Perdomo 20th Anniversary Sun Grown Staff Review
Give me great golf ‘gars, or give me death! Actually, I’m smoking Perdomo 20th Anniversary Sun Grown in a chunky 7 by 56 Churchill, a size that’s normally a bit big for my tastes, but in today’s review, I’m surveying the smoking time along with the flavor. The second the weather breaks during the spring, I’m booking tee times left and right whenever there’s a spare moment in my schedule, which isn’t often with two kids – all the more reason I treasure an afternoon on the fairway and can’t be bothered with mediocre cigars.
Perdomo cigars typically fit the bill when I’m golfing. They’re well made, consistent, and they don’t cost a fortune. I can share them with my golfing buddies without breaking the bank, and they taste great with ice-cold beer. Brand founder Nick Perdomo is known for following rigorous quality control measures from the time the seeds are planted and the tobacco is harvested, aged, and handcrafted into the attractive smokes that populate his big portfolio of premium handmades.
I’ve already reviewed the Perdomo 20th Anniversary Maduro, which passes my litmus test for taste and aroma. Nick launched the 20th Anniversary line in 2012 to commemorate twenty years in business, and his company has grown by leaps and bounds in the decade since. Let’s pop the hood on a bulky seven-inch Churchill in Nick’s signature Sun Grown Nicaraguan wrapper with the 20th Anniversary blend.
When you crack the lid on a fresh box of Perdomo, a neat row of completely uniform cigars greets the eye. The packaging is sleek and straightforward, and each cigar is finished in a classy band with shiny gold accents. The thick and oily Cuban-seed wrapper leaf gleams over a beefy core of Cuban-seed long-fillers grown on Perdomo farms in Estelí, Jalapa, and Condega. The tobaccos in 20th Anniversary are harvested from a high priming, and they’re aged for at least eight years for maximum flavor and smoothness. Plus, Nick ages the wrapper for another ten months in a bourbon barrel to achieve a unique, oaky sweetness.
I have yet to discover a single soft spot in a Perdomo cigar when I perform a quick pinch test, and the plump Churchill I’ve just cut exceeds my expectations with its steady density. The cold draw is characterized by a woody and sweet sequence with noticeable hints of pepper. This substantial smoke is promising out of the gates.
A few blasts from my triple-flame torch unleashes a creamy torrent of black pepper and nuts with a bit of brown sugar on the backend. Perdomo 20th Anniversary Sun Grown opens up gradually, but patience is called for. The Churchill is a big cigar, and I’m anticipating it’ll burn for an hour-plus. Notes of coffee bean, nutmeg, and leather roll over the palate in cool and easy draws. Because the construction is superb, I can set the cigar down for more than a minute, and it continues to deliver seamless streams of rich smoke when I pick it back up – a critical quality for any cigar I take to the golf course. The extra thickness of the Churchill guarantees it’ll fit nice and snug in the cigar clip I mount on the cart.
Perdomo 20th Anniversary Sun Grown develops with notes of molasses and walnut while its earthy spice increases in intensity. More than thirty minutes have passed before I’m halfway through, and I’ve only had to tap the ash off three or four times. The meaty and zesty taste of the 20th Sun Grown makes this a solid cigar to follow an afternoon barbecue. Most Perdomo cigars are medium to full-bodied, but they stop short of overwhelming your palate with too much pepper or nicotine, and the bigger ring gauge provides plenty of balance.
By the time I get into the final stretch, fifty-five minutes are off the clock, and I’ve got a good twenty left to go. When I peel off the band, I can’t help but crave a neat bourbon. Perdomo 20th Anniversary Sun Grown is like a full meal when you smoke it in the Churchill. The finish is oaky and smoky, and you can taste the influence of Nick’s trademark barrel-aging process. Notes of coffee bean and leather add complexity to the cigar’s hearty conclusion.
If you enjoy Perdomo Habano Sun Grown in particular, the 20th Anniversary Sun Grown should be at the top of your list of Perdomo cigars to smoke. Taste the differences between every Sun Grown cigar Nick makes in the 12-cigar Perdomo Sun Grown Connoisseur Collection.
