CW Review: Dos Rios Esplendido
Pre-Smoke Comments
Andy Kerman (ChicagoHemi): Cigar # 125 is a square pressed Churchill (7X48) with a dark, smooth, and oily Rosado wrapper. The wrapper and shape is a Perdomo trademark so I would be very surprised if this was not made by Nick's Cigar Co. The cigar had a rich pre-light aroma of spice and leather and left a subtle yet present aroma when lit. Construction is very good with an even firm bunch. The wrapper is dotted with dark spots, which I found to be typical of Rosado wrapper. The cap is well done which allowed for a perfect cut. Pre-light draw tested good and the wrapper left a salty taste on the lips. If not for the small patch on the first sample and the two small patches on the second sample, I would have given a perfect score for the Appearance and Construction. The burn was even with a slightly firm, but good draw. Typical gray ash.
Brett Turley (WV Smokin): This was a square pressed, churchill sized cigar with a nice medium to dark brown wrapper. Construction was average with some slight veining & a few wrinkles probably due to the box press. The cigars were firm with one having just a slight soft spot near the center. There wasn't alot of pre-light aroma to this cigar, but what was there was light and fairly pleasant.
Buddy Blackmon (puffman): These cigars were beautifully cuadrado pressed. One of the samples was a little lumpy with a couple of soft spots, but that seems to be more prevalent with this type of cigar. The rosado wrapper was silky and moderately oily. The cap was neat and well-formed. I could be wrong, but the looks and construction of this stick scream "Perdomo!".
Douglas F. Richards Jr (dfrjr30): cigar # 125 in churchill size was a very good looking cigar. with it's box press shape there was no soft spots to be found. this cigar was constructed very well, with a perfect colored wrapper.
Glen R. Stewart (gstewart): I found it to be a very nice looking box press style Churchill. Over all it was dark brown with some darker spots that where almost black. The smell of the unlit cigar was pleasant but mild with a hint of cedar. Drawing on the unlit cigar reveals an easy draw with a slight taste of vegetable matter. At first light you could taste prominent vegetable matter. After the first inch there was a small floral taste that changed over to chocolate at about the 2-inch mark and stayed till the finish.
Marty Wood (weinsur): This cigar is a box pressed Churchill that is dark and silky smooth to the touch but is a bit soft. The second sample smelled very sour.
Travis Adams (MrSevenAndSeven): This is a beautiful quadrado cigar with an oily wrapper that smells excellent.
Smoke Comments
Andy Kerman (ChicagoHemi): The flavor started off very salty, but settled into straightforward tobacco flavor with a hint of leather & wood flavors. By the halfway point, the cigar developed richer leathery flavors with a hint of semi-sweet chocolate, coffee, and mild spice. A very nice finish with leather and chocolate flavors lingering on the palette. A lot of changing flavors from the last 1/3 to the end of bittersweet chocolate, spice, leather, and coffee. Not intermixed, but more like one after the other changing with each draw back and forth. I found this to be a bit odd, as I've never experienced so much constant flavor change at the end of a smoke. I definitely did not like this character.
Brett Turley (WV Smokin): The only way I can describe these cigars is to say they were like smoking dust. What little aroma was present was pungent. These were the first cigars I've ever smoked where my wife actually complained about the smell. The cigar started very weak in flavor and never really developed any at all.
Buddy Blackmon (puffman): I experienced a pleasantly firm draw with both samples of this cigar. They were on the mild side of medium to me, with toasty and nutty flavors. There was a hint of sweetness and cocoa. What this cigar lacked in strength, it made up for it in complexity, but had a rather lackluster finish. The white/light gray ash tended to flake a little too easily. Both samples burned very evenly and had a woody aroma.
Douglas F. Richards Jr (dfrjr30): cigar # 125 started out slow in flavor, but by the middle of the cigar it produced a wonderful leathery taste that lasted to the end. the burn was even all the way thru and the draw perfect.
Glen R. Stewart (gstewart): The only draw back I found in the cigar was it had a habit of burning vary on evenly. Sometimes it would self correct itself but I did have to burn off the tracking side several times to keep it burning even. One out of the 2 cigars went out several times and needed to be relit twice.
Marty Wood (weinsur): The first sample didn't draw as well as the second sample but they both produced tons of smoke, a plus to me. Both cigars burned terribly! Runners, tunnels, you name it. The flavor was the savior of this cigar. It tasted very rich and woody to me. Full flavored with some sweetness.
Travis Adams (MrSevenAndSeven): This cigar tastes and smells great. It has a very earthy taste that is rich and full of flavor.
Summary Comments
Andy Kerman (ChicagoHemi): This is an agreeable well-made cigar with a mild-medium body. It had the typical Perdomo Reserve X flavor profile of pronounced leather and chocolate flavors at the end of the smoke. While this cigar is not to my taste, it is a decent smoke nonetheless.
Brett Turley (WV Smokin): Over all I would have to say these were pretty lack luster cigars for my taste. Even those who like milder cigars probably won't get much out of these. Just not enough in the flavor department. It was, however, a decently constructed box pressed cigar.
Buddy Blackmon (puffman): This beautifully made cigar had some very interesting flavors. It was a pleasant smoke that didn't pack a lot of punch, but would make a nice morning cigar with a cup of java.
Douglas F. Richards Jr (dfrjr30): overall cigar # 125 was a very good smoke. the taste was pleasant. a well made cigar that i would like to have again.
Glen R. Stewart (gstewart): I found the cigar to be fairly complex with a change of taste as it was smoked. It started off on the mild side and ended full-bodied and rich, a very nice tasting cigar in all except for the uneven burn. I would consider picking up a few of them to add to my rotation and hope that the uneven burn isn't a trait in all of them. Out of the two of them I found one had more of a floral and chocolate taste than the other
Marty Wood (weinsur): Unfortunately the construction problems in the two samples were unacceptable. I think these cigars are Perdomo Reserve rosados but I'm not 100% sure. If they are it is a new size and if they aren't then someone is making cigars exactly like Nick. I liked the flavor very much and would recommend them if it weren't for the problems mentioned.
Travis Adams (MrSevenAndSeven): An excellent cigar in my opinion - smooth and full of flavor. What a great smoking experience.
Scores
| Reviewer | ||||||||
| Andy Kerman | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 37.0 |
| Brett Turley | 3.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 24.0 |
| Buddy Blackmon | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 6.0 | 8.0 | 38.0 |
| Douglas F. Richards Jr | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 37.0 |
| Glen R. Stewart | 5.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 39.0 |
| Marty Wood | 4.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 7.0 | 6.0 | 5.0 | 27.5 |
| Travis Adams | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 41.0 |
| Averages | 4.1 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 3.2 | 7.1 | 6.6 | 6.7 | 35.7 |
| For more information see the link below for Review Methods. | ||||||||
Review Results
Final Score: 35.7 out of 50
4 Star -- Excellent
Dos Rios is one of Tabacalera Perdomo's moderately-priced cigar lines and at only $3.80 for a robusto, I think they're a bargain. The Esplendido we reviewed retails for $4.30 a piece in box quantity. Most of our reviewers enjoyed the cigar. The flavor descriptors used most often were leather, chocolate and wood. Some construction problems were noted, including burn problems. Because of the unique style and box press of the cigars, many reviewers correctly identified the cigars as made by Tabacalera Perdomo.
