Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage DA12 Maduro Toro Review

It is rated Medium-Full (4/5), which means you will feel the nicotine — a gentle warmth in the chest and a slight buzz by the final third — but it never crosses into full-bodied territory. The 60-ring gauge and twelve years of aging temper the strength considerably, so it delivers richness and depth without the heavy-handed punch of a young Nicaraguan powerhouse.

The first third opens with espresso, roasted cocoa, leather, and a molasses sweetness from the maduro fermentation. The second third adds dark cherry, blackstrap molasses, cedar spice, and a persistent black pepper note on the retrohale. The final third concentrates into dark chocolate fudge, roasted hazelnut, and a faint anise-like sweetness, with deepening leather and earth that never turn bitter.

Expect a 90-minute-plus smoke. The 6 x 60 Toro format — a full six inches at a broad 60-ring gauge — burns slowly and coolly, and the dense Nicaraguan long-filler holds a firm ash that encourages you to sip rather than puff. Rushing it will flatten the complexity; give it the full ninety minutes and it rewards you.

An aged Nicaraguan rum such as Flor de Caña 18 Year is the natural match — its caramel and oak sweetness harmonizes with the maduro's molasses character and echoes the cigar's own terroir. If you prefer bourbon, a wheated expression like Maker's Mark 46 or Larceny Barrel Proof works beautifully, since the soft wheat sweetness mirrors the dark fruit and chocolate notes without adding rye spice that would fight the blend.

Honestly, no — not as a first cigar. At Medium-Full strength, a beginner may find the nicotine delivery and the dense, creamy smoke overwhelming, and the $14–$18 price tag is steep for a palate that has not yet learned to detect the difference between twelve-year-aged tobacco and a well-made five-year blend. Start with a milder Connecticut-shade cigar, then come back to this one in a year or two.

This is a premium-tier cigar sold through authorized Perdomo retailers, including well-stocked brick-and-mortar tobacconists and reputable online cigar shops that carry the Perdomo portfolio. Because the DA12 line is a flagship expression, availability can vary — if your local shop does not stock it, ask them to order it, or check major online retailers that specialize in aged Nicaraguan cigars.

Expect to pay between $14 and $18 per cigar, depending on the retailer and local tobacco taxes. At that price, it sits firmly in the premium tier but undercuts most ultra-aged maduros from prestige brands by a wide margin — which is precisely the point of the DA12 line.

It is already aged — all tobaccos, including the Nicaraguan Sun-Grown Maduro wrapper, binder, and filler, are aged a minimum of twelve years before rolling, and the finished cigars receive additional rest. Further aging in your humidor will not transform it the way it would a young cigar; it will mostly soften the black pepper note and deepen the molasses sweetness. If you have the space, lay down a few for two or three years and enjoy the subtle rounding, but there is no need to wait.

It uses a Nicaraguan Sun-Grown Maduro wrapper aged twelve years, with a deep espresso-brown color that borders on black and a natural oily sheen with slight tooth. That extended aging is what gives the wrapper its almost supernatural smoothness — it contributes the dark chocolate, molasses, and dried fruit sweetness that defines the cigar's character without any of the harshness a younger maduro would bring.

It is hand-rolled at Perdomo's own TESA factory in Estelí, Nicaragua, using long-fillers from the Estelí, Jalapa, and Condega regions. The DA12 line is one of Perdomo's flagship ultra-aged expressions, and the 60-ring Toro reflects the brand's emphasis on broad-gauge smoking comfort — all produced under the same roof where the tobaccos were aged.