Total Wine & More

Perdomo

Clean wrapper, very few veins. Unlit wrapper and foot smell of hay, creamed coffee, and slight barnyard. Cap is set deep and evenly, and withstood guillotine cut. Cold draw has a wheat, cedar, and coffee flavor, though all of them are mild. Light up is easy. Initial draws have cedar, hay, coffee with cream, a touch of sweetness like honey or brown sugar, and some grassy notes. Black pepper is very present on the retrohale. Into the first third and the cream makes more of a presence, along with some graham cracker. The dominant notes on the palate are grass, pepper, cream, and cedar. The foot aroma isn’t the most aromatic, but it’s not particularly offensive. Burn line didn’t wave up too much, but it started to canoe slightly. I aged this cigar for about a month before smoking, but it still seemed to burn quickly. It didn’t seem to be extra dry, but the first third was done in about 15 minutes. The ash is bright white, and held on tight until the first third fell off in one clump. The second third is where the pepper dies down. Cream returns and grass becomes hay. Slight buttery, mineral notes on the retrohale. The band is large and while warming it up helped the end closest to the cherry, the end closest to the cap was still holding on. Something to keep in mind when removing it. The finish is nice, if not a touch short. Ash notes begin to linger around on the palate. Burn slowed on the second third, so the first third may have been my fault for smoking too fast. The end of the second third introduced more of the barnyard note. The final third is where the leather is hiding. Cedar becomes more noticeable as well. Spice comes back big and sits at the back of the throat. Tobacco note takes over with an inch left. Foot smoke turns slightly foul at nub lengths. Hints of cinnamon and graham cracker cone and go. Finished at exactly 1 hour with a half inch nub. Strength and flavor stayed mild through the entire stick. Overall it’s a pleasant smoke, but nothing “wowed” me. I pretty much got exactly what I expected from a cigar at this price point.

La Aroma de Cuba

Appearance is great. I love the red foot band. The logo band could be smaller, but I get the marketing. The cigar’s wrapper is an oily, toothy maduro with a few veins, but nothing to be concerned about. Scent off the wrapper and foot are standard coffee, hay, and some barnyard. Cap is deep and well cut and set. Cigar is tight and withstood straight cuts (plural) well. Draw is great, and light up is easy. Toasted flavors on first light up for me were leather, dark coffee, toasted chestnut, and black pepper. Retrohale brought me cayenne pepper, a touch of dark chocolate, and more leather. Careful with your sinuses. Flavors are very robust and the stick punches well above its weight/price class. Early ash is bright white and holds on tight. Not flaky at all. Burn line is razor sharp. Into the first third and cedar makes its debut amongst the other woody, nutty, strong coffee flavors. Chocolate also becomes more prominent on the palate. Strength kicks in as well. I would not suggest smoking these on an empty stomach. I’m reminded of a Padron cigar. Towards the end of the first third the burn started to wave up, but not canoe. The connecticut broadleaf wrapper imparts a bit of creaminess to the smoke. It’s most noticeable on the retrohale, though, not the palate. Into the second third and the ash finally fell off. Foot smoke is decent, but not exactly aromatic. Barnyard as a pleasant note came around, along with a fruit note of maybe plum, and definitely an earthiness. Despite the size of the band, it came off very easy with warmth. The final third brought the sweet tobacco flavor, but also some anise. This is a wonderfully complex and changing smoke. The strength intensifies as well. The finish was long and enjoyable throughout. A slow smoke due to strength and slow burn. This was a great stick and the price is unbeatable. Highly recommend this one.

CAO

Solid, tight feel. A little give near the foot. Not too many veins in the maduro wrapper, and the seams are hidden well. Not much scent off the foot or the wrapper, but coffee and barnyard are there lightly. Cap is large, cut according, or punch it. Cold draw is a little spicy, chocolatey, and bready. Post light up notes are chocolate, leather, must, barnyard, raisin, and sweet tobacco. Black pepper and clove on the retrohale. The foot puts off a fair amount of smoke, but it’s pleasant. Into the first third and the fruit notes peek out. Raisin is complemented by pineapple? I also get a touch of creaminess, probably from the connecticut broadleaf wrapper. The chocolate seems to be dark chocolate, not milk chocolate. Burn is steady, but not razor sharp. Ash is lightly flaky, but holds on well. By the end of the first third a hint of coconut shows up, the clove comes up a little, and the pepper dies down a touch on the retrohale. Second third begins with a good blend of all the flavors, and an increase in both strength and taste. Pepper, chocolate, and raisin linger on the palate with a long finish. Foot smoke is aromatic and increasingly pleasant. A fruit note, maybe apple, pops in and out from puff to puff. Bread notes linger more. The band is large, so handle with care. It came off easily with warmth, but a small flake of the wrapper wanted to come off with it. Flavor notes don’t change much through the second third. Final third and the intensity comes up again. Ash as a flavor note along with leather appears. Unfortunately it wasn’t as enjoyable as the first two thirds. Fruit note makes one final appearance but only on the retro. Smoked down to a 1” nub. Overall a decent smoke, but I’ve had better.

TWM

House brand of the store “Total Wine and More”, though I hear they’re made by the J.C. Newman company. Veiny, toothy wrapper with a nice cap. Scent off the wrapper is cocoa, faint coffee and just a touch of hay. Unlit foot are the same plus wheat. Great draw with a V cut. Cold draw has the same notes as the unlit foot, but after lighting, it’s just wheat, minerals, and white pepper and baking spices on the retrohale. No sweetness is present on the initial light up. Into the first third and the burn is clean and even. Foot smoke is minimal, and the aroma is nice. Finish is short and somewhat buttery. Smoke production is barely passable. Midway through the first third and walnut shows up. The second third gets better. Generic baking spices identify themselves as cinnamon and clove. The burn intensifies and the flavors do too. White pepper becomes black pepper on the retrohale. A very faint sweetness from the wrapper arrives. Ash is thick, white, and non-flaky. Falls in 1.5” chunks. Final third and the pepper sticks to the back of the throat. Wrapper sweetness falls away and a touch of leather comes in. Salty toffee and cocoa (finally) in the finish. It’s faint, but it’s there. As with all cigars, eventually the tobacco flavor itself overtakes all other notes, but this one did it with a full 2” inches left. It never got unpleasant though, so I was able smoke this cigar down to a half inch nub. Foot smoke stays automatic and not foul. Strength and flavors are mid. Straight ahead, non-complex smoke. Not a bad smoke by any means, but better choices abound even at the same price point (if not cheaper).

Cuban Rounds

Sweet tobacco, milk chocolate off the unit wrapper and foot. Tight draw. The cap came completely off with only a VERY modest guillotine cut (1/32nd of an inch). Initial flavors on the light up are harsh black pepper and cedar, but they calm down within 3 minutes or so. Foot smoke isn’t COMPLETELY unpleasant, but it definitely smells cheap. Cedar notes are sour and barnyard-like if the draw is too hard or too hot. Be gentle while smoking. The burn is actually not too bad. It’s not razor sharp, but it didn’t canoe very much. The finish is decent for a mild cigar. The second third adds a note of ash, but layered floral and mineral notes on the retrohale. Mild in strength and flavor throughout. Bits of tobacco fell in my mouth, but that’s normal for a Cuban sandwich like this. Flavors got VERY intense on the final third, which wasn’t a good thing. Overall, not a bad stick, per se, but there are better alternatives in this price range, in my opinion, like Drew Estates’ Factory Smokes