Brand: Perdomo (Lot 23)
Shape: Belicoso (5.7 x 54)
Tobacco Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Connecticut
Body: Full

Perdomo Lot 23 Connecticut Belicoso

Description: I'm going to give you the cold, honest truth here. And before I go on, I'm telling you that I'm going to tell you the truth because it matters to me that you, a reader of this cigar review site, values my opinion. I also recognize that you value my opinion in large part because of my impartiality and my willingness to tell you the truth when others might not. So here goes.

I liked this cigar. I thought it looked pretty, I thought it felt nice in my hand. I thought the flavors I detected throughout were interesting enough for me to keep smoking, and I liked the zesty spark that the cigar seemed to exhibit.

It lit easily enough, and it held an even burn fairly well. I noticed it had a somewhat tight pull, but that was my own fault for cutting it so far back on the torpedoed end. The first half tasted of vanilla and Christmas. Is that a thing? I detected hints of oak on the finish in the first half, and it was quite pleasant.

The second half was more peppery and the vanilla-y Holiday flavors were replaced with a deep all consuming musk that I can only attribute to the smell of a wet forest in fall.

Yes, there were plenty of flavors to go around in this cigar, and I enjoyed picking them out.

But I didn't love this cigar. I don't know. Something about it just wasn't that exciting. I think this cigar was great, and I think it rated highly purely by the numbers, but when I compare it against a cigar like this Padron stogie I reviewed a while back, it just doesn't stack up.

From the Padron Review:

A fantastic flavor in this cigar! Definitely a repeat. The salesman informed that this cigar would leave me sweating bullets.

The Padron is exciting, it makes you want to keep smoking it. The Padron gave me The Fizz (if you pardon the James May-ism). I think that's what I don't like about this cigar. It just didn't give me The Fizz.



Ratings:
Appearance and Construction: 14/15
Flavor: 20/25
Smoking Characteristics: 20/25
Overall: 13/20
Value: 10/15
Total: 77/100
Smoking Time: 1 hr. 35 min.
Price: Box of 20 $105.99 (~$5.30 per cigar)