Perdomo Legacy Maduro & Pikesville Rye: A Bold Pairing

My Friday began with some long-overdue work clearing downed brush and trees in the woods around the house. Back issues over the past 20 months have kept me from keeping up with routine maintenance, so it felt both satisfying and exhausting to finally be out there again — even if only for a couple of hours. By evening, I was more than ready for a well-earned “sip and smoke” on the screened porch.

I had been eyeing the Perdomo Legacy Nicaraguan Maduro resting in my humidor for about four weeks, waiting for the right moment. Having now reached the minimum rest I like to give new arrivals, it was time to light one up. Figuring a full-bodied cigar deserved a bold companion, I poured a glass of Pikesville Rye.

The Perdomo Legacy Nicaraguan Maduro was created by Nicholas Perdomo III as a tribute to his father. It features a 10-year-aged Cuban-seed Nicaraguan Maduro wrapper that spent an additional 14 months aging in bourbon barrels. A shade-grown Nicaraguan binder — a hybrid of Cuban and Cameroon seeds from the family’s Finca Natalie estate — holds fillers from Perdomo farms in Estelí, Condega, and Jalapa Valley.

The wrapper on the 5 x 54 Robusto vitola is oily, smooth, and shines in the evening sunlight. The cigar is flawlessly rolled and dressed in an ornate gold, red, and blue band. Eventually I force myself to stop admiring the cigar and actually light it up.

From the first draw, the blend’s complexity shines. Notes of semi-sweet chocolate, espresso, caramel, and spice greet the palate. As the cigar develops, espresso deepens into black coffee, while a chocolate-covered almond nuance teases in the background. Cedar and pepper linger pleasantly on the finish.

The pairing could not have been better. Pikesville Rye, one of my favorite bold ryes, offers dark cocoa, baking spice, and molasses — a perfect match that stands confidently alongside the Maduro’s intensity.

The Perdomo Legacy Nicaraguan Maduro is a full-flavored, complex, and thoroughly rewarding smoke. Even halfway through, I was already considering grabbing some larger vitolas to stretch out the experience. At the end of the surprisingly long 80 minute burn, I lamented its finish.

The combination of rich cigar, bold whiskey, and a clear evening made for a truly satisfying close to the day — even if I was contemplating the remaining brush cleanup that still needed to be dealt with in the future.

Cheers!