Brand guide
Perdomo cigars
Perdomo is a family-owned cigar company based in Miami that grows, ferments and rolls its tobacco in Estelí, Nicaragua, through its factory, Tabacalera Perdomo.
Perdomo began as Nick's Cigar Co. in 1992
Nick Perdomo Jr. opened Nick's Cigar Co. in Miami in August 1992, while still working full time as an air traffic controller.
He was 26. Cigars ran in the family. Cigar Aficionado's 2001 profile says his great-grandfather left Italy for Cuba and settled in San José, about 32 miles west of Havana, and that his grandfather and father both worked in the Cuban cigar industry.
The early days were lean. His wife, Janine, helped pack cigars. In 1994 the company had $13 in the bank. It kept going anyway.
The family is still in charge. Perdomo calls itself family owned and operated, with Nick Perdomo Jr. as president and CEO. In 2001 his father, Nick Perdomo Sr., lived in Nicaragua year-round, and his uncle, Antonio Perdomo, helped oversee the factory.
Where are Perdomo cigars made?
Perdomo cigars are made in Estelí, Nicaragua, by Tabacalera Perdomo, with distribution run from the Miami area.
The road there had a detour. By 1995 the Miami shop was at capacity, so Perdomo opened a first Nicaraguan factory on a small street in Estelí. In 1997 he tried a factory in Ybor City, Tampa. Cigar Aficionado's verdict: it "didn't work." In 1999 he built a larger Estelí factory to his own specifications.
By 2001, the company had 622 workers in Central America and 24 in the US, and expected to make more than 10 million cigars that year. Today Perdomo calls itself vertically integrated: farms, greenhouses, curing barns, fermentation warehouses, rolling and its own box factory.
Perdomo farms three Nicaraguan regions
Perdomo grows its tobacco in the Estelí, Condega and Jalapa regions of Nicaragua.
The farm it names first is Finca Natalie in Estelí, named for Nick and Janine's daughter. It has four curing barns. Perdomo says each holds 9,720,000 leaves per growing season, or 38,880,000 a year across the four.
Aging is where Perdomo puts its numbers:
- Leaf ferments in pilóns, stacks of about 3,600 pounds, for at least three years.
- Some tobacco is aged in American white oak bourbon barrels.
- Finished cigars rest at least six to eight months, depending on the wrapper.
The blends use long filler, mixing seco, viso and ligero, which are leaf grades from low, middle and high on the plant. Aristides Garcia leads inspection during fermentation. Perdomo counts 3,054 steps from seed to finished cigar. Each of those stages is mapped in how cigars are made.
Perdomo anniversary lines and their wrappers
| Line | Wrapper (as Perdomo lists it) | Perdomo's stated body | Notable sizes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20th Anniversary Connecticut | 8-year-old Ecuadorian Connecticut, plus 8 months in bourbon barrels | Mild to medium | Robusto 5 x 56, Epicure 6 x 56, Churchill 7 x 56 |
| 20th Anniversary Sun Grown | 8-year-old Cuban-seed Nicaraguan Sun Grown, plus 10 months in bourbon barrels | Medium to full | Gordo 6 x 60, Torpedo 6 1/2 x 54 |
| 20th Anniversary Maduro | 8-year-old Cuban-seed Nicaraguan Maduro, plus 14 months in bourbon barrels | Medium to full | Corona Grande 6 1/2 x 48, Churchill 7 x 56 |
| 30th Anniversary (box-pressed) | 15-year-old bourbon barrel-aged Ecuadorian Connecticut, Nicaraguan Sun Grown or Nicaraguan Maduro | Mild to medium (Connecticut); medium to full (Sun Grown, Maduro) | Robusto 5 x 54, Gordo 6 x 60, Torpedo 7 x 54 |
Every blend in the table uses Cuban-seed Nicaraguan binder and filler. Perdomo's site also lists Legacy, 12 Year Double-Aged Vintage, 10th Anniversary Champagne, Habano Bourbon Barrel-Aged, Lot 23, Inmenso Seventy and Fresco.
Perdomo milestones, 1992 to 2001
Perdomo's key years run from a Miami start-up in 1992 to a 10-million-cigar Nicaraguan operation by 2001.
- August 1992: Nick's Cigar Co. opens in Miami.
- 1994: $13 in the company bank account.
- 1995: First factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.
- 1997: A factory in Ybor City, Tampa, is tried and dropped.
- 1999: A larger Estelí factory is built, and in April Perdomo takes over production of C.A.O. L'Anniversaire.
- 2001: 622 workers in Central America and more than 10 million cigars expected.
What to know before you buy a Perdomo
Perdomo's anniversary lines run from a 5 x 54 Robusto to a 7 x 56 Churchill, with the heaviest ring at 60.
The 30th Anniversary is box-pressed, by Perdomo's own name for the line. The 20th Anniversary page doesn't call its sizes pressed. Pressing changes how a cigar sits in the hand, as our box-pressed guide explains.
Same blend name, three wrappers. "20th Anniversary" on its own doesn't tell you which leaf is outside, so check the band. Perdomo also says it absorbs the federal SCHIP excise tax on all its brands. It doesn't publish suggested retail prices on these pages, so no price tier is given here.
Perdomo questions, answered plainly
Where are Perdomo cigars made?
Perdomo cigars are made in Estelí, Nicaragua, by Tabacalera Perdomo. The company farms in the Estelí, Condega and Jalapa regions and distributes from Miami.
Who owns Perdomo cigars?
Perdomo describes itself as a family-owned and operated company headquartered in Miami, Florida. Nick Perdomo Jr. is its president and CEO.
What wrappers does the Perdomo 20th Anniversary come in?
Three: an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, a Cuban-seed Nicaraguan Sun Grown wrapper and a Cuban-seed Nicaraguan Maduro wrapper, each aged eight years and then bourbon barrel-aged.
Are Perdomo cigars aged in bourbon barrels?
Some of the tobacco is. Perdomo says it ages some leaf in American white oak bourbon barrels, and its 20th and 30th Anniversary wrappers are listed as bourbon barrel-aged.
Where the Perdomo facts come from
- The Perdomo Way, Perdomo Cigars
- Perdomo 20th Anniversary, Perdomo Cigars
- Perdomo 30th Anniversary, Perdomo Cigars
- The World According to Perdomo, Cigar Aficionado