A Very Perdomo Weekend or: I finally got some mashed potatoes and all was right with the world.

We've long been fans of Perdomo cigars. Remember this? (There's other stuff you would be able to remember if I'd actually written about things rather than keeping them in the drafts folder, unfinished. Maybe someday I'll get to them. Or not.)

During our CigarFest bonanza weekend, we were continuously Perdomoed.* That's a good thing. No, that's a great thing!

On the first full day of our** trip, we went to the Cigars International Bethleham (PA) store for a Perdomo event.

Nick and Valentino whooping it up at the CI event.

 

Nick and his sales gurus promoted the new Small Batch, which Valentino loved and made off with a box of the Connecticut blend. (The cigar also comes in Maduro and Sun-Grown.)

[source]

 

Just so you know...All three come in four sizes: Half-corona (4 x 46), Rothschild (4 1/2 x 50), Belicoso (5 x 54), and toro Especiala (5 1/2 x 54).

The Perdomo folks say the Connecticut offers “a rich smoke with a creamy complexity, slight hints of caramel and cedar, with a smooth, elegant finish.” I'm nodding enthusiastically.

From the Perdomo press release:

The Perdomo Small Batch Series takes “small batch” to the next level. Hand‐crafted from a rare collection of 10 year aged tobaccos, the Perdomo Small Batch Series is carefully blended with smaller leaves that have the perfect balance of flavor, strength, and aroma. Perdomo has created this stunning line of small premium hand‐crafted cigars by combining the finest bourbon barrel aged wrappers with these rare and exquisite 10 year aged filler tobaccos.

Limited to 3,000 boxes, the Small Batch cigars were magically created at Tabacalera Perdomo in Estelí, Nicaragua. You know how I get antsy about limited editions and how I worry Valentino won't be able to smoke what he wants because they're gone.

I, however, was more enchanted by the new salomon. Here's a picture, but more about that cigar is coming...



Before dinner treat--keep reading!

Then we went to Cigars International's CigarFest in Split Rock, PA.

Shenanigans ensued, including this:

Valentino would like me to Photoshop his eyes open.
Of course I won't, because I don't know how.
So pretend his eyes are open.
See? Way easier than Photoshop!

On the last full day of our adventure, exhausted from days and days of cigar craziness, we decided to eat a real meal while sitting down and being served. (This was my idea. I was feeling needy--for mashed potatoes.) I grabbed one of those salomons for each of the three men and we headed to  Louis Prime Steakhouse--chosen because they had an outdoor smoking area and we had some cigars for smoking. (And mashed potatoes.)

And who happens to be sitting at the next table? These folks:

The very awesome, very gracious Perdomo family.
(Yes, I stole this from Nick's Facebook page.)

Nick graciously offered us 20th Anniversary Maduros (which of course we accepted, because...der). Those were for later.

Our meal would start with the Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage Salomones (6 1/8 x 50/60) we'd purchased at CI.*** (Valentino said I couldn't have mashed potatoes for an app.)

"Nick has outdone himself this time around, shelling out three separate blends that each lay claim to 12-year-old, exquisitely fermented tobacco leaves" reported CI. "Dressed in Connecticut, Sun Grown, and Maduro wrappers, Double Aged 12-Year Vintage has a selection for every cigar lover out there. All of the tobaccos in each blend – wrapper, binder, and filler – go through an extensive 'double aging' process. They are bale-aged for ten long years before moving on to barrel-aging in charred, white oak bourbon barrels for the next two years, resulting in a refined product that’s brimming with flavor. This process ensures that the crop from 2001 has impeccable color, texture, aroma, and flavor."

Note the missing three.
Or the spot where the three used to be.

When I had originally pulled the cigars for each of them, Valentino gave me the "What are you doing?" look that I get frequently--because most of the time I really have no idea what I'm doing. But this time, I was looking to give away his very precious cigars. We both knew what I was doing.

But sitting there at dinner in the company of greatness--both the man and the cigars--Valentino said, "This was a really good idea."  I'd have bowed in agreement but 1. I was sitting, so I would have banged my head on the table (embarrassing!) and 2. I don't really like to draw attention to myself.

Of course in the process of not drawing attention to myself, I announced on Facebook where I was and what I was doing, tagging all the usual suspects, as well as Nick and Janine Perdomo. A short time later, Nick approached our table and said, "Are you Penny?"****

Busted. So much for my incognito-ness. ::shakes fist at internet and Facebook::

As I finish writing this, Valentino is coming to the end of this cigar:

Obvs, I didn't take this picture.

.... and I'm reminded that I started writing this while clad in my new Perdomo shirt, also my new favorite shirt, a gift with purchase for buying those delicious, well-timed salomones.

Cigars and Swag! But the shirt is my favorite.

 

*That's a fabulous word that I just invented. It means "being washed over with kindness, generosity, and class." You're welcome to use it. 

**"Our" throughout the story is Valentino, Caballero #2, and Honorary Caballero Mike. He should probably get a badge or sash or something.

***If you must know, three boxes may have been purchased, since only eight nestle into the box.

****I'm sure I responded, but it was probably some kind of gurgling idiot-speak, as I have a difficult time communicating like an adult. Or a human for that matter.