Perdomo Lot 23 Maduro Short Cigar Review
Pre-Smoke
There are some holes in the wrapper, raised veins and bunched up areas on the wrapper. It is well packed and the wrapper is a nice looking coffee with a bit of cream added. For this review I am smoking the Robusto (5 x 50) vitola and if you want to know more about this cigar, like how Lot 23 is the farm near Esteli, Nicaragua where all the binder and filler tobaccos in this cigar comes form, then head on over to the Perdomo Lot 23 website page. It costs around $5.00 a stick. The maduro wrapper comes from Nicaragua.
Smoke
An effortless draw reveals herbal and some spice flavors in the beginning. Spice is short lived and gives way to chalky chocolate, earthy and some sweet flavors. The draw may be a little too loose for some smokers but I like it and the burn is relatively even.
A full flavored cigar that is medium bodied is the best way to succinctly describe this cigar. After a couple of inches the main flavors are dark chocolate and mocha. There is a bitter aftertaste that continually builds up throughout the cigar and it is beginning to detract from the good.
After-Smoke
I’m conflicted about this cigar. The flavors were great but that aftertaste just seemed to keep on getting worse. I think I can overlook the aftertaste this time since the flavors were really good.
4 points
Sancho Panza Extra Fuerte Barcelona Cigar Review
I recently posted a Sancho Panza review and I thought it was a good cigar. It got 88 points. This will be my first Sancho Panza Extra Fuerte review and this one is better than it’s conventional brethren.
It has pretty good construction. Box pressed cigar with an imperfect cap. Deep, chocolate brown wrapper. Supposed to be a really full bodied powerhouse of a cigar from what I’ve heard. We’ll see. Drinking Wild Turkey and a Cherry Coke.
Cigar Stats
Toro
Length: 6 1/2″
Ring Gauge: 48
Wrapper: Honduras
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Honduras, Nicaragua
Price: $4.00
Late Night Fire!
It is not overly full bodied – not nearly as strong as I was led to believe. Draw is a little tight but not too bad. Mellow maple syrup flavor. Smoky flavor as well.
Not burning evenly. Some kind of licorice tinged spice coming to the fore in this cigar.
A third of the way through and there is a mild sweetness to it. It really is beginning to smell like a barnyard. The burn has thankfully evened out though.
Two-thirds of the way through now and I have found that retrohaling it makes it a lot better, much more enjoyable. I was already retrohaling it (blowing the smoke through my nose) but now I’m concentrating on it more. When I retrohale I get mocha and some spicy notes. I’m glad I concentrated on retrohaling this cigar.
Nearing the end and I am getting chocolate notes when I retrohale. Very complex flavor profile. The flavors, individually, are not great but when you add them all up it becomes very, very good.
90 points
I had a hard time giving this cigar 90 points. But, after careful consideration, the total grouping of flavors added up to something special. The imperfect burn and draw prevents me from going any higher than that.
Here’s what others have to say:
A Cigar Smoker’s Journal: This was actually a guest reviewer on Barry’s blog, who went by the name of TriMarkC (either a nickname or he had some mean parents, just kidding). He found that the cigar had pepper and leather notes. It was medium-full bodied for him and he gave the cigar, the Madrid, 87 points mostly because it had a horrible burn to it. “A lot of variety in flavor as you progress through the cigar. The inconsistent burn was an issue, and the constant relighting might have added to some of the bitterness I tasted at the end.” Great review, you need to read it.
Cigarfan: He noted the spice and “It starts out with a nice woody bang and a pungent aroma, like being next to a camp fire. The flavor is slightly sweet and quite woody with very little aftertaste.” He also said that it was kind of a boring smoke. He was smoking that Pamplona (robusto).
