Let’s cut to the chase, this is a fine looking cigar with a band to match, and that’s really where my knowledge of this cigar stops. While I’ve not had a lot of experience with Perdomo cigars, I was once privileged to attend an event where Billy Perdomo was present and was demonstrating the master techniques of cigar rolling.

As I said, the Lot 23 is an impressive looking cigar, unfortunately I cannot really speak to much else. Allow me to explain. Pre-light thing were business as usual. Lot 23 boasts a Ecuadorian Connecticut-shade wrapper, housing both Nicaraguan binder and filler. The wrapper, while smooth did show a few pronounced veins and a could of minor nicks. The aroma of this cigar reminded me of honey mixed with oak and topped off with a butter creaminess. Inviting to say the least. Upon making my initial cut of the double cap, a crack in the wrapper was produced. Apparently this particular cigar was tipping toward the dry side. Like most every smoker, I’ve found myself in this situation a time or two and usually it’s manageable. However, this time the crack protruded near an inch down the length of the cigar, almost touching the band.

It is here one is faced with any given number of possibilities. One, scrap the cigar and smoke something else. Two, smoke it as is and hope the crack does not worsen. Three, give up cigar smoking altogether. Or four, opt for an experiment. I chose the experiment.

Not sure what lead me to make my decision, but for whatever reason I thought it best to clip the cigar just below the crack. This required me to first remove the band; cutting off an inch of cigar at the head. This cut did cause the wrapper to loosen, as I expected it would. Rather than to proceed as normal from this point, I simply lit the freshly clipped head of the cigar and drew from the foot. In essence I smoked the cigar backwards. Surprisingly enough, this worked for a while, until about mid way thought the wrapper had come completely undone and thus rendered the cigar unenjoyable.

I will say however, that for the time I was able to smoke and enjoy this cigar I picked up greater flavor notes of the initial honey, oak and buttery-creaminess. Adding to this were a subtle nutty flavor and even hints of white pepper (thank you Nicaraguan tobacco). The burn was even and true, and of course the draw was fine. Large billows of smoke filled the air and I would imagine had things gone along as normal this would have been quite a fine cigar.

Never the less, my experience weighs heavily into my rating…

Personal rating: 5 (10 pt. scale)

Happy Smoking,
~R. Harrison Malone

PERDOMO HABANO MADURO

Strength: Medium to Full
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Style: Toro

I wasn’t enjoying cigars until I had my first Maduro. Now Maduros take over 88% of my humidor, I absolutely love them. I’m also a big fan of Perdomo cigars. Put the two together and you get one happy Stogie Baby. It’s like a one two punch. Your favorite dinner plate followed by your favorite dessert. Let’s just hope I don’t get any belly aches from the Perdomo Habano Maduro.

This cigar stands out. All you need is George Washington’s face on the label and it will look just like a dollar bill. On the bottom of the cigar right above the foot, there’s a small version of the main label with “Maduro” written in the middle. Overall, it’s a great presentation and it will stand out when you see it at the store.

On the sniffles’, I got a Wet Woody smell on the wrapper and the foot smelled more like Sweet Leather. The pre-draw had a very Peppery taste and left plenty of it on my palate. I was really excited about this cigar and I didn’t waste much time on anything else.

Leather sprinkled with Lemon Drops, that’s what my taste buds picked up as I started smoking. It then leaves you with a delicious aftertaste of Chocolate on your palate. As I made my way towards the label, I picked up some Cream mixed with what seem to be Light Dirt. Yes, my taste buds get crazy from time to time, but I have to be honest and tell you exactly what I picked up. Don’t get me wrong, It’s not a bad taste at all, its very delicious. And like a great Maduro should, this cigar gives you tons of Leather and Chocolate through out the entire cigar. The Lemon, Cream and Light Dirt flavors I mentioned earlier are just an extra bonus. It’s like extra sugar to your cup of coffee or some extra cherry’s on top of your sundae. In other words, its gooooooooooooooooooooood …. really gooooooooooooooooooood.

I also have to mention one thing. It’s amazing to me how full and rich of flavors this cigar is, but at the same time it’s also very soft and light. I hope that doesn’t confuse you to much, but just smoke it and you’ll see what I mean.

If the flavors weren’t enough, I got a perfect burn along with a sweet leather aroma. No touch ups, no un-wrapping, just perfect from the foot to the cap. Once again Perdomo has not let me down, by giving me a great quality cigar.

Ladies and Gentleman, this cigar is fantastic and I recommend this cigar to any Mild, Medium and Full body smokers. It looks big bad and tough, but its not. It’s mild, sweet and delicious. The Perdomo Habano Maduro is one of the best Maduro cigars I have smoked to date.

Final Note: It has to be said and im saying it right now! PERDOMO CIGARS ARE UNDERRATED. It’s time to bring some light to Perdomo and guess who’s going to do it? Me! I know no one remembers 3rd, 4th and 5th place, but in a competition of thousands, they should be remembered!

Quote Me!

Final Grade: A

Todays Cigar Deal has too parts each from a differant online cigar shop but both of the deals have our Soldiers in mind

The first Deal Comes from J.R cigars and they have put together a deal for you and the soldiers it works like this you get a four pack of top quality cigars at the price of three cigars and on top of that they will send a cigar to a soldier over sea every time some one buys one of these four packs here is the link below

http://www.jrcigars.com/index.cfm?page=deals_troops_08no3

Our next deal is from Duque Cigar Company or duquecigars to most of us. They have put a deal together called Discounts for our Heros!!

The deal works like this they are offering Any active or retierd Police officer,Fire fighter, or Military man and woman a discount for life thats right a discount for life all you do is email them tell them about yourself along with a photo and a story for a heros wall that they are building on their site and they will email you a discount code that you and your family can use for life as many times as you wish. Now heres the cool part for me in this deal every time you use your code to buy something they will send a soldier overseas a cigar in your name here is the link below

http://duquecigars.com/index.php?main_page=

As always enjoy

Coleman

Strength: Mild
Wrapper: Connecticut
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Style: Robusto
Draw: Really Good
Flavor: Buttery, Rich, Sweet Tobacco

Review: Here we have a great cigar! The Perdomo Reserve Champagne.

On the toast up, I got a sweet and creamy aroma, with tons of light smoke. No problem lighting it up, I think it wanted me to, by how easy it was.

From the beginning to the middle of this smoke, I got sweet spice, buttery after taste and sweet tobacco. Its really tasty, especially with all the smoke you get from the draw. The after taste is really pleasing and with the smoke being so light, it almost feels like you ate the smoke. The draw is extremely smooth, it almost feels like your not smoking. And because of the smoothness, its really easy on your palate.

Getting towards the end of the smoke, it stayed on the creamy side, but with a bit more spice. This is a nice touch because it creates a really nice balance. The cigar is mild, but towards the end it builds more body and it becomes a little more medium and that’s due to the smoke becoming a little more thicker, unlike the beginning of the smoke, when it was extremely light.

The ash is a light grey with white veins, but It wasn’t as strong as I hoped it would be, the ash didn’t hold up to long before it came off. The burn through out the whole smoke stayed good with no touch ups and no uneven spots.

Final Note: I really enjoyed this cigar, its tasty, its mild, no bad aftertaste, great aroma and sooooooo smooth…. What more would you want? Im becoming more of a full body cigar smoker, but this is a mild cigar I will always come back to. Perfect for the morning after a delicious breakfast. You have to try this cigar, you wont be disappointed.

Rating: 4/5 – Great
Date Smoked: 1-11-08