DJ here with this week’s stick pick. I beleive my owner is insane. Just when you think everything is calm and relaxed in the store ( and I can quietly take a nap), pure pandamonium ensues. It seemed that everyone who came in just started ranting and raving about this cigar, and making way too much noise for me to sleep. So, this weeks special is the PERDOMO GRAND CRU, just so I can get back to sleep. I gave Nick Jr's rottie a call and he said the same thing goes on down there too. Here's what we know.

Perdomo Grand Cru, the newest creation from Nick Perdomo, Jr., an extremely well-balanced “puro”, blended with all  Cubanseed (Semilla Habano) wrappers, binders and fillers. These exquisite tobaccos from a crop of 2004 have been carefully hand-selected and well-aged as the “Grand Cru”, or the best of the best yield from Perdomo’s farms in 2004. Perdomo Grand Cru offers a bold, full-flavored smoking experience in either a rich, earthy Corojo wrapper or a dark, oily Maduro wrapper. Packaged in traditional, yet elegant boxes of 20, the Perdomo Grand Cru is available in four traditional sizes including: Robusto (5 x 50); Toro (6 x 50); Churchill (7 x 50); Torpedo (6 x 54).

Cigar Stats:
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Cuban-seed (Semilla Habano)
Binder: Nicaragua Cuban-seed (Semilla Habano)
Filler: Nicaragua Cuban-seed (Semilla Habano)

The Pre-Smoke
The first thing we must address is the band. It’s nice enough looking, but it could be a point of confusion. The only difference between the band on the maduro and the corojo is the color of the background. The maduro has a darker brown background, while the corojo has an orangish-tan color.

The wrapper has a potent pre-light aroma that was an interesting medley of beef jerky, compost and sweetness. No draw problems, and the sticks could hold a pretty long, reasonably solid ash. Some cigars are a journey, taking you through very different thirds, this cigar was more of a full-bodied flavor kaleidoscope. Each puff was a slightly different mixture of the flavor palette. The Perdomo Grand Cru may not have taken me on a flavor voyage, but that didn’t keep me from really enjoying the cigar. The constant small transitions in flavor kept my interest, leaving me quite content to just stay put and maybe take a nap or two in the process.

This week, PLEASE ... buy 3 and I'll sneak a FREE robusto into your bag.