The factory moved to a new location in central Havana in 2016, a block away from the Romeo and Julieta factory.

Only 250 individually numbered humidors were released, each containing two vitolas that had not been released in the Partagás marca up to that point: a 7 1/8 x 54 Gran Pirámides and a 6 1/8 x 50 Robusto Extra. Each humidor contained 100 cigars—50 of each viola—and the cigars sported a special incarnation of the standard Partagás band. These humidors were said to be sold exclusively at La Casa del Habano (LCDH) stores, a franchise program run by Habanos S.A.

Interestingly, there have only been five pirámides vitolas released under the Cuban Partagás marca thus far:

• Partagás Pirámides Edición Limitada (6 1/8 x 52) — 2000
• Partagás 160 Aniversario Humidor Gran Pirámides (6 1/8 x 52) — 2005
• Partagás Serie P No. 2 (6 1/8 x 52) — 2005
• Partagás Serie P No.1 Ceramic Jar (5 x 50) — 2009
• Partagás Maduro No. 2 (4 3/4 x 55) — 2018

It should be noted that General Cigar Co. released a non-Cuban cigar named Partagas 160 Signature Series in 2005 to celebrate the 160th anniversary of the Cuban Partagás brand. However, that blend was made up of a Cameroon wrapper from 1977, along with Dominican piloto cubano and Mexican San Andrés fillers.

• Cigar Reviewed: Partagás 160 Aniversario Humidor Gran Pirámides
• Country of Origin: Cuba
• Factory: Undisclosed
• Wrapper: Cuba
• Binder: Cuba
• Filler: Cuba
• Length: 7 1/8 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Vitola: Pirámides
• Est. Price: $150
• Release Date: 2005
• Number of Cigars Released: 250 Humidors of 50 (12,500 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 1

I only have one cigar to smoke for my review, but the one Partagás 160 Aniversario Humidor Gran Pirámides is visually stunning, including a gorgeous milk chocolate wrapper that has an obvious reddish tint to it. Despite the fact that there is almost no oil that I can discern, the wrapper is quite smooth to the touch, with virtually no tooth at all. In addition, there are multiple large veins running up and down its length, as well as a large number of small bumps all over the entirety of the cigar, and it is nicely firm when squeezed. Aromas from the wrapper include cinnamon, aged woodiness, pungent barnyard, earthiness, barnyard, citrus peel, and leather, along with a light but distinct soapiness. There is more woodiness evident from the foot—enough that I can place it as an aged cedar note—followed by more cinnamon, hay, creamy nuts and generic fruity sweetness. Finally, after a straight cut, the cold draw brings flavors of powdery cocoa nibs, aged cedar, baker’s spices, citrus peel, peanut butter and sweet milk chocolate.

It takes a bit longer than I expected to get the foot of the cigar lit, but once that happens, the profile starts off with a surprising amount of spice on my tongue as well as a strong earthy flavor. However, both of those notes begin to recede quickly, and they are replaced by the main flavors of aged cedar and lemongrass. Additional notes of cocoa nibs, dank earth, cinnamon, salted peanuts, and bitter espresso show up at various points, while the retrohale is full of both white pepper and a dense, fudge-like sweetness. The flavor ends the first third at medium-plus, while the body and strength end at just under medium and solid medium, respectively. While the burn line is far from razor sharp, there are no other issues regarding the draw or the smoke production.

The profile of the Partagás shifts during the second third, as new main flavors of creamy earth and cocoa nibs take over the top spots, followed by sourdough bread, lemongrass, coffee beans, cinnamon and a fleeting vegetal note. The retrohale has also changed a bit. While the white pepper remains at about the same level, there is a new floral sweetness, although the latter note is less obvious than the fudge-like sweetness from the first third. Flavor bumps up to medium-full, the strength ends the second third at medium-plus, and the body ends at a solid medium. Construction-wise, I have to use my lighter to correct the burn twice—both after the halfway point—but there is still a copious amount of smoke and the draw continues to be excellent.

Creamy earth and cocoa nibs continue to top the profile of the Gran Pirámides in the final third, although secondary flavors of leather tack, bitter espresso, dry straw, cinnamon, sourdough bread, and slightly less of the vegetal note that debuted in the second third. In addition, there is a bit more floral sweetness on the retrohale but a bit less white pepper compared to the previous thirds. Flavor pushes into the full territory by the time I put the nub down with less than an inch remaining, while the body remains at a solid medium and the strength remains at medium-plus. Finally, although the burn line is still quite wavy, all three aspects of the construction are once again working well together, with issues that need correcting when it comes to the draw, smoke production, or burn line.

Final Notes

• This review is part of Holy Grail Week, an annual tradition here at halfwheel where we kick off the new year by smoking rare cigars. As such, this review differs from a normal halfwheel review in that only one cigar was smoked for this review. Furthermore, this is not a new cigar. That said, it was scored using the same method we use for all other reviews, except there was just a single cigar smoked instead of three. To read more Holy Grail Week reviews, click here.
• Habanos S.A. also released humidors commemorating the 155th and 165th anniversaries of the Partagás factory in 2000 and 2010, respectively.
• The new location that Partagás moved into was formerly the factory where El Rey del Mundo cigars were rolled.
• I have photographed the new Partagás factory at least twice as part of my coverage of the Festival del Habano: once in 2020 and again in 2023.
• The Partagás 160 Aniversario Humidor Gran Pirámides carries the factory name of Rodolfo, and the same combination of size and vitola has been used on at least nine different Cuban releases in the past, including the Bolívar Gran Belicoso Colección Habanos release in 2010 and 2011, the El Rey del Mundo Império from the Réplica de Humidor Antiguo in 2017 and the La Gloria Cubana Glorias Edición Regional 5ta Avenida in 2015.

• While at first glance the band used on the cigars from the Partagas 160 Humidor looks similar to the regular Partagas bands, if you compare the two, you will see some very significant details. Perhaps the most obvious change is the 160 Aniversario printed near the top of the band that replaces the normal printing that reads Cifuentes Y Cia, which translates to Cifuentes and Company from Spanish. Secondly, the gold lines that are on the back of the band and intersect the main logo are noticeably thicker on the 160 Aniversario releases. Finally, the normal writing that is usually in place for the regular Partagás bands is almost totally removed: instead of reading Flor de Taboacos de y Compania the 160 Aniversario just has Partagas on one line and Habana-Cuba underneath it.
• Along with the above, the band on my cigar was incredibly loose, to the point where it fell off a couple of times while I was trying to take the smoking photographs above. Having said that, this is not exactly unusual for cigars that have been aged this long.

• The construction for this cigar was good overall, with an excellent draw after a straight cut and more dense, graham cracker-scented smoke than I knew what to do with. However, while the burn line was wonky almost the whole way through, it only got bad enough to need a correction two times in the second third.
• I was unable to find an MSRP or even auction prices for what humidors have since sold for.
• The cigar smoked for this review was purchased by halfwheel. We paid approximately $150 for this cigar, purchased in 2022 via a private forum.
• I made a point of smoking this cigar slowly, but even with that, I was still finished in an almost shockingly quick two hours and one minute.