Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage Maduro Robusto
📌 Brand: Perdomo
📌 Line: Double Aged 12 Year Vintage Maduro
📌 Size: Robusto (5" × 56)
📌 Weight: 19.6 g
📌 Age: 6 Years
📌 Origin: Nicaragua
Tasting Notes
Dark Chocolate – Rich and bittersweet at the core
Espresso – Deep roasted character throughout
Toasted Oak – Warm woody sweetness from the barrel ageing
Caramel – Subtle sweetness balancing the darker profile
First Impressions
The Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage Maduro Robusto certainly looks substantial. The 5 × 56 format wears a dark Nicaraguan Maduro wrapper over Cuban-seed Nicaraguan binder and filler. The tobaccos undergo Perdomo's double-ageing process, including time in charred white-oak bourbon barrels. Pre-light aromas bring dark cocoa, coffee, earth, and sweet wood. The cold draw has comfortable resistance and there is a noticeable natural sweetness behind the darker tobacco.
Smoking Experience
First Third – Opens with dark chocolate, espresso, and pepper before a sweeter caramel note begins to appear. Toasted oak sits underneath everything, giving the cigar a rich, mature character. There's plenty of dense smoke and good flavour concentration.
Second Third – The pepper settles and the profile becomes smoother, with cocoa, coffee, caramel, roasted nuts, and oak working nicely together. Unfortunately, the burn begins to become uneven and requires correction, taking some attention away from what is otherwise an enjoyable profile.
Final Third – Dark chocolate and espresso return strongly alongside earth and toasted oak. The cigar still has plenty of flavour, but another burn problem and a relight interrupt the experience. Instead of being able to simply enjoy the final section, I'm having to manage the cigar to keep it performing properly.
Pairings
Alcohol – Glenfarclas 21 Year Single Malt Scotch - Dried fruit, sherry sweetness, oak, and gentle spice complement the cigar's dark chocolate and barrel-aged character beautifully.
Tea – Menghai Ripe Pu-erh - Deep earthiness, woody sweetness, and a thick texture stand up particularly well against the Maduro's heavier coffee and cocoa flavours.
Music Pairing
“Keep On Smilin'” – Wet Willie
Warm, relaxed, and full of character, fitting the cigar's sweeter side.
Final Thoughts
The Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage Maduro Robusto has plenty going for it. Dark chocolate and coffee are characteristic of the blend, and the barrel-aged tobacco brings additional sweetness and woody depth. When it is burning properly, this is a rich and satisfying Maduro with plenty of flavour.Unfortunately, this particular cigar doesn't perform as well as the blend deserves. Burn problems and the need for a relight repeatedly interrupt the rhythm. With a cigar carrying 12 years of ageing and this much flavour potential, I expect to be concentrating on what's happening in the smoke—not constantly watching the burn line.
Final Score: 7/10
Why not a 10?
The flavours were rich and enjoyable, but burn problems required corrections and a relight, repeatedly interrupting the smoking experience and preventing the cigar from delivering the polished performance I expected.
Only cigars that deliver flawless draw, balance, flavour evolution, construction and satisfaction get a 10.