Partagas de Bronce

Five months ago, General Cigar Co. announced a new release named Partagas de Bronce, a 6 1/4 x 46 corona gorda vitola that is composed entirely of Nicaraguan tobacco, highlighted by a corojo-seed wrapper.  The cigar was made at El Titan de Bronze in Miami, the same factory that General Cigar Co.—which sells the non-Cuban Partagas brand in the U.S.—has used to make the Cohiba Serie M.

“For a venerable brand like Partagas, collaborating with a legend like Sandy Cobas and creating a special, limited edition cigar at her family-owned factory marks an important step in Partagas’ evolution,” said John Hakim, brand manager of Partagas, in a press release. “Partagas de Bronce highlights Partagas’ devotion to old-world cigarmaking techniques, and its commitment to marching the brand forward through innovation. We look forward to sharing this exceptional blend with cigar lovers across the country.”

The MSRP is set at $22.99 per cigar, with a total production of only 5,000 individually numbered 10-count boxes that began shipping to retailers on April 15. In addition, each of the boxes has been signed by the roller who made the cigar.

• Cigar Reviewed: Partagas de Bronce
• Country of Origin: U.S.A.
• Factory: El Titan de Bronze
• Wrapper: Nicaragua (Corojo)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 6 1/4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 46
• Vitola: Corona Gorda
• MSRP: $22.99 (Box of 10, $229.90)
• Release Date: April 15, 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: 5,000 Boxes of 10 Cigars (50,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Covered in a medium cinnamon brown-colored wrapper, the Partagas de Bronce is smooth to the touch and features just a hint of oil. There are quite a few veins running up and down the length of each cigar, and all three cigars are extremely spongy when squeezed. In addition, a physical inspection reveals that two of the three cigars have a large soft spot—more of a crater, really—just above the foot. Aromas from the wrappers include some creamy woodiness, light mint leaves, leather, dank earthiness and bitter espresso along with some brown sugar. However, scents from the feet are quite a bit more distinct, with strong cocoa nibs leading cinnamon, creamy almonds, gritty earth, dry hay, cedar and more obvious brown sugar sweetness. Finally, after a straight cut, the cold draw brings flavors of sweet almond paste, nutmeg, creamy cedar, earth, dark chocolate and some spice on my tongue.

The first third of the Partagas starts out with a significant blast of spice and pepper on both my tongue and lips, along with some generic earth that quickly gives way to what becomes the main flavor combination of aromatic cedar and creamy almonds. Secondary notes of cocoa nibs, hay, leather tack, nutmeg and slight citrus peel flit in and out, while the retrohale has an abundance of both black pepper and caramel sweetness. Flavor ends the first third at medium-plus, strength is at a solid medium and body is just under the medium mark. In terms of construction, there are no issues at all with either the smoke production or the draws, but all three cigars run into enough burn issues to necessitate at least one correction with my lighter.

As the burn line enters the second third, the main flavors in the cigars shift noticeably: a combination of charred meat and cedar tops the profile, followed by additional flavors of coffee beans, cinnamon, earth, creamy almonds, saltine crackers, hay and a touch of floral. In addition, the spice that was so noticeable during the first third has calmed down slightly—although it is still strong enough to have an impact on the profile–while the retrohale continues to be full of both caramel sweetness and black pepper. Flavor bumps up to medium-full, strength bumps up to medium-plus and the body hits a solid medium. There has been very little change when it comes to all three aspects of the construction: the draws and smoke production continue along their excellent paths, and while one cigar manages to remain trouble-free when it comes to the burn, the other two each need a touch-up to remain on track.

The main flavors in the profile change again during the final third of the Partagas de Bronce, as a combination of coffee beans and cocoa nibs takes over the top spots, followed by more creamy almonds, cedar, dank earth, sourdough bread, cinnamon, charred meat and a small amount of the same floral note from the second third. I notice a new mineral saltiness on my lips for two of the cigars, and while there is a bit more of the distinct caramel sweetness on the retrohale for all three cigars, the amount of black pepper has been cut in half. Flavor increases again to land firmly at full, while both the strength and body also increase, hitting a point just under the full mark and medium-plus, respectively. All three cigars continue to feature excellent draws and copious amounts of smoke until I put the nubs down with less than an inch remaining, but two of the three cigars run into burn issues and need two corrections each.

Final Notes

• The name Partagas de Bronce was chosen to honor the El Titan de Bronze factory, which makes sense considering that bronce translates to bronze from Spanish.
• I really love the design of the box these cigars are packaged in: the cigars are on the left side, while the right side is taken up by a section that includes not only information on the release but also the blend, the box number and the roller who rolled the cigars.
• There is no nice way to say this: construction was a major issue with all three cigars. Not only did each of the cigars I smoked for this review need at least two burn corrections to stay on track but two of the cigars also had a large section of the cigar located near their feet which felt like they were significantly underfilled.
• Along with the above, the ash on these cigars is extremely flaky and falls at random times with little to no provocation.
• With a cigar that has this much spice and pepper up front while also exhibiting so much creaminess and sweetness in the profile, I am extremely interested to see how this blend tastes after eight months to a year or so of age.

• Our box was number 438/5000, and the cigars were rolled by Elizabeth Romero.
• General Cigar Co. advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time averaged one hour and 38 minutes for all three cigars.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Partagas de Bronce cigars, site sponsors Cigars Direct, Corona Cigar Co. and Famous Smoke Shop all have it for sale stock on their respective websites.