Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Champagne

Corona Extra

This cigar is a pit of a puzzle to me. I’ve seen it described as mild-bodied and full-flavored–in the same sentence, so I’m really not sure what to expect. What I do know, is that this cigar is orange. Perdomo has gone out of its way to make this the most golden-orange cigar in your B&M. It’s clever marketing, and the stick really does catch your eye, but will this be a nugget of gold, or golden shower? Let’s begin!

Statistics

CotM: April & May 2012







Shape: Parejo







Chosen by: insanemo

insanemo





Size: 5″5/8 x 46







Country of Origin: Nicaragua







Wrapper: 6-year Aged Connecticut Champagne







Binder: Nicaraguan Cuban seed







Filler: Nicaraguan Cuban seed







Color: Claro







Strength: Mild-Medium







Price Paid: $5.40







Smoke Date: 5/20/2013

5/20/2013





Age: 3 weeks

Accessories Used

Bugatti B-2002 lighter with “pyramid” double-flame torch and built-in cigar punch, Handmade English walnut ashtray made by wedgewoodrings.

Pairing

For this extremely gold cigar, I opted to go with Golden Yunnan loose leaf black tea in a small porcelain teapot (Adagio PersonaliTEA) and matching Asian style (no handle) teacup. This was not my most inspired pairing choice, as the fruity flavors of the tea overpowered the mild stick. For those not that familiar with Chinese teas, this is a medium-bodied tea, not that bold.

Appearance/Nose

This cigar was orange. No doubt, that was enhanced by the giant orange band and the fact that it came wrapped in orange-yellow cellophane (not pictured). The band was orange and black with metallic gold embossed highlights. It looked nice enough, but it was huge! (I think I’ve smoke cigars that were smaller than the band on this thing!) The orange and black gave me a bit of a “bumble bee” vibe. The wrapper is silky smooth with one or two very light veins. There appeared to be a double cap, The nose is very light on the wrapper. I only got a bit of hay. The foot smelled of graham crackers.

Construction

The cigar felt a bit light. There were no soft or hard spots. The burn was very quick and even. The ash kept for about an inch before falling, with a very pointy cone left underneath.

Cold Draw

With a little resistance off a punch cut, I got the same graham cracker notes as on the nose, with a bit of grass.

Smoking

First third

The first thing I got was the creamy flavor I expect from a Connecticut. The graham cracker was also very prominent. Surprisingly, there was a decent amount of pepper on the retrohale–I wasn’t expecting that. It lit extremely easily. The resistance that was there in the cold draw disappeared completely. This stick now had a very easy draw. It also burned very quickly, even when resting–this sucker loves to burn!

The graham cracker and cream remained through the first third, with pepper appearing only in the retrohale. The flavors themselves were very mild.

Second third

The second third was more of the same: faint flavors of graham crackers and cream. The pepper in the initial retrohale gave way to a more herbal, basil-mint flavor.

After the gigantic band came off, a grassy flavor began to present itself. Towards the end of the middle third, some woody, sawdusty notes emerged.

Final third

During the final third, I picked out the tastes of buttered toast and wood, though the graham cracker and cream flavors definitely stayed until the end.

Notes

Draw: Easy

Easy





Body: Mild

Mild





Primary Flavors: Graham cracker, cream, herb, sawdust

Graham cracker, cream, herb, sawdust





Smoke Output: Medium

Medium





Smoke Time: 55 minutes

Overall

I like a few mild sticks, but this one just didn’t strike my fancy. The flavors, while interesting, were extremely mild, more “hints” than “flavors” really. and the combination of graham crackers and black pepper in the first third was intriguing, but the pepper disappeared quickly and gave way to a less pleasant basil flavor, that did not mesh well with the graham cracker base. The construction left no complaints, but the stick burned very fast, and gave a shorter smoke time than I was expecting. All in all, this is one of my least favorite of the CotMs, and one I don’t really care to have again. It’s not a terrible stick, exactly, particularly if you want a mild, quick smoke, but it is severely lacking in flavor, personality, and charm. What flavor it did have was a weird combination that just didn’t work for me. As to whether this stick is a gold nugget or golden shower? Shower.

Rating