Pre-light Experience

The wrapper on the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Champagne Epicure is a dull, medium tan with hints of green and carries some raised veins. The seams are smooth and the head well finished. The band is orange-gold, gold and black and denotes the company and line. The aroma from the wrapper and foot consists of construction paper and earth, but the foot does have some additional sweetness. The pre-light draw brings cedar, construction paper and mild earth, along with a mild spiciness on my lips.

Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Champagne Epicure

First Third

The cigar begins with a mix of toasted cedar, earth and some construction paper. At a quarter inch in, a light black pepper joins the profile. The retrohale is toasted cedar, earth and lightly zingy black pepper. At an inch in, the black pepper increases a bit. At an inch and a half in, the earth increases a bit. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the earth, with black pepper in the middle of the profile and construction paper just behind. The strength was right at medium.

Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Champagne Epicure

Second Third

As the second third begins, the earth becomes even with the toasted cedar up front. The retrohale is now toasted cedar, earth and some construction paper. At three quarters of an inch in, the black pepper mellows a bit. At an inch and a half in, the construction paper increases a bit. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar and earth are even up front, with the construction paper in the middle of the profile and the black pepper a bit behind. The strength remained at medium.

Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Champagne Epicure

Final Third

As the final third begins, the earth takes a slight lead in the profile. At a quarter inch in, the toast level increases a bit. The retrohale is now toasted cedar and earth, along with construction paper and lightly zingy black pepper. At three quarters of an inch in, the toast level becomes pretty heavy and a vegetal bitterness joins the middle of the profile. As the cigar wraps up, the earth is just ahead of the heavily toasted cedar, with construction paper and vegetal bitterness in the middle of the profile and black pepper just behind. The strength bumped up to slightly above medium.

Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Champagne Epicure

Burn

The burn was straight through the first third, but became a bit wavy through the second and then was straight again through the final third. The ash held on in one inch increments.

Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Champagne Epicure

Draw

The draw was slightly tighter than I prefer, but didn’t cause any issues with the smoking experience.

Overall

The cigar began with a mix of toasted cedar, earth and some construction paper. Some light black pepper joined in fairly quickly. The earth increased a bit later. The second third saw the earth become even with the cedar up front. Later, the pepper mellowed a bit and the construction paper increased a bit. The final third saw the earth take a slight lead in the profile. The toast level became pretty heavy and a vegetal bitterness joined in. The Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Champagne Epicure had a nice start as the simple flavor combination was well delivered. The profile dropped a level in the second third as the earth built up and remained at that level for the remainder of the cigar. This is a decent Connecticut shade offering that provides a heavier strength profile from traditional offerings. It’s not a cigar I’d come back to with real frequency, but it’s nice to revisit from time to time.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.85

Cost/Point

$2.01

Scoring System

Personal Cigar Review: Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Champagne Epicure