Initial Thoughts
I have high hopes for the Perdomo Estate Seleccion Vintage Maduro Epicure after thoroughly enjoying Perdomo’s 10th Annivesary I wanted to smoke another stick from Perdomo and see what else they had to offered. So I chose to go to the other end of the wrapper spectrum and chose a nice dark maduro wrapper. I’m hoping the Habano Maduro wrapper brings out some serious kick with this cigar and increases the body to really get a full circle of flavors involved. Taking a look at this cigar I know it’ll be about a 1.5 – 2 hr smoke.
I’m enjoying this cigar while chatting with my good Jeremy we’re sitting on his porch talking about the pleasures of life and catching up from the last couple of weeks. He’s just coming off a terrible case of strep throat so what better way to celebrate than to smoke a stogie right? He’s not smoking the Perdomo Estate Seleccion Vintage Maduro Epicure, he chose the Aging Room which I can’t wait to try. I’ve heard wonderful things about it. Ok lets get on with this review!
Looks
The Perdomo Estate Seleccion Vintage Maduro Epicure is a nice sized toro. It’s a little thicker than the normal Toro vitola at a 54 RG. The dark chocolate-esque Maduro wrapper is gorgeous. The dark color of the wrapper allows the band to pop out at you. With a bright silver embossment the band is centered by the Perdomo “P” and encircled by tobacco leaves pointing outward to me they resemble ancient hieroglyphics of the sun. This cigar didn’t resolve to using flashy packaging on the band, but just enough pop to draw my attention and make me pick it up and buy it.
Function
I had really high expectations for the Perdomo Estate Seleccion Vintage Maduro Epicure after such a great results from the previous Perdomo that I had smoked. I performed the pinch test and realized this cigar was packed incredibly full of Nicaraguan leaf. The barrel was very tight with no give whatsoever. When I feel this I usually begin worrying about how it’s going to affect the draw of the cigar.
I clipped the cap and began testing the dry draw. Just as I had expected the pull was quite stiff. So I trimmed the cap down a little bit more and was able to pull more air through the barrel. However the dry draw was harder than I typically prefer (#TWSS?). I was a little worried about how this smoke was going to perform given the difficulty of the draw but I had faith that this cigar would be just fine.
The wind had kicked up a bit tonight and I was having some difficulty lighting the stick, I know, most of your are yelling at me right now saying “Why in the hell aren’t you using a butane torch?”. Well to answer you people that are yelling, it’s because I like matches. There I said it and I stand behind it! Finally after about 5 matches the foot took to the flame and we were off to the races. Just as I suspected the barrel opened up a little more once it was lit.
Smoking
The smoke coming from the Perdomo Estate Seleccion Vintage Maduro Epicure was a thick white smoke. As you might expect from the size of the stick it’s putting off quite a bit of smoke. From the beginning this cigar is burning beautifully, it must be do to the precision lighting from my matches.
After the initial light this cigar was dead even with the burn, but somewhere in the middle of the first third the wrapper started hooking around. It started looking like one of those “hook echoes” they talk about on the weather radar that are indicative of a tornado. If you’ve ever lived in Oklahoma then you know exactly what I’m talking about.
During the 2nd third the wrapper straightened up and started flying right again. The burn stayed fairly even until the middle of the 2nd third. What the hell is that all about? Am I smoking it wrong? I thought to myself. It’s just a little off kilter for my liking so I’ve knocked down the rating on the construction to an 8/10, in case you all don’t know by now I’m all about consistency here.
The final third the wrapper corrects itself again and burns fairly even all the way to the nub. This Perdomo Estate Seleccion Vintage Maduro Epicure produced that thick white smoke all the way until the end. It had a nice white ash right at the edge of the burn and then it faded into a dull gray ash.
I was pleasantly surprised I didn’t have any issues whatsoever with the draw on this stick. I was worried on the outset that there might me some issues, but it turned out to be just fine. To me a good draw can save just about any cigar even if it’s burning poorly and is light on flavor. Speaking of flavor thats up next, keep reading.
Flavor
The flavor profile on the Perdomo Estate Seleccion Vintage Maduro Epicure is straightforward. It didn’t venture out of the chocolate and creamy zone too much. The pre draw offered a strong mocha flavor with a nice smooth tobacco finish. This flavor profile stayed very consistent all the way through.
In the first third I noticed a stronger upfront chocolate taste that kinda fizzled away into a creaminess. Because this was a Maduro wrapper I was expecting more of a full body smoke, but it wasn’t anything like that of the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial LE 2011. This was just smooth and delicious. I would go as far to say this was medium bodied which is great. I love medium bodied maduro cigars. It gives me a delicious creamy smoke that won’t make me light headed, win-win in my book.
I ended up giving the flavor a 7/10 on this stick which may confuse some of you. Although I liked the flavor, the combination of mocha and creaminess, it just didn’t wow me. It was blended well, but it was a struggle to pull some flavors out. It was a pleasurable smoke for sure, but nothing that just stood out and yelled at me.
Would I Buy It Again?
I would buy it again for sure. At $7.50 a stick this is a great medium bodied maduro to have in your humidor when you want something that’ll go down smooth.
Is It an Every Day Smoke?
It could be, if you’re a maduro wrapper fan, and you love the hint of mocha this could vary well be your new go to stick.
Would I Buy a Box?
Probably not, although the price of a box is certainly enticing I don’t know if I would smoke enough of these to justify buying an entire box.
Conclusion
The Perdomo Estate Seleccion Vintage Maduro Epicure it’s certainly an enjoyable cigar and you should go pick up a couple if you haven’t already. I just wasn’t floored by it. It’s an above average smoke worthy of $7.50 and it won’t let you down I’m sure of it. So if you’ve been on the fence about it, go pick one up and try it. Trust me you’ll be pleased.
