You guys brought this up on the most recent episode. I have to salute Perdomo on this, because they've been asking $2-4 more than their cigars are worth for years. Post-SCHIP, it is a very smart way to get people to try their cigars, which are pretty good. They certainly aren't Pepín good or Esencia good, but put them up against the Brick House and La Traviata and they'll likely fair well.

Apologies for replying to my own post, but there was a separate topic up last night - which I can't find today - which took exception with what I had to say about the Perdomo price cut.

I'd like to emphasize that I enjoy most of Perdomo's line. In particular, the 2008 torpedo and the Champagne are very good. At the risk of being a little longwinded here, I'll give my background with this topic, hoping to allay any offense I caused with the above post.

A few years back, I participated in a tasting survey for Perdomo in my capacity as a sales clerk for a cigar store. (Disclosure: I manage a cigar retail shop, so this is where my perspective comes from. There are things we have to take into consideration which don't necessarily apply to the typical consumer.) I gave the cigars my full attention, made notes and ratings, and sent in a survey on my impressions. On each of the cigars, my review concluded, roughly, with 'This is a very good cigar, but I'm concerned with the price point.' This being a few years (and about a half dozen tax increases) ago, the pricing structure of the industry was quite different. If my memory serves, the Champagne's MSRP was in the $7-8 area. This was at a time when the Henry Clay robustos (that of the H2000 wrapper) were going for about $4.25 retail. Bahia Golds were close to $10, as were Padrón 1964's (depending on the size) and an 8-5-8 would set you back somewhere in the ballpark of $5. Given what was out there, I found a lot of the Perdomo sticks a rough sell.

I should clarify something at this point. In the main topic, I stated that Perdomo was asking more than the cigars were worth. That was sloppy of me and it certainly came off as deprecatory. What I should've related is that I have found the Perdomo line to be handicapped by competing in a gray area. There are a number of cigars like that. Some manage despite this, some founder because of it. Allow me to explain my terms a bit further.

In the retail cigar world, we basically have five categories when we're speaking of the type of cigar and its price point: 1. the ultra budget bundle, which in my state can go anywhere from around $1-3; 2. the 'everyday' cigar, which are usually lacking in complexity - though not always - but suit a lot of smokers... the everyday cigar isn't going to win the gold medal, but at a price point (again, all prices here represent my state) of anywhere from $4-7, they won't break the bank and fulfill the needs of a large group of smokers; 3. the 'gray area' cigar, which seems neither fish nor fowl... these come in at $7-9, sometimes a little more, and while often better than Mr. Everyday - again, not always - they are not quite to; 4. the Premium cigar, such as the Tatuaje brown label, Camacho Diploma, Ashton VSG, My Father, etc... these typically blow out categories 1-3 and are priced accordingly; 5. the Super Premium, i.e. Maximus, Davidoff Special R, Winston Churchill, La Aurora Cien Años.

With that in mind, I think one can see why category three is at such a disadvantage. It isn't even the quality of the cigar; rather, it is the fact that people are reticent to try them. If you have an old standby in category two or a known favorite in category four (this, by the way, is why Pepín's current supremacy is easy to figure out... his cigars often belong a category above where they are price-wise, so if you're going to spend a tenner on a smoke it is tough to see what competes with the blue label, black label, La Aroma EE, and so on) it requires quite the persuasion on the part of the retailer or a friend to get you to spend a little more than the quotidian and only a dollar or so less than the regal. Perdomo cigars, whether by unfair perception or just price point, have generally fallen in the third category. Were there a number of cigars at their price level that the Perdomo product blew away? Yes, yes, and again, yes. Is the monetary 'worth' of a cigar a completely subjective judgment which will differ from one customer to the next? Affirmative again.

So, back to the topic at hand. Perdomo's recent decision to dramatically cut the price of their (his, if you prefer) cigars in a time where every other stick seems to be going straight up at the velocity of a manned spacecraft - you see, we used to send people up in... well, this digression is just too much, isn't it? - is a bit of genius. I've seen the price list for their products as it stands now, and not only is it competitive, it would be very hard to find a cigar in that price range where the Perdomo isn't far better. I daresay now they'll be underpriced for what they are. I hope that doesn't come off as derogatory, because I'm not in the business of leafophilia to make enemies. Simply stated, Perdomo looks to make a very big impression with this decision, and a number of people who balked at them before will give the cigars the chance they've richly deserved for years.

Do I retract my comparisons in the original post? No. Taste, of course, is subjective, but I find Pepín's cigars, along with virtually everything coming out of Raices Cubanas, to be as good as anything we've ever had (legally) in the States in my lifetime. It isn't a knock on everyone else, and I'll throw in the heresy that the Padrón 1964, universally acclaimed as exemplary and with good reason, is currently a few dollars more than it should be, relative to the competition. Things are what they are, though, and by this time Padrón can pretty much ask whatever they feel like.

In closing, I sincerely hope to score a truce with the person that posted in rebuttal to me on this board last night. We're all in this together, and Perdomo looks like one of the savviest makers in the industry right now. I look forward to lighting up a Lot 23 in the near future and wish Perdomo all the success in the world. Sláinte.