May 11, 2026 • 20 mins
PCA 2026 in New Orleans hit us like a wave. Our booth stayed slammed, orders kept rolling, and for the first time in a long time the energy felt like a true turning point for Perdomo Cigars. Nicholas and I sit down right after the show to explain why Perdomo Legacy became the headline, why retailers showed up ready to expand their selections, and what it means when you see that kind of real-world pull from the market.
We also unpack something we’ll never take for granted: Perdomo Legacy Nicaraguan Shade Grown getting named Cigar of the Year by four different major cigar media outlets. We talk about why those awards matter, what “hands down number one” signals to cigar smokers, and how our team’s consistency shows up when it counts. Then we get into the Perdomo Legacy Father and Son project, comparing blends, sharing tasting notes, and explaining the craft details premium cigar fans care about, from 10 to 15-year aged tobaccos to bourbon barrel aging and the cabinet chest presentation.
If you’re a cigar retailer, we share the practical playbook we keep repeating: this is a hand-sell cigar, and staff training plus product knowledge makes the difference. We also talk about why the Perdomo Podcast is taking off, how we approach cigar myths, and why we care so much about teaching cigar storage, cutting, and lighting the right way. Finally, we lay out how we’re expanding accounts in 2026 by growing farms, adding factory capacity, and investing in people, including the jobs we’re proud to create in Nicaragua.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Nicholas Perdomo with Perdomo Cigars.
I'm alongside my dad, NickPerdomo, and you are watching
the Perdomo Podcast.
Dad, today's a big episode.
This is something we're reallyproud of.
We just got back from NewOrleans, PCA 2026.
It was a really big show for us.
(00:21):
I mean, it it wasn't justanother trade show.
This was truly a defining momentfor us at Perdomo Cigars.
Biggest buzz I've seen in many,many years.
You know, pen to paper all day.
It was just, it looked like alike a tornado went off in the
booth.
It really did.
It was just incredible.
And retailers were there toexpand their Perdomo portfolios.
(00:43):
And the thing that I was verytouched about was we, you know,
everybody wanted to fake theywanted to learn how to buy
Perdomo Legacy, how to get intoPerdomo Legacy line, and also
the Prodomo Legacy father andson.
So that was something I wasvery, very happy about.
But we've been building momentumand over the past years, and
this was really special.
SPEAKER_01 (01:03):
It really was.
I gotta really want to thank theretailers and all the consumers
that have driven the traffic tothe retailers and our customer
base.
It's just been phenomenal.
I'm very appreciative.
SPEAKER_00 (01:13):
It is, Dad.
And, you know, it started fromPCA 2025 in New Orleans to now,
you know, it's been all aboutPerdoma Legacy.
From the Perdomo Legacy launchedin 2025 to now the Perdomo
Legacy father and son.
But something I'm really proudof, and I'm proud for our
family, is that Perdomo Legacyhas been named Cigar of the Year
(01:35):
four different times.
And that's something that'sreally cool.
And you know, the Perdomo LegacyNicaraguan Shade Grown, which is
our baby, was Cigar of the Yearby the Cigar Authority, by Cigar
Dojo, by Cigar Coupe, and alsoSmoke and Tobacco.
And we were fortunate to receivethe Cigar of the Year Awards.
And Dad, if you could tell ouraudience, what do these awards,
(01:57):
what do they mean to you?
SPEAKER_01 (01:59):
I mean, they're extremely special because I
respect the the four bodies thatthat actually rated the cigars.
It was done through a lot ofconsumers around because a lot
of it was voted on, also.
And I think what I was mostproud of, to be honest with you,
was all four of them said it waslike hands down, number one.
It wasn't even close.
(02:20):
And some of the other rapperswere in the top three also.
You can imagine we could havehad numerous at number one.
It was really unprecedented.
I'm proud of it.
I'm proud of our team.
I'm proud of you.
Thank you.
I mean, it was your project andand and what you've done.
Um and look, everybody workingcohesively, it's it's it's such
a blessing when you see how goodeverybody worked together.
(02:42):
And I was really proud of ourteam in New Orleans, even with
our new our new people workingthat have done a phenomenal job.
I I see that cohesiveness.
And look, it reminded me of theof the of the mid-90s,
Cincinnati and Orlando, thesetrade shows where our booth was,
it was pen to paper the wholeday.
We were so busy.
I remember looking at you,smiling and looking at Arthur,
(03:03):
and we were just batting oureyes like, wow, man, this is
crazy.
And we have to be very thankful.
God's been very good to us.
SPEAKER_00 (03:09):
Yeah, he has, Dad.
And I think when you look,awards are great, but when these
major voices within theindustry, when they when you get
four of them by four of themajor voices within cigar media,
that's a big deal.
And that's something, you know,you know, we created something
special.
I agree with you 100%.
There's no other words.
Yeah, and you know, what anincredible reception.
(03:32):
You know, Perdomo Legacy Fatherand Son.
And we're smoking, we're smokingone right now.
What are you smoking?
SPEAKER_01 (03:38):
I'm smoking the father and son legacy Maduro
blended by you.
And some people say I throwcompliments around like manhole
covers, but I will tell you thisis phenomenal.
SPEAKER_00 (03:49):
Great job.
I'm smoking yours, theNicaraguan Shade Grown.
This thing's burning like adream.
Tastes incredible, tremendousamounts of sweetness and flavor.
SPEAKER_01 (03:58):
You knocked it out of the park.
Well, I appreciate it.
Hey, look, it's when you look atit, it's the father and son
project is us working togetherwith two different rappers and
coming to an accord with onerapper in the Connecticut, and
then it's kind of like twogenerations challenging each
other when you really thinkabout it.
And naturally, I have moreexperience, but the experience
(04:21):
that you learned at such a youngage has been incredible.
Someone had asked a question onone of the one of the YouTube uh
forums on one of our episodes ofwhat do you think of Nicholas?
Where were you at at this age?
You were far ahead of me, and uhthat's great.
It's great for the company, it'sgreat for our customers, it's
(04:42):
great for our employees.
I certainly was not as advancedas Nicholas, but he took a
liking to it.
He started way earlier than Idid.
I started at 25, you started atseven.
So you you uh and you and youtook on to, which is great.
It's a blessing for a fatherbecause you know you get an exit
strategy.
One, when I get too old, I'mstill kicking and fighting, so
I'm good, but I'm very proud ofyou.
SPEAKER_00 (05:03):
Thank you, Dad.
Well, one of the coolest thingsin New Orleans was, you know,
for the Prodomo Legacy customersand the newer Perdomo Legacy
customers who bought into thePerdomo Legacy line, who are now
going to be carrying in thefuture the new Perdomo Legacy
father and son, you know, we hadwe brought some samples and we
gave them to customers.
But one of the coolest thingsthat I got, and everybody wanted
(05:24):
to try your blend.
You know, when you look when Ilook back at the inventory
between the Connecticut blendthat we collaborated on, the
Maduro blend that I that I thatI made and I blended and the
Nicaraguan Shade Grown, we ranout of the Shade Grown.
We did, we, we, we did oh wealmost ran out of the Maduro and
we almost ran out ofConnecticut, but yours far in
ahead, everybody wanted to tryyours.
(05:44):
But I had nine customers and Ican I could see their faces, I
know their names, and they alltold me that this is the
greatest cigar that they've eversmoked.
And when you look at the sizeand you look at the shape from
the 48 head to the 60 body tothat 52 foot, the expansion, the
(06:05):
the concentration of flavors,the expansion of flavors
throughout with the size, andthese 10 to 15 year age
tobaccos, they're just second tonone.
So, I mean, and these are guyswho've been selling cigars for
decades, and what a compliment.
I'm like, wow.
SPEAKER_01 (06:19):
It was I was humbled to say the least.
I think we all were.
These were people that, and Ihad a couple handfuls of people
too.
We didn't give away many samplesto say the least.
You know, and the seriousretailers, they rarely ever ask
us for samples.
A lot of times we have to go outand say, Hey, would you like a
sample?
Would you like to try one?
And they go, Oh, we trust you,but let me have one for tonight
(06:40):
to enjoy.
And I got a lot of people thenext morning saying, Hey man,
after dinner here in NewOrleans, I smoked one of the new
Legacy father and sons.
I couldn't think legacy could becould be beat in general.
And this cigar is justunbelievably superb.
And how proud can you be whenyou have something like that?
SPEAKER_00 (06:57):
Like it's like you said, we're two generations.
You're a third generation cigarmaker, I'm a fourth generation
cigar maker.
And at the end of the day, we'retwo generations challenging each
other, even though you're my dadand I'm your son, but we're
doing it for our customers, andwe're doing it to better our
brand, our family, and theexperiences for our customers.
So that's something I'm proudof.
(07:17):
But yeah, I mean, we were wewere swamped the entire show.
I mean, just high trafficvolume, I mean, the amount of
orders, you know, you did bringup a couple moments ago, you
know, how you know the tradeshow in Cincinnati, trade show
in Orlando, how did this tradeshow compare in terms of not
only just volume, but like Imean, I think we hit 90 950.
(07:43):
I mean, if you're if there were800 customers there, I think we
got 750.
SPEAKER_01 (07:49):
Yeah, and that's that's about as good as it gets.
You know, you have customersthat are not really good.
You have customers that maybenot necessarily not good, but
just don't hit what we want themto do with customer service and
so on and merchandising.
So to hit 95% of the customerbase was huge.
And what I'm most proud of isour whole our whole portfolio
(08:12):
sold extremely well from 30th,12th year, 20th, 10th
anniversary, lot 23, the respectfactor, it made me feel really
good.
I'm very thankful.
SPEAKER_00 (08:21):
Yeah, me too, Dad.
And you know, with that beingsaid, and going back a little
bit, you know, Prodomo Legacywas the theme of 25, Perdomo
Legacy and Prodomo Legacy fatherand son are have been the theme
of 2026.
And I never I mean, it wasincredible.
We had a lot of current PerdomoLegacy retailers, you know,
who've who've had it since it'ssince the inception back in
(08:44):
2025, last year.
But the amount of people whocame to our booth to purchase
Perdomo Legacy, but also knowingthat what we did was so special,
and you know, Perdomo Legacy isa brand that I made in honor of
you, extremely special, but alsoPerdomo Legacy Father and Son,
something you and I did.
And so people were all about it,and they came to buy.
(09:05):
And with that said, what in youropinion, what is the most
important thing?
How would you set up ourretailers and what advice would
you give them and on how to besuccessful with Perdomo Legacy?
SPEAKER_01 (09:16):
Well, like anything, customer that has been trained
well and understands the productis always going to be a great
customer.
And the consumer really needs tobe to know about what makes
these cigars so special.
It's not only the pride andpassion, the craftsmanship of
the of the of the cigar, butit's a cigar that you just don't
(09:39):
put on a shelf.
You know what I mean?
You know, and I'm looking at thepeople out there, and it's
really true.
It's it if you're a retailer,it's a brand that you have to
hand sell.
It's you know, the proprietaryNicaraguan shade grown wrapper
together with the binderproduces just a flavor that's so
unique because it's somethingthat our genetic team designed
themselves.
(10:00):
You have to let the thecustomers know, for example, the
taste difference.
It's just it's just somethingthat I believe that the
customers should do cigar 101s.
I think our sales team is goingto be much more active in that
and to position the brandscorrectly.
You know, the new father andson, if you've seen it on
Facebook and so on, it comes ina cabinet chest of 50.
(10:23):
The reason we went with thecabinet chest of 50 was the
elegance of it, the beauty ofit.
I'm thinking about my dad andthose those beautiful chest of
50 in the old days that came outof Cuba when they made great
cigars in the 30s, 40s, and 50s.
And forget that it's won allthese awards all around.
You know, now we're seeing theEuropean market, you know,
(10:45):
reaching out to us, all ourdistributors around the around
the world.
It's still a cigar that's pricedto sell every day.
100%.
The most expensive cigar in theline with 10 and 15-year-old
tobaccos is$15.
The average sweet spot today is$13.85 for just something that
in many cases is a is a five.
(11:05):
This is a 15.
And products, you know, in a lotof instances don't sell
themselves.
Stories and hand selling do.
And especially a brand likePronomo Legacy.
It's just something so specialbecause, you know, I love it so
much.
And I know you do, and our teamdoes.
And we really hope that you, theconsumer, loves it as much as we
(11:27):
do because I promise you onething the amount of labor and
love that we put in this cigar,just like we do with any of our
cigars, was paramount.
And I'm just so proud of it.
And again, I'm really proud ofyou.
SPEAKER_00 (11:38):
Thank you, Dad.
SPEAKER_01 (11:38):
I'll tell you what, as much as I like the Nicaraguan
shade grown, I think my favoritetoday is the Maduro that you
blended.
And the reason is is I thinkit's so harmonious.
When you blend something, it'slike great food.
You taste it and you go, man, Ijust want more and more.
You know what I mean?
It's like sometimes you ever goto a great restaurant, you're
eating just because you'reeating, you're full, but the
food tastes so good that youjust go on and on and on.
(12:02):
This is what these cigars do.
And you brought up somethingthat was a great point.
It's about execution and how weform this shape to be able to
really deliver flavor and theconcentrations of flavor from
the foot all the way to almostburn your lips.
Yeah, that's what I wanted.
That's what I want in everycigar, the bouquet.
I'm like, it's nice.
I'm smoking.
(12:22):
I'm I'm I'm trying not to smokemuch because the aroma coming
off of your cigar is justunbelievable.
I wish you guys were here if youcould smell it.
It's just incredible.
The the aromas and everything,and and you can just smell that
well-aged tobacco, cinnamons.
I mean, it's just sweetness,everything you taste on it.
It's it's unbelievable.
I hope you guys will reallyenjoy it.
(12:43):
You deserve to buy a box, treatyourself.
It's an incredible cigar.
SPEAKER_00 (12:46):
Well, this cigar is so, I mean, even your blend,
it's just so sweet.
It's got that cart, thatcardamom, that cinnamon spice,
baking spices.
Just it's just so just rich.
You know, the bourbon barrelaging of the wrappers that we've
done.
You know, this that I thatwrapper, that Maduro wrapper, we
barrel-aged it for 14 additionalmonths after it was aged.
(13:07):
And then, you know, we youbourbon barrel aged this for
about a little bit, about eightmonths, and so, or 10 months,
excuse me.
So this cigar is just dynamite,it's killer, and it's just
something I'm I'm proud of.
But, you know, I think the nexttopic I want to talk about, and
I know you you were it wasbrought up to you quite a bit at
the show.
It was brought up to to ourteam, myself especially, is the
(13:30):
Perdomo podcast.
You know, we've we've recentreleased a handful of episodes,
but it's something that it'sbeen taking off.
We've had tons of hits,incredible engagement with
consumers and new consumers thatwe've you know have never tried
our products, and they they seenot only just the brands, and we
explain how we make our cigarsand why we're so special, but
(13:52):
they see this.
They see you and I and they hearus, and they see they want part
of the family, which is verytouching to me.
But you know, we're stuck in anindustry that there's old
habits.
I mean, you've been in thisindustry for 34 years, but not
not just because you're my dad,but you don't stay stuck in
habits.
You you always, I think fromyour time being in the military,
(14:15):
you've always learned to adapt.
And I think that the PerdomoPodcast is one of the many
things that we've done as acompany to adapt.
And I'm grateful that for that.
And I'm great, and I and I thinkour partners are grateful that
we're doing this because I mean,had salesmen call me this, you
know, earlier this week tellingme, man, I haven't I haven't had
so many customers come up to mebefore ever, you know, asking me
(14:37):
about how cutting and lighting acigar based on our previous
episodes and things like that.
So I mean, it works.
And so I think it's just soimportant with everything we're
doing.
And and in reality, what'swhat's your opinion now with all
these episodes that we're comingout with and in terms of in
terms of the Perdomo Podcast,what's your feeling?
Well, first of all, I love it.
SPEAKER_01 (14:57):
Yeah, you know, my whole thing is about teaching.
Where I'm at in my life rightnow, I really want people, and
I've always wanted this, but nowthat people know our brands
after so many years in theindustry, I really want people
to enjoy how we enjoy a cigar.
So a lot of the tutelage andteaching that we do is really
(15:18):
important to me.
There, you know, the the thefacts that we talk about, where
what's that segment?
What do we call it?
Where we're we're talking aboutyou know, factual things versus
non-factual things.
SPEAKER_00 (15:30):
Oh, the myth busters.
SPEAKER_01 (15:31):
Yeah, the mythbusters, that's the right
word.
There's a lot of myths in thecigar industry and a lot of bad
information.
What you're getting out of thispodcast is you're getting two
guys who actually are on tobaccofarms pretty much every month,
that are in cigar factoriesevery single month, that are on
the road consistently, and we doeverything from box making to
(15:52):
cigar making and beingvertically integrated.
We get to pass our knowledge onto you, and I'll tell you one
thing, it's the truth.
SPEAKER_00 (15:59):
It's the truth.
There's no question, but youknow, we're always looking to
get direct, you know, consumerengagement.
This is what this platform'sabout.
Always trying to be better forour retailers and our consumers.
But, you know, and we'll getinto this in other episodes, but
I think the biggest thing is,and what I'm tired of seeing,
especially because we're we'rean industry that we get crit we
(16:20):
get criticized every day.
It's called the United Statesgovernment, it's called
different agencies trying tostop us from doing something
that we've been doing forgenerations.
And I just hate seeing that, youknow, within our industry, why
would you critique?
Smoking's totally subjective.
We'll talk about this in futureepisodes, but we gotta start, we
(16:41):
gotta start criticizing a littlebit less.
And you know, people areentitled to entitled to their
opinions, but also whycriticize?
If you don't like something,turn the page.
That's what I do.
SPEAKER_01 (16:51):
I I'm the same way, but my my whole thing is I want
to teach people the correct wayto store their cigars.
100%.
Not the wrong way, like they'vebeen taught a lot of.
I want to teach people how toreally enjoy their cigars.
Right.
I want people to be able totaste the nuances and how we do
it and where they get it.
And I think you guys out thereare very interested in it
(17:12):
because you love cigars oryou're learning how to smoke
cigars, or you're trying toenjoy it more.
And that's where we're we're atright now, and that's what we
want to do.
And there's all kinds ofknowledge we're gonna be
bringing out.
SPEAKER_00 (17:25):
Yeah, 100%.
And I think, Dad, one of thethings, especially before we
step off on this episode and andwrap it up, I I want our
consumers to know that we havethat going into 2026, because
we've been hearing about it andguys going, man, I can't find
Perdomo Legacy, I can't findPerdomo Legacy.
We are expanding this year in2026.
(17:46):
We have, and we can willcontinue to expand in 2026
Perdomo Legacy accounts.
And it's not because we justdecided, oh, we're gonna we're
hold we held it back, but nowwe're gonna open it up.
It wasn't about that.
It's it's all about foresight,it's all about the you the way
you adapted.
You adapt in business, you adaptevery day in life.
And so we've had this idea ofexpanding our Podomo Legacy and
(18:08):
even Perdomo 30th anniversary,Perdomo 12, we are more of our
exclusive brands around thecountry this year.
And and that's really because ofyour foresight and in terms of
you know expansion.
We've expanded, a lot of peopledon't know, but the last three,
four years, we've purchasedmultiple farms within Estelle.
We're going to be expanding ourNicaraguan shade grown
(18:28):
operation.
We've purchased a little over600 extra acres of land that put
us close to probably 2,000 acresof growing tobacco, which is
outstanding.
We've also added more personnelto our factories.
We took our we took our ourfacility, our main facility in
Estelle went from about 88,000square feet to over 93,000,
94,000 square feet, added morerollers, more bunchers, more
(18:51):
personnel.
Then we have more in the back ofour compound.
We're gonna have a new 50,000plus square foot building that
we could store more tobacco,more pilonis, more fermentation,
things like that.
So I mean, you know, we're doingeverything right, but we're
taking it step by step.
So I'm I'm glad our customershave been patient, but it's
coming.
So I mean we're we're gonna beopening up more accounts.
So I think that's importantbefore we wrap up that that they
(19:15):
know this.
SPEAKER_01 (19:15):
And I'm proud to tell the people with Nicaragua,
we've been large job creators.
We have several thousandemployees, and it's not only the
agronomy and the farming, butthe new facility we built five
years ago in Trinidad.
SPEAKER_00 (19:29):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (19:30):
Where now we have over 500 employees working there
in a in an area that had almost90 percent unemployment due to
the cotton industry going down.
And I'm proud of that.
The mayor came over and talkedto us a couple of months ago and
and thanked us for providingjobs and and feeding families.
And we're we're equally proud ofthat.
I remember when my father wasalive.
One of the big things that hewas proud of, not only how
(19:50):
special Nicaragua was in theearly 90s, but the amount of
work that we were able toproduce and help people.
And they were certainly helpfulto us too, and they still are,
and I'm very proud of that.
SPEAKER_00 (19:59):
I am too, Dad.
And you know, we're gonna wrapup this episode.
I'd like to really just saythank you.
I'd like to thank all of ourretail partners for their
continued support of our brand,but really our family,
especially at this PCA 2026.
This wasn't just another greatshow, Dad.
This is really, I've I've beensaying it for a long time, and
we've been saying it for a longtime.
(20:20):
The best is yet to come.
And there's this is only justthe beginning.
So we're the best is yet to comefor us at Prodomo Cigar.
So thank you guys very much forlistening in.
If you like this, please like,subscribe uh to our Prodomo
YouTube page.
Also, click the notificationbutton.
Please also uh like and shareand follow us on Facebook and
(20:43):
Instagram.
We appreciate all the support.
I want to thank you guys forlistening, and we will see you
guys very soon.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Hi, I'm Nicholas Perdomo with Perdomo Cigars.
I'm alongside my dad, NickPerdomo, and you are watching
the Perdomo Podcast.
Dad, today's a big episode.
This is something we're reallyproud of.
We just got back from NewOrleans, PCA 2026.
It was a really big show for us.
(00:21):
I mean, it it wasn't justanother trade show.
This was truly a defining momentfor us at Perdomo Cigars.
Biggest buzz I've seen in many,many years.
You know, pen to paper all day.
It was just, it looked like alike a tornado went off in the
booth.
It really did.
It was just incredible.
And retailers were there toexpand their Perdomo portfolios.
(00:43):
And the thing that I was verytouched about was we, you know,
everybody wanted to fake theywanted to learn how to buy
Perdomo Legacy, how to get intoPerdomo Legacy line, and also
the Prodomo Legacy father andson.
So that was something I wasvery, very happy about.
But we've been building momentumand over the past years, and
this was really special.
SPEAKER_01 (01:03):
It really was.
I gotta really want to thank theretailers and all the consumers
that have driven the traffic tothe retailers and our customer
base.
It's just been phenomenal.
I'm very appreciative.
SPEAKER_00 (01:13):
It is, Dad.
And, you know, it started fromPCA 2025 in New Orleans to now,
you know, it's been all aboutPerdoma Legacy.
From the Perdomo Legacy launchedin 2025 to now the Perdomo
Legacy father and son.
But something I'm really proudof, and I'm proud for our
family, is that Perdomo Legacyhas been named Cigar of the Year
(01:35):
four different times.
And that's something that'sreally cool.
And you know, the Perdomo LegacyNicaraguan Shade Grown, which is
our baby, was Cigar of the Yearby the Cigar Authority, by Cigar
Dojo, by Cigar Coupe, and alsoSmoke and Tobacco.
And we were fortunate to receivethe Cigar of the Year Awards.
And Dad, if you could tell ouraudience, what do these awards,
(01:57):
what do they mean to you?
SPEAKER_01 (01:59):
I mean, they're extremely special because I
respect the the four bodies thatthat actually rated the cigars.
It was done through a lot ofconsumers around because a lot
of it was voted on, also.
And I think what I was mostproud of, to be honest with you,
was all four of them said it waslike hands down, number one.
It wasn't even close.
(02:20):
And some of the other rapperswere in the top three also.
You can imagine we could havehad numerous at number one.
It was really unprecedented.
I'm proud of it.
I'm proud of our team.
I'm proud of you.
Thank you.
I mean, it was your project andand and what you've done.
Um and look, everybody workingcohesively, it's it's it's such
a blessing when you see how goodeverybody worked together.
(02:42):
And I was really proud of ourteam in New Orleans, even with
our new our new people workingthat have done a phenomenal job.
I I see that cohesiveness.
And look, it reminded me of theof the of the mid-90s,
Cincinnati and Orlando, thesetrade shows where our booth was,
it was pen to paper the wholeday.
We were so busy.
I remember looking at you,smiling and looking at Arthur,
(03:03):
and we were just batting oureyes like, wow, man, this is
crazy.
And we have to be very thankful.
God's been very good to us.
SPEAKER_00 (03:09):
Yeah, he has, Dad.
And I think when you look,awards are great, but when these
major voices within theindustry, when they when you get
four of them by four of themajor voices within cigar media,
that's a big deal.
And that's something, you know,you know, we created something
special.
I agree with you 100%.
There's no other words.
Yeah, and you know, what anincredible reception.
(03:32):
You know, Perdomo Legacy Fatherand Son.
And we're smoking, we're smokingone right now.
What are you smoking?
SPEAKER_01 (03:38):
I'm smoking the father and son legacy Maduro
blended by you.
And some people say I throwcompliments around like manhole
covers, but I will tell you thisis phenomenal.
SPEAKER_00 (03:49):
Great job.
I'm smoking yours, theNicaraguan Shade Grown.
This thing's burning like adream.
Tastes incredible, tremendousamounts of sweetness and flavor.
SPEAKER_01 (03:58):
You knocked it out of the park.
Well, I appreciate it.
Hey, look, it's when you look atit, it's the father and son
project is us working togetherwith two different rappers and
coming to an accord with onerapper in the Connecticut, and
then it's kind of like twogenerations challenging each
other when you really thinkabout it.
And naturally, I have moreexperience, but the experience
(04:21):
that you learned at such a youngage has been incredible.
Someone had asked a question onone of the one of the YouTube uh
forums on one of our episodes ofwhat do you think of Nicholas?
Where were you at at this age?
You were far ahead of me, and uhthat's great.
It's great for the company, it'sgreat for our customers, it's
(04:42):
great for our employees.
I certainly was not as advancedas Nicholas, but he took a
liking to it.
He started way earlier than Idid.
I started at 25, you started atseven.
So you you uh and you and youtook on to, which is great.
It's a blessing for a fatherbecause you know you get an exit
strategy.
One, when I get too old, I'mstill kicking and fighting, so
I'm good, but I'm very proud ofyou.
SPEAKER_00 (05:03):
Thank you, Dad.
Well, one of the coolest thingsin New Orleans was, you know,
for the Prodomo Legacy customersand the newer Perdomo Legacy
customers who bought into thePerdomo Legacy line, who are now
going to be carrying in thefuture the new Perdomo Legacy
father and son, you know, we hadwe brought some samples and we
gave them to customers.
But one of the coolest thingsthat I got, and everybody wanted
(05:24):
to try your blend.
You know, when you look when Ilook back at the inventory
between the Connecticut blendthat we collaborated on, the
Maduro blend that I that I thatI made and I blended and the
Nicaraguan Shade Grown, we ranout of the Shade Grown.
We did, we, we, we did oh wealmost ran out of the Maduro and
we almost ran out ofConnecticut, but yours far in
ahead, everybody wanted to tryyours.
(05:44):
But I had nine customers and Ican I could see their faces, I
know their names, and they alltold me that this is the
greatest cigar that they've eversmoked.
And when you look at the sizeand you look at the shape from
the 48 head to the 60 body tothat 52 foot, the expansion, the
(06:05):
the concentration of flavors,the expansion of flavors
throughout with the size, andthese 10 to 15 year age
tobaccos, they're just second tonone.
So, I mean, and these are guyswho've been selling cigars for
decades, and what a compliment.
I'm like, wow.
SPEAKER_01 (06:19):
It was I was humbled to say the least.
I think we all were.
These were people that, and Ihad a couple handfuls of people
too.
We didn't give away many samplesto say the least.
You know, and the seriousretailers, they rarely ever ask
us for samples.
A lot of times we have to go outand say, Hey, would you like a
sample?
Would you like to try one?
And they go, Oh, we trust you,but let me have one for tonight
(06:40):
to enjoy.
And I got a lot of people thenext morning saying, Hey man,
after dinner here in NewOrleans, I smoked one of the new
Legacy father and sons.
I couldn't think legacy could becould be beat in general.
And this cigar is justunbelievably superb.
And how proud can you be whenyou have something like that?
SPEAKER_00 (06:57):
Like it's like you said, we're two generations.
You're a third generation cigarmaker, I'm a fourth generation
cigar maker.
And at the end of the day, we'retwo generations challenging each
other, even though you're my dadand I'm your son, but we're
doing it for our customers, andwe're doing it to better our
brand, our family, and theexperiences for our customers.
So that's something I'm proudof.
(07:17):
But yeah, I mean, we were wewere swamped the entire show.
I mean, just high trafficvolume, I mean, the amount of
orders, you know, you did bringup a couple moments ago, you
know, how you know the tradeshow in Cincinnati, trade show
in Orlando, how did this tradeshow compare in terms of not
only just volume, but like Imean, I think we hit 90 950.
(07:43):
I mean, if you're if there were800 customers there, I think we
got 750.
SPEAKER_01 (07:49):
Yeah, and that's that's about as good as it gets.
You know, you have customersthat are not really good.
You have customers that maybenot necessarily not good, but
just don't hit what we want themto do with customer service and
so on and merchandising.
So to hit 95% of the customerbase was huge.
And what I'm most proud of isour whole our whole portfolio
(08:12):
sold extremely well from 30th,12th year, 20th, 10th
anniversary, lot 23, the respectfactor, it made me feel really
good.
I'm very thankful.
SPEAKER_00 (08:21):
Yeah, me too, Dad.
And you know, with that beingsaid, and going back a little
bit, you know, Prodomo Legacywas the theme of 25, Perdomo
Legacy and Prodomo Legacy fatherand son are have been the theme
of 2026.
And I never I mean, it wasincredible.
We had a lot of current PerdomoLegacy retailers, you know,
who've who've had it since it'ssince the inception back in
(08:44):
2025, last year.
But the amount of people whocame to our booth to purchase
Perdomo Legacy, but also knowingthat what we did was so special,
and you know, Perdomo Legacy isa brand that I made in honor of
you, extremely special, but alsoPerdomo Legacy Father and Son,
something you and I did.
And so people were all about it,and they came to buy.
(09:05):
And with that said, what in youropinion, what is the most
important thing?
How would you set up ourretailers and what advice would
you give them and on how to besuccessful with Perdomo Legacy?
SPEAKER_01 (09:16):
Well, like anything, customer that has been trained
well and understands the productis always going to be a great
customer.
And the consumer really needs tobe to know about what makes
these cigars so special.
It's not only the pride andpassion, the craftsmanship of
the of the of the cigar, butit's a cigar that you just don't
(09:39):
put on a shelf.
You know what I mean?
You know, and I'm looking at thepeople out there, and it's
really true.
It's it if you're a retailer,it's a brand that you have to
hand sell.
It's you know, the proprietaryNicaraguan shade grown wrapper
together with the binderproduces just a flavor that's so
unique because it's somethingthat our genetic team designed
themselves.
(10:00):
You have to let the thecustomers know, for example, the
taste difference.
It's just it's just somethingthat I believe that the
customers should do cigar 101s.
I think our sales team is goingto be much more active in that
and to position the brandscorrectly.
You know, the new father andson, if you've seen it on
Facebook and so on, it comes ina cabinet chest of 50.
(10:23):
The reason we went with thecabinet chest of 50 was the
elegance of it, the beauty ofit.
I'm thinking about my dad andthose those beautiful chest of
50 in the old days that came outof Cuba when they made great
cigars in the 30s, 40s, and 50s.
And forget that it's won allthese awards all around.
You know, now we're seeing theEuropean market, you know,
(10:45):
reaching out to us, all ourdistributors around the around
the world.
It's still a cigar that's pricedto sell every day.
100%.
The most expensive cigar in theline with 10 and 15-year-old
tobaccos is$15.
The average sweet spot today is$13.85 for just something that
in many cases is a is a five.
(11:05):
This is a 15.
And products, you know, in a lotof instances don't sell
themselves.
Stories and hand selling do.
And especially a brand likePronomo Legacy.
It's just something so specialbecause, you know, I love it so
much.
And I know you do, and our teamdoes.
And we really hope that you, theconsumer, loves it as much as we
(11:27):
do because I promise you onething the amount of labor and
love that we put in this cigar,just like we do with any of our
cigars, was paramount.
And I'm just so proud of it.
And again, I'm really proud ofyou.
SPEAKER_00 (11:38):
Thank you, Dad.
SPEAKER_01 (11:38):
I'll tell you what, as much as I like the Nicaraguan
shade grown, I think my favoritetoday is the Maduro that you
blended.
And the reason is is I thinkit's so harmonious.
When you blend something, it'slike great food.
You taste it and you go, man, Ijust want more and more.
You know what I mean?
It's like sometimes you ever goto a great restaurant, you're
eating just because you'reeating, you're full, but the
food tastes so good that youjust go on and on and on.
(12:02):
This is what these cigars do.
And you brought up somethingthat was a great point.
It's about execution and how weform this shape to be able to
really deliver flavor and theconcentrations of flavor from
the foot all the way to almostburn your lips.
Yeah, that's what I wanted.
That's what I want in everycigar, the bouquet.
I'm like, it's nice.
I'm smoking.
(12:22):
I'm I'm I'm trying not to smokemuch because the aroma coming
off of your cigar is justunbelievable.
I wish you guys were here if youcould smell it.
It's just incredible.
The the aromas and everything,and and you can just smell that
well-aged tobacco, cinnamons.
I mean, it's just sweetness,everything you taste on it.
It's it's unbelievable.
I hope you guys will reallyenjoy it.
(12:43):
You deserve to buy a box, treatyourself.
It's an incredible cigar.
SPEAKER_00 (12:46):
Well, this cigar is so, I mean, even your blend,
it's just so sweet.
It's got that cart, thatcardamom, that cinnamon spice,
baking spices.
Just it's just so just rich.
You know, the bourbon barrelaging of the wrappers that we've
done.
You know, this that I thatwrapper, that Maduro wrapper, we
barrel-aged it for 14 additionalmonths after it was aged.
(13:07):
And then, you know, we youbourbon barrel aged this for
about a little bit, about eightmonths, and so, or 10 months,
excuse me.
So this cigar is just dynamite,it's killer, and it's just
something I'm I'm proud of.
But, you know, I think the nexttopic I want to talk about, and
I know you you were it wasbrought up to you quite a bit at
the show.
It was brought up to to ourteam, myself especially, is the
(13:30):
Perdomo podcast.
You know, we've we've recentreleased a handful of episodes,
but it's something that it'sbeen taking off.
We've had tons of hits,incredible engagement with
consumers and new consumers thatwe've you know have never tried
our products, and they they seenot only just the brands, and we
explain how we make our cigarsand why we're so special, but
(13:52):
they see this.
They see you and I and they hearus, and they see they want part
of the family, which is verytouching to me.
But you know, we're stuck in anindustry that there's old
habits.
I mean, you've been in thisindustry for 34 years, but not
not just because you're my dad,but you don't stay stuck in
habits.
You you always, I think fromyour time being in the military,
(14:15):
you've always learned to adapt.
And I think that the PerdomoPodcast is one of the many
things that we've done as acompany to adapt.
And I'm grateful that for that.
And I'm great, and I and I thinkour partners are grateful that
we're doing this because I mean,had salesmen call me this, you
know, earlier this week tellingme, man, I haven't I haven't had
so many customers come up to mebefore ever, you know, asking me
(14:37):
about how cutting and lighting acigar based on our previous
episodes and things like that.
So I mean, it works.
And so I think it's just soimportant with everything we're
doing.
And and in reality, what'swhat's your opinion now with all
these episodes that we're comingout with and in terms of in
terms of the Perdomo Podcast,what's your feeling?
Well, first of all, I love it.
SPEAKER_01 (14:57):
Yeah, you know, my whole thing is about teaching.
Where I'm at in my life rightnow, I really want people, and
I've always wanted this, but nowthat people know our brands
after so many years in theindustry, I really want people
to enjoy how we enjoy a cigar.
So a lot of the tutelage andteaching that we do is really
(15:18):
important to me.
There, you know, the the thefacts that we talk about, where
what's that segment?
What do we call it?
Where we're we're talking aboutyou know, factual things versus
non-factual things.
SPEAKER_00 (15:30):
Oh, the myth busters.
SPEAKER_01 (15:31):
Yeah, the mythbusters, that's the right
word.
There's a lot of myths in thecigar industry and a lot of bad
information.
What you're getting out of thispodcast is you're getting two
guys who actually are on tobaccofarms pretty much every month,
that are in cigar factoriesevery single month, that are on
the road consistently, and we doeverything from box making to
(15:52):
cigar making and beingvertically integrated.
We get to pass our knowledge onto you, and I'll tell you one
thing, it's the truth.
SPEAKER_00 (15:59):
It's the truth.
There's no question, but youknow, we're always looking to
get direct, you know, consumerengagement.
This is what this platform'sabout.
Always trying to be better forour retailers and our consumers.
But, you know, and we'll getinto this in other episodes, but
I think the biggest thing is,and what I'm tired of seeing,
especially because we're we'rean industry that we get crit we
(16:20):
get criticized every day.
It's called the United Statesgovernment, it's called
different agencies trying tostop us from doing something
that we've been doing forgenerations.
And I just hate seeing that, youknow, within our industry, why
would you critique?
Smoking's totally subjective.
We'll talk about this in futureepisodes, but we gotta start, we
(16:41):
gotta start criticizing a littlebit less.
And you know, people areentitled to entitled to their
opinions, but also whycriticize?
If you don't like something,turn the page.
That's what I do.
SPEAKER_01 (16:51):
I I'm the same way, but my my whole thing is I want
to teach people the correct wayto store their cigars.
100%.
Not the wrong way, like they'vebeen taught a lot of.
I want to teach people how toreally enjoy their cigars.
Right.
I want people to be able totaste the nuances and how we do
it and where they get it.
And I think you guys out thereare very interested in it
(17:12):
because you love cigars oryou're learning how to smoke
cigars, or you're trying toenjoy it more.
And that's where we're we're atright now, and that's what we
want to do.
And there's all kinds ofknowledge we're gonna be
bringing out.
SPEAKER_00 (17:25):
Yeah, 100%.
And I think, Dad, one of thethings, especially before we
step off on this episode and andwrap it up, I I want our
consumers to know that we havethat going into 2026, because
we've been hearing about it andguys going, man, I can't find
Perdomo Legacy, I can't findPerdomo Legacy.
We are expanding this year in2026.
(17:46):
We have, and we can willcontinue to expand in 2026
Perdomo Legacy accounts.
And it's not because we justdecided, oh, we're gonna we're
hold we held it back, but nowwe're gonna open it up.
It wasn't about that.
It's it's all about foresight,it's all about the you the way
you adapted.
You adapt in business, you adaptevery day in life.
And so we've had this idea ofexpanding our Podomo Legacy and
(18:08):
even Perdomo 30th anniversary,Perdomo 12, we are more of our
exclusive brands around thecountry this year.
And and that's really because ofyour foresight and in terms of
you know expansion.
We've expanded, a lot of peopledon't know, but the last three,
four years, we've purchasedmultiple farms within Estelle.
We're going to be expanding ourNicaraguan shade grown
(18:28):
operation.
We've purchased a little over600 extra acres of land that put
us close to probably 2,000 acresof growing tobacco, which is
outstanding.
We've also added more personnelto our factories.
We took our we took our ourfacility, our main facility in
Estelle went from about 88,000square feet to over 93,000,
94,000 square feet, added morerollers, more bunchers, more
(18:51):
personnel.
Then we have more in the back ofour compound.
We're gonna have a new 50,000plus square foot building that
we could store more tobacco,more pilonis, more fermentation,
things like that.
So I mean, you know, we're doingeverything right, but we're
taking it step by step.
So I'm I'm glad our customershave been patient, but it's
coming.
So I mean we're we're gonna beopening up more accounts.
So I think that's importantbefore we wrap up that that they
(19:15):
know this.
SPEAKER_01 (19:15):
And I'm proud to tell the people with Nicaragua,
we've been large job creators.
We have several thousandemployees, and it's not only the
agronomy and the farming, butthe new facility we built five
years ago in Trinidad.
SPEAKER_00 (19:29):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (19:30):
Where now we have over 500 employees working there
in a in an area that had almost90 percent unemployment due to
the cotton industry going down.
And I'm proud of that.
The mayor came over and talkedto us a couple of months ago and
and thanked us for providingjobs and and feeding families.
And we're we're equally proud ofthat.
I remember when my father wasalive.
One of the big things that hewas proud of, not only how
(19:50):
special Nicaragua was in theearly 90s, but the amount of
work that we were able toproduce and help people.
And they were certainly helpfulto us too, and they still are,
and I'm very proud of that.
SPEAKER_00 (19:59):
I am too, Dad.
And you know, we're gonna wrapup this episode.
I'd like to really just saythank you.
I'd like to thank all of ourretail partners for their
continued support of our brand,but really our family,
especially at this PCA 2026.
This wasn't just another greatshow, Dad.
This is really, I've I've beensaying it for a long time, and
we've been saying it for a longtime.
(20:20):
The best is yet to come.
And there's this is only justthe beginning.
So we're the best is yet to comefor us at Prodomo Cigar.
So thank you guys very much forlistening in.
If you like this, please like,subscribe uh to our Prodomo
YouTube page.
Also, click the notificationbutton.
Please also uh like and shareand follow us on Facebook and
(20:43):
Instagram.
We appreciate all the support.
I want to thank you guys forlistening, and we will see you
guys very soon.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
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