Perdomo Legacy Maduro Gran Belicoso

Every so often, a new cigar line comes along that captures a bit more of my interest than others. One of those this year is the Perdomo Legacy, which was created by Nicholas Perdomo III as a tribute to his father, Nick Perdomo Jr., but also features a new hybrid tobacco developed by Perdomo and grown on the company’s Finca Natalie farm over the past several years.

That new tobacco is a Cuban-seed/Cameroon-seed hybrid that was developed by Perdomo during the 2014-2015 crop season and grown on the company’s Finca Natalie farm in Estelí, Nicaragua. That farm is named for Natalie Perdomo, Nicholas’ sister.

Much like Perdomo’s other lines, the Perdomo Legacy is offered in three different blends based primarily on their wrappers, with the headliner of the trio being the Perdomo Legacy Nicaraguan Shade-Grown, which uses the aforementioned hybrid seed as a wrapper, with each leaf getting 10 years of bale aging and then a minimum of 10 months of aging in spent bourbon barrels.  Underneath that wrapper is a Nicaraguan binder and filler. The company says that the mineral-rich volcanic soil created the perfect environment for cultivating a rich, flavorful tobacco that delivers a unique balance of strength, sweetness and spice. The company calls the blend medium-to-full bodied.

As is usual for a new Perdom line, there is an Ecuadorian-grown, Connecticut-seed wrapped version, with the wrapper getting 10 years of aging and which uses the hybrid leaf as its binder, with the filler coming from Nicaragua.

Finally, there is this blend, which uses a Nicaraguan maduro wrapper that also gets 10 years of age and a minimum of 14 months in bourbon barrels. It uses the Nicaraguan-grown hybrid for the binder and Nicaraguan fillers.

All three cigars are offered in the same five sizes and at the same price points:

• Perdomo Legacy Robusto (5 x 54) — $13 (Box of 24, $312)
• Perdomo Legacy Epicure (6 x 54) — $13.50 (Box of 24, $324)
• Perdomo Legacy Churchill (7 x 54) — $14 (Box of 24, $336)
• Perdomo Legacy Gordo (6 x 60) — $14.50 (Box of 24, $348)
• Perdomo Legacy Gran Belicoso (6 x 60) — $15 (Box of 10, $150)

The Gran Belicoso is notable for two reasons: first, it is the only size to get a box-press, and it is offered in 10-count boxes as opposed to the 24-count boxes used for the other sizes.

• Cigar Reviewed: Perdomo Legacy Maduro Gran Belicoso
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Tabacalera Perdomo S.A.
• Wrapper: Nicaragua (Maduro)
• Binder: Nicaragua (Cuban-seed/Cameroon Hybrid)
• Filler: NIcaragua
• Length: 6
• Ring Gauge: 60
• Shape: Pressed
• MSRP: $15 (Box of 10, $150)
• Release Date: May 2025
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

With its size and significant press, the Perdomo Legacy Maduro Gran Belicoso is an interesting-looking cigar, a vitola not often seen on store shelves. It feels like the front and back facings of the cigar are twice as wide as the sides, given the size of the cigar and how much of a press it gets. The cigars all look good, sporting a fairly dark brown wrapper with even coloration. The veins are visible but fairly small and do a decent job of disappearing into the wrapper. The seams are flat, the heads are tidy, and the presses appear to be done well. As with most box-pressed cigars, there’s more give front-to-back than there is side-to-side, with two of the three cigars still firm overall and the third a bit spongier. The feet of the first two have a cool aroma that reminds me of the most lightly toasted slice of wheat bread, dry brownie crumbs, and a cool creaminess in he background. The third cigar keeps those, but adds a wet mud smell as the leading and dominant smell. The cold draw is smooth with a mellow flavor as well, a little sweet but not leaning too far towards any one specific flavor. There’s some pepper on the finish, and I get a slight tingle on my lips from the tobacco, but otherwise it’s a fairly restrained flavor.

It takes a moment to all come together, but the first couple of puffs of the Perdomo Legacy Maduro Gran Belicoso have an impressive mix of creaminess, chocolate and pepper, a combination that feels like it would go well with a splash of espresso. The pepper has a tendency to do a bit too much; while fine in the first cigar, in the second cigar, it gets sharp on the front of my tongue, while the third’s is also pointed, and I find some irritation in my eyes from the smoke. As expected, retrohales are fairly lively with pepper but still manageable. While airflow is fine with a small cut off the head, I do consider taking a bit more off to get a bit more smoke with each puff. My suspicion that the sharp pepper suggested something might be amiss is proven correct a few moments later, as I find a bit of tar on the head of the second cigar, leading me to cut off a couple more millimeters. That not only gets rid of the problem, but opens up the airflow, which I think I like better. It’s an interesting first third that has much more variance than I would like, ranging from layered, complex, rich and lush to a profile marred by tar and its sharp sour and metallic flavor. Construction is very good, with plenty of smoke, smooth draws and an even burn line. Flavor is medium-plus, body is medium-plus and strength is mild.

The second third of the Perdomo Legacy Maduro Gran Belicoso starts with an offer of some creaminess, a bit of rocky earth, and a finish with a little peppery burn. Retrohales are really dialed in, delivering just the right amount of pepper to my nostrils. There are some moments where I get just a touch of a light, sweet baking chocolate that reminds me of meringue. For as good as that is in the first and third cigars, the tar issue returns in the second cigar, which means I have to clip a bit more of the head off, though it doesn’t yet affect the construction of that part of the cigar. Somewhere around the midpoint, the flavor loses some of its richness as the intensity mellows. That change makes the pepper a touch more noticeable, with that component lingering on my taste buds with a gentle tingle. Retrohales are still peppery and very enjoyable, a tick or two more intense than what I get from the flavor. I get a slight uptick in the flavor at the very end of this section, which has me looking forward to what the final third has in store. Flavor intensity is closer to medium in this section, as is body, while strength is medium-minus. Combustion issues emerge in two cigars, which necessitate a relight whenever I let puffs get too far spaced out.  The draw, smoke production, and burn line are all still good, however.

At the start of the final third, retrohales get more intense as both the body of the smoke and the pepper component increase. As teased at the end of the second third, the flavor gets fuller, led by a rich, dry earth with a touch of rockiness on the finish. While it can get a little rough in the final third as the flavor dries out and takes on a very dry, thin wood flavor, a counterbalancing creaminess and chocolate syrup emerge to provide balance. When everything is working in harmony, as they do in the first and third cigars, the experience is quite enjoyable and shows off what the blend is capable of. While I thought the final third of the second cigar might be salvageable, with each puff, that seems increasingly unlikely to happen. I don’t get the tar flavor coming back, but everything feels incongruent at best and rough at worst. This happens when a dry woodiness tends to go off the rails instead of contributing to the complexity, and gets compounded by the smoke getting hotter. Flavor finishes medium-full, body is medium-full and strength surges up to medium-plus by the end of the cigar. Combustion is better but still not perfect, as two of the three cigars require a relight. All three still smoke well otherwise, with plenty of smoke, a smooth draw, and an even burn line.

Final Notes

• You can hear Nicholas Perdomo III talk about the Perdomo Legacy in this video from the 2025 PCA Convention & Trade Show.
• After graduating from the University of Miami, Nicholas Perdomo III joined the company’s sales team as well as working at the company’s factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.
• In June 2019, he was promoted to national director of sales.
• I would have liked to see the backs of the band used to explain or expand upon the story behind the Perdomo Legacy; I love the backstory and think it should have been shared in every way possible.
• While they may not appear as ornate in pictures, the boxes of the Perdomo Legacy line are quite detailed and intricate in person, and definitely worthy of a closer look and feel to appreciate the design.
• Only the third cigar hit me with any nicotine strength, and even then, it was only in the final third and dissipates pretty quickly.
• While the difference in tobaccos used for the three blends creates some notably different profiles, I do think this would be an interesting line to do a side-by-side-by-side flavor comparison, if you’re up for smoking three cigars concurrently. If not, it’s worth trying all of them to see what commonalities they have, particularly in regards to the hybrid tobacco used in the blend.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.

• The company lists these as a 6 x 60 gran belicoso. The numbers above are the measurements we found for the three cigars used for this review.
• Final smoking time was two hours and 50 minutes on average.
• Site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Corona Cigar Co., and Famous Smoke Shop carry the Perdomo Legacy Maduro Gran Belicoso. JR Cigars carries the other four sizes but does not currently offer the Gran Belicoso.

Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and the G-League’s Valley Suns. I was previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League, and Goodyear Ballpark, spring training home of the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I’m a voiceover artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.