Review: Perdomo Grand Cru Maduro Robusto

Perdomo Grand Cru Maduro Robusto

Size: 5 X 50
Wrapper: Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Cut: Palio
Beverage: Cherikee Red Pop

Prelit: The construction is Alright. There was one blemish on the foot of the cigar. The shape is typical of a hand rolled cigar. Its not a perfect shape. The feel of the cigar is firm with a few soft spots. The wrapper has a nice toothy texture to it. Some nice grit to it. There is a significant vein the runs from the cap to the band. There is a pleasant, slight cocoa sent to it. As well as a faint hazelnut. It seems to have some promise. As far as cigar band go, this one is fairly lackluster. Its not the worst band I have ever seen, but it doesn't really grab the eye and say "smoke me." On a side not, Cherikee Red Pop is hands down my favorite soda. I cannot find anything like it here in NY. The only place I can get this stuff is in Ohio.


1st 3rd:
The strength seems to be medium-full right off the bat. There are some definite hints of cocoa like the prelit aroma. Burn started off decent, but began towards the end of this third it began to canoe fairly bad. It required a touch up. The ash is a nice slightly dark grey color. It began to fan out and resembled the result of a exploding cigar used in the movies. It was a very strange effect. Small bits of the binder were fouling out of the cigar into my mouth that made it a little distracting. Overall I am not getting much flavor at all. There is the very very faint hint of cocoa, but that is it. Its strange. I can notice strength, but no flavor. The draw is excellent though.


2nd 3rd:

The initial ash fell off at about an inch and a half. But as the picture shows, it fanned out quite a bit. Very strange effect. This cigar is smoking very peculiarly. The draw remains great. There still seems to be a lack of flavor. The hints of cocoa have faded. The strength has gone down considerably. After the touch up, the burn remains good. This cigar has me scratching my head. I don't know what to expect if anything.

Final 3rd:
Strength is finally picking up a little. There is a slight peppery flavor now. It is a nice change from the rest of the cigar. Still it is not much at all. The burn is perfect. The ash has corrected itself nicely. The final 3rd is actually a decent cigar. Easily this is the best part of the cigar. Some spice and nuttiness is making this enjoyable, The Burn is starting to get hot. binder is still falling out though. There is still plenty of smoke and the draw is perfect.

Overall Impressions:
This cigar is quite lackluster. It really surprised me that there wasn't any flavor. After smelling this cigar, I had high hopes for it. But it really did not deliver. I may have to come back to this cigar at some point, but I am not going to go out of my way to buy any.

Scoring:
Construction: 16/20
Flavor: 28/40
Appearance: 8/10
Draw: 10/10
Burn: 7/10
Complexity: 6/10

Total: 75/100