Perdomo Reserve Limited Cameroon Petit Corona Quick Draw

So, you guys should all be familiar with Jeff by now. He’s our honorary Casas Fumando writer, and he kicked out tons of great reviews. If he keeps this up we are going to force him to join us full time. Until then, enjoy his newest “Guest” review.

-Tony

Well, that’s a heck of a long name for a short cigar.  The Reserve Limited Cameroon Petit Corona from Perdomo is a 2011 re-release of the discontinued Reserve Cameroon line.  Only enough of the African Cameroon wrapper leaf from the original release was found to make a limited amount of cigars in a smaller size, but there are still a few places where these can be found.  More info on this stick can be found in Brian Hewitt’s review of it over at Stogie Review, which was the impetus for me to pick up on them to try out way back then.  Ever since, I have smoked a bunch of them, and am now on (from my count) my sixth box.  They come in a single 4 ½ x 44 size, packed ten to a box, and the boxes retail for about $50, although I have been able to find them as low as $39.

Basics:

Wrapper:  African Cameroon
Binder:  Nicaraguan
Filler:  Nicaraguan
Size:  Petit Corona 4 ½ x 44
Price:  $5
Smoking time:  One hour, fifteen minutes

Pre-light:

The Limited Cameroon has a medium brown wrapper with a slight reddish cast and some darker mottling.  There is a slight sheen, veins on it are small, and the roll is very firm.  While a bit large for the size of the cigar, the old Perdomo La Tradicion band is a great look with its bluish silver background and gold and black lettering and trim.  The wrapper exudes a light earthy barnyard, while the foot shows earthy, manure-y, rich tobacco.  An easy clip of the cap gives up a fairly snug draw showcasing sweet tobacco.

The smoke:

The snug draw quickly opens up and produces a copious amount of smoke featuring rich tobacco, dark cedar, sweet spice, and light pepper.  Further into the first half, light mocha coffee notes become apparent, and a light powdery sweetness comes on at the tail end of the retrohale, while the pepper dials down.  The burn is even and the ash is nicely compacted, but doesn’t hang on for too long, dropping at around 3/4”.  The Limited Cameroon is a rich and rounded smoke in a medium body and low strength.  At the half way point, the sweetness has picked up and pepper creeps back in, along with some cracker and leather notes.  The pepper then steps back down, while sweet cedar again comes to the forefront.  The body, which had been slowly creeping up, drops back down to a solid medium.  Things pick back up a bit getting down to the end, and the Perdomo Reserve Limited Cameroon Edition Petit Corona smokes firm and cool down to the nub, ending at an hour and fifteen minutes.

Overview:

Obviously, I really like this cigar, and it’s one of my favorite shorter – or at least smaller – smokes.  The Limited Cameroon provides great flavors with a decent amount of complexity, near perfect construction and smoking properties, medium to medium-plus body with medium strength, and an easy to take price.  What’s not to like?  I highly recommend picking up on this stick while they are still out there.

Coffee is a perfect pairing for this cigar, and my favorite Ugandan Gumutindo from Equal Exchange was my choice for this review, but a nice pale ale or marzen, or a bourbon or rum would also be a great match.