Today, we review the Fermín Pérez Bold Maduro in the Toro size. Fermín Pérez Cigars is a brand founded by Fermín Pérez, who is originally from Cuba. He owns a factory in Estelí, Nicaragua, that produces the cigars bearing his name. The factory was established in 2021 and is classified as a boutique factory. However, the company states that it is scalable and can produce up to one million cigars annually.
As for the brand itself, Fermín Pérez Cigars is working to establish both a national and international presence. However, it appears that the brand’s strongest market will be in South Florida.
The company has built a large number of products in its portfolio. The website lists the following products below. The company is heavily promoting its trifecta of the Bold Maduro, Classic Habano, and the Classic Connecticut.
- Bold Maduro
- Classic Habano
- Classic Connecticut
- Esmeralda
- Royal Box Press Habano
- Serie de Oro Habano
- Puro Estel (all Nicaraguan)
- Miami Special Edition (Sweet Tip)
Today we will turn our attention specifically to the Bold Maduro Toro and see what this cigar brings to the table.
SPECIFICATIONS
Blend and Origin
The Bold Maduro features a San Andres wrapper over an Indonesian binder. The filler tobaccos come from the Jalapa, Estelí, and Pueblo Nuevo regions of Nicaragua.
- Wrapper: San Andres Mexican Maduro
- Binder: Indonesian
- Filler: Nicaraguan: Jalapa, Esteli and Pueblo Nuevo
- Country of Origin: Nicaraguan
- Factory: Fermín Pérez
Vitolas Available
The Bold Maduro is available in two sizes. Each comes in ten-count boxes.
- Toro: 6 x 54
- Toro Gordo: 6 x 60
There is also a Toro Tubo offering for the 6 x 54 that comes in a five-count box.
Appearance (*)
The San Andres Mexican wrapper of the Bold Maduro Toro had a medium-to-dark roasted coffee bean color. On the surface of the wrapper, there were some oils along with some mottling. In addition, the surface of the wrapper had some visible veins as well as some minimally visible wrapper seams.
PERFORMANCE
Pre-Light Draw (*)
Before lighting up the Bold Maduro Toro, I used a straight cut to remove the cap. Once the cap was detached, it was time to commence with the pre-light draw. There was a combination of mocha and tart sweetness on the pre-light draw. I use the term mocha to describe a fusion of chocolate and coffee notes. In this case, the mocha was skewed more toward the coffee flavor. Overall, this was a satisfactory pre-light draw. At this point, it was time to remove the footer band, toast up the Bold Maduro Toro, and head into the smoking phase.
Tasting Notes
The Bold Maduro Toro opened up with more notes of mocha and tart sweetness. The cigar began with prominent earthy notes, complemented by hints of mixed pepper. In the first third of smoking, mocha flavors took center stage, accompanied by a tart sweetness, earthy undertones, and a secondary pepper note. Additionally, the retrohale featured a blend of pepper and earthiness.
By the start of the second third of the Bold Maduro Toro, the fusion of the mocha note split into coffee and cocoa notes. The coffee notes remained primary. The cocoa notes settled in the background with the earth, pepper, and tart sweetness. During this stage, the cocoa notes diminished, and by the midway point had completely disappeared. Meanwhile, some mineral notes replaced the cocoa in the background.
The final third saw the coffee notes remain primary. The mineral notes emerged as the most prominent of the second notes. Tart sweetness, earth, and pepper were still present. There was an underlying bitterness and harshness during this phase (more to follow). This is the way the Bold Maduro Toro came to a close. The resulting nub was very warm in temperature and soft to the touch.
Burn
When it came to the burn of the Bold Maduro Toro, it had little problem maintaining a straight burn path and burn line. The cigar didn’t require many touchups. The ash was silver-gray in color. This is a cigar that had an ash skewed toward the looser side. The burn rate was ideal. When it came to the burn temperature, this was the problem. This cigar had a warm burn once it hit the final third. This is why I think the final third spiked in harshness.
Draw
On each of the four Bold Maduro Toro cigars smoked for this assessment, the draw started out with a nice amount of resistance, the way I like it. By the second third, the draw was more on the open side. I’m thinking this might have contributed to the warm burn and harsh flavors on the final third.
Strength and Body
The Bold Maduro Toro started out with medium strength and medium-bodied flavors. Along the way, there was a gradual increase in intensity of both attributes. By the second half, both the strength and body progressed into medium to full territory. In terms of strength versus body, both attributes balanced each other nicely with neither attribute overshadowing the other.
BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)
When it comes to band packaging, Fermín Pérez Cigars have a contemporary look. With the Bold Maduro, the bands and boxes have a fire engine red with gold font. While normally I lean toward classic packaging on boxes and bands, I like the way these bands were designed. On top of that, I also really liked how the red band contrasted with the San Andres wrapper. Overall, this is an excellent packaging job by Fermín Pérez.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT
Final Thoughts
The Bold Maduro Toro was a tale of two cigars. I really enjoyed the first two-thirds, but the final third saw the experience take a drastic turn. The warm burn combined with the harshness from this flavor profile took points off the score here. I’m not sure what was going on, but this seemed to be the case with each of the cigars I smoked. Given the first two-thirds were really good, I’m inclined to give this cigar another try down the road. At the same time, the first two-thirds would be enough to recommend that you try a sample and see what you think.
Summary
- Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Citrus, Black Tea, Earth, Pepper
- Burn: Good
- Draw: Good
- Complexity: Medium Plus
- Strength: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (2nd Half)
- Body: Medium
- Finish: Good
Rating
Value: Try a Sample
Score: 87
REFERENCES
- News: n/a
- Price: $11.00
- Source: Fermín Pérez
- Brand Reference: Fermin Perez
Photo Credits: Cigar Coop, except where noted
(*) Indicates this is not factored into the score or value rating
