Aaron Loomis

 John McTavish

Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Fermin Perez Bold Maduro Toro is a marbled dark brown, with lightly raised veins and fine tooth. The seams are barely detectable and the head is beautifully finished. There are two bands, both in a red and gold color combination. The primary carries the company logo and then a tribal band style design using the same logo. The foot also has the same tribal design. The aroma from the wrapper is smoky oak and earth, while the foot brings very musty cedar and some zingy spice. The pre-light draw is a mix of mustiness and cedar.
John: The Fermin Perez Bold Maduro Toro comes in cellophane and features a UPC sticker with cigar information and an integrated tear strip, allowing the cellophane to remain intact when opened. The cigar is double banded, with a primary Fermin Perez band and a foot band repeating the brand logo. I weighed the cigar at 17.1 grams and measured the humidity with the HumidiMeter Pro at 65.1%. Aromas from the wrapper were defined by a spirited sweetness reminiscent of rum or a rum barrel, with oak underneath. From the foot, that sweetness was more pronounced and intensified.

Fermin Perez Bold Maduro Toro

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with musty, toasted cedar, earth and cinnamon. At a quarter inch in, the cinnamon transitions to black pepper. At a half inch in, a light creaminess joins the profile. The retrohale is musty, toasted cedar and earth, with light amounts of black pepper and creaminess. At an inch in, the black pepper mellows a bit. As the third comes to a close, the musty, toasted cedar is just ahead of the earth, with black pepper and creaminess in the back half of the profile. The strength was slightly below medium.
John: The first third begins with a sweet, syrupy tobacco that gives way to dry wood. A delayed white pepper enters through the post draw, building steadily all the way up to medium-full strength before subsiding. After only a few puffs, the white pepper backs down to light-plus strength. The post draw features baking spices combining with tobacco sweetness, while dryness lingers through the finish.

Fermin Perez Bold Maduro Toro

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the earth increases to become even with the musty, toasted cedar up front. The retrohale is now just musty, toasted cedar and earth. At an inch and a quarter, the black pepper picks back up a bit. As the third comes to a close, the musty, toasted cedar and earth are even up front, with black pepper in the middle of the profile and some creaminess in the back half. The strength remained at slightly below medium.
John: The second third starts with creamy sweet tobacco and a wood-driven center that lingers into the finish. A delayed white pepper makes up the post draw, building from light-plus to medium-minus strength. As the cigar approaches the halfway point, the sweet tobacco fades and gives way to wood, shifting the profile into creamy wood with white pepper defining the post draw.

Fermin Perez Bold Maduro Toro

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the black pepper mellows once again. At a half inch in, the earth takes a slight lead in the flavor profile. The retrohale remains just musty, toasted cedar and earth. At an inch and a half in, a light vegetal note joins the profile. As the cigar wraps up, the earth is slightly ahead of the musty, toasted cedar, with black pepper, creaminess and a vegetal note all in the back half. The strength bumped up to medium.
John: The final third opens with creamy baking spices and wood, with mildly dry wood forming the finish. As the last third settles in, the wood in the post draw takes on tannins and the pepper moves up to medium strength. Through the bottom half, mild bitterness joins the finish, rounding out the profile.

Fermin Perez Bold Maduro Toro

Burn

Aaron: The burn was straight throughout, and the ash held on in inch and a half increments.
John: The burn was relatively straight through the first third and continued straight through both the second and last thirds without requiring any intervention.

Fermin Perez Bold Maduro Toro

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
John: I measured the draw at 44 inches of water with the Cigar Medics draw machine. Subjectively, the draw was approximately one notch resistant, placing it squarely in the ideal range between open and resistant and earning an Amazing draw score.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with musty, toasted cedar, earth and cinnamon. The cinnamon transitioned to black pepper quickly. A light creaminess joined in a bit later. Then, the black pepper mellowed a bit. The second third saw the earth increase to become even with the musty, toasted cedar up front. Then, the black pepper picked back up a bit. The final third saw the pepper mellow again. Then, the earth took a slight lead in the profile. Later, a light vegetal note joined in. The construction was absolutely perfect. The Fermin Perez Bold Maduro Toro had an average flavor profile throughout, focused around musty, toasted cedar and earth. After the first third, the flavor profile was pretty linear. This is my first experience with the brand, and overall, it was fairly average. With a Mexican wrapped offering, it was pretty even with most other brand offerings, so I can’t take too much away from them. I don’t see coming back to this cigar, but I’m interested in trying their other offerings.
John: The Fermin Perez Bold Maduro Toro opens with a promising and engaging first third, where syrupy sweet tobacco, rum-like sweetness and restrained pepper work together to create a flavorful and balanced introduction. This portion of the cigar shows the most complexity and cohesion, setting expectations for a profile that might continue to build. As the cigar progresses, however, the sweetness steadily fades and the profile transitions toward a more wood-driven experience. While the creamy texture remains intact through the second and final thirds, the flavor combinations become simpler and more linear, with wood, baking spices and increasing pepper taking center stage. The rise in tannins and mild bitterness toward the end adds some structure but ultimately reinforces the sense that the cigar settles rather than evolves. Strength remains controlled throughout, never becoming aggressive, but the lack of meaningful transitions limits the overall impact. Construction is a clear strength here. The draw is ideal and the burn is essentially flawless, allowing the cigar to be enjoyed without distraction and ensuring the flavors are delivered cleanly. In the end, the Fermin Perez Bold Maduro Toro is a cigar that starts strong and finishes competently but doesn’t sustain the early momentum needed to elevate it beyond Average. It’s a solid, well-constructed smoke with moments of interest early on, best appreciated for its balance rather than its complexity. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 12 minutes.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$1.91

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

6.10

Cost/Point

$1.80

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Fermin Perez Bold Maduro Toro