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{{Short description|Nicaraguan-American cigar brand}}
{{Advert|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Perdomo-band.jpg|thumb|right|350px|[[cigar band|Band]] from Perdomo Habano cigar.]]
[[File:Perdomo-band.jpg|thumb|right|350px|[[cigar band|Band]] from Perdomo Habano cigar.]]
'''Perdomo''' is a brand of [[cigars]] primarily grown and produced in [[Nicaragua]] and sold worldwide by Tabacalera Perdomo. The company, launched and headed by third generation cigarmaker Nick Perdomo, Jr. in 1992, is based today in [[Miami Lakes, Florida]].
'''Perdomo''' is a brand of [[cigars]] primarily grown and produced in [[Nicaragua]] and sold worldwide by Tabacalera Perdomo. Manufactured by Perdomo Cigars, the company is a family owned and operated business headquartered in [[Miami Lakes, Florida]] and headed by CEO Nick Perdomo, Jr.


==Company history==
==Company history==


===Forerunners===
===[[Forerunners of Modern Socialism|Forerunners]]===


Today's Tabacalera Perdomo traces its roots to the town of [[San Jose de las Lajas, Cuba]], about 17 miles (27&nbsp;km.) southeast of [[Havana]], where company patriarch Silvio Perdomo was raised.<ref name="History">[http://www.perdomocigars.com/ "History,"] perdomocigars.net/ Retrieved September 14, 2010.</ref> Perdomo went into the [[cigar]] industry as a young man, serving his apprenticeship for [[Cuesta y Cia]] in the early 1930s.<ref name="History" /> Silvio left that company's employ in 1937 to go to work for [[H. Upmann]], where he remained until 1945.<ref name="History" /> In 1945, Silvio Perdomo left H. Upmann to go to work in a managerial position at [[Partagas]], where he stayed until 1959.<ref name="History" />
Tabacalera Perdomo traces its roots to the town of [[San Jose de las Lajas, Cuba]], about 17 miles (27&nbsp;km.) southeast of [[Havana]], where company founder Silvio Perdomo was raised.<ref name="History">[http://www.perdomocigars.com/ "History,"] perdomocigars.net/ Retrieved September 14, 2010.</ref> Perdomo went into the [[cigar]] industry as a young man, serving his apprenticeship for [[Cuesta y Cia]] in the early 1930s.<ref name="History" /> Silvio left that company's employ in 1937 to go to work for [[H. Upmann]], where he remained until 1945.<ref name="History" /> In 1945, Silvio Perdomo left H. Upmann to go to work in a managerial position at [[Partagas]], where he stayed until 1959.<ref name="History" />


Silvio Perdomo's son, Nicholas Perdomo Sr., followed his father into the cigar making trade, beginning his apprenticeship in 1948 for [[Marin & Trujillo]].<ref name="History" /> Following the completion of his apprenticeship, Nick Senior joined his father as an executive at Partagas.<ref name="History" /> He eventually went to work as a top executive at the H. Upmann factory, the largest cigar manufacturing facility in Cuba.<ref>Nick Perdomo, [http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thewinewench/2010/08/19/up-close-personal-with-nick-perdomo-president-of-p Interview with The Wine Wench], Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 1:54 mark.</ref>
Silvio Perdomo's son, Nicholas Perdomo Sr. (Nick Senior), soon followed his father into the cigar making trade, beginning his apprenticeship in 1948 for [[Marin & Trujillo]].<ref name="History" /> Following the completion of his apprenticeship, Nick Senior joined his father as an executive at Partagas.<ref name="History" /> He later began work as a top executive at the H. Upmann factory, the largest cigar manufacturing facility in Cuba.<ref>Nick Perdomo, [http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thewinewench/2010/08/19/up-close-personal-with-nick-perdomo-president-of-p Interview with The Wine Wench] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100815043924/http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thewinewench/2010/08/19/up-close-personal-with-nick-perdomo-president-of-p |date=2010-08-15 }}, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 1:54 mark.</ref>


Following the [[Cuban Revolution]] of 1959, Silvio Perdomo was arrested by revolutionaries and imprisoned at the [[Isla de los Pinos]] prison, where he was held in harsh conditions for three years.<ref name="History" /> He was then transferred to captivity at the La Cabana fortress overlooking Habana Bay. He spent the next 12 years in prison at La Cabana and four other facilities as an enemy of the revolution of [[Fidel Castro]].<ref name="History" /> Silvio was finally allowed to emigrate to the United States in 1974.<ref>Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 3:54 mark.</ref>
Following the [[Cuban Revolution]] of 1959, Silvio Perdomo was arrested by revolutionaries and imprisoned at the [[Isla de los Pinos]] prison, where he was held for three years.<ref name="History" /> He was then transferred to captivity at the La Cabana fortress overlooking Habana Bay. He spent the next 12 years in prison at La Cabana and four other facilities as an enemy of the revolution of [[Fidel Castro]].<ref name="History" /> Silvio emigrated to the United States in 1974.<ref>Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 3:54 mark.</ref>


Nick Senior was also targeted by revolutionaries. He later recalled "The political views of my family and I were very [[anti-communist]], and [[Fulgencio Batista|President Fulgencio Batista]] used to visit the factories frequently. Batista didn't smoke cigars but, because it's one of Cuba's main exports, he was very interested in what my father and I were doing with the different cigar shapes and styles we were experimenting with."<ref name="History" /> Nick Senior fought as a guerrilla against the communist forces during the revolution. He was shot twice in a fire fight and later removed from the hospital on a gurney to escape summary execution.<ref>Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 4:27 mark.</ref>
Nick Senior was also targeted by revolutionaries. He later recalled "The political views of my family and I were very [[anti-communist]], and [[Fulgencio Batista|President Fulgencio Batista]] used to visit the factories frequently. Batista didn't smoke cigars but, because it's one of Cuba's main exports, he was very interested in what my father and I were doing with the different cigar shapes and styles we were experimenting with."<ref name="History" /> Nick Senior fought as a guerrilla against the communist forces during the revolution. He was shot twice in a firefight and later removed from the hospital on a gurney to escape [[summary execution]].<ref>Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 4:27 mark.</ref>


After recovering through the aid of a friend, Nick Senior emigrated to the United States via the [[Uruguay]]an Embassy<ref>Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 3:41 mark.</ref> with the help of a sponsorship of the [[Catholic Church]].<ref name="History" /> Nick Senior settled in [[Washington, DC]], his connection with the cigar manufacturing industry severed. Alone in Washington, DC, he began his life as an immigrant to American working as a janitor in a mental institution for $11 per week, eventually rising to become one of the biggest [[general contractors]] in the state of [[Florida]].<ref>Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 5:33 mark.</ref>
After recovering through the aid of a friend, Nick Senior emigrated to the United States via the [[Uruguay]]an Embassy<ref>Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 3:41 mark.</ref> with the help of a sponsorship from the [[Catholic Church]].<ref name="History" /> His connection with the cigar manufacturing industry severed, Nick Senior settled near [[Washington, DC]] and resumed his life as an immigrant working as a janitor in a mental institution for $11 per week.


===Establishment===
===Establishment===


In 1976, Nick Perdomo Sr. and his family, including son Nicholas Perdomo Jr., moved from the city in which they had lived, [[Baltimore, Maryland]], to [[Miami, Florida]] so that they could be closer to relatives there.<ref name="JunioBio">[http://www.perdomocigars.com/ "Biography: Nick Perdomo, Jr.,"] perdomocigars.com/ Retrieved September 14, 2010.</ref> Nick Junior attended school in Miami before joining the [[U.S. Navy]], in which he served as an [[air traffic controller]].<ref name="JunioBio" /> Following completion of his military stint, Nick Junior gained employment in the same field at [[Miami International Airport]].<ref name="JunioBio" />
In 1976, Nick Perdomo Sr. and his family, including son Nicholas Perdomo Jr. (Nick Junior), moved from the city in which they had lived, [[Baltimore, Maryland]], to [[Miami, Florida]] to be closer to relatives.<ref name="JunioBio">[http://www.perdomocigars.com/ "Biography: Nick Perdomo, Jr.,"] perdomocigars.com/ Retrieved September 14, 2010.</ref> Nick Junior attended Hialeah High School before joining the [[U.S. Navy]], in which he served as an [[air traffic controller]].<ref name="JunioBio" /> Following completion of his military stint, Nick Junior gained employment in the same field at [[Miami International Airport]].<ref name="JunioBio" />


Nick Junior determined to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather as a cigarmaker, although all he knew about the product firsthand was smoking them.<ref name="World">David Savona, [http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Profiles/Cigar_Stars_Profile/0,2547,141,00.html "The World According to Perdomo,"] ''Cigar Aficionado,'' December 2001.</ref> In August 1992 he launched a home business in his garage, the humble beginnings of today's Tobacalera Perdomo.<ref name="JunioBio" /> The new company in Miami was named "Nick's Cigar Co."
Nick Junior felt the urge to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather as a cigarmaker, despite his industry inexperience.<ref name="World">David Savona, [http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Profiles/Cigar_Stars_Profile/0,2547,141,00.html "The World According to Perdomo,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100223015016/http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Profiles/Cigar_Stars_Profile/0,2547,141,00.html |date=2010-02-23 }} ''Cigar Aficionado,'' December 2001.</ref> In August 1992, he started a business based out of his garage, marking the beginning of today's Tabacalera Perdomo.<ref name="JunioBio" /> The company in Miami was named "Nick's Cigar Co."


Nick Junior initially retained his well paying job as an air traffic controller and worked at his startup cigar brand in the evenings. In its initial phase the tiny company employed just three rollers, with Nick Junior and his wife Janine working as packers.<ref name="World" /> Perdomo chose to buck the prevailing trend in the cigar industry, which was skewing towards mild cigars, by making a full-bodied product using [[wrapper (cigar)|wrappers]] from [[Ecuador]] and [[filler (cigar)|fillers]] from Central America.<ref name="World" /> This decision proved to be a sage one, as the flood of new cigar smokers of the 1990s predictably came to develop a taste for a spicier product.
Nick Junior initially retained his well paying job as an air traffic controller and worked at his startup cigar brand in the evenings. In its initial phase, the company employed three rollers, with Nick Junior and his wife Janine working as packers.<ref name="World" /> Nick Junior sought to reject the prevailing trend in the cigar industry, which was skewing towards mild cigars. He instead focused on making a product using [[wrapper (cigar)|wrappers]] from [[Ecuador]] and [[filler (cigar)|fillers]] from Central America, thus changing the flavor of the cigars.<ref name="World" /> This decision proved to be a wise choice, as the flood of new cigar smokers in the 1990's developed tastes for spicier products.


In his first year, "Nick's Cigars" produced and sold just 9,400 cigars, but the business expanded rapidly.<ref>Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 29:32 mark.</ref> By 1997 he had reached the limits of production at his small Miami facility and a move was necessitated to [[Ybor City, Florida|Ybor City]], near [[Tampa]], a historic home of American cigarmaking.<ref name="World" /> This facility proved unsatisfactory, however, due to the prohibitively high cost of production in the United States.<ref name="World" />
In his first year, "Nick's Cigars" produced and sold just 9,400 cigars, but the business expanded rapidly.<ref>Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 29:32 mark.</ref> By 1997 he had reached the limits of production at his small Miami facility and a move was necessitated to [[Ybor City, Florida|Ybor City]], near [[Tampa]], a historic area for American cigarmaking.<ref name="World" /> This facility proved unsatisfactory, however, due to the prohibitively high cost of production in the United States.<ref name="World" />


Perdomo also expanded production abroad during the [[cigar boom]] of the 1990s, with Nick Senior coming out of retirement in 1997 to help open a production facility in [[Estelí, Nicaragua]].<ref>Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 7:24 mark.</ref> This move "really saved our company," Nick Junior retrospectively recalled.<ref>Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 7:27 mark.</ref> The company sold 1 million cigars for the first time in that year.<ref>Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 29:49 mark.</ref>
Perdomo also expanded production abroad during the [[cigar boom]] of the 1990s, with Nick Senior coming out of retirement in 1997 to help open a production facility in [[Estelí, Nicaragua]].<ref>Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 7:24 mark.</ref> The company sold 1 million cigars in that year.<ref>Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 29:49 mark.</ref>


This facility was rapidly outgrown and was replaced with a custom-built facility in the same city in 1999.<ref name="World" />
This facility proved to not have a large enough capacity to keep up and was replaced with a custom-built facility in the same city in 1999.<ref name="World" />


===Development===
===Development===


Perdomo created a stir during the cigar boom of the 1990s with the introduction of the Perdomo² ("Perdomo squared"), one of the first [[box-pressed cigar|box-pressed]] cigars of the period.<ref>Richard B. Perelman, ''Perelman's Pocket Cyclopedia of Cigars.'' Los Angeles: Perelman, Pioneer & Co., 2010; pp. 518-519.</ref>
Perdomo introduced the Perdomo² ("Perdomo squared") in the 1990s during the cigar boom, one of the first [[box-pressed cigar|box-pressed]] cigars of the period.<ref>Richard B. Perelman, ''Perelman's Pocket Cyclopedia of Cigars.'' Los Angeles: Perelman, Pioneer & Co., 2010; pp. 518-519.</ref>


In April 1999, Perdomo was approached by Cano A. Ozgener, head of [[C.A.O. International]], with a proposition to produce its C.A.O. L'Anniversaire line, patterned after the legendary Partagas Serie D No. 4.<ref name="World" /> Ozgener was losing his manufacturing plant, [[Tabacalera Tambor]] of [[Costa Rica]], manufacturer of the Bahia brand and needed a new partner to keep his popular product in production and Perdomo was chosen over other suitors.<ref name="World" /> A mutually beneficial partnership resulted which aided in the expansion of the Perdomo operation.
In April 1999, Perdomo was approached by Cano A. Ozgener, head of [[C.A.O. International]], with a proposition to produce its C.A.O. L'Anniversaire line, patterned after the legendary Partagas Serie D No. 4.<ref name="World" /> Ozgener was in the process of losing his manufacturing plant, [[Tabacalera Tambor]] in [[Costa Rica]], manufacturer of the Bahia brand and was in need of a new partner to keep his product in production and Perdomo was chosen over other potential partners.<ref name="World" /> A mutually beneficial partnership resulted which aided in the expansion of the Perdomo operation.


By 2001, Tabacalera Perdomo was employing 622 people in [[Central America]] as well as 24 in the United States, who were projected to make 10 million cigars for the year.<ref name="World" />
By 2001, Tabacalera Perdomo employed 622 people in [[Central America]] as well as 24 in the United States, who were projected to make 10 million cigars for the year.<ref name="World" />


The company produces a wide range of handmade cigars ranging from entry-level bundled products to its flagship, the Perdomo Patriarch. In addition, Perdomo produces a wide array of products on behalf of other companies, including retailing giant [[Thompson & Co.]] and cigar distributor [[Philips and King]].<ref name="NewStart">David Savona, [http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Archives/CA_Show_Article/0,2322,1420,00.html "Nicaragua: The New Start for Nicaragua."] ''Cigar Aficionado,'' November/December 2003.</ref>
The company produces a wide range of handmade cigars ranging from entry-level bundled products to its flagship, the Perdomo Patriarch. Perdomo produces a wide array of products on behalf of other companies, including retailing giant [[Thompson & Co.]] and cigar distributor [[Philips and King]], in addition to their own products.<ref>David Savona, [http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Archives/CA_Show_Article/0,2322,1420,00.html "Nicaragua: The New Start for Nicaragua."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100210230023/http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Archives/CA_Show_Article/0,2322,1420,00.html |date=2010-02-10 }} ''Cigar Aficionado,'' November/December 2003.</ref>


===Company today===
===Company today===


Today Perdomo's manufacturing operation is based in an {{convert|88000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} facility in Estelí, Nicaragua,<ref name="JunioBio" /> known colloquially as "El Monstro" (The Monster).<ref>[http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/31/1754923/miami-lakes-vice-mayor-sues-over.html "Miami Lakes Vice Mayor Sues Over Criticism,"] ''Miami Herald,'' July 31, 2010.</ref> The building is the second-largest cigarmaking facility in Nicaragua, trailing only the factory of [[Nicaraguan American Tobaccos S.A.]] (NATSA), also located in Estelí.<ref name="NewStart">David Savona, [http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Archives/CA_Show_Article/0,2322,1420,00.html "Nicaragua: The New Start for Nicaragua,"] ''Cigar Aficionado,'' November–December 2003.</ref> Headquarters are located in [[Miami Lakes, Florida]].
Today Perdomo's manufacturing operation is based in an {{convert|88000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} facility in Estelí, Nicaragua,<ref name="JunioBio" /> known colloquially as "El Monstro" (The Monster).<ref>[http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/31/1754923/miami-lakes-vice-mayor-sues-over.html "Miami Lakes Vice Mayor Sues Over Criticism,"] ''Miami Herald,'' July 31, 2010.</ref> The building is the second-largest cigarmaking facility in Nicaragua, trailing only the factory of [[Nicaraguan American Tobaccos S.A.]] (NATSA), also located in Estelí.<ref name="NewStart">David Savona, [http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Archives/CA_Show_Article/0,2322,1420,00.html "Nicaragua: The New Start for Nicaragua,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100210230023/http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Archives/CA_Show_Article/0,2322,1420,00.html |date=2010-02-10 }} ''Cigar Aficionado,'' November–December 2003.</ref> Headquarters are located in [[Miami Lakes, Florida]].


Over 2,000 people were employed by the company in 2010, according to the company's website.<ref name="JunioBio" /> Among those who have worked for the company is [[Ernesto Padilla]], a Cuban-American graphic artist that worked in the Perdomo marketing department before leaving to establish with his brother Carlos their own eponymous brand of cigars in 2003.
Over 2,000 people were employed by the company in 2010, according to the company's website.<ref name="JunioBio" />


Nick Perdomo, Jr. remains as President and [[Chief Executive Officer]] of Tabacalera Perdomo, while his wife, the [[New Jersey]]-born Janine Perdomo, serves Vice President of Operations.<ref>[http://www.perdomocigars.com/ "Biography: Janine Perdomo,"] perdomocigars.com/ Retrieved September 14, 2010.</ref> The couple's son, Nicholas Perdomo III (born c. 1992), is being groomed as heir to the Tabacalera Perdomo throne, being taught every aspect of the cigar making process from planting to packaging during 13 summers in Nicaragua.<ref>Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 30:29 mark.</ref>
Nick Perdomo, Jr. remains as President and [[Chief Executive Officer]] of Tabacalera Perdomo, while his wife, Janine Perdomo, serves as Vice President of Operations.<ref>[http://www.perdomocigars.com/ "Biography: Janine Perdomo,"] perdomocigars.com/ Retrieved September 14, 2010.</ref> The couple's son, Nicholas Perdomo III (born c. 1992), is being taught every aspect of the cigar making process from planting to packaging. Their daughter, Natalie (born c. 1995), graduated from the University of Alabama in 2017 and is working for the company now in marketing and advertising.<ref>Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 30:29 mark.</ref>

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}


==Perdomo products==
==Perdomo products==
(active)

* PERDOMO 30TH ANNIVERSARY
* PERDOMO DOUBLE-AGED 12 YEAR VINTAGE
* PERDOMO 20TH ANNIVERSARY
* PERDOMO 10TH ANNIVERSARY
* PERDOMO HABANO BOURBON BARREL-AGED
* PERDOMO PERDOMO LOT 23
* PERDOMO INMENSO SEVENTY
* PERDOMO PERDOMO FRESCO
(inactive)
* Perdomo
* Perdomo
* Perdomo Exhibicion
* Perdomo Exhibicion
* Perdomo Small Batch Series
* Perdomo Small Batch Series
* Perdomo Factory Tour Blend
* Perdomo Factory Tour Blend
* Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage
* Perdomo Special Craft Series
* Perdomo Special Craft Series
* Perdomo Estate Seleccion Vintage
* Perdomo Estate Seleccion Vintage
Line 63: Line 70:
* Perdomo² (squared)
* Perdomo² (squared)
* Perdomo Edición de Silvio
* Perdomo Edición de Silvio
* Perdomo Fresco
* Perdomo Gran Cru
* Perdomo Gran Cru
* Perdomo Habano
* Perdomo Inmenso
* Perdomo Lot 23
* Perdomo Moments
* Perdomo Moments
* Perdomo 20th Anniversary
* Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary
* Perdomo Reserve Golf
* Perdomo Reserve Golf
* Cuban Bullet
* Cuban Bullet
* Don Rios
* Dos Rios
* Genuine Cuban Counterfeits
* Genuine Cuban Counterfeits
* La Tradición Cabinet Series
* La Tradición Cabinet Series
* Nick's Sticks
* Nick's Sticks
* Tierra del Sol
* Tierra del Sol

⚫
==See also==
⚫
*[[List of cigar brands]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.perdomocigars.com/ Tabacalera Perdomo homepage], perdomocigars.net/ Retrieved September 14, 2010. <small>Age verification required.</small>
*[http://www.perdomocigars.com/ Tabacalera Perdomo homepage], perdomocigars.net/ Retrieved September 14, 2010. <small>Age verification required.</small>
* [http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=33077077860 Perdomo Cigars Facebook page], facebook.com/ Retrieved September 14, 2010.
* [http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=33077077860 Perdomo Cigars Facebook page], facebook.com/ Retrieved September 14, 2010.
* [http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=33077077860 ''1000 Hands,''] Perdomo factory tour video. youtube.com/ Retrieved September 14, 2010.
* [http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=33077077860 ''1000 Hands,''] Perdomo factory tour video. youtube.com/ Retrieved September 14, 2010.
* [http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=103191176378734&oid=33077077860 "The Perdomo Factory Tour uncut trailer,"] facebook.com/ Retrieved September 14, 2010.
* [http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=103191176378734&oid=33077077860 "The Perdomo Factory Tour uncut trailer,"] facebook.com/ Retrieved September 14, 2010.
* The Wine Wench, [http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thewinewench/2010/08/19/up-close-personal-with-nick-perdomo-president-of-p Interview with Nick Perdomo Jr.], Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010.
* The Wine Wench, [http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thewinewench/2010/08/19/up-close-personal-with-nick-perdomo-president-of-p Interview with Nick Perdomo Jr.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100815043924/http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thewinewench/2010/08/19/up-close-personal-with-nick-perdomo-president-of-p |date=2010-08-15 }}, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010.
* [http://perdomocigars.com.au/ Perdomo Cigars Australia], perdomocigars.com.au/ Retrieved November 29, 2010.
* [http://perdomocigars.com.au/ Perdomo Cigars Australia], perdomocigars.com.au/ Retrieved November 29, 2010.

⚫
==See also==

⚫
* [[List of cigar brands]]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Perdomo (cigar brand)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perdomo (cigar brand)}}
[[Category:Companies established in 1992]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1992]]
[[Category:Cigar brands]]
[[Category:Cigar brands]]
[[Category:Cigar manufacturing companies]]
[[Category:Cigar manufacturing companies]]
[[Category:1992 establishments in Florida]]

Latest revision as of 23:09, 15 September 2024

Band from Perdomo Habano cigar.

Perdomo is a brand of cigars primarily grown and produced in Nicaragua and sold worldwide by Tabacalera Perdomo. Manufactured by Perdomo Cigars, the company is a family owned and operated business headquartered in Miami Lakes, Florida and headed by CEO Nick Perdomo, Jr.

Company history

[edit]

Forerunners

[edit]

Tabacalera Perdomo traces its roots to the town of San Jose de las Lajas, Cuba, about 17 miles (27 km.) southeast of Havana, where company founder Silvio Perdomo was raised.[1] Perdomo went into the cigar industry as a young man, serving his apprenticeship for Cuesta y Cia in the early 1930s.[1] Silvio left that company's employ in 1937 to go to work for H. Upmann, where he remained until 1945.[1] In 1945, Silvio Perdomo left H. Upmann to go to work in a managerial position at Partagas, where he stayed until 1959.[1]

Silvio Perdomo's son, Nicholas Perdomo Sr. (Nick Senior), soon followed his father into the cigar making trade, beginning his apprenticeship in 1948 for Marin & Trujillo.[1] Following the completion of his apprenticeship, Nick Senior joined his father as an executive at Partagas.[1] He later began work as a top executive at the H. Upmann factory, the largest cigar manufacturing facility in Cuba.[2]

Following the Cuban Revolution of 1959, Silvio Perdomo was arrested by revolutionaries and imprisoned at the Isla de los Pinos prison, where he was held for three years.[1] He was then transferred to captivity at the La Cabana fortress overlooking Habana Bay. He spent the next 12 years in prison at La Cabana and four other facilities as an enemy of the revolution of Fidel Castro.[1] Silvio emigrated to the United States in 1974.[3]

Nick Senior was also targeted by revolutionaries. He later recalled "The political views of my family and I were very anti-communist, and President Fulgencio Batista used to visit the factories frequently. Batista didn't smoke cigars but, because it's one of Cuba's main exports, he was very interested in what my father and I were doing with the different cigar shapes and styles we were experimenting with."[1] Nick Senior fought as a guerrilla against the communist forces during the revolution. He was shot twice in a firefight and later removed from the hospital on a gurney to escape summary execution.[4]

After recovering through the aid of a friend, Nick Senior emigrated to the United States via the Uruguayan Embassy[5] with the help of a sponsorship from the Catholic Church.[1] His connection with the cigar manufacturing industry severed, Nick Senior settled near Washington, DC and resumed his life as an immigrant working as a janitor in a mental institution for $11 per week.

Establishment

[edit]

In 1976, Nick Perdomo Sr. and his family, including son Nicholas Perdomo Jr. (Nick Junior), moved from the city in which they had lived, Baltimore, Maryland, to Miami, Florida to be closer to relatives.[6] Nick Junior attended Hialeah High School before joining the U.S. Navy, in which he served as an air traffic controller.[6] Following completion of his military stint, Nick Junior gained employment in the same field at Miami International Airport.[6]

Nick Junior felt the urge to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather as a cigarmaker, despite his industry inexperience.[7] In August 1992, he started a business based out of his garage, marking the beginning of today's Tabacalera Perdomo.[6] The company in Miami was named "Nick's Cigar Co."

Nick Junior initially retained his well paying job as an air traffic controller and worked at his startup cigar brand in the evenings. In its initial phase, the company employed three rollers, with Nick Junior and his wife Janine working as packers.[7] Nick Junior sought to reject the prevailing trend in the cigar industry, which was skewing towards mild cigars. He instead focused on making a product using wrappers from Ecuador and fillers from Central America, thus changing the flavor of the cigars.[7] This decision proved to be a wise choice, as the flood of new cigar smokers in the 1990's developed tastes for spicier products.

In his first year, "Nick's Cigars" produced and sold just 9,400 cigars, but the business expanded rapidly.[8] By 1997 he had reached the limits of production at his small Miami facility and a move was necessitated to Ybor City, near Tampa, a historic area for American cigarmaking.[7] This facility proved unsatisfactory, however, due to the prohibitively high cost of production in the United States.[7]

Perdomo also expanded production abroad during the cigar boom of the 1990s, with Nick Senior coming out of retirement in 1997 to help open a production facility in Estelí, Nicaragua.[9] The company sold 1 million cigars in that year.[10]

This facility proved to not have a large enough capacity to keep up and was replaced with a custom-built facility in the same city in 1999.[7]

Development

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Perdomo introduced the Perdomo² ("Perdomo squared") in the 1990s during the cigar boom, one of the first box-pressed cigars of the period.[11]

In April 1999, Perdomo was approached by Cano A. Ozgener, head of C.A.O. International, with a proposition to produce its C.A.O. L'Anniversaire line, patterned after the legendary Partagas Serie D No. 4.[7] Ozgener was in the process of losing his manufacturing plant, Tabacalera Tambor in Costa Rica, manufacturer of the Bahia brand and was in need of a new partner to keep his product in production and Perdomo was chosen over other potential partners.[7] A mutually beneficial partnership resulted which aided in the expansion of the Perdomo operation.

By 2001, Tabacalera Perdomo employed 622 people in Central America as well as 24 in the United States, who were projected to make 10 million cigars for the year.[7]

The company produces a wide range of handmade cigars ranging from entry-level bundled products to its flagship, the Perdomo Patriarch. Perdomo produces a wide array of products on behalf of other companies, including retailing giant Thompson & Co. and cigar distributor Philips and King, in addition to their own products.[12]

Company today

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Today Perdomo's manufacturing operation is based in an 88,000-square-foot (8,200 m2) facility in Estelí, Nicaragua,[6] known colloquially as "El Monstro" (The Monster).[13] The building is the second-largest cigarmaking facility in Nicaragua, trailing only the factory of Nicaraguan American Tobaccos S.A. (NATSA), also located in Estelí.[14] Headquarters are located in Miami Lakes, Florida.

Over 2,000 people were employed by the company in 2010, according to the company's website.[6]

Nick Perdomo, Jr. remains as President and Chief Executive Officer of Tabacalera Perdomo, while his wife, Janine Perdomo, serves as Vice President of Operations.[15] The couple's son, Nicholas Perdomo III (born c. 1992), is being taught every aspect of the cigar making process from planting to packaging. Their daughter, Natalie (born c. 1995), graduated from the University of Alabama in 2017 and is working for the company now in marketing and advertising.[16]

Perdomo products

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(active)

  • PERDOMO 30TH ANNIVERSARY
  • PERDOMO DOUBLE-AGED 12 YEAR VINTAGE
  • PERDOMO 20TH ANNIVERSARY
  • PERDOMO 10TH ANNIVERSARY
  • PERDOMO HABANO BOURBON BARREL-AGED
  • PERDOMO PERDOMO LOT 23
  • PERDOMO INMENSO SEVENTY
  • PERDOMO PERDOMO FRESCO

(inactive)

  • Perdomo
  • Perdomo Exhibicion
  • Perdomo Small Batch Series
  • Perdomo Factory Tour Blend
  • Perdomo Special Craft Series
  • Perdomo Estate Seleccion Vintage
  • Perdomo Limited Cameroon Edition
  • Perdomo² (squared)
  • Perdomo Edición de Silvio
  • Perdomo Gran Cru
  • Perdomo Moments
  • Perdomo Reserve Golf
  • Cuban Bullet
  • Dos Rios
  • Genuine Cuban Counterfeits
  • La Tradición Cabinet Series
  • Nick's Sticks
  • Tierra del Sol

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "History," perdomocigars.net/ Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  2. ^ Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench Archived 2010-08-15 at the Wayback Machine, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 1:54 mark.
  3. ^ Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 3:54 mark.
  4. ^ Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 4:27 mark.
  5. ^ Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 3:41 mark.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Biography: Nick Perdomo, Jr.," perdomocigars.com/ Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i David Savona, "The World According to Perdomo," Archived 2010-02-23 at the Wayback Machine Cigar Aficionado, December 2001.
  8. ^ Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 29:32 mark.
  9. ^ Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 7:24 mark.
  10. ^ Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 29:49 mark.
  11. ^ Richard B. Perelman, Perelman's Pocket Cyclopedia of Cigars. Los Angeles: Perelman, Pioneer & Co., 2010; pp. 518-519.
  12. ^ David Savona, "Nicaragua: The New Start for Nicaragua." Archived 2010-02-10 at the Wayback Machine Cigar Aficionado, November/December 2003.
  13. ^ "Miami Lakes Vice Mayor Sues Over Criticism," Miami Herald, July 31, 2010.
  14. ^ David Savona, "Nicaragua: The New Start for Nicaragua," Archived 2010-02-10 at the Wayback Machine Cigar Aficionado, November–December 2003.
  15. ^ "Biography: Janine Perdomo," perdomocigars.com/ Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  16. ^ Nick Perdomo, Interview with The Wine Wench, Blog Talk Radio, August 19, 2010, 30:29 mark.
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