Up for review this week is the Perdomo Reserve Champagne. This cigar weighs in at 4.75 inches in length with a 56 ring gauge. The wrapper is a Connecticut Shade with a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan fillers. Stuck to the orange tinted cellophane wrapper is a “Best of the Best 2005” sticker from the Robb Report.
During my pre light inspection I found the cigar to be very attractive. The wrapper had small veins and a smooth texture. When pinched the stick was a little soft towards the tapered head but firm in the center and down at the foot. The aroma of the wrapper is rich and sweet and is also very aromatic. Once cut the cigar produced a free draw with sweet flavors.
Once lit the cigar produced a good volume of thick and flavorful smoke. The initial base flavor starts out as rich and earthy with the familiar “Nic Zing” (As Dale Roush would say) that gives the cigar a slight edginess. The body is about medium and the finish is smooth and easy on the palate. The burn is slow and even while producing a firm light colored ash.
I continued to enjoy my Perdomo Reserve Champagne into the second third. At this point the base flavor was a rich tobacco flavor with some sweetness and a mild buttery flavor. The body was still in the medium range while the finish remained smooth and almost creamy on the palate. The slight edginess remained but seemed to give the cigar a little more character and made me enjoy it even more.
As I smoked into the final third of this stick the body remained in the Medium range while the finish remained smooth and semi creamy. The bit of edginess seemed to build as I smoked but continued to be enjoyable and add a bit of character to the smoke. The base flavor was still predominantly a rich and sweet natural tobacco flavor with some buttery flavors coming in as an aftertaste. The draw remained free and produced a god volume of thick and flavorful smoke. The ash was light in color and firm while the burn was slow and even.
Overall I really enjoyed this cigar. Personally I think that this makes a great morning cigar and goes well with my usual cup of Earl Grey tea. The price is outside of my normal comfort zone, at around 5.50 per stick but can be purchased in Cigars International samplers for much less (which is where I have gotten all of mine). If you enjoy Medium bodied smokes and are in search of something after breakfast with a hot beverage I think this would be worth a try.
Walt,
Nice review! Its funny how packaging influences a products appeal…I’ve seen that cigar in various cigar forums and always felt that it was a “lower” end cigar and nothing that ever appealed to me & now, after your review, I look forward to trying one.
You mentioned you got a bad five pack from C.I. – you ever wonder if it was bad as a result of C.I? I’ve gotten a few “bad” cigars in the past from them & C-bid (cigars that I’ve smoked in the past & have known to be good quality). I wonder if they send out the “older” cigars from the warehouse. I’m sure that they also make a lot of the five packs and samplers that they ship, which also raises the question of how the cigars are stored. I can go on about this, but I won’t – I’m boring myself. Perhaps, this would be a good discussion on YQMA #16.
Walt,
Great review as always. I just got one of these today from a PIF from CS. I look forward to smoking if after a couple weeks in the humi.
Walt,
It’s easy to pick out a song from a band you’ve followed since you were in 5th grade. This attributes to the completely realistic statement that you can’t touch a TOOL fan. On this song, I’m not too much into the metal scene, but I’m getting a GWAR aspect coming through in the final third. This is going to bug me, shoot me an e-mail so I know who it was. Also, I like this game… You should keep it going for a while. Take care, MDD.
Also, a fun fact, Maynard James Keenan (Lead singer of TOOL) and I have the same birthday, April 17. Also, we were both in the military, except I’m still serving my sentence. Danny Carey (Drummer for TOOL) went to college about 15 minutes from my house and I met him at a drum clinic. Some may call my fascination with TOOL a clinical issue, I call it love appreciation for the few “musicians” we have left. MDD.
Great review and pretty much sums up my veiw of this cigar. These can be found for a decent price if you are patient and they are quite tasty! One of my absolute favorite mild / morning smokes.
Love the reviews!!
Great review Walt. I love this line of Perdoma cigars. For a Connecticut Shade wrapper, it’s about the only cigar I like. It’s stronger than your typical Shade wrapper and has a great taste. But I like this series with the Cameroon better as you’ve reviewed previously. They are a bit more pricey then I like but I think they are fairly priced.
I have to agree with you that it’s a hit for Perdoma.
Dave
Is it just me or does the smoke also look like a copper color?
I love connecticut shade wrappers, and this one is okay. I also think they’re a good price for what you get. I would probably smoke another one if it was given to me.
the best Connie Shade imo is the Diamond Crown natural, but the price is way too high for my bank account.
Jabba,
I have one of the Diamond Crown Naturals tucked away in my cooler. I’ll have to give it a try.
Also, the poor lighting in my makeshift smoking lounge might have played tricks on the smoke. The Halogen lamp I have siting fairly close to me throws off a yellowish light which may have made the smoke look funny.
Mike,
The song was “I Am” by Static-X. I’ve got a soft spot for the band because they were the first band I ever saw live. It was a good show, would have been great if the girl standing in front of me wasn’t throwing water around (that was in my under 21 section days)
Kevin,
Those cigars came in a combo deal that ran me about 70.00. All of the other cigars included were in good shape.
I’ll try to remember to add it to the show notes.
Thanks for the comments guys, my apologies for the delayed response time.
-Walt
great cigar and better review.wanted to let ya know tnt has CAO Brazilia Gol! on sale 5/$15.great deal if ya ask me.
One of my favorite smokes for early in the day. I especially like the Figurado size and shape (4.7 x 56) very cool looking and delicious lunch or breakfast cigar. Watch a toro sized epicure go “Up in Smoke” here-