Perdomo Legacy Nicaraguan Shade Grown Epicure

Those familiar with Perdomo Cigars will appreciate the company’s methodical approach when it comes to… well, virtually every aspect of their business. It wouldn’t be surprising to see a stretch of five or more years without introducing a new line, which made the announcement of the Perdomo Legacy such a welcomed surprise earlier this year—arriving less than two years after the milestone Perdomo 30th Anniversary in 2023.

While that cigar pays homage to the company itself, the Perdomo Legacy was built with a more personal touch. Marking the first core-line Perdomo spearheaded by Nicholas Perdomo, III, the Legacy was made to honor his father, Nick Perdomo, Jr. The release coincides with Nick’s 60th birthday this year; however, in an interview with Cigar Dojo earlier this year, Nicholas emphasized that the timing was somewhat coincidental. “Nobody in my opinion, especially in the last three decades, is more deserving in our industry,” he said of his father. “Forget the fact he is my dad, but what he’s done, the changes, the way we do business in the industry, the way we merchandise, package our cigars, everything.”

Perdomo Legacy Nicaraguan Shade Grown Breakdown

Perdomo Legacy is said to have been in development for the past five years, with the incorporated tobaccos dating back even further—all of which are certified as 10-year aged. As with nearly every Perdomo line available, the Legacy is split between three varieties. Usually, this includes maduro, Connecticut, and sun-grown wrapper options, but the Legacy has swapped the latter for a shade-grown variety—the defining feature of the line.

This unique tobacco is a hybrid of Cameroon and Habano seeds, being grown under shade on a special side plot of land within the company’s Finca Natalie farm in Estelí, Nicaragua. The leaf appears as the wrapper component of the Shade Grown blend, as well as the binder on the Maduro and Connecticut blends. With the Shade Grown cigar, the blend is rounded out by all-Nicaraguan tobaccos from the Estelí, Condega, and Jalapa regions of the country, being bale-aged for 10 years and finished for an additional 10 months in spent bourbon barrels.

All three versions are rolled in the same five sizes. These are similar to Perdomo’s usual lineup, with the Gran Belicoso being the outlier. This cigar is soft-pressed (while all other sizes are traditional parejos) and packaged in special boxes of 10 cigars, which will ship only twice per year.

Appearance

The Legacy Epicure maintains the high construction standards Perdomo is known for, with a clean presentation that shows virtually no flaws—no bumps, no soft spots, and a firm feel in the hand that leans toward medium to medium-plus density. It’s a similar hue to Perdomo’s usual sun-grown wrapper (and perhaps a bit more oily), leaning more towards a Colorado rosado shade with a subtle red tint that catches the light nicely. The wrapper is smooth and well-finished, featuring delicate, fine veins and tightly placed seams that contribute to a refined look overall. Perdomo’s band work continues to walk the line between classic and contemporary, mirroring the company’s design language from recent core-line releases. The Legacy band is ornate without being flashy, showing rich metallic elements and an attractive symmetry.

Aromatically, the cigar is quite bright and expressive. From the wrapper, there’s a waft of cedar and faint tanginess, joined by an unexpected citrusy brightness that gives the cigar a clean, lively first impression. At the foot, there’s a deeper tone, offering mineral-driven earthiness, a touch of basil, and a dash of red pepper flake to keep things interesting. Once cut, the pre-light draw is near ideal, offering a medium-firm resistance with notes of black pepper, barnyard musk, and mineral-rich soil.

Smoking Experience

The Legacy Epicure opens with an immediate burst of flavor, landing a tangy sweetness on the front of the tongue and hinting early on that this isn’t your typical Perdomo profile. There’s a gentle, herbal spice through the retrohale—something in the realm of sage—that gradually sharpens into a familiar white pepper as the cigar settles in. As the retro intensifies, a touch of cinnamon joins the mix, adding warmth without overwhelming the senses. A slow, intentional draw brings out a floral-citrus brightness, giving the smoke a refreshing and surprisingly juicy quality that balances sweetness, subtle spice, and an unexpected twang.

Early on, what sets this cigar apart is its balance of sensations across both the retrohale and the palate. A slow, deliberate draw rewards you with a sweet floral-citrus note, while the backend transitions into a lightly toasted sourdough finish. The profile stays lively and bright, marked by a constant interplay of citrus twang, subtle florals, and refined spice. A light molasses note emerges toward the finish, rounding out the sweetness in a soft and complementary way. It feels distinctly Perdomo, yet undeniably evolved.

The draw is nearly flawless, delivering a medium to medium-plus smoke output with just enough resistance to stay engaging. Burn performance is solid, with a medium-gray ash that clings well for an inch and a half at a time. The burn line shows minor waviness early on, requiring a small correction around the midpoint but otherwise staying on track. Through this stretch, hints of toasted oak become more prominent, with an aroma of burnt sugar gently drifting in and out of the profile—more scent than flavor, but unmistakably present.

As the cigar progresses, the flavor grows fuller, yet not hitting you over the head with intensity. A soft vanilla tone emerges deep into the finish, lingering alongside subtle black peppercorn and a mineral character that continues to hit the tip and back sides of the tongue with a juicy, mouthwatering quality. The latter becomes the cigar’s defining trait—an almost Juicy Fruit gum-like character, not in sweetness or overt fruitiness, but in that uniquely tangy-sweet, palate-coating sensation.

Crossing into the latter half, the profile darkens slightly. The mouthwatering vibe remains, but with a shift toward more grounded territory—less sweet and more dry and toasty. Notes of toasted nutmeg, charred oak, and a hint of the aforementioned molasses take the lead, giving the cigar a more contemplative tone without losing the clean vibe that has defined the experience.

In terms of profile, the Legacy Shade Grown Epicure sits at a confident medium-full in flavor, with medium-plus strength and a body that climbs from medium to medium-full. It’s a nuanced and texturally complex smoke that rewards attention while remaining accessible and dialed-in throughout.

Would I Smoke This Cigar Again?

Ab…so…LUTELY! This is the most unique release from Perdomo since the Double Aged 12-Year Vintage line in 2014 (one of my all-time favorites), both in tobacco makeup and the experience itself. It’s the kind of innovation I like to see in the cigar world—where ingenuity on the farm or factory (tobacco processing, etc.) drives the narrative for the line. But at the end of the day, all the age and hybridization and growing techniques need to translate into a rewarding experience, and I’m pleased to declare that the Perdomo Legacy does just that. It’s a flavor-forward, mouthwatering cigar that could be enjoyed any time of day, being almost entirely maintenance free while simultaneously hitting a new level of complexity within the time-tested Perdomo portfolio.

• In our interview with Nicholas Perdomo, III, he talks about a special leaf from Condega being a major contributor to the profile. The leaf was brought forth by Nelson Cuba, director of operations for Perdomo in Nicaragua. Nicholas elaborated in the interview, “As I was going and… beating my head against the wall, trying to blend the best cigar possible in honor of my dad, and he said, ‘You got to try some of this tobacco—this is the miracle leaf.’ I said, ‘Okay,’ and so… I tried this tobacco, and basically, it’s like Jalapa and Estelí had a baby.”
• The shade-grown tobacco for this project has unique and deliberate origins. Estelí is typically known as filler country due to the region’s strong wind flow (among other factors), but Perdomo took an innovative approach by digging a trench-style farm eight feet below the rest of Finca Natalie. Cheesecloth was then placed over the field, allowing the winds from the east to be deflected by the higher surrounding ground. As the wind rolls gently over the cheesecloth, it helps preserve the delicate tobacco, making it possible to cultivate wrapper-grade leaf—an uncommon achievement in Estelí.
• Nick Perdomo, Jr. says this leads to a darker wrapper hue than commonly featured on shade-grown leaves, being more ruddy and oily as well.
• The Legacy line was first released exclusively through Two Guys Smoke Shop (a close retail partner with Perdomo) on May 8th, 2025. The cigars are set to begin their larger national release on June 23rd.
• The release strategy for Legacy is somewhat similar to the Double Aged 12-Year Vintage and 30th Anniversary collections, being smaller batches that are allocated to Perdomo’s top retail accounts.
• Packaging is familiar yet unique for Perdomo, setting itself apart with a bubble-top finish over the exterior of the lid (similar in feel to the soft, clear coating of XIKAR travel humidors).
• The bands are probably the best work from Perdomo to date, having an attractive holographic look and incredible detail/embossing.
• That said, they do look fairly similar to the recent Perdomo 30th Anniversary cigars. I’ll admit, when filming the cigars at the recent PCA trade show, I did multiple passes before realizing I’d accidentally been filming the 30th instead of the Legacy. Then again, it could also be looked at as uniformity between lines, leading to zero confusion as to the brand’s identity as a whole.
• So far, I’ve smoked the Shade Grown and the Connecticut. While both are fantastic, I’d say the Shade Grown is more unique, and is my preference of the two.
• I’ve always hoped Perdomo would add a fourth wrapper style to their usual three, which would be a bright/clean/citrusy Habano—essentially falling right between their conventional Connecticut and Sun Grown offerings (think Illusione Epernay or Crowned Heads Mil Días). This might not be the exact fulfillment of that hypothetical, but it’s pretty darn close.
• Currently, the Perdomo Legacy Nicaraguan Shade Grown cigar ranks on Dojoverse as “100% Smokable,” placing in the top 39 percent of cigars on the all-time leaderboard.

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