Partagas Benji Menendez Master Series

Overall Score

1 review for Partagas Benji Menendez Master Series

  1. Stephen

    Partagas Benji Menendez Master Series

    Origin : Dominican RepublicPartagas
    Factory Name : Robusto
    Size : 6 x 46
    Wrapper : Cameroon
    Filler : Dominican, Nicaraguan
    Binder : Habano Connecticut
    Hand-Made
    Price : ~$9 each, ~$179 for a box of 20

    The Menendez Social site states:

    Born in Havana, Cuba in 1936, Benji Menendez smiles when he says that tobacco is in his genes. His grandfather, father, uncles and great uncles were considered the royalty of the cigar business during the pre-revolution heyday of Cuban cigars, having developed world-class puros including Montecristo, H. Upmann and Por Larrañaga.

    At the heart of it all, Benji simply wants to be known as a good cigar man.

    I first had the BM Series at the Benji Menendez Social in New York City. I have had a couple more since then.

    Appearance : [rating:5/5]
    It has an excellent chocolate brown wrapper that shows some veins. The Master Series band beneath the regular Partagas band is very attractive and has Benji Menendez’s signature.

    Partagas Benji Menendez Master Series

    Construction : [rating:4/5]
    It is a well packed cigar and well wrapped. The cap is nicely applied as well. The wrapper is Cameroon and shows a slight oiliness. The binder is Connecticut Habano and the filler is a mixture of Dominican and Nicaraguan. The prelight draw was firm but excellent. The ash held on for a good 2 inches and was white gray in color. The draw stayed excellent throughout the entire smoke. No corrections were required on any of the 3 I smoked.

    Flavor : [rating:4/5]
    The smell of the cigar pre-light was slightly sweet, and just smelled like nice tobacco. Initial taste was the slightest amount of pepper and there was a hint of sweetness. I couldn’t place it but there is something slightly sweet. There is also some woodiness. I did note some pepper on the retro but it is mild. The cigar creates lots of thick rich smoke. In the second third the wood tastes continues and the sweetness is gone. There is a hint of spice, perhaps cinnamon. The final third keeps the same flavor profile and I smoked it right down to the nub. The smoke was a little dry toward the end. I found it to be medium bodied.

    Value : [rating:4/5]
    At $8 per cigar this is good stick. The flavors are very well rounded and smooth.

    Overall Rating : [rating:4/5]
    I like this cigar quite a bit. I realize there are probably other cigars that might be cheaper and taste similar but this one is one worth trying. The construction, flavor profile, and enjoyment make it well worth it to me. As usual though, your mileage may vary.

    [sz]partagas master[/sz]

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    • Justin

      My review of the Benji Menendez Partagas Master Series

      Pre-Light: The Benji Menendez Partagas Master Series comes wrapped in an amazing Cameroon wrapper, a bit darker than most. The binder is a Connecticut Habano and the filler is comprised of Dominican Piloto Cubano, Nicaragua Esteli ligero and Ometepe. The stick had a very faint aroma of molasses but not much else. The cold draw, however, was very rich, herbal, and smooth. Noteworthy construction and quality were evident.

      The First Third: No harshness at all, smooth from the start. The cigar had a very rich and smooth body. The profile was Complex with flavors consisting of coffee, butter, cream, cedar and a familiar sweet spicy flavor that lingers from draw to finish. The cigar had a good amount of strength.

      The Second Third: Sharply consistent with the first third in both flavor and body. The finish, which started out good, became great and stuck to my pallet. Towards the end of the third the ligero became more prominent and punctuated the spice nicely.

      The Last Third: Consistent to the end, with the finish continuing to improve and linger a little longer with each draw. The burn was flawless as was the draw. A true pleasure to smoke.

      Conclusion: Hands down, flat out the best Cameroon I have ever smoked.

    • Ron Hollatz

      My local shop has had them in their humidor since we did the cigar chat. I’ll have to try another and see if the flavor profile changed.

    • Stephen

      Nice. Let me know how they are. I need to pick some more up myself.

    • Tony

      Just got a box of these in the other day. Haven’t tried them yet, I like to let them set in the humidor for at least two weeks to settle in. If you shop around you can get a box for about $140 (thecigarstore.com).

    • Stephen

      Hey Barry,
      Well local so to speak. I live up near Albany. You are more in the Brooklyn area right?

    • Barry

      You had this cigar in New York? I had no idea you were local to me!

    • Ron Hollatz

      This has really started to make me wonder. We did the #cigarchat and all 4 or 5 people that were together were not really impressed with the cigar. To me it seemed one dimensional and never really developed and flavor. All of us felt the same way. Maybe we smoked the cigars too soon after shipping. I’m going to have to find one and try it again.

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Cigar Region Dominican Republic
Filler Dominican, Nicaragua
Wrapper Cameroon
Binder Habano Connecticut
Length 6
Ring Gauge 46
Vitola Grand Corona
Construction Hand Made