Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Box-Pressed Maduro Robusto

Perdomo Cigars’ CEO Nick Perdomo will tell you he doesn’t do a lot in the way of new releases, but 2020 would be a different story. In 2020, Perdomo decided to replace the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Champagne Noir and Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Champagne Sun Grown with two new cigars. These cigars would be the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Box-Pressed Sun Grown and Maduro offerings. Despite being released in the middle of a pandemic, the two cigars would go on to become a monster success for the company. Today we take a look at one of the new offerings, the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro in the Robusto size.

The release of the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Box-Pressed Sun Grown and Maduro marked the second year in a row Perdomo introduced a box-pressed extension under one of its established brands. In 2019, the company introduced the Perdomo Estate Selección Vintage Box Pressed line.

Without further ado, let’s break down the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Sun Grown Epicure and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro is a 100% Nicaraguan puro. According to Perdomo Cigars that cigar used six-year-aged Cuban-seed wrapper, binder, and fillers from its farms in Estelí, Condega, and Jalapa. The wrapper itself also has an additional 14 months of age on it. Production is handled out of the Tabacalera Perdomo S.A. facility in Estelí, Nicaragua.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera Perdomo S.A.

Vitolas Offered

The Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro is offered in six sizes, each presented in 25-count boxes. The Sun Grown counterpart also is available in the same six sizes and box counts.

Figurado: 4 3/4 x 56
Robusto: 5 x 54
Epicure: 6 x 54
Torpedo: 7 x 54
Churchill: 7 x 54
Super Toro: 6 x 60

Packaging of the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro

Appearance

The Nicaraguan Maduro wrapper of the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro Robusto had a milk chocolate color to it. There was a very light sheen of oil on the surface. The wrapper itself was slightly toothy. There also were some thin veins and thin wrapper seams. The box-press had a soft Cuban press style to it with slightly rounded edges.

The band on the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro is similar to the other Perdomo Reserve lines. The upper portion of the band has a blue metallic background with metallic gold font. The center of the band has two concentric ovals surrounded by gold trim. The inner oval has the text “CABINET” (in curved font), “LTD”, and “SERIES” (in curved font). Outside the inner oval is the text “PERDOMO” and “RESERVE” arrange in a curved fashion. The oval design protrudes toward the top of the band. There are various gold embellishments on the band. Below the gold background is a metallic band with the text “MADURO” etched on it. Below that band is a thin metallic red stripe. The lower portion of the band has a thick black stripe, surrounded by gold trim above and below it. On the black stripe is the text “10th ANNIVERSARY.”

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

Prior to lighting up the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro Robusto, a straight cut was used to remove the cap. Once the cap was detached from the cigar, it was time to commence with the pre-light draw. The cold draw delivered a mix of chocolate, cedar, oak, and a slight dried fruit note. Overall this was a very good pre-light experience. At this point, it was time to toast up the foot of the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro Robusto and move into the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro Robusto started out with notes of mocha (a fusion of coffee and chocolate), citrus, oak, cedar, and mineral notes. Early on the mocha notes moved to the forefront. The citrus, oak, cedar, and mineral notes settled in the background. The mocha note split in the middle of the first third into more distinct espresso and chocolate notes. The espresso notes moved into the forefront while chocolate notes floated between the forefront and background. Meanwhile, the retro-hale delivered an extra layer of red pepper and a thin layer of citrus.

During the second third of the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro Robusto, the espresso notes remained grounded in the forefront. By this point, the chocolate notes settled in the background with the oak, cedar, mineral, and citrus notes. By this stage, some red pepper surfaced on the tongue. The red pepper would increase in this stage while the citrus sweetness decreased.

The final third saw the espresso notes remain primary. As far as the secondary notes, there was more in the way of pepper spice by this point. There still were notes of oak, cedar, and mineral and touches of citrus and chocolate. This is the way the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro Robusto came to a close. The resulting nub was slightly soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro Robusto had nothing short of excellent construction and this reflected nicely in the scores of burn and draw. The cigar had no difficulty maintaining a straight burn path. There was a slight curvature on the burn line from time to time, but this really didn’t result in any excess touch-ups needed. The ash was mostly light with a few dark streaks. This was an ash skewed toward the firmer side. The burn rate and burn temperature were excellent.

Burn of the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro Robusto

Draw

The draw to the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro Robusto had a touch of resistance to it. This lands the draw in the sweet spot of my personal preference. At the same time, this was still a low-maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

In terms of strength and body, the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro Robusto started out as a solid medium. There was a nominal increase in the intensity of both of the attributes. While the strength remained in the medium range from start to finish, the body did progress into medium to full territory.

In terms of strength versus body, the body maintained a slight edge throughout the smoking experience.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

When Nick Perdomo told me the Champagne Noir line was being replaced, I was bummed out. However, when I tried the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro, it more than made up for the loss. This cigar excels in the most important category – flavor. While the flavors don’t undergo radical transitions, there are plenty of flavor nuances along the way. Add some outstanding construction to the equation and you have the perfect storm for an excellent cigar experience. At $8.25, this Robusto size delivers big in the value category. This is a cigar I could recommend to either a novice or experienced cigar enthusiast. As for myself, this is a cigar I would smoke again and it garners box-worthy consideration. At 91 points and exceeding the 90 point mark, it exceeds the threshold for Cigar Coops’s standard of excellence.

Summary

Key Flavors: Mocha (Coffee, Chocolate), Citrus, Oak, Cedar, Mineral, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium (1st 2/3), Medium to Full (Remainder)
Finish: Very Good