Perdomo Nick’s Sticks Little Havana Blend Sun Grown

So I’m finally back in cigar smoking condition and I come back this week with one last review from our awesomely crazy insane contest coming up next soon. What contest you ask? Well, in case you missed Tony’s post earlier this week, click here to read it. We have a pile of prizes to give to our wonderful readers coming from our amazing sponsors! Make sure to read that post and be sure to join us and try to win!

So this week I sat down on a crazy warm day to write my review. It was like 65 degrees today and only 2 days ago it was 5F! 55 degree difference in 2 days? Crazy right?! Well I made the most of it and sat down with a cigar I’ve been wanting to review for awhile. It is the Nicks Sticks Little Havana Blend by Perdomo, a special budget friendly blend created by none other than Nick Perdomo himself!

The Nick’s Sticks line comes in 3 wrapper types and all are filler and bound by Cuban seed Nicaraguan tobacco. There is a white label for Connecticuts, a black label for Maduros and todays blend is the Sun Grown marked by a deep red/burgundy label. The Nick’s Sticks name actually dates back to the beginning of the Perdomo brand and these cigars were only available at their store in Little Havana, Miami at the time. Nick listened to his fans and customers and by popular demand the blend is now being produced in larger quantities for distribution across the nation.

You will notice that the price of these cigars is very accessible and if history is any indication, they will carry the trademark quality and consistently that I’ve come to know from the Perdomo brand. I’ve always been amazed at how Perdomo can produce such consistent sticks for a fraction of the cost of some other manufacturers. So does the Nick’s Sticks Little Havana Blend live up the Perdomo legacy and will it be another winner in their growing line up of cigars? Read on to find out what I thought!

Cigar: Perdomo Nick’s Sticks Little Havana Blend Sun Grown
Drink: Coffee
Vitola: Torpedo (6.5 x 54)
Wrapper: Sun Grown Nicaraguan
Binder: Cuban-Seed Nicaraguan
Filler: Cuban-Seed Nicaraguan
Price: About $4.00 – $4.50
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The wrapper on this cigar has a soft but rough texture to it with very few veins
• There do seem to be a few bumps and even two little tears in the wrapper
• The cap is amazingly finished and blends seamlessly into the rest of the wrapper
• The foot appears full and well packed and the whole cigar has a nice firmness to it but with just the right amount of spring when squeezed
• The cut was super clean and easy leaving me with a perfect draw

Burn:
• Toasting was very even and easy, it’s like the cigar wanted to light itself
• There’s a slight wave as I burn through the first inch but nothing major so far, let’s hope it doesn’t turn bad
• The burn is still slightly wavy but it’s keeping the wave at a good minimum and not causing issues, burn has been good so far
• Just after I passed the halfway mark the wrapper cracked just below the band, nothing major now I’m just hoping it doesn’t explode on me
• The wrapper split didn’t get bigger but it did cause a bit of a wonky burn that needed a little correction from my lighter
• Quick note that I didn’t have the spilt problem on any other Nick’s Sticks cigars that I smoked in any wrapper

Smoke & Ash:
• There is a ton of smoke coming from every draw on this cigar
• The resting smoke is equally abundant and giving off a nice campfire type of aroma
• So far the ash is very clean, very white and holding strong through the first inch
• The first ash rolled off into the ashtray shortly after the 1 inch mark
• Each subsequent ash stayed strong just past the one inch mark before I tapped it off
• The smoke stayed full and thick throughout the entire cigar

Tasting Notes:
• The dry aroma on the wrapper of this cigar definitely shows signs of cocoa and soft tobacco
• The foot brings forth a ton of woodsiness an a good helping of baking spices
• Pre-light draw brought more cedar flavors and spices with just a touch of cocoa in there too
• Initial flavors on the Perdomo Nick’s Sticks are cedar, a bit of leather, some baking spices and a touch of earthiness in there too
• The body is definitely on the mild side with a very smooth woodsy finish
• The leather and spices seem to have tapered off a bit and I’m left with a smooth woodsy cigar with some hints of earthiness and cocoa
• The retrohale on this cigar brings an interesting spice mix and the finish is smooth and woodsy
• As I get near the middle of the cigar it seems the body has stepped up a bit to a nice smooth medium
• The flavors continue to be well balanced and enjoyable despite not changing up a whole lot, there is a nice fresh baked cookie type of flavor appearing now and then
• The spice is making a nice slow comeback and balancing well with the cedar and earthy notes
• The flavors really started to pop in the last third, no harshness but a definite spike in the spices and cedar and a touch more body as well
• Getting a slight coffee flavor in the last third as well that’s joining the other flavors nicely

Final Thoughts:
I’m a pretty big Perdomo fan and enjoy a lot of their cigars. I find that they are all well made, and enjoyable. They seem to fit into the comfort zone of a lot of smokers and can be a good “Ol’ Faithful” stick to keep in the humidor. Having said that, I came into this review with high expectations and I was not left down. At a cost close to $4.00 for a Torpedo stick this is definitely a budget friendly cigar and it fits the bill perfectly. It had some interesting flavors and a great burn (minus one minor wrapper crack that didn’t really cause any major problems). I have to say that Perdomo has another quality and reliable stick on their hands with the Nick’s Sticks Little Havana Blend Sun Grown and I will definitely be seeking out more of these. Their price also makes them easy to hand out to friends without breaking the bank and everyone gets a good cigar in the process. Grab some an enjoy!

Pairings:
As you may know I’ve been battling some cold/flu symptoms lately so I visited my doctor and got some nice anti-biotics to help clean out whatever it is that’s been bothering me. So that means I gotta lay off the alcoholic pairings for a little while. I decided to make myself just a plain cup of coffee with a bit of milk to go with today’s cigar. It ended up being quite a nice pairing. There weren’t any strong coffee flavors from the cigar so it almost added a nice little dimension to the whole experience. I think a nice dark ale would have been a perfect pairing here too.