Perdomo Lot 23 Connecticut Toro Review

Overview

In an era where the premium cigar market often equates higher prices with superior quality, Perdomo’s Lot 23 Connecticut Toro stands as a quiet rebuttal—a cigar that delivers four-year-aged Nicaraguan tobacco at a price point that feels almost like an oversight. Named for the year Nick Perdomo’s father, Enrique, began rolling cigars in Cuba, the Lot 23 line was conceived as an accessible everyday series, one that would democratize the house’s signature aging philosophy without sacrificing construction or composure. The Connecticut Toro is the mildest expression of that vision, a pale straw-colored vitola that wears its Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper like a tailored linen jacket—clean, understated, and effortlessly refined.

From the first light, the cigar establishes a profile that is both approachable and precise. The opening third introduces fresh cream, toasted bread, and a whisper of white pepper on the retrohale, while a subtle floral note and mild cedar emerge within the first inch. What follows is a slow, deliberate evolution: roasted cashew and light vanilla bean in the second third, a gentle grassy sweetness, and a quiet earthiness that reminds you the Nicaraguan binder and filler are there, even if they never raise their voices. The final third resolves into warm creaminess, toasted almond, and a touch of hay, with a lingering cedar-and-mineral finish that never turns harsh. The strength remains firmly in mild-medium territory—no nicotine spike, no bravado, just composure from cap to nub.

Construction is where Perdomo’s factory discipline truly shines. The draw is open and effortless, producing voluminous, creamy smoke, while the burn line stays even and the ash holds firm for over an inch. This is not a cigar that demands your full philosophical attention; it is a masterclass in what can be achieved when well-aged leaf meets meticulous rolling. For the seasoned smoker, it offers a reliable, no-drama morning companion. For the newcomer, it is an ideal gateway—a smooth, consistent introduction to the world of handmade premiums. At six inches with a 60-ring gauge, the Toro format provides a 60-to-75-minute smoke that fits comfortably into a weekend morning or a post-breakfast wind-down.

The Lot 23 Connecticut does not attempt to rewrite the canon of complexity. Instead, it overdelivers on value and consistency, two virtues that are far more rare in the cigar world than intensity. It is Perdomo doing what it does best: taking a simple formula—aged Nicaraguan leaf, disciplined rolling, an elegant wrapper—and executing it with such reliability that the cigar becomes a quiet benchmark in its category. For anyone seeking an honest, well-constructed Connecticut smoke that won’t break the bank, this is the standard bearer.