First released in 2006, the Perdomo Lot 23 uses filler and binder tobacco that was exclusively grown on a 103 acre lot near Esteli, Nicaragua. After the harvesting of the leaves in 2001, they were aged in bales for 4 years before production, and another 6 months before being released into the market.

This cigar is draped in a slightly mottled, chocolate-brown Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper. It displays a light oily sheen along the body, which is slightly leathery to the touch. There were no obvious visual defects in the wrapper and no under-filling was felt.

The pre-light aroma from the foot of this cigar gives off strong earthy tobacco notes with just a hint of walnuts. The draw was firm, but did not slow me down in getting a nice even coal while lighting it.

This cigar started off with a light "woody" flavor with some noticeable sweetness in the aftertaste. By the 1/3rd point, a leathery nuance was also detected, and continued to the point before being lost in the main character. The retrohale delivered most of the spiciness of this cigar, which was detectable from start to finish.

By the point, a noticeable charry flavor entered into the aftertaste, and the sweetness diminished. I found that purging the cigar restored the initial flavors and nuances that were present in the early part of this smoke. As the smoke progressed, and the tars and humidity built-up in the cigar, I needed to purge the cigar more frequently to restore the original sweet characters.

The finish on this cigar was lingering with wood and leather characters. The flavor was full, while maintaining a medium-full body.

This cigar produced a pearl-gray ash that resembled new concrete. There was no cracking or flaking, and the ash held firm until the 1- inch point. The burn was near perfect, maintaining an even burn line the entire time without any scalloping or canoeing.

This has been a great cigar for this price range. It continues to open-up as it ages, displaying more defined flavors and improved burn characteristics. At my current rate, it will have 4 years of age on it by the time the review series is done, but we'll try rating this cigar again after three months.

~Blake