Country: Nicaragua
Ring gauge: 60
Length: 6 in
Shape: Toro Gordo
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade Natural
Pre-Smoke:
I have had Perdomo before and have been impressed. This was a post dinner with a beer cigar that did not disappoint. Had a very smooth feel with what I felt was a cocoa/coffee smell. As it was passed around it became apparent that it might not have been a bean smell, but more of a nut closer to almond. No large leaf veins were present and it had a great feel on the lips before lighting. It had an oily feel when in the lips but nothing that seemed to stick when in the hands.
Lighting and smoke:
Why not over sell my first review? It truly was a great light. Evenly lit and drew perfectly from the very beginning. No flaking, the wrapper never cracked and I had no extra little suprises in my mouth after I hit it. I had to ash after about 3 inches but I felt I could have went another inch without it falling. Rolled tight enough I had a sturdy cigar but loose enough that it was never a problem to draw. I only had to re-light this cigar when I had about 1 1/4 inches left but I didn't want to put it down.
Taste:
It lived up to its smell. Very smooth with hints of what I felt were coffee/almond. My taste buds could be completely off and there could be neither but that also leads into the allure of this cigar. It had no real after taste. Every hit was independent of the other and I felt as the cigar burned deeper it was giving me a different look into its great build. I did not have that jaw moving, tongue clacking need to wish/wash any liquid in my mouth to move a bad taste out of it. I had a beer with my smoke, I believe it was a Stella, but I would have been great with a scotch, coffee, glass of wine or even a vanilla coke. To be quite honest, I started to sip on water to quench my thirst and I never had a cause of concern for my palate because this cigar never imposed.
Final thoughts: The Perdomo Habano Connecticut "Gordo" 6x60 was so good I hate to say one of the positives was that it seemed bland. It was not the normal smoke as once it was over I never tasted it again. Which, in my opinion will have me coming back for more because for me to remember how great it was I'll have to get another.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Saturday, June 16, 2012
La Flor Dominicana Ligero Robusto
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| La Flor Dominicana Ligero Robusto |
Blend: Ligero
Size: Robusto (5 3/4" x 50)
Origin: Ecuador/Dominican Republic/Dominican Republic
Set Up
Before lighting this, I already liked it. The smell is sweet and creamy, with a little bit of spice. It reminds me of pipe tobacco. Maybe a bit of pumpkin. It's an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper with a Dominican binder and filler. The binder and filler are a bit darker than most ordinary Maduro wrappers.
There were some minor imperfections in the wrapper. There's a pretty serious white vein down one side, and a few other light spots, plus some general veininess. The foot is expanded ever so slightly - possibly due to inconsistent humidification and travel. (This is just what I notice, but I don't think it's going to take away from the smoke at all.)
The band is the traditional LFD flower with "LIGERO" bolded on the bottom.
I cut this with a cat's eye as the 50-ring gauge is a bit too narrow for a guillotine, and I'd like to make the 5 3/4" last.
The Smoke
I lit this with wooden matches, and it burned well from the very beginning. Initially it made a really nice white ash and burned very evenly. About 1" into it, it got a little sideways, then the ash from the wrapper was separating from the binder. Fortunately, I was able to correct this without having to re-light. It was a little disappointing that the first ash fell of at about 1 1/2" and never really held a long ash after that point.
The flavors were not very impressive. It was a medium body - not very strong at all. Initially there was a little bit of cayenne, and a smooth, creamy flavor. As I got into the first third, this gave way to undertones of tree nuts, but from that point the flavors never really developed. A good cigar will often develop over the burn and you can break the smoke into thirds. With this, however, nothing really changed, and nothing really ever impressed.
The cigar was well-constructed and burned mostly evenly throughout. The draw was initially absolutely perfect with the cat's eye cut. Quickly, however, the build-up caused the draw to be just a little tight. It never came unraveled and burned evenly throughout. I believe I had to re-light it only once.
The Verdict
Overall, this is a nice cigar to try once and maybe to have in a setting where you don't want to be doing a whole bunch of maintenance on it. I personally regard construction and draw as a very important aspect of a good cigar, and there was nothing wrong with the construction. The flavor, however, was pedestrian and uninteresting, and never really developed. It's certainly okay for a weaker palette or on an empty stomach.
Review - Alec Bradley Tempus
- Quadrum Box-pressed
- Honduran & Nicaraguan
- 5 1/2 x 55
- Maduro
- $8.95 (Virginia)
I picked a Tempus' based on two things: the box press and the leathery wrapper. I'm a big fan of the '64 Anniversary Padron Pyramide but they're not only difficult to find, they sell at between $14.50 and $21 / stick in Virginia.
The draw from the Tempus is excellent: it's smooth and consistent throughout length but without the challenge accompanying some smaller gauge box-press cigars. After about one-half dozen I'd report tightly-packed filler/binder consistently and yet that same easy draw.
Flavor reminds one of the pardon that helped pick it. Reviews state a clear "wood and nut". Let's be clear, this is a deep walnut or a chestnut, not the pistachio you get from sticks produced by Zino. There's undeniably wood out front before the nuttiness but both give way to a chocolatey chestnut before continuing to its other flavors. These cigars carry the "long finish" typical of high-scoring cigars but the chocolatey sweetness here is truly impressive. Whereas you pick up spice in the pardon you get a deeper less sharp spice in the Tempus.
This cigar works magic with an old-vine Zin and other "big jammy" wines. The Apothic Red or Murphy's Law make great companions.
I highly recommend this cigar. Avoid the natural wrapper. In terms of form-factor, avoid the torpedo. I haven't been able to get much more out of it and it costs more. Go with the box-press (reviewed) or the smaller gauge, smaller length. Yes, though I pick up my Padron's in longer form-factor, and prefer lanceros for my Opus X... I can't seem to find a longer Tempus that I enjoy as much as the smaller ones.
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