Perdomo Firecracker

Earlier in 2020, Perdomo Cigars joined the list of manufacturers to deliver a “Firecracker” cigar. The Firecracker Series dates back to 2007 when David Garofalo of Two Guys Smoke Shop was looking to release an Independence Day themed cigar, and turned to Don Pepin Garcia to create a short three inch robusto with a long fuse and a blend that would have plenty of pop. Since then, the Firecracker Series has grown significantly. Nine other manufacturers have produced Firecracker blends, and more recently the Firecracker releases have gone from Two Guys Smoke Shop limited product exclusives to limited production offerings distributed by United Cigar. Today we take a closer look at the Perdomo Firecracker.

To date there have been ten releases of the Firecracker Series. Since 2015, there has been at least one new Firecracker release introduced.

Don Pepin Garcia Original (Blue Label) Firecracker
Tatuaje M80
The Firecracker (made by Jose Dominguez, regular production)
La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Firecracker
RoMa Craft Tobac CroMagnon Firecracker
Fratello Firecracker
Mi Querida Firecracker by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust
Pistoff Kristoff Firecracker
Perdomo Firecracker
HVC Black Friday Firecracker

Without further ado, let’s break down the Perdomo Firecracker and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Perdomo Firecracker is a Nicaraguan puro. The wrapper from the Firecracker is the one that is featured on the Perdomo 20th Anniversary Sun Grown.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sun Grown
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera Perdomo

Vitolas Offered

The Perdomo Firecracker is a 3 1/2 x 50 Short Robusto. The cigars are offered in 20-count boxes.

Appearance

The Sun Grown wrapper of the Perdomo Firecracker had a medium brown color with a slight rosado tint. There was slight amount of oil on the surface. The surface had a slight toothiness to it and there was some subtle mottling on the surface. There were some visible veins, but there wasn’t much in the way of visible wrapper seams. Keeping to the tradition of the Firecracker series, the long fuse was affixed to the cigar and tucked under the cigar band.

Perdomo Firecracker – Side View w/ Fuse Visible

The band of the Perdomo Firecracker features the gold, black, and white “TABACALERA PERDOMO” sunburst logo. The left and right sides have the text “PERDOMO” sitting on a red bar in a darkish colored font. The band has gold, black, and red adornments. The far right has a small gold P on a black field.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

As opposed to pulling the band off and detaching the fuse, a straight cut was used to remove the cap. When the cap was removed, the fuse remained attached to the Perdomo Firecracker. From that point it was on to the pre-light draw. The cold draw delivered a mix of earth and floral sweetness along with touches of baker’s spice and pepper. Normally floral notes are a negative for me, but in this case when complemented by the other flavors, I still found this to be satisfactory to me. At this point it was time to light up the Perdomo Firecracker and enjoy the smoking experience.

Tasting Notes

The Perdomo Firecracker started out with notes of earth, wood, nut, sweet grapefruit and black pepper. During the first third, the earth and nut flavors moved into the forefront. Meanwhile, the wood, sweet grapefruit, and black pepper notes settled in the background. There was an additional layer of black pepper on the retro-hale.

Later in the first third, a natural tobacco sweetness emerged in the background and by the start of the second third, the natural tobacco joined the earth and nut flavors in the forefront. The sweet grapefruit, nut, and black pepper remained in the background. It was during the second third where the pepper became more prominent on the finish.

Later in the second half the earth notes morphed into a coffee bean note. The coffee bean joined the natural tobacco and nut in the forefront. There still were notes of pepper, wood, and grapefruit present, but the overall sweetness of the Perdomo Firecracker diminished. This is the way the Perdomo Firecracker came to a close. The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The Perdomo Firecracker did require some touch-ups to maintain a straight burn path and a straight burn line. There were were slightly more touch-ups than I would prefer, but they also did the trick. The resulting ash was skewed toward the firm side. This was an ash that had a silvery gray color. The burn temperature was ideal. The burn rate was definitely slow, but this did not have any adverse effects. In fact the burn rate did a good job at extending the smoking experience. The average smoke time for the samples smoked was about 58.5 minutes.

One additional note on the burn. I think leaving the fuse affixed to the cigar might have been part of the reason why the burn did need some touch-ups.

Burn of the Perdomo Firecracker

Draw

The draw to the Perdomo Firecracker performed very well. This was a draw that had a touch of resistance to it – which is something that I like. This was also a cigar that produced ample amounts of smoke.

Strength and Body

The Perdomo Firecracker is going to deliver some boldness, yet at the same time the boldness was not overpowering. This was a cigar that was medium to full in both body and strength. There wasn’t much variance of the intensity levels of both attributes. In terms of strength versus body, the strength had a slight edge.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

I’ve always been astonished at how popular the Firecracker Series has been. Personally, I don’t find a 3 1/2 x 50 sized cigar to be very appealing. I’d much prefer something in a Rothschild or Robusto size. That being said, there have been some good releases in this series. When it comes to Perdomo Firecracker, this is the best release of the series to date. While the flavors are amazing, what really surprised me was the amount of complexity this small 3 1/2 inch cigar delivered. Great things can come in small packages when it comes to a cigar. While the Perdomo Firecracker is something I would recommend to a seasoned cigar enthusiast, this is still an approachable cigar for someone more of a novice. As for myself, this is a cigar I would easily smoke again – and not hesitate to buy a box when available.

Summary

Key Flavors: Earth, Nut, Grapefruit, Natural Tobacco, Coffee Bean, Wood, Black Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: High
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Very Good