In 2015, Perdomo Cigars launched a line known as the Perdomo Factory Tour Blend. Perdomo Cigars is a true vertically integrated company as the company has its own farms, factory, and controls its own distribution. Part of what Perdomo has done is offer tours to its retailers and consumers to its Nicaraguan operations covering the farm and factories. As a part of the tour Aristides Garcia, one of the production managers would provide special cigars to those visiting the Perdomo operation. Last year, Perdomo decided to take three of these blends and release it to the general market and thus the Perdomo Factory Blend line was born. Recently I’ve had an opportunity to smoke the Perdomo Factory Blend  Maduro offering in a Toro size. Overall this delivers an outstanding maduro offering and a very good price point.

When Perdomo Cigars releases a line, they are known to offer the line in different wrapper options over a core blend in a common set of vitolas. The Perdomo Factory Blend line is no exception. In addition to the Perdomo Factory Blend Maduro offering, there is also a Sun Grown and an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade offering. These three wrappers are very much staples of the Perdomo portfolio.

Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the Perdomo Factory Blend Maduro Toro and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile

The Perdomo Factory Tour Maduro is a Nicaraguan puro. As with just about every Perdomo Maduro offering, the wrapper is a Nicaraguan one. In this case the wrapper comes from the Jalapa valley. As with all Perdomo Cigars, the Factory Tour Blend is made at company’s Tabacalera Perdomo facility in Esteli, Nicaragua.

Wrapper: Jalapa Valley, Nicaraguan Maduro
Binder: Condega Valley, Nicaraguan
Filler: Esteli Valley, Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Tabacalera Perdomo)

Vitolas Available

The Perdomo Factory Blend Maduro is offered in four sizes. These sizes are offered in the same sizes for the Factory Blend Sun Grown and Factor Blend Connecticut offerings.

Robusto: 5 x 52
Toro: 6 x 52
Torpedo: 6 1/2 x 52
Churchill: 7 x 52

As a part of this release, Perdomo Cigars offers a 26″ x 16″ x 90″ cigar rack for retailers that is reminiscent of a wine rack. The cigars are offered in either 24 count boxes or 24 count bundles. The bundles can be used to fill the cigar rack at the retailer’s shop.

Appearance

The Nicaraguan wrapper of the Perdomo Factory Blend Maduro had a classic coffee bean color to it. The wrapper itself was a smooth wrapper. It had some oil on the surface. There were some thin visible veins and thin visible wrapper seams.

Lately Perdomo Cigars has really been producing some very nice bands and the Perdomo Factory Blend is no exception. The band on this cigar is a large one. The upper 3/4 of the band has a light beige color to it. The center of the band has the gold, white, and black Perdomo sunburst logo in the center. Above the logo is the text “PERDOMO” arranged slightly curved in gold font. To the left of the logo is the text “Hand Crafted” in gold cursive script. To the right of the logo is the text “Esteli, Nicaragua” in gold cursive font. Below the logo is the text “Factory Tour Blend” in gold cursive font. There are various gold and black adornments on the band. In very small font to the lower left and lower right of the “Factory Tour Blend” text are the words “Premium” and “Cigars” respectively.

The lower part of the band looks almost like a green colored cigar box seal. This is surrounded by gold trim across the top and bottom. The middle of the band has a green Perdomo sunburst logo. There are two green shields on each side of the sunburst logo. Each shield has the name of a growing region in Nicaragua. From left to right the names are “OMETEPE”, “CONDEGA”, “ESTELI”, and “JALAPA”.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

As I typically do, I went with my usual selection of a straight cut to commence the cigar experience of the  Perdomo Factory Blend Maduro Toro. After clipping the cap, I moved on to the pre-light draw. The dry draw delivered a mix of earth and cocoa notes. While this was a simple pre-light draw, I still found it to be quite flavorful. Overall I was very pleased with the pre-light experience. At this point I was ready to light up the Perdomo Factory Blend Maduro Toro and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Flavor Profile

The Perdomo Factory Blend Maduro Toro started out with a short blast of black pepper. This gave way to notes of cocoa, earth, and charred wood. The charred wood was quite an interesting flavor this produced and I found it be a positive throughout the smoke. Meanwhile, the pepper notes subsided into the background, but got somewhat more complex as I detected some red pepper notes mixed in with the black pepper. This mix of pepper notes was also prominent on the retro-hale.

By the middle of the first third, the charred wood and cocoa notes became the primary flavors.The earth and pepper notes were background flavors. There was a slight amount of natural maduro sweetness that also surfaced in the background. This mix of  sweetness and spice provided a nice balance to the other flavors.  From this point, the charred wood and cocoa began to alternate in intensity.

At the midway point of the Perdomo Factory Blend Maduro Toro, the charred notes started to have the edge over the cocoa notes. In the background the pepper, maduro sweetness, and earth notes remained, but I started to notice a slight increase in the pepper.

The last third of the Perdomo Factory Bland Maduro Toro saw the charred wood remained primary. The pepper notes were now quite prominent as well. I also saw a slight increase in the maduro sweetness. There still were some cocoa and earth notes but they were quite distant. Toward the end, there was a slight amount of harshness that surfaced but by this time it was time to put down the cigar. The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

The burn of the Perdomo Factory Blend Maduro Toro maintained a straight burn path from start to finish. The burn line had a slight amount of waviness from time to time, but this didn’t result in an increase in the amount of touch-ups. The resulting ash had a silver-gray color. This wasn’t an overly firm ash, but it wasn’t a loose, flakey ash either. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

The draw of the Factory Blend Maduro Toro maintained the right amount of resistance from start to finish – namely it wasn’t too loose, nor too tight. I did find this cigar to produce a nice amount of smoke throughout the smoking experience.

Strength and Body

In terms of strength, I found the Perdomo Factory Blend Maduro Toro to start out medium. I found the strength stayed at this level for the first two-thirds of the cigar experience. By the last third, there was a slight increase in strength and this progressed the strength level to the medium to full level. As for body,  the Factory Blend Maduro Toro was at a medium to full level. There also was a slight increase in body in the second half, but I still found this cigar to stay in the medium to full range for the duration of the smoking experience.

In terms of strength versus body, I gave a slight edge to the body.

Final Thoughts

Overall I was quite pleased with the smoking experience of the Perdomo Factory Tour Blend Maduro Toro. Each time I smoked this, I found the cigar to deliver everything I would expect from a maduro. I liked how it didn’t go overboard with sweetness – something I don’t like in general. The strength and body level also was ideal for this smoke. Overall this is a cigar I’d recommend to an experienced cigar enthusiast, but it’s also a nice cigar for a novice to graduate to something medium / medium plus. At just under $8.00, I found this cigar  to deliver great value and it’s one certainly worthy of a box purchase.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium to High
Strength: Medium (1st 2/3), Medium to Full (Last Third)
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Good
Assessment: 4.0-Box Worthy
Score: 91

References

News: Perdomo Factory Tour Blend
Price: $7.90
Source: Purchased
Stogie Geeks Podcast: n/a
Stogie Feed: n/a
Brand Reference: Perdomo