Perdomo Reserve Sun Grown "E"

[Deeg]

From the Joe's special, which I bit on despite not being a big Perdomo fan.

Quite a lovely cigar to look at - flawless, dark EMS wrapper that was surprisingly toothy - almost appeared as a dark Cameroon if I hadn't known better. Tight, even roll with no soft spots - seamless cap. A beauty.

Passed all my tests, construction wise. I've had burn problems with even some of the Perdomos I've liked, but this was nice, even, and slow - a very cool burn. Slow smoke, an hour easily at a comfortable pace. This was OTT, as it happens, with a couple of days outside the humidor on top of that - I suspect I smoked it at 60-62%, which may be the key to success with Perdomos.

The real surprise for me was the smoking experience itself. Yes, it had some nice leather and cedar elements that you expect from a good SG wrapper. But there was a most definite - and not subtle - overtone of the barnyard tang we expect from cigars of a different lineage. Anyone else experienced this? That gamy earthiness, combined with the leather, was extremely pleasant and very reminiscent of a medium-bodied Havana - perhaps a VR. Based on the reviews I expected a pleasant smoke, but this was a pleasant surprise. Flavor was very consistent as you would hope from a well-blended larger cigar - not much evolution from start to finish, though the spiciness did tend to give way to earthiness as it shortened.

Now, I wouldn't go so far as to call this a cheap cigar at its normal prices - but it's not unreasonable by any means, based on the quality. If the rest of the bundle are consistent, I'll be buying again. A solid 85/100 for me.