Tobacco Business

[ 40 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ JULY / AUGUST | 21 ] It’s not often that Perdomo Cigars releases something new, making each new release special. In June 2020, Perdomo came out with one of its new releases—the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Madu- ro, a cigar that was voted as Nicaraguan Cigar of the Year but also was overwhelmingly voted as Tobacco Business ’ overall Cigar of the Year for 2021. “We are so proud and honored that the Perdomo Reserve 10th An- niversary Maduro received the Nicaraguan Cigar of the Year! It simply means the world to me. It makes me emotional, and from the bottom of my heart I want to sincerely thank all of the retailers, industry peers and our consumers worldwide for this prestigious award,” states Nick Perdomo Jr., president and founder of Perdomo Cigars. Perdomo added, “The new Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro is a very special cigar for us because we don’t come out with many new cigars, as you well know. We really wanted to blend something that was so special that everyone would be able to pick up on the nuances of the special hand selected maduro wrappers that we grew. Together with fillers from Jalapa Valley, I put more of these fantastic fillers in because of their sweet and aromatic flavors togeth- er with more powerful tobaccos from Condega and the Estelí valleys. I really believe we had a home run with the cigar, and it's extremely popular in the marketplace.” Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro was originally slated to be released in February 2020, but it was delayed until June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Once announced, this cigar mostly sold simply based on word-of-mouth and online hype. For the first four months that the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro was available, Perdomo’s sales team didn’t have samples for retail- ers, but most placed orders based on the respect they have for the Perdomo family and its attention to detail and quality in terms of its premium cigar products. The company sold out container after con- tainer of this cigar after it was released with the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro, easily becoming one of the in-demand new releases of 2020. This particular cigar took over two years to develop. This cigar’s blend was a team effort—in addition to Nick Perdomo Jr., Perdomo’s blending team with over 300 years of smoking experience worked closely alongside Perdomo vice president Arthur Kemper and director of sales Nicholas Perdomo III to zero in and focus on getting the blend for the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro just right. The blend wasn’t considered complete and ready for release until there was a consensus among all involved in the blending process that the cigar was one of the best everyone had smoked. The final blend was one that Perdomo was sure would sell for the retailers and be widely accepted among a wide range of cigar smokers. “To be truthful, we are always swinging for the fences. Our job is for our retailers to trust in us, and they really do. For our consumers, we aim for them to echo these words: ‘We love and trust every cigar that Perdomo makes!’ That is what we work so hard for. I wanted a cigar that would hit many palates. I wanted people to really fall in love with this cigar. That is what we wanted, and thankfully what happened after we developed this special blend. We are so blessed that the smoker loves it so much,” says Perdomo. The Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro sports a stun- ning blue band, a color loved by both Nick Perdomo Jr. and Arthur Kemper. Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary features filler tobaccos from the three most fertile valleys in Nicaragua: the Jalapa Valley, known for its sweet and aromatic flavors; the Condega Valley, which imparts a tremendous aroma and earthy flavor; and Estelí, that gives the blend much of its complexity and richness. Nick Perdomo Jr. de- scribes this cigar as being very complex, smooth and extremely well balanced with a solid tobacco core of flavor. “It’s a fantastic cigar with hints of dark chocolate, espresso and natural sweetness from the dark and oily wrapper,” Perdomo says. I would definitely recommend pairing the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro with great bourbons, single malt scotches, dark sipping rums, mescal, smoky tequilas, big red wines, and dark coffees and espressos.” For those that have already or will smoke the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro, Nick Perdomo Jr. wants you to know that this cigar is a line extension of the Perdomo family itself. The aver- age Perdomo worker has worked for the company an average of 19 years, and 10 months and that is the secret to the company’s success, and the consistency of its products, something he is very proud of in addition to Perdomo’s reputation for its attention to detail and pas- sion for premium tobacco and cigars. Nicaraguan Cigar of the Year: Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro TOP CIGARS 24 THE TOBACCO BUSINESS AWARDS | 2021