Perdomo Patriarch Maduro – Blind Review

By Daniel T. | June 22, 2010

Here is another installment from my recent Blind Cigar trade. Perdomo is one of those brands that, for me, has been one of the most consistent quality sticks at great prices. I always have a few Perdomo’s in my humidor. I did a review of the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro not long ago. If you want to read more about the Tabacalera Perdomo, read that review at this link.

The Perdomo Patriarch line was created by Nicholas Perdomo Jr. It is in honour of his father and is made using his Patriarch’s favorite blends of tobacco coming from the valleys of Esteli, Condega, and Jalapa in Nicaragua. The line is available in both Maduro and Corojo wrappers and 6 different vitolas ranging from Robusto to Churchill. As with many of the Perdomo lines, they are all larger vitolas, no shorter than 5 inches and no smaller than a 42 ring gauge. The Patriarch packs a complex and Robusto smoke into a quality constructed cigar.

Cigar: Perdomo Patriarch Maduro
Drink: Young’s Double Chocolate Stout
Vitola: Robusto (5 x 50)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $7.00
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• Wrapper looks fairly bumpy
• Some medium sized veins but doesn’t look like it will cause any problems
• Dark chocolate brown wrapper
• Fairly firm with a slight spring, one spot is very firm near the foot
• Super clean triple cap, blends in amazingly well
• Cut was even and smooth
• Very well constructed throughout the smoke

Burn:
• Toasting was fairly slow but nice and even
• Burn has started off razor sharp right from initial lighting
• At the halfway point the burn is still razor sharp, even after leaving it for a few minutes to help move a piece of furniture
• Smoking nice and slowly for a Robusto
• Burn was razor sharp right to the end, no complaints at all

Smoke & Ash:
• Beautiful white ash
• Lots of smoke from this stick
• Resting smoke is moderate but has a strong tobacco aroma
• Ash seems fairly strong, to flaking at all
• Ash holding strong to almost 2 inches

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper has a sweet tobacco aroma with a hint of cocoa
• Foot aroma has the same cocoa notes with a touch of raw cinnamon spice
• Pre-light draw reveals no sweetness, getting a hay-type of flavor with a touch of cocoa and a peppery spice that’s leaving my lips tingling
• Initial draws are fairly full bodied with a very dark cocoa flavor in the background and a strong woodsy/leathery boldness
• Getting peppery notes from the draws after about a half-inch
• Retrohale is also fairly full bodied with a moderate spicy kick, smooth finish
• Approaching the half-way mark and getting a nice toasted wood flavor in the mix
• The body seems to have settled down a bit now to a smooth medium and the peppery notes have fallen off a bit, enjoying it much more now
• The retrohale still has a big spicy bite to it but now has some more woodsy flavors to it
• Flavors stayed pretty consistent after the halfway point to the end, just a tiny bit of bitterness but nothing unbearable


Final Thoughts:
I was expecting a milder smoke when I lit this up since it’s nice dark wrapper screamed sweet and smooth. I was surprised to find the spice and body that this stick offered along with an interesting blend of flavors. Before this smoke, I had only previously tried he Patriarch with to Corojo wrapper. I found this one to be much more flavorful even though it didn’t have many dimensions or complexity to it. I would definitely buy some of these again as they make a good full-bodied smoke that aren’t over powering. The average price online was around $7.00 which makes it well priced for a well constructed stick. Even though the Perdomo company has reduced their prices, their quality has continued to be top notch!

Pairings:
The Young’s Double Chocolate Stout was a bit of a poor pairing with this cigar. As mentioned, I was expecting a milder cigar with lots of Maduro notes. The Youngs was a bit more of a sweet stout and didn’t pair too well. This cigar would have paired well with a good stiff drink, along the lines of a scotch or bourbon. Something that has a bit of sweetness but enough strength to cleanse the palate. A strong Cuban coffee would also make a good pairing here.