Cuba's First Partagás Maduro Now In Stores
A new Cuban Partagás cigar with a dark maduro wrapper has landed in several retail shops around the world. The 5 1/8 inch by 52 ring gauge parejo is known as the Partagás Maduro No. 1, and it's exclusive to Casas del Habanos and Habanos specialist retailers.
Retailers in , Switzerland and Canada confirmed that they have the new Partagás Maduro No. 1 in stock. Ajay Patel, owner of the Casa del Habano in London, said his shop has already sold out of the new cigar and is awaiting another shipment from Hunters & Frankau, the official Cuban cigar importer for the United Kingdom.
The Maduro No. 1 comes packed in wooden boxes of 25, and in addition to the regular Partagás band, the cigar carries a new brown secondary band embossed with the word "Maduro." The cigars inside the box are wrapped with a large, brown protective paper sleeve called a costero.
The Partagás Maduro No. 1 is the first cigar in the brand lineup to use a maduro wrapper. Once a rarity in the Cuban cigar industry, the Cohiba Maduro 5 series was released in 2007 and includes three sizes—the Genios, measuring 5 1/2 inches by 52 ring, the Magicos, 4 1/2 by 52, and the Secretos, 4 3/8 by 40. (Click to see ratings and tasting notes of the Cohiba Maduro 5 series.)
Cuba's Edición Limitadas—cigars that are released every year in special sizes for each brand selected—also carry very dark wrappers, although they are not usually referred to as maduros.
For a rating of the new Partagás Maduro No. 1, see an issue of Cigar Insider.
