Perdomo Slow Aged #826 Glorioso
Size: 6 x 52
Tobacco: Nicaraguan with a Connecticut wrapper
Price: $2.50

Labor Day Weekend, 2009. Michelle and I went to Gulf Shores Beach, AL with the Brannens and Friedmans. It was a great trip. Fond memories include:

1. Sitting on our 14th floor balcony, drinking beer, watching a small shark try to eat a small child on an inflatable raft.

2. Bama coming from behind in the 4th quarter on Saturday night to defeat Virginia Tech. As it turns out, that victory was a catalyst to a National Title run.

3. Tossing Brian a can of Bud Light Lime from the 14th floor balcony. Brian ran and it exploded when it hit the sand.

4. Shaun gave me my first Perdomo Slow-Aged 826. A Churchill. Full-bodied and full-flavored. I couldn’t believe a $2 CI bundle cigar tasted like an $7 cigar.

After the trip, I bought a bundle of the Slow-Aged 826’s, aged them a year. I have only two left now (aged 18 months), having consumed most of them in the last 3-4 months.

Construction on this cigar has been very good. I can’t remember any canoes. I only needed to touch-up once or twice, and that was usually due to a high wind. The salt-and-pepper ash is flaky, not firm. Draw is perfect. The cigar burns slow, but you have to make a conscious decision not to puff too fast, or it will get hot and can develop an unpleasant bitterness.

I noticed some inconsistency in taste from cigar to cigar. A few were slightly bitter. A few were slightly mild. One or two hit that same full-flavored “sweet spot” that I remembered from the beach. I think the two best ones were the last two I smoked. Maybe this indicates 18 months is the perfect length of time for aging this particular cigar?

But most of the 826's never quite reached that same level; they were more medium in body and flavor. Final verdict: A very good value cigar, but not dependable enough to be a go-to smoke.