Perdomo Habano Corojo Toro

This was the morning cigar for me on the second day of the trip and I lit it on the bus on the way to the tour of the box factory. It presented with a thick wrapper that had leathery qualities, but some prominent vein structures. I inspected the cigar carefully, but did not find any issues that would lead me to believe that there would be a problem. The pre light aroma was of spice, leather and earth. The pre light draw showed some signs of pepper and earth, with some tobacco and spice tones that were muted.

The cigar opened with profile of strong pepper and earth, the pepper notes nearly overwhelm the other aspects of the cigar very early on and I find that disturbing. At the back of the palate there is a slightly sour notes that is threatening to derail the experience early on. The draw is good, but not particularly remarkable and the burn is fine.

The first third of the cigar does not progress well. The profile is sour and the pepper notes are too strong at the front of the profile. Ordinarily I would not complain about strength of flavor, but this was not pleasing and too in my face. The complexity and depth just was not there. At the back of the palate the sour notes have given way to vegetal mushroom notes, that are verging on being grassy. The draw and burn are still acceptable to this point.

The middle third of the cigar has some redeeming qualities. The profile has calmed down. While still showing notes of pepper, there are some nice undertones of dark wood, earth and spice that are showing through. At the back of the palate there are still some vegetal notes, but hints of dark wood are promising. The draw and burn are still above average, yet unremarkable.

The final third of the cigar passes without much of note taking place. The profile maintains some nice notes of pepper and earth, but there is not enough depth or complexity to make it worthwhile. At the back of the palate some grassy notes are threatening to show through again and I start counting the minutes until this one is over. The burn and draw remain consistent, but underwhelming.

The finish is not terrible, but nothing to write mom about either. There were some hints of pepper, spice and dark wood but they were mere suggestions.

Appearance- 86 a slightly above average look
Taste- 78 really not a good showing, the profile was sour early and lacking in depth and complexity late
Construction- 87 not terrible, but not great either
Strength- 82 an overwhelming full early, and sputtering to medium late
Overall- 83 a below average smoke