Factory: Tabacalera Perdomo – Estelí, Nicaragua
Size: 6×54, soft box-press
Strength: Med – Full
Wrapper: Cuban seed Nicaraguan Jalapa
Binder/Filler: Cuban seed Nicaraguan (Estelí)
MSRP: $12.50 (at press time)
The Perdomo Estate Selección Vintage range, a.k.a. the Perdomo ESV, is one of the upper echelon blends from the Nicaraguan-based company that was born in 1992 in Nick Perdomo Jr.’s Miami garage. Headquartered in Miami, Florida with agricultural operations in the Estelí, Condega, and Jalapa regions of Nicaragua, Perdomo has established itself as one of the leading, vertically-integrated manufacturers using both manual techniques and state-of-the-art technology to control production from seedlings to finished cigars, and the boxes they’re packaged in.
The Estate Selección Vintage is not new to Perdomo’s cigar stable. What’s new about it is they’ve given the graphic design of the boxes and bands a more striking appearance. Moreover, they used new molds to give the shapes a little squeeze, resulting in an attractive, squarish shape with rounded edges. Rolled in Perdomo’s three primary wrappers, Connecticut, Sun Grown, and Maduro, all three selections are handcrafted using the top five-percent of the Perdomo family’s estate grown tobaccos from their Finca Natalie Farm in Estelí, Nicaragua. Made in five popular sizes, the Connecticut and Sun Grown selections have received Cigar Journal tasting scores of “92.” and the Maduro a “94.”
Beautifully – and the new band really pops, much like the Perdomo Habano cigars. The wrapper was seamlessly rolled with a modest pressing that gives it just enough of a square to be comfortable. Speaking of which, the cigar has a nice heft to it; well-packed, and finished with a flat, Cuban-style cap. Once clipped, the draw was perfect with pre-light flavors of leather, oak, and an unexpected chocolatey note.
Smooth and creamy with a fair amount of body that’s mostly medium in the first third. Notes of sweet tobacco, oak, cedar, and nutmeg prevailed, continuing into the second act, which increased slightly in body and strength while remaining very chewy and creamy on the palate. The finish lingered well with a sweet-spicy component, while retrohales at various intervals offered a light oaky note with no bite the nasal passages.
As seen in the video, the burn was virtually perfect, as firm grey ashes revealed a cone-shaped ember. My Imperio also served-up a sweet aroma, and a number of change-ups as flavors of cedar, oak, sweet spice, earth, cocoa, and a spot of molasses exchanged places in varying degrees of intensity.
By the final third, the cigar was mostly full in body and strength, yet retained its creaminess and base notes of sweet spice, oak, cedar, ground coffee, and cocoa.
Medium to full in body, leaning more toward full by the last several inches. Very creamy, well-balanced, sweet-spicy, and oaky with a long, savory finish. There’s also a wealth of complexity – especially if you let this cigar rest a little longer between puffs. A well-educated palate can also pick up the bolder notes supplied by the Estelí-grown filler core.
Nick and I agreed that the Perdomo ESV Sun Grown Imperio goes great with bourbon and single malt scotches. Nick likes The Balvenie, and I paired my Imperio with The Macallan® 12 Years Old Double Cask in the video, which was a great match-up for its oaky character and light sweetness. This cigar is also ideal with a good bourbon as well as mixed bourbon drinks.
You can find more cigar and drink pairing combinations here.
Definitely. This is one cigar every avid cigar smoker should have on-hand. The Perdomo sun grown wrappers are among the best in flavor, and all the tobaccos have been aged to perfection. Although more experienced cigar smokers may be better at picking out the Imperio’s complexities, the smoke is smooth and creamy enough for newer cigar smokers to appreciate. Great for relaxing with on a lazy afternoon or as an after-dinner treat, the Perdomo ESV Imperio will also do right by golfers as a 19th Hole reward.
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Executive Editor
Gary Korb has been writing and editing content for CigarAdvisor.com since its debut in 2008. An avid cigar smoker for over 30 years, he has worked on the marketing side of the premium cigar business as a Sr. Copywriter, blogger, and Executive Editor of Cigar Advisor. A graduate of the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, prior to his career in the cigar business, Gary worked in the music and video industry as a marketer and a publicist.
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