Cigar Review: Garofalo La Famiglia Sun Grown Robusto

United Cigars has begun shipping Garofalo La Famiglia following the press release of the new Garofalo La Famiglia in December of 2020.  The new Garofalo La Famiglia is a special collaboration between New England retailer David Garofalo and Nick Perdomo, Jr., president, and CEO of Perdomo Cigars.

“Making a special line of cigars for my close friend, David Garofalo, is an honor for the Perdomo family,” states Nick Perdomo, Jr. “The original Garofalo Legacy Series has been a success over the last ten years, and we know the addition of the new Garofalo La Famiglia will continue to represent the Garofalo family’s passion and dedication to providing the finest premium hand-made cigars to cigar enthusiasts world-wide.”

Available in three wrappers; Connecticut, Sun Grown & Maduro today we look at the Sun Grown with forthcoming review on the Maduro. Last week we shared our thoughts on the Connecticut version.

Cigar Review: Garofalo La Famiglia Sun Grown
Wrapper: Nicaragua (Aged 5 Years)
Binder: Cuban Seed Nicaragua
Filler: Cuban Seed Nicaragua
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 54
Size: Robusto

The Look: Packaged in stunning 24-count boxes, the Sun Grown features an orange vista showcasing the G with a stylized font that reflects Garofalo’s Italian heritage with colors of green, white and red as well as a crown over the top of it. This vista is also replicated on the cigar band. The cigar itself is seamlessly rolled, with the wrapper featuring a nice amount of oils while the foot is well packed and in the hand the cigar has no voids of tobacco.

The Notes: Once the cap is clipped on the Garofalo La Famiglia Sun Grown the cold draw reveals notes of raisins, shortbread and a subtle molasses while the aroma from the foot serves up a hint of brown sugar, manure and earth. I’ve said it before, the aroma of manure can sound off putting, but it is one of the best compliments that you can pay tobacco.

The first third showcases some red pepper on the initial light which is intensified on the retrohale before it pulls back considerably revealing notes of fig, blueberries and a touch of sourdough bread. As the first third comes to a close some oak notes begin to develop while the retrohale sees additional notes of brown sugar and red pepper.

As we move on to the second third notes of oak intensify while hints of brown sugar remain. Around the halfway point notes of walnuts and peanuts emerge with raisin sweetness on the fairly long finish where it is joined by some continued red pepper while the brown sugar becomes the primary perceived note on the retrohale.

The Garofalo La Famiglia Sun Grown concludes with continued notes of oak and nuts. The nuts become dominant in the final inch of the cigar while the finish has a sweet raisin component that is joined by red pepper. The retrohale sees red pepper dominate the nose, though there is a touch of brown sugar and oak as well.

The Finish: The orange banded cigar made at Perdomo for United Cigars stands out on the shelf, and once you smoke this it will stand out in your humidor as a go to smoke. It’s incredibly well rounded with a lot of complexity and subtle nuances that keep me coming back for more. Since I grabbed my first one this is a cigar I have reached for often. It’s early January, but this is a contender for the 2022 cigar of the year in my opinion, but we will have to see what else the year has to offer. The Robusto scores high, but the Epicure is even better.

Score: 95
Price: $9.99 / $191.19