Particulares Cremas Cigar Review – What’s old is new

Back in July of last year I reported on the 2016 IPCPR in Las Vegas and noted that what was old is new. I was hearing about brand owners pulling out old blends and re-marketing them but that was their blends. I somehow missed the Sindicato booth among the sea of cigar brands that week. I caught up with Jim Colucci  at the Smoke Inn – Great Smoke the other week in South Florida. Included in the 45 premium cigars from that event was the new Particulares Cremas from Sindicato Cigars and Casa Fernandez.

The Particulares is most definitely an old brand that has been made new by a collaboration between Casa Fernandez and Sindicato. In fact, Casa Fernandez owns the brand name which was once an old Cuban brand that was sold, bought, and resold, numerous times until the Cuban revolution when Castro discontinued it. The Particulares brand was originally introduced in the late 1800s by Segundo Lopez who eventually opened the Particulares factory in Cuba. Lopez  was more famous for the Montecristo brand than the Particulares.

Casa Fernadez aquired the brand when they purchased Tabacalera Tropical and basically let the brand lie dormant. As the manufacturer of a number of Sindicato lines, the two companies decided to resurrect the Particulares brand from the ashes and take something was old and make it new again. Of course the new Particulares is not a Cuban cigar, it is described as a Nicaraguan puro with a shade grown corojo wrapper. The tabacco used in the blend comes from the highly acclaimed Casa Fernandez Aganorsa farm.

The Particulares Cremas is currently available in  4 vitolas and come packaged in 20-count boxes.

• No.1 – 6.25 x 48 MSRP: $8.35
• Belvederas – 7 x 52 MSRP: $9.40
• Deliciosos – 6 x 52 MSRP: $8.90
• Cesenta – 6 x 60 MSRP: $9.40

Smoke Inn has these at small discount and also sells them in 5-packs.

The box itself is straight out Cuban lore using a classic cigar box wrapped  in paper and nailed shut with a brass tack in the front center of the lid and uses the original Particulares logo. Did I mention what is old is new?

As for the cigar itself, it is a fine specimen of a cigar, firm to the touch with a silky smooth tan wrapper that has a tinge of red in it. It finished with a well applied triple cap.

For this review I sampled the Particulares Cremas No. 1 which I received at the Smoke Inn Great Smoke 2017

Cigar Review Notes

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• Fruit and cocoa aromas off the foot
• Tight cold draw with notes of pepper and butter
• Punch in the face pepper on the first few puffs
• Pepper settles down and gives way to a bready note
• Medium to dark grey ash on a thin char line
• Dry fruit comes in after an inch
• Butter enters end of first third
• Slight citrus tang enter with a tannic finish on the palate
• The tannic brings out a level of complexity in the smoke
• Ash is behaving well so far
• Sweetness finds its way to my lips
• Almond nut aroma
• Ash falls after 2 plus inches to reveal a well centered burn cone
• The start of the second half brings a pickled ginger note
• An astringent note that reminds me of Japanese persimmon Shibugaki enters – you have to have had Shibugaki to appreciate the flavor
• The butter aroma increases and morphs a bit towards peanut
• Sweetness returns end of second third wrapping a palate coating nut
• Smoke is medium body
• Strength was medium to full

Overall, the Particulares Cremas was a very interesting cigar with some complex flavor sensations delivered through a medium body of creamy smoke. It was an enjoyable smoke that shows the craftsmanship and farming skills of Casa Fernandez.