The KC/DW Review Series

[King Catfish]

My first review in this series is the Perdomo Reserva La Tradicion Cabinet Series Maduro P (perfecto). I smoked it this evening with a glass of Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey over ice. This is the drink I usually have with a cigar, so I thought I should stay true to form.

The cigar is a perfecto of modest size, with an attractive, traditional looking band, gold and black on a red field. The color is dark, the color of darker varieties of milk chocolate. The color is very even. The texture is medium, not coarse, and a bit veiny. The rolling is very regular, nearly perfect in shape. The cigar is quite firm without being too hard, and very even with no lumps.

The draw was medium, not too easy (This may be caused by an imperfect cut; I am still new at this.), but loosening up after the middle of the cigar. The burn was even, with a flat coal revealed when the ash fell off. The burn zone remained sharply defined throughout. The ash was light grey with some white. The ash was moderately stiff and retained its shape in the ashtray. The ash was more than an inch long when it fell off the cigar. The cigar burned very slowly, taking more than an hour to smoke, unhurried. The burn slowed a bit in the middle, requiring a touch-up light, which teased out its character and intensified it a bit. I would call this cigar solidly medium –bodied.

I detected very minimal sweetness at first, and no bitterness, even to the nub. I found it to be a just a little on the sharp side, especially toward the end of the puff, just before the aftertaste. The finish was persistent, complex, leathery and quite excellent, the most memorable attribute of this cigar. The cigar became slightly sweeter as it progressed.

I found the flavor to lack intensity at first, but it was pleasurable. The cigar has a harmonious presentation, and agreeable character, and the aforementioned lingering aftertaste. The cigar was redolent of woodiness with a modest nod to pepper, especially in the middle; the aroma was faint… did I detect a shy, ephemeral sniff of hot metal? The aftertaste bears revisiting; the further along the cigar and I progressed, the more lovely the aftertaste, first on the tongue only, then later on both tongue and lips.

The cigar evolved quite a bit through its lifespan from mild and shy to pleasant and revealing, and finished strong, sweet and leathery; spicy at the finish. The only drawbacks were a bit of acidic sharpness at the end of the puff before the aftertaste and a somewhat weak start. I was impressed with the construction and overall presentation. I suspect a more refined palate is required to fully appreciate this stick.

My initial scoring of this cigar is 15.20 out of 20, or a 76 rating. I add a bonus 1.5 point for the way the cigar evolved and became more complex, to total at 77.5.

I thank DeeDubya for allowing me this experience.