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Cigar Review: Perdomo's 20th Anniversary Sun Grown
It's cigar time again folks, and for today's review, I've got a pretty special one to share with you: Perdomo's 20th Anniversary Sun Grown. It's a great tasting, medium bodied smoke full of spice and earthy notes — at a great price point.
Available in 5 different vitolas, the 20th Anniversary Sun Grown cigar comes packaged in a 24 count box following Perdomo's classic schema for cigar boxes. The 5 different vitolas, or sizes, are the standard Robusto, Torpedo, Toro or Epicure, Churchill, and the not-so-standard Corona Grande, or double corona. Normally, I would be sampling the Robusto size of this cigar, but I am recently becoming a fan of skinnier and longer sticks, so I decided to sample the Corona Gorda/Grande today.
Construction wise, this 20th Anniversary cigar is available in a Maduro and a Sun Grown wrapper, much like Perdomo’s other hit line; the 10th Anniversary Champagne. I am a huge fan of Perdomo’s Sun Grown wrapper, which is not only aged for extra time in the hot sun, but then extra fermented, cedar aged, and then thrown in old bourbon barrels for about a year and a half to complete the process that creates this tasty and spicy leaf. The Sun Grown wrapper is smooth, with no obtrusive veins or imperfections in the leaf itself. The cigar was rolled properly, proving firm to the gentle squeeze test with no visible air pockets.
On the initial pre-light draw, I noticed a hint of gentle spice, not to be confused with pepper. No cracking or visible stems in the tip of the cigar, and the wrapper was smooth and sandy on my lips.
The initial post-light draw, after toasting the foot of the cigar, provided my taste buds with a rush of spice, light oily taste, and a slight hint of pepper to complement the spice. One of the reasons I absolutely love Perdomo's Sun Grown wrapper is because of the generous amounts of spice it provides, and the hint of pepper that normally accompanies it. The smoke was cool on the tongue, the ash was a bright white color, and it was quite soft. This cigar produced a fair amount of smoke, but it was not overwhelming in my small office/smoking den.
I could not keep a steady ash on this cigar; it was just completely and totally soft to the touch and fell right off. Mostly, I attribute this to the extra aging process, making the leaf itself different in nutrient and water retention. At the halfway point, this cigar changed in flavor slightly. The pepper content increased exponentially, followed by a significant amount of earthiness.
Overall, the 20th Anniversary Sun Grown is a cigar that I would most definitely recommend to my friends, customers, and my co-workers at SPC; but only if they were searching for a nice, spicy, medium bodied smoke. This cigar is trying hard to be a full bodied smoke, so I probably should categorize it as a Medium-to-Full. I won’t however, for the simple reason that there are cigars in our humidor that take “Full Bodied” to a whole new level.
Don’t let the lighter wrapper on this cigar fool you, folks: this cigar is a spice powerhouse. That being said, I’m going to give this smoke a 3.5/5 in the medium category. The price point is fantastic at $7.00 for a Corona Gorda, which is pretty much an extended Robusto anyway. A great tasting, medium bodied smoke full of spice and earthy notes at a great price point. Come grab a few and try them yourself!
Comments
Great review, enjoyed it and learned a lot. You're a good dude be well, RIP. I just wish we had more.
Just the kind of cigar I need now that you are gone. I will miss your handpicked recommendations at the store. RIP brother.
Ron, you will be missed. Rest in peace.
An excellent review. May your next ride find the sun always to your back, your two fists in the wind, and the horizon teasing you farther down that great mysterious road. RIP