Tasting Notes

Prelight

My Lot 23 Connecticut Robusto presents with a smooth, soft, and satiny wrapper. The color is a light brown uniform hue. However, the shaft is by no means perfect. There are visible seams and veins throughout though none is prominent. The cap appears to be a double and a little sloppy but nothing to fret about. I didn't notice any soft or hard spots. There is uniform give all through the wrapper. Perdomo did update the band fairly recently. The previous band was matte brown and very close to resembling the wrapper. Now the new band, while the same design, has a shiny, gleaming updated look which features gold strips on the top and bottom. It looks great.

The scent off the shaft is predominantly barnyard with an implicit sweetness. I may have caught a fleeting floral or rather fruity note. Cold draw spoke of sweet cocoa, sawdust, nuts, earth, and that fleeting fruity note. I had to cold draw severally to discern all these flavors. It's already hinting at a great flavor profile considering I am a sucker for complexity.

First Third

The first draw is a literal flavor bomb. All the flavors I tasted on the cold draw show up. For starters, there is a sweet woodsy note on the forefront closely followed by mocha and roasted nuts. Towards the finish a slight honey-like sweetness emerges punctuated by a sharp peppery spice finish. The draw couldn't be more perfect and the smoke is phenomenal. At this point, I can already tell this is a light medium smoke.

A few draws in, the peppery spice (I can't decide if its black pepper, white pepper, or just a spice kick) lingers on the tip of my tongue and at the back of the throat. Surprisingly, though, there is no heat. It's just a pleasant spicy note.

A citrusy zest makes a debut. This flavor sort of zooms right past my palate. I can't find it on the front, middle, back or Retrohale. Weirdly, I want to chase it the way kids chase after butterflies in Spring. On the finish, there is a coffee-esque nuance backed by a building creamy disposition and that slight spicy zing.

As my Connecticut settles, the peppery zing on the tongue disappears. In its place, a darker, heavier coffee note takes over. But not in an overwhelming kind of way. The cream is in full regalia complementing the coffee. Holding down the fort are the woodsy notes, earthy nuances, sweet honey, and a dash of spice on the finish.

The first third is gone. Strength is still light medium at best but I don't mind. What this cigar lacks in strength it makes up for in construction, draw, and flavor. My burn line is as close to perfect as you can get. My ash is a mighty silver-gray tower. I know I have to ash soon but I just want to see how much longer it will hold.

Mid Third

My ash eventually fell at the start of the mid third. It didn't hold on to legendary heights but I was still a little proud. The unusual thing is that the ash appears flaky and weak, but it isn't. I guess waiting for what seemed like forever for it to fall was quite the ride.

The mid third brought back that shy citrus zest note. It is tucked under incredibly smooth and creamy coffee, wood, nuts, and earthy notes. At least this time it didn't disappear altogether. I can taste it on the finish.

There is a noticeable kick in strength. This is officially a medium bodied smoke. A new smoky charr-y flavor joins the party. The smoky note inserts itself everywhere including the Retrohale. This kinda offsets the creamy, oily texture on the Retrohale and replaces it with a smoky dry char.

The smoky note also transforms the woody savor into dry smoky leaves while the nuts become dry salty mixed nuts. At this point, a dry leather note fixes itself in the background. Now the flavors we're working with are dry smoky leaves, dry salty mixed nuts, caramel-like sweetness, and dry leather with the ever-present peppery finish. Smoke output is still excellent and so is the burn line. I must say so far, I am thoroughly enjoying this stogie.

Final Third

I go into the final third with high hopes. I expect this cigar to vamp up the flavors. Even if there are no stark transitions, it'll still be a great smoke. However, the flavors begin to mellow as the final third progresses. Strength goes back to a light medium while the sweet and citrusy notes disappear.

The only discernible flavors are dry smoky leaves, earth, leather, and roasted mixed nuts. I do not know if this de-complexifying factor is deliberate. But my Robusto continues to mellow out until the nub.

Final Thoughts

In all honesty, I do not know how to feel about this smoke. Later, I did smoke a few more and the trend was pretty much the same. The final third goes completely opposite of what you expect.

I must admit though that after about the third Perdomo Lot 23 Connecticut, it works. Perhaps Perdomo decided to zag when we thought he would zig which is kinda awesome. The way I see it, in a market full of incredible smokes, it's increasingly difficult to surprise your customers and this cigar definitely did.