Perdomo Champagne Noir
Thursday, May 26th, 2011I’ve been a fan of the original Perdomo Champagne for years now. I frequently have one in the morning with coffee. When I found out there was a new version available, I had to get some. The Cuban seed maduro wrapper is aged in bourbon barrels. Other then that, I don’t have a lot of details on this cigar. What I care about is the flavor. So with a glass of water, I offer you my review.
Wrapper: Cuban seed maduro from Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: Super Toro 6 x 60
Price: $6.85
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The dark wrapper had a smooth appearance, with no visible flaws. The smell off of the wrapper was earthy with a mild barnyard. The cigar was tightly and evenly packed. The pre-light draw was a little stiff, and had a musty, earthy flavor.
The ash held for well over an inch, and the burn required no corrections. The snug draw loosened up not long after lighting. I guess it had a knot towards the foot.
Flavor:
The first third started off with a burnt cedar flavor. It was slightly earthy on the aftertaste. It didn’t take long for a dark espresso to take over the flavor profile. Through the nose I picked up pepper with a sweet finish. The smoke feel was dry and left me craving water.
The second third continued with the dark coffee or espresso flavors. I could feel the bitterness of the coffee in the aftertaste. It may not sound good, but it was pleasant. It wasn’t like the harsh bitterness you can get from improperly made coffee. When passing smoke through the nose, I still got that classic Nicaraguan zing spice. In the background were subtle notes of dry cocoa. I found myself not feeling parched during this third as well.
The last third: I know I’m repeating myself… Coffee still dominated the flavor profile. What did change was the cocoa. It mixed nicely with the dark coffee flavor and didn’t feel so dry. The spice had a peppery component with a nice zing, much like previous thirds.
Conclusion:
This was a good medium to upper medium bodied cigar. It differs greatly from it’s Connecticut wrapped counterpart. While the Noir would do just fine in the morning, I think it is geared towards an after lunch or even dinner smoke. Factor in the price, and I think Perdomo has a winner. If I had to complain… I hope they release this in smaller sizes for when you don’t have two hours to spend smoking.