Gordo, 6" x 60 ring gauge, $6.85The Perdomo Habano was officially introduced to the world in a press release dated August 2007. This is a Nicaraguan puro, blended by Nick Perdomo, featuring Cuban-seed tobaccos from 3 different regions of Nicaragua: Esteli, Condega, and Jalapa. For the Maduro variety, a triple-fermented maduro wrapper is added for "rich, bold flavors with a smooth, satisfying finish." Thisis a large cigar with a classy look for a relatively low price.
The wrapper on the Habano Maduro is dark with a nice oily sheen. The veins are visible, but can hardly be felt. There are no obvious defects in the wrapper, just some bumps and bruises that could be from normal wear and tear of a cigar's journey from factory to shop to one person's hands to that person's personal humidor back to that person's hands as he hands off to a friend then that friend takes it home and puts it in another humidor...something like that, anyway. The wrapper aroma is leathery with hints of "classic humidor;" the foot aroma is rich with chocolate and some barnyard.
The prelight draw was very nice and open; the flavors were sweet hay and milk chocolate. This cigar tasted so good unlit that it almost seemed a shame to have to set fire to it...but since that is really the only way to thoroughly enjoy a cigar...set fire I did. The initial flavors were leathery and nutty with undertones of coffee and baking cocoa. The smoke was voluminous and full-bodied right from the start and there were no draw problems whatsoever.
As the Habano Maduro moved into the second third, I noticed that the flavors had sweetened a bit. The cocoa had morphed into a more chocolately flavor and the coffee was stronger. The leather had faded, too, leaving a smoother, richer flavor overall. This cigar reminded me quite a bit of the LFD L-500 Oscuro, but without quite the same amount of power.
The last third started off with the flavor of black coffee; the chocolate took a back seat. Unfortunately, this is where the draw started going wrong, too. It did not plug up, but it got "iffy." At some angles, plenty of smoke came through; at others, almost none did. I made no attempts to correct it and it got no better or worse before I put the stick down. On another construction issue, I found the burn line got a little ragged from time to time, which I did correct with a quick application of flame.
The good times ended with about 3/4 inch left; it was there that the flavor suddenly turned bitter and I put the cigar down before the good experience was ruined. Not a great way to finish a cigar, but it gave over an hour and a half of great smoking, so I will not complain about the unsmokable nub--truth is, I was ready to head in for the night anyway.
Overall, this was a very good cigar that performed more than adequately in every fashion until I hit the nub. There were a couple minor construction quibbles, but it was by no means unsmokable or overly bothersome to deal with. I liked this stick and I really like the price. I would recommend this to almost anyone, but especially to the smoker who has graduated beyond the "novice" category and wants something flavorful and impressively large that will not result in a nicotine overload.
Body: 7/10
Strength: 5/10
Complexity: 8/10
AFP Scale:
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10
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