At the end of February 2011, the Partagás Series E No.2 was officially released at the XIII Habanos Festival in Cuba. The Serie E No.2 is the first in a new line of Partagás Serie that will likely be known for its larger ring gauge and unique packaging.

The Partagás Serie E No.2 is available in two different semi boite nature (SBN) boxes: a box of five and a box of 25; each with a lithographed piece of paper on the outside and a flap on the inside of the boxes that is meant to make them easily noticeable on shelves. The tobacco used is from the Vuelta Abajo region in Cuba.

Cigar Reviewed: Partagás Serie E No.2

Partagás Serie E No.2 Country of Origin: Cuba

Cuba Factory: n/a

n/a Wrapper: Cuba

Cuba Binder: Cuba

Cuba Filler: Cuba

Cuba Length: 5 1/2 Inches

5 1/2 Inches Ring Gauge: 54

54 Vitola: Duke

Duke MSRP: $15 (Boxes of 5, $75 & Boxes of 25, $375)

$15 (Boxes of 5, $75 & Boxes of 25, $375) Release Date: February 2011

February 2011 Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production

Regular Production Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

The Partagás Serie E No.2 is quite large in my hand, but feels a bit light when held considering the size. Despite reports of being a Colorado, the wrapper is a very light yellow-brown and has multiple seams running down the length. The Serie E has the ideal give when squeezed and the wrapper smells faintly of sweet cedar, manure and a bit of chocolate.

The first third of the Serie E starts off with a strong note of dry wood, along with lesser flavors of leather, earth and tobacco and manure as well; although that was mainly a smoke smell. There is a nice sweetness that comes and goes and gets stronger towards the end, but no discernible specific flavor on that yet. Almost no spice at all, but there is some pepper on the retrohale, just not a lot of it.

Midway into the second third of the Partagás and the cigar has less of the manure scent while the earthiness seems to take center stage, flavor-wise. The profile gets progressively more creamy as the second third comes to an end and the sweetness is still in the background. I also get some fleeting flavors of nuttiness, but not strong enough to make an impact on the overall profile. Overall strength is increasing as well and it ends the second third a strong medium.

The final third of the Serie E No.2 really steps up the game, with a wonderful combination of honey sweetness and some nice spice on the lips that before now was not present. Other flavors include cedar, espresso and hay. The profile is still creamy as well, albeit not as strong. Strength remains firmly in the medium plus range until the end. The cigar starts getting hot and bitter at the very end, but that is most likely due to the age.

Final Notes

There seems to be a major amount of discrepancies in the color of the wrappers on these cigars, as I smoked three of them from three different sources and all of them had quite a bit different shades. In fact, you can even see the difference in the official box photos above. The one I photographed for the review was the lightest of the three by far. However, as much difference as there was in the color/shade of the cigars, I did not notice much of a difference in profile between them, other than minor spice/strength differences.

There is quite a bit of dense white smoke that comes from this cigar and while it is not as much as, say, a Liga Privada, I was taken slightly aback.

The draw was great on all three samples and while I had to touch up the burn a few times, it was nothing major or even annoying.

I did taste some manure in the first third, but I don’t think it was an actual flavor, but more due to the fact that the smoke smelled so strongly of it. It was an interesting note and while it was not a bad thing, despite what you might think, I am glad it died down quickly.

Interestingly, while almost every cigar Cuba has released with the No.2 in the name is a pirámides that is obviously not the case with the Partagas Serie E No.2 or the Bolivar Especiales No.2, which is a lancero.

This is one of the largest RG releases that Partagás has in its line and the largest Parejo, albeit not the largest ring gauge. That honor goes to the Partagás Salomone, which has a ring gauge of 57.

The final smoking time for all three samples was right around one hour and 40 minutes.