Perdomo Inmenso Seventy Sun Grown Staff Review
Fat cigars have gone mainstream, and today I’m stretching my jaw around a Perdomo Inmenso Seventy Sun Grown in the 570 size, a five-inch smoke with a tubular 70-ring gauge. Once upon a time, cigars this fat were considered novelties and borderline obscene. Today, they’re legit, taking up shelf space beside the finest premiums you’ll find in humidors across the country. Let me get a bonfire started so I can fully light the foot of a cigar that’s wider than the tailpipe on my Ford pickup, as I offer my appraisal of the biggest cigar in the Perdomo portfolio.
Perdomo brand founder Nick Perdomo has built a substantial operation in Nicaragua where he owns his own farms and factory. Perdomo cigars are well known for their quality and value, and the big ring behemoths in the Inmenso line are no exception. For around $7-9, you’re getting a ton of cigar for your money, and they’re made from one-hundred percent premium Cuban-seed Nicaraguan tobaccos outfitted with a glistening Sun Grown Nicaraguan wrapper leaf – all of which are aged for five years. Inmenso cigars are five, six, or seven inches long. I’m playing it safe smoking the five-inch size called the 570.
Back when I was a newbie in the cigar biz over twenty years ago, Nick Perdomo was making a cigar called the Inmenso, which, at the time, was more of a gimmick. The original Inmensos also swelled to a 70-ring gauge, and they featured bright-yellow packaging with a black-and-white photo of an old lady on the box and an extra-fat cigar parked in her jaw. The caption read, “I allow my rollers to smoke one cigar a day.” The Inmenso Seventy that Nick makes today has shed its cartoonish bands and boxes in favor of shiny black-red-and-gold labels that fit in with the other premiums in the Perdomo portfolio, and there’s nothing gimmicky about them.
When I extract an Inmenso Seventy Sun Grown 570 from a fresh box, I’m impressed. The wrapper gleams in my hand, and the entire row of cigars in the box shows off Nick’s insistence on consistency. He’s a stickler for perfection and, like so many premium cigar-makers, fiercely proud of the products that bear his name. The Sun Grown 570 pulses with the aroma of fresh tobacco and leather the second I strip the cellophane off.
Now, I’m not going to lie. The Inmenso 570 is WAY thicker than any cigars I normally smoke, so it’s a little puzzling trying to figure out how to fit it in my mouth. But first, a proper cut is essential, and a 70-ring cigar is not something a standard cigar cutter can handle. I enlist the services of a Xikar X875 75 Ring Cutter, and I carefully position the blades over the cap before precisely chopping it off like a felled log. I try not to create an opening that’s too large, though. I just need to cut enough off to pull air through the cigar. The Inmenso sizes deliver massive plumes of smoke in every puff due to their girth.
At first, it’s uncomfortable to fit in my mouth, but once I spin the cigar around and moisten it with my lips, it’s less intimidating. My advice: don’t obsess over grasping the whole cigar with your lips. You just need to puff on the part of the cap that’s been cut. Earthy and rich notes of cedar and pepper spread over my palate in the cold draw. Lighting the cigar requires more patience too. It takes time to toast the entire foot, and Nick makes a lighter, the Perdomo Triple Torch Table Lighter, that accomplishes the task easily with three blistering jets.
Huge wafts of creamy smoke engulf my palate and fill the room before long. I taste a pleasant amalgam of sweet cedar, oak, chestnut, and spices. Hints of herbs and molasses add complexity, but the Inmenso is leathery and woody overall. I’m amazed how the ash stays intact as I smoke it down, but I wouldn’t roll the dice trying to get a long ash. You can make a big mess if it drops off unexpectedly, and that wouldn’t surprise me in a cigar this fat. Also, you can set an Inmenso down for a longer period between draws because the wide ash insulates the burn more aggressively. But choose an ashtray with a wide cigar rest. You might have to take a hubcap off your car.
The Perdomo Inmenso Seventy burns slow. After thirty minutes of smoking, I feel I’ve barely made a dent, and after fifty, I’m finally into the second half. Super fat smokes like this are blended exclusively for cigar lovers who like to take their time.
The cigar offers smooth and woody notes of coffee bean, pepper, and nuts that mingle with a touch of oak and cinnamon right up to the end. The Inmenso Seventy Sun Grown lasts well past an hour in the 570 size. I say smoke it if you’ve got an afternoon to kill and you’re curious about the way ring gauge affects a cigar’s flavor. My fellow aficionado, Zack D., reviewed the Perdomo Inmenso Seventy Maduro, too, if you’re after a darker, sweeter blend. Smoke them side by side. I’ll see you next year when you’re done.
