Perdomo cigars

[CigarStone]

As some of you may know, Phil LaBondano, the owner of Roxor cigars has opened a beautiful B&M near me. Phil is very close with the Perdomos and I am contemplating taking a job in the cigar business as a semi-retirement. This would mean spending some time in Nicaragua with Phil and Nick Perdomo. Phil is very opinionated and has a very lofty opinion of Perdomo’s overall processes, as it should be. It appears the rest of the world may not share Phil’s zeal.


I have been doing a good bit of research, here and otherwise, in preparation of this upcoming opportunity and see that the opinion of Perdomo cigars ranges between ehh and blah. This is confirmed when looking at Top 25 Ratings where there simply aren’t very many reviews of Perdomo cigars which indicates disinterest. I’m curious as to why? Is it construction, taste, presentation, cost, what?

I value the knowledge and experience of the brothers and sisters here and would love to hear your honest opinions.

 

[Jonesy]

Taste.....haven't had a Perdomo that I'd ever spend money on again. I think they rank on the bottom right next to Punch NC's. Sorry Bro, JMO though.

 

[Ginseng]

What Brian said but not quite as bad as NC RyJ. Even the much vaunted Edicion de Silivio was unremarkable to me, though others have found it to be a good cigar.

Perhaps you ought to arrange a semi-blind taste test of some sort.

Wilkey

 

[anvil]

What Brian said but not quite as bad as NC RyJ. Even the much vaunted Edicion de Silivio was unremarkable to me, though others have found it to be a good cigar.

Perhaps you ought to arrange a semi-blind taste test of some sort.

Wilkey

I think that is a top Idea.

I have sampled a couple of different Perdomos, including:
Reserve Champagne
Reserve Cameroon
Signature Collection

And i found them to be a very boring cigar. Although I thought the Signature tasted like vomit.
I don't mean to offend by being so blunt but it is just my opinion.

 

[Kingantz]

Same here. I've had several Perdomo's and none did it for me as far as flavor.

 

[sinnyc]

I have purchased some very inexpensive bundles of Frescos to smoke as yard gars and for the price they are suitable.

The reserve champagne is the blandest of the reserve line, the one in the red cello (I can't remember the name) is probably the best but they are all mild.

The Lot 23's are over-rated IMO. They lean towards medium in strength but there isn't a lot of flavor going on there.

So in the con column, I would say that Perdomos are generally lacking in flavor and are too mild for me. Having said that, I haven't found one that I actively disliked.

In the pro column, I have found Perdomos to be uniformly well constructed.

- Tim

 

[Devil Doc]

I'd sooner smoke a Muniemaker than a Perdomo. They're just not good cigars.

Doc.

 

[Brickhouse]

Just don't like the taste of any of them I've had, plain and simple. Nope, haven't smoked one that I'd buy a 5'er of.

 

[MandyPi]

Perhaps it is because I am relatively new to cigars, but I actually like Lot 23 (own a box) and the Frescos are a great price. Since I live in Miami, I have been to their factory and I must say they are extremely nice people and very welcoming. I am sure that I will be back again.

 

[Infinity]

Wow Jeff, I doubt this is what you wanted to hear. If you treat this as a poll, it's pretty decisive

Brian

 

[MilesMingusMonk]

From a marketing perspective it seemed like Perdomo was on a roll until 2003-2004, when the secondary cigar market was flooded with their bargain priced "seconds" and "mistakes". I suspect it hurt their MSRP market, and many smokers based their Perdomo experience on a lesser quality product.

They also appeared to be producing unique vitolas of their regular lines to sell to the big cigar retailers, who turned around and sold these unique sizes at reduced pricing, undercutting the regular retailers.

 

[MadMonk]

I havent liked anything in the reserve selections. Just no real flavor. I have smoked 3 Lot 23 in the natural wrapper. I thought they had good flavor and a med. body. I do want to try the habano. I also smoked their top-o-the-line cigar. It was a good cigar, from an objective standpoint, but nothing I would spend close to MSRP, and nothing I wouod choose above many other smokes.

 

[rectifythis]

As previously stated, I have found them to be seriously lacking in the flavor dept.

 

[Marcos]

Do you need to be head over heels for these cigars taste wise to take this position? You can still be passionate about the process and get good work done. Your tastes are your tastes, and if not liking these cigars will give you headaches at the new job then f-em. Best of luck!

 

[CigarStone]

Wow Jeff, I doubt this is what you wanted to hear. If you treat this as a poll, it's pretty decisive

Brian

It's not a real shock Brian because I feel the same way but I wanted the opinion of others. I think it's pretty conclusive, albeit a small number of inputs, they all say the exact same thing. It will all be okay.

Do you need to be head over heels for these cigars taste wise to take this position? You can still be passionate about the process and get good work done. Your tastes are your tastes, and if not liking these cigars will give you headaches at the new job then f-em. Best of luck!

No I don't need to love these cigars and I doubt seriously if I will even derive income from them but if I am going to socialize and work with these people, I want to be informed. Now if I can just keep from telling the wrong person "wow, your cigars suck" I should be fine.

 

[jfields]

Add me to the not too impressed list. I've even had a few that had about four years or more age on them that did nothing for me. Nicely made cigars that just did not have any flavor that jumped out at me.

I hope that your local owner is wanting to look at expanding his lines way beyond Perdomo and a few others. I hate it when you go into a shop that has just a stock of everyday yard gars, and then a few smatterings of what most would call premiums.

It's also a turn off when the owner is really big on one certain brand that he is always trying to steer you towards every time you go in.

 

[CigarStone]

Add me to the not too impressed list. I've even had a few that had about four years or more age on them that did nothing for me. Nicely made cigars that just did not have any flavor that jumped out at me.

I hope that your local owner is wanting to look at expanding his lines way beyond Perdomo and a few others. I hate it when you go into a shop that has just a stock of everyday yard gars, and then a few smatterings of what most would call premiums.

It's also a turn off when the owner is really big on one certain brand that he is always trying to steer you towards every time you go in.

Phil's connection in the industry have allowed him to get cigars which other young B&M's can't; he has been given access to the entire Fuente line already (including Opus X) and he has a decent selection of DPG, Padron, Oliva, etc. Although nobody buys the Serie 26 Padron because of how over-priced they are (hi Brian). One thing I have found from hanging out a great deal at the B&M is that 85% of the patrons smoke sub premium cigars and although they are willing to buy more expensive cigars (to patronize the shop) they don't have a clue what to spend their money on.

Here is my take on Perdomo at this point:

Perdomo makes fair priced cigars in the mild-medium flavor profile which most of us don’t care for, but probably do appeal to the average B&M buyer. Furthermore, it seems that almost all of their cigars fit into one of 4-5 vitolas, Robusto, Toro, or Churchill, 54 or 44 ring gauge, and no figurados.

These two issues may allow them to net a few more points of margin because they can employ lesser skilled rollers and they do not have to produce the super expensive tobacco. If this is a niche, and is by design, then they may very well be brilliant business people. If they attempt to tell me they make “better stuff” than Fuente, Tatuaje, DPG, or Padron for example, then we might have a problem.


THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR HONEST OPINIONS......KEEP EM COMING :thumbs:

 

[BlindedByScience]

I had a few when I started smoking good cigars and found the flavor profile to be very two dimensional. "Boring" might be a little strong, but it's fairly accurate. I will say this - I remember them as being very well constructed; I never recall having a draw or burn issue. That says something.

As far as "loving" them goes, you sure don't have to in order to represent them fairly in the store. I think every B&M I've ever been in has Acid's for sale. I've asked most; "....ever sell any of those..?..." and the answer has always been "...we sell a bunch of those..".

Represent the product accurately and without bias. If you get asked for an opinion, it's OK to have one, but keep in mind it's all about what the customer likes, which may not necessarily be what you like....

Cheers - B.B.S.

 

[nhcigarfan]

Construction - usually top quality.

I like the habana corojo and the signature sungrown but that's about it.

 

[Wurm]

I really like the red label 'P' Maduros. And so far thats the only Perdomo I've enjoyed.