Aaron Loomis

 John McTavish

Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Fermin Perez Classic Habano Toro is a uniform medium brown and has some decently raised veins present. The seams are smooth and the caps very well applied. There are two bands, both in a white 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 oak with a bit of bourbon sweetness. The foot brings musty cedar, jammy fruit and some light earth. The pre-light draw brings dry cedar, stewed fruit and light earth, along with a mild spiciness on my lips.
John: The Fermin Perez Classic Habano Toro comes wrapped in cellophane with a UPC sticker detailing the cigar information. It is double banded, featuring a primary FP band and a secondary foot band displaying the FP logo repeated. I weighed the cigar at 17.1 grams and measured humidity at 64.6% using the HumidiMeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper presented dry wood and a light barnyard note, while the foot offered a sweet, syrupy tobacco alongside barrel-aged wood.

Fermin Perez Classic Habano Toro

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted cedar, black pepper, crushed red pepper and some earth. At a half inch in, the crushed red pepper has departed and the black pepper has become bolder. The black pepper is also exhibiting a very long finish. The retrohale is toasted cedar, earth and a finish of lightly zingy pepper. At an inch and a quarter, the black pepper mellows a bit. At an inch and a half in, a light honey sweetness becomes present. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is up front, with the black pepper a bit behind, earth in the middle of the profile and some honey sweetness in the background. The strength was slightly above medium.
John: The first third kicks things off with baking spices and a vegetal note, with wood trailing behind. The baking spices transition into black pepper on the post draw at medium strength, with dry wood lingering on the palate. As the first third settles, the pepper backs off to light-plus strength. Sweet tobacco joins the finish, adding some balance. Moving through the bottom half, mild bread notes enter the profile, complementing the wood.

Fermin Perez Classic Habano Toro

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the black pepper mellows a bit more and the light honey sweetness has departed. At a half inch in, the toast level increases a bit. The retrohale is now toasted cedar and earth, with mild black pepper. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is up front, with black pepper and earth in the middle of the profile. The strength remained at slightly above medium.
John: The second third opens with a combination of sweet tobacco, bread and wood, while mild spices define the finish. As it settles, earth joins the center of the profile at light-plus to medium-minus strength but quickly recedes into the background. The profile stabilizes into a consistent mix of sweet tobacco, baking spices and wood.

Fermin Perez Classic Habano Toro

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, a light wood bitterness joins the profile. At a half inch in, a light creaminess joins the profile. The retrohale is now toasted cedar and earth, with light amounts of black pepper and creaminess. At an inch and a quarter, the wood bitterness transitions to a vegetal bitterness. As the cigar wraps up, the toasted cedar is up front, with black pepper and earth in the middle of the profile and some creaminess and vegetal bitterness in the background. The strength remained slightly above medium.
John: As the cigar moves into the last third, earth returns at medium strength, lingering between each puff. Baking spices and wood carry through the post draw. Approaching the midpoint of the final third, bread takes the lead, followed by mild spices and wood rounding out the finish. The profile remains steady but doesn’t evolve significantly.

Fermin Perez Classic Habano Toro

Burn

Aaron: The burn was a bit wavy at times and required two touch-ups to keep things in line. The ash held on in inch and a half increments.
John: The burn was problematic throughout. It started uneven and required an early touch-up, continued to struggle into the second third with another correction, and then went out entirely at the halfway point, requiring a re-light. The burn threatened to stall near the end of the second third and remained uneven into the last third, needing a final touch-up. In total, the cigar required three touch-ups and one re-light.

Fermin Perez Classic Habano Toro

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
John: The draw measured 34 inches of water using the Cigar Medics draw machine. Subjectively, it sat right in the ideal zone, offering just the right balance between openness and resistance.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted cedar, black pepper, crushed red pepper and some earth. The crushed red pepper departed a bit later. Then, the black pepper mellowed a bit and a light honey sweetness joined in. The second third saw the black pepper mellow some more and the honey sweetness depart. The toast level then increased a bit. The final third saw a light wood bitterness join in, and then some creaminess. Later, the wood bitterness transitioned to vegetal bitterness. The Fermin Perez Classic Habano Toro had a nice start, with a good combination of flavors, including the nice honey sweetness. As the sweetness departed in the second third, the profile took a step down and remained at that level for the rest of the cigar. Overall, a pretty average experience. I really wish the profile in the first third had lasted longer. All in all, not a cigar I’d really see myself coming back to.
John: The Fermin Perez Classic Habano Toro is one of those cigars that feels like it’s always on the verge of becoming something more, but never quite gets there. The core profile seems built around wood, sweet tobacco and mild baking spices and I found it approachable and consistent, but lacking the kind of evolution or standout moments that elevate a cigar beyond average. The draw was excellent, which kept the experience enjoyable on a puff-to-puff basis, but the persistent burn issues were a constant distraction and ultimately dragged the experience down. In the end, the Fermin Perez Classic Habano Toro delivers a serviceable, middle-of-the-road experience. It’s not a cigar I’d reach for when I want complexity or refinement, but it could fill a casual slot if you’re looking for something easygoing. My total smoking time was 2 hours and 21 minutes.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.80

Cost/Point

$1.90

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.35

Cost/Point

$2.06

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Fermin Perez Classic Habano Toro