Perdomo Inmenso Seventy Maduro Staff Review
Supersize me, please. I’m smoking an especially fat cigar from Perdomo called the Inmenso Seventy Maduro in the 570 size, named for its mammoth 5 by 70 dimensions. No one has ever accused me of having a big mouth, so I should probably practice chomping on a soft ball before I can get my lips around this 70-ring behemoth.
Well before I became a bona fide cigar smoker, Nick Perdomo was making a brand called Inmenso, almost as a gimmick, in the late 1990s. The cigars came in beefy boxes with a neon-yellow label on the inside depicting an old lady with a giant cigar in her mouth, and the tagline read, “I only allow my rollers to smoke one cigar a day.”
With the extreme popularity of extra-fat cigars like Nub and Asylum, it should come as no surprise Nick relaunched his fattest franchise to date with professional-grade packaging that fits right in beside the finest Perdomo cigars. There’s no question, Perdomo Inmenso Seventy has graduated from a novelty smoke to a legit brand blended to please sophisticated cigar fiends, albeit those who prefer the feel of a baseball bat between their lips. I’ve smoked some pretty fat cigars in my day, so it’s high time I fire one up to see how it tastes.
Warning: if you’ve got under an hour to smoke, save this cigar for a rainy day. You’ll never finish it in time if your wife is tapping her watch.
Perdomo Inmenso Seventy cigars are handmade in three lengths: five, six, and seven inches. They’re finished in either a reddish-brown Sun Grown wrapper or a dark and succulent Nicaraguan Maduro, like the one I’m smoking now. Inside the wrapper is a monumental core of premium Cuban-seed binder and filler tobaccos harvested from Perdomo’s Nicaraguan farms before they’re aged for a solid five years. The cigars are packed in thick 16-count boxes, and big shiny cigar bands adorn each smoke. Nick’s reliable attention to detail leaves nothing to be desired when you gaze upon the top row of a freshly opened box.
The second I pull a cigar out and slide the cellophane off, the Inmenso Seventy Maduro beams with a bold aroma of fudge brownie and espresso bean. If you don’t have a big ring cigar cutter like the Xikar M8, a hacksaw will have to do. Cutting a big ring cigar isn’t complicated, but you need the right equipment because it’s tough to shove a super-fat cigar into a standard guillotine cutter without cracking the wrapper or making a mess of the cap.
The cold draw is delicious. Creamy notes of dark chocolate, raisin, and pepper leave a chewy taste on my palate. My jaw is already a little stiff, but I’ve got nothin’ but time to kill and plan to devour every centimeter of this bulky beast in one setting. I can tell it’s well made too. Despite its hulking shape, the Inmenso 570 is packed to perfection from head to foot.
Take your time lighting a fat cigar like the Inmenso. With so much binder and filler in the blend, you’ve got to wait for the cigar to fully combust before you’re freely puffing away. My Perdomo Triple Torch Table Lighter is the perfect tool for the job with its blazing trio of jets and an oversized fuel tank. Brand founder Nick Perdomo is such a generous guy, he gave me the lighter for free the last time I bought a box of his cigars.
After a couple of minutes twisting the cigar over the flame and coaxing the smoke out, luscious clouds erupt from my mouth. Tasting notes of malted dark chocolate and Turkish coffee mingle with a robust and woody spice. I feel like I have tobacco smokestack in my mouth as the cigar slowly heats up. The draw is just right.
To be honest, I wasn’t expecting the level of complexity I can taste. The Inmenso Seventy Maduro burns like a dream while a nice blend of hickory and earth complements the cigar’s peppery foundation. The ash flakes off around the edges here and there, but it’s nothing to cause alarm. I attribute that to the sheer volume of tobacco in the cigar. Also, the smoke output is considerable, so I recommend indulging in an Inmenso in a room with high ceilings or outside to enjoy the cigar more comfortably.
While other cigars this big tend to taste bland, or they’re straight-up nicotine bombs, the Inmenso Seventy Maduro is sweet and elaborate enough to hold my focus past the band. The finish is big with peppery hints of maple and black licorice. That said, after about an hour and ten minutes, I’ll wait a few more before standing up while the nub expires in my ashtray. When you’re in the mood to satisfy a gluttonous appetite for a good cigar, a Perdomo Inmenso should more than do the trick.
