Vitola: Half Corona- 4” x 46 ring gauge
- MSRP ~$5
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
Perdomo has been a company that has produced some great cigars for the last three decades and always seems to have something new in the works. In fact, they have new stuff going on so much of the time, that I have tended to get a little jaded by it and sometimes new stuff comes out without me even noticing. I believe it was 2015 when the “Craft Beer” inspired series came out from Perdomo…it was the highlight of the IPCPR booth, as I recall. Apparently the Small Batch Series came out the same year, but I never remember seeing it. Two years later the Craft Beer series is gone but we finally started carrying the Small Batch Series at Burns…and I discovered that I really like it.
To start off with, Perdomo is doing the same thing with the Small Batch Series they have done with every other cigar in recent memory…take the same core blend and give people 3 wrapper options. We opted for the Connecticut Shade at first, then added the Maduro a few weeks later. Despite not enjoying the majority of Perdomo’s Shade offerings (the 10th Anniversary is the exception), I burned one of the Small Batch Shade sticks when it first came in and I really liked it. Since I usually do enjoy their Maduro wrapped sticks, I was really thrilled to see them come in and be able to try them out.
For purposes of this review, I bought a 4-pack tin of the Small Batch Maduro Half Corona (it’s also available in a box of 30 sticks) and this review is based on the 3rd or 4th time I’ve smoked this particular blend (I did smoke it once in another vitola, as well). As with pretty much all Perdomo sticks, this has Nicaraguan filler and binder. I’ve been told that all Perdomo Maduros use Nicaraguan leaf, too. The packaging on this indicates that something about it is “10 Years Old;” judging from the price point, I’m guessing that a portion of the filler is aged 10 years.
Prelight
I love the tin that these come in. The bottom is scalloped so the cigars don’t rattle around in it once you’ve removed the first one. It’s not much good for any other purpose (no other cigar will fit exactly in it), but it is great for this particular one. The banding uses the familiar Perdomo logo on the main wrapper leaf, as well as what is a fairly typical secondary band…white type on red background with silver and white trim…to denote what the cigar is.
The wrapper color was a dark chocolate brown with minimal mottling and striations. It smelled of earth and cocoa powder; from the foot I got more earth, mixed with wood notes. The prelight draw was easy and tasted of sweet earth.
Flavor
Windy conditions made getting this little cigar lit a little more challenging than it should have been, but once going, it was full-bodied with a strong earth component and lesser notes of dark chocolate and espresso bean. The retrohale had cedar and red pepper notes. Because of the “short smoke” size the first third burned through in about 15 minutes.
The second third was still predominantly earthy, but the sweetness of the Maduro leaf came through really well. Despite being a Nicaraguan puro with a very low price point, the aged tobacco made it smooth and somewhat creamy, while still having a slight peppery edge.
The last third was more chocolatey, with the earthiness taking a backseat for a while. The smoke remained smooth and creamy for the remainder.
Construction
The draw was excellent, the ash was solid and the burn line was very even for a Maduro wrapper.
Value
One of the best Perdomo blends ever and a price tag still well under the $10 mark, even for the largest vitola? Great value!
Conclusions
This Small Batch Series is probably my favorite thing Perdomo has put out, at least in the last decade. It was rich, smooth, sweet and earthy with just enough pepper to be noticeable, but not so much to make it a pepper-bomb. The Connecticut Shade is a very good smoke, but this Maduro is just fantastic. The Half Corona size is great for a shorter smoke, while the Rothschild size is excellent for an hour or so. As a side note, I’m really pleased to see Perdomo producing smaller ring gauge sizes again; for a very long time everything was over 50 ring gauge in an attempt to produce just those sizes that sold the best. This blend seems geared more toward the seasoned cigar smoker that knows the benefits of small ring gauges.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
