Cigar Review: Perdomo Habano Connecticut

Robusto, 5“ x 52 ring gauge, approx. $6.50
After releasing Corojo and Maduro versions in 2007, Perdomo introduced a Connecticut-shade wrapped version of the Habano in 2008. It still incorporates tobacco from Nicaragua’s three major growing regions of Esteli, Condega, and Jalapa. Instead of a Nicaraguan wrapper, they wrapped this one with a USA-grown Connecticut-shade wrapper that should balance out the stronger, more full-bodied elements in the blend.j

The wrapper was golden and beautiful--the color is even and virtually flawless. The only thing really amiss was the pinchy, stretched look in some places. The feel of the leaf was smooth and slightly velvety with just a touch of oiliness--really more to be felt than seen. The wrapper aroma was hay and earth; the foot had cocoa and more earthy notes. The cap was very well-done with faintly visible seams. The prelight draw was very easy. The flavor was mild and slightly sweet--some hay and grassy notes along with a touch of honey and caramel.

Initial puffs had some earth and hay, but overall the flavor seemed to be very mild and non-descript. It was not bad, but it was not telling me much so far, either, about where the cigar would go. I smoked this on a cold Saturday morning and as I wrote, the snow began to lightly fall and the temperature hovered in the mid-30s. The wind was low, making this a glorious morning to bundle up, pour some coffee, and start off the day with a nice mild cigar. The rest of the first third was mild in body with flavors of hay and sweet tobacco, along with undertones of honey and caramel. So far, I was finding it to be pleasant, but not truly distinguished.

The second third was much the same: hay and some mild sweetness. Toward the end there was a little black pepper as well and the body increased from very mild to just slightly higher than very mild. Construction was nearly perfect--a very good draw and mostly even burn line.

The last third, unfortunately, did nothing to change the view I had been developing since the beginning. This is not a bad cigar--there were no sour flavors or ammonia present--there were no truly ”off“ flavors or anything that made me want to put it down early. But there was nothing really ”special“ about it, either. It was merely adequate as a nice mild morning smoke with nothing to really recommend it to me for further purchase. It was not flavorless, but it was almost completely lacking in complexity--it just had no real character to elevate it above the masses of middle-of-the-road smokes. All of which left me with one unfortunate conclusion: why bother?

Body: 3/10

Strength: 3/10

Complexity: 2/10

AFP Scale
Prelight: 1.5/2

Construction: 2/2

Flavor: 3/5

Value: 0/1

Total: 6.5/10