Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro Cigar Review
According to Perdomo’s website: “A Decade in the making, the PERDOMO RESERVE 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY cigars are here to celebrate the next generation of Tabacalera Perdomo’s award winning and highly acclaimed original La Tradicion Perdomo Reserve line.” Awesome but for the small fact that I haven’t smoked the original one so I can’t compare the two. What I do know is that the maduro version of this cigar is a Nicaraguan puro that comes in five different vitolas: perfecto, robusto, toro, double corona and a torpedo.
This Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro has a multitude of veins, bumps and an inconsistent color pattern. There are some oils on it and it feels like it is well packed. Maybe a little tightly packed by the cap and a little loose nearer the foot but, overall, well packed. The wrapper feels rough to the touch.
Cigar Stats
Robusto
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua Nicaragua
Price: around $5.50
Cabin Light!
This quite possibly represents the easiest draw in a cigar I have ever encountered and I like it. Tons of creamy smoke coats my mouth.
Chocolate is the main flavor followed by coffee grounds and dirt. The burn is even and I would peg this as a medium bodied cigar, maybe a little bit stronger than that.
Even though it is not an overly complex cigar the flavors are well above average. A cigar with these flavors relax me, very mellow. This is one of the better examples of this type of cigar: chocolate, coffee, etc.
But, in the end, there is just something that is missing from this cigar that would have put it up into another echelon of cigars for me. It’s missing spice, which would have cut the sweetness of the chocolate and brought in another level of complexity. While still being a great cigar it could have been better.
92 points
Examples of cigars I liked with more spice:
CAO L’Anniversaire Maduro Belicoso Cigar Review – 93 points
Partagas Black Label Piramide Cigar Review – 93 points
Cuvee Rouge Robusto Cigar Review – 92 points
I feel that the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro could have been better than all of these cigars if it had some spice mixed in with it. Of course, by changing the mixture of tobaccos that would change the overall flavor profile for this cigar and that might mean reducing what is the best and most dynamic chocolate flavor I have ever tasted.
Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story Cigar Review
Reading into the history of the Hemingway line a little bit is actually quite interesting. Evidently, the perfecto shape was popular from 1920-1940. But, since these shapes are so difficult to make, cigar makers stopped making this shape. Luckily for us, Carlos Fuente, Jr. remembered his grandfather making perfecto cigars for a line called Fancy Tales and worked with his grandfather so that they could make some for their own personal use. After smoking twenty of these cigars a day they realized that other people might like them and then, in the 1980s, the Fuentes launched their Hemingway line. Thanks guys!
It’s a great looking cigar and you just have to admire the Fuentes for bringing back the perfecto when they did. It is not easy making them. The Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story is amazing not only because of its perfecto shape but also because it is so small. I have had the Short Story a number of times before and have liked them all. The wrapper is oily.
Cigar Stats
Perfecto
Length: 4″
Ring Gauge: 48
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Price: around $5.50
Blue Flame!
It is packed with a breadth of flavor. A warm spice, akin to cinnamon, gets a lot of play and is especially noticeable when you blow the smoke out your nose. Meaty, sweet and earthy flavors bolster the warm spice. The flavors balance each other out well.
With a perfect draw and an even burn this is a very enjoyable cigar. And, even though it is a small cigar, I am getting the chance to enjoy it for a good amount of time because it burns slowly. It’s a medium bodied cigar.
While it is a very good cigar it isn’t perfect. There may be a kaleidoscope of flavors bouncing around in my mouth right now but they are not particularly strong. The spice does linger long after you put it down, which is always a good thing in my book.
Overall, I’m not convinced it is a truly great cigar. It is a cigar worthy of praise solely due to its shape; even though cigar presses are used in the making of these sticks I’m sure it is not easy making them. And the flavors are good. Just not amazingly good.
89 points
Fundadores Jamaica Short Cigar Review
Pre-Smoke: Barrington House sent me these cigars a few months back. They have surprised me because, even though they are very mild, they are enjoyable.
The Fundadores Jamaica is not a good looking cigar. Full of bumps and veins. The wrapper is somewhat oily. I’m smoking their churchill vitola.
Smoke: Like I said, it’s very mild. Floral sweetness with some oak. The flavors are surprisingly strong for such a mild cigar. While it isn’t a complex cigar it is great for what it is; mild sweetness. The draw is perfect and the burn is very good.
After-Smoke: What I really like about this cigar is that it is relaxing. It doesn’t take any effort to enjoy it. But the thing of it is that there isn’t a ton of complexity to it. If you like sweet, mild cigars then you will love this one. However, even though I tend to like the more full bodied cigars, I actually liked this one.
3 points
Price Range: around $7.00
Camacho SLR Maduro Short Cigar Review
Pre-Smoke: Looks and feels oily. Maybe a little too soft to the touch but the wrapper looks great – no significant imperfections. Smoking the robusto vitola, the Rothschild.
Smoke: One of the best examples of a maduro cigar I can think of right now. Earthy with cocoa. Some spice is lurking in the background. Perfect draw and an incredibly even burn.
After about the halfway point the cigar does become a little bitter, which is a shame. The Camacho SLR Maduro is a medium-full bodied cigar. Slow burning.
After-Smoke: If it were not for that bitterness that comes on after the halfway point I would easily give it 4 points. But even with the bitterness, which isn’t extreme, I am still thinking about giving it that high mark. However, upon reflection, while the flavors are very good there is not enough complexity of flavors here to overcome the negative affects of the bitterness for me.
3 points
Price Range: $6.00 – $7.25
Fuente Fuente Opus X Belicoso XXX Cigar Review
Alright, I’ve got to admit that I have been wanting to smoke an Opus X for a very long time but, since the price is so exorbitant, I had resisted the urge to splurge. That, as you will see in the following review, was a mistake. By the way: A big thanks to Cigars Direct for this cigar.
Frankly, when you have a cigar that costs as much as this you expect greatness. And yet, the wrapper is anything but great. There are a couple of holes in the wrapper and there are also a couple of stretch marks as well.
Beyond that, however, it is great. Very oily, rich color to it, and the cap looks perfectly constructed, which, based off some of the other torpedoes I have seen, is no small feat. It’s tightly packed.
Cigar Stats
Torpedo
Length: 4 5/8″
Ring Gauge: 49
Wrapper: Dominican Republic
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Price: $26.00
Forbidden Flame!
Frankly, my dear, I no longer give a damn about the wrapper because the first few puffs have been sublime. Loads of spice and leather are evident on my tongue and through the nose. Perfect draw and definitely full bodied. Wow!
There may be a hint of licorice in the background, which adds nicely to the complexity of this cigar. There is also a magnificent toasted flavor. Everything is just going swimmingly with this cigar.
It’s amazing just how alive the flavors are. Tons of billowing, creamy smoke. Smoking this cigar is making my mouth water. This has got to be one of my all-time favorite cigars because I hate putting it down. I just can’t wait for the next puff! The only drawback I can think of with this cigar is that it is so short. It fits my tastes perfectly and it is definitely one of my top favorites.
96 points
