Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Connecticut Robusto

In 2014, Perdomo Cigars announced a new limited production line called the Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage. The concept involves a proprietary two-staged aging process. The line utilizes tobaccos that the company has been aging for ten years in bales.  All of the tobaccos used in the blend (wrapper, binder, and filler) are then aged in charred white oak barrels an additional two years, thus creating the double-aged effect. Common to many of Perdomo’s brands, the Double Aged 12 Year Vintage is offered with a Connecticut Shade, Sun-Grown, and Maduro wrapper option. Recently I’ve smoked the Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage Connecticut offering in Robusto offering. Overall, I found this to deliver an outstanding cigar – loaded with flavor and complexity.

The Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage was launched at the 2014 IPCPR Trade Show and then the three blends were released in a staggered fashion. The Connecticut Shade was the first to be released, and this was followed by the Sun Grown and Maduro. The blends were released in four sizes with the Salomon vitola released in all three lines late last year.

Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage Connecticut Robusto and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile

All three blends of the Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage feature Nicaraguan binder and filler. The wrappers used are Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade, Nicaraguan Sun Grown, and Nicaraguan Maduro.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Tabacalera Perdomo)

Perdomo lists tobacco components on the band (which we will go into more in depth) including Condega Seco, Jalapa Viso, and Esteli Ligero.

Vitolas Available

The vitolas are common across the Connecticut, Sun Grown, and Maduro releases of the Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage series. All of the sizes are packaged in 24 count boxes except for the Salomon which is in an 8 count box.  For the 2014 release, a total of 2,500 boxes per size per blend have been produced and distributed to 250 Perdomo accounts. The vitolas are skewed toward larger ring gauges.

Robusto: 5 x 56
Epicure: 6 x 56
Churchill: 7 x 56
Gordo Extra: 6 1/2 x 60
Salomon: 6 1/8 x 50/60


Appearance

The Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper of the Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage Connecticut Robusto has a golden brown color to it. The wrapper was more silky, than oily. While there are some visible wrapper seams and visible veins, I considered the cigar itself to be on the smooth side.

The band is a large one with a lot going on it. While some may consider it to be a busy band, there is a lot of information on it, and I found it delivered some charm. The upper part of the band features the gold, black, and white “TABACALERA PERDOMO” sunburst logo. The logo is surrounded by a bright orange trim. There is also orange, gold, and black striping on the upper part of the band. To the left and right of the logo is a red bar sitting on the orange stripe.  The left side has the text “HAND MADE” sitting on the red bar while the right side has the text “NICARAGUA” – both in a darkish colored font. On the black stripe is the text “Bale Aged” on the left with the text “Barrel Aged” on the right – both in gold cursive font. There is a large red stripe in the middle of the band  (below the sunburst logo) with dull gold pin-striping.  Sitting on the middle stripe is the text “VINTAGE” in a dull gold font.

The lower part of the band is also black with gold pin-striping. The middle of the band has box surrounded by gold trim. There is a large red “12” inside that box. The text “AGED” and “YEARS” sit above and below the “12” in small white font. To the left of the box is some information on the tobacco and its characteristics listed in white font as follows:

Wrapper – Connecticut (Smooth)
Seco – Condega (Aromatic)
Viso – Jalapa (Sweet)
Ligero – Esteli (Rich)

The right side features a short writeup on the tasting notes (in white font):

Tasting Notes: A smooth smoke with a creamy complexity slight hints of caramel and cedar with a buttery finish.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

As I normally do, I went with a straight cut to begin the cigar experience. Once I clipped the cap of the Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage Connecticut Robusto, I proceeded with the pre-light draw. The cold draw provided a mix of cream, cedar sweet-spice, and some generic wood notes. Overall I considered the pre-light draw of the Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage Connecticut to be excellent. At this point, I was ready to light up this cigar and see what the overall smoking experience would bring to the table.

Flavor Profile

The cedar and cream notes from the pre-light draw carried into the smoking phase. I soon detected a very sweet orange note. As the flavor profile took form in the early stages, the orange and cedar notes moved into the forefront. The cream was more of a secondary note, but was also prominent on the after-draw. Meanwhile the retro-hale produced a cedar sweet-spice through the nasal passages.

Throught the first third, I found the cedar and orange notes varied in intensity. The cream notes remained on the background. Later in the first third, the after-draw began to demonstrate some subtle black pepper notes with the cream.

During the second third, the orange sweetness transitioned to something that was a cross between nougat, citrus, and natural tobacco flavor. It was a very unique sweetness that I was getting on the flavor profile. The cedar notes floated between the forefront and background. I found the cream more distant. No changes on the after-draw as I still got some cream and pepper notes lingering on.

The last third saw the Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage Connecticut Robusto saw the nougat-like sweetness and cedar primary. There was a slight increase in the pepper toward the end, but it never got overpowering. The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

On the burn, I found the Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage Connecticut Robusto maintained a relatively straight burn path. I didn’t find this cigar needed an excess amount of touch-ups. I did find this wrapper blistered very easily – even more so than more Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrappers, so some tlc on re-lights is recommended.  As for the ash, it had a silvery gray color. It did find this ash to be a looser one and the cigar was much more prone to flaking than I preferred. Meanwhile the burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

Burn of the Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage Connecticut Robusto

The draw was flawless on this cigar. It had a touch of resistance – which is something that I considered ideal.  There was also a decent amount of smoke production from this cigar.

Strength and Body

From a strength perspective, the Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage Connecticut isn’t going to push the envelope. The cigar starts out on the upper end of mild to medium strength and by the second third it increases slightly into the medium range. I found the strength pretty much stayed in the medium range for the remainder of the cigar experience.

From a body standpoint, I found he Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage Connecticut Robusto to move past the traditional boundary for a Connecticut Shade. There was a nice amount of weight on the palate with the flavors from this cigar. I assessed this as a medium to full-bodied smoke from start to finish. There were a couple of points where I did think this cigar was going to move into full-bodied territory. In terms of strength versus body, I found the body had significant edge.

Final Thoughts

Overall I found the Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage Connecticut Robusto to be an impressive cigar. I did like the complexity and the deep flavors this cigar produced. Normally I don’t like it when the body has such an edge over the strength, but in this case, I thought the robust-flavors of this cigar worked well. I found this to be a fuller, more complex Connecticut Shade offering than Perdomo’s other well-known Connecticut Shade, the Perdomo Champagne. This is a cigar I’d recommend to an experienced cigar enthusiast who likes Connecticut Shade and wants more deeper robust flavors. This is also a great cigar for a novice to graduate to something on the fuller side. As for myself, this is a cigar I’d smoke again – and its worthy of a box split.

Summary

Burn: Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: High
Strength: Mild to Medium (1st third), Medium (Remainder)
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Excellent
Assessment: 3.5 – Box Split
Score: 90

References

News: Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage
Price: $10.00
Source: Purchased
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