Lord Baltimore Distributors has again teamed up with Nick Perdomo of Perdomo Cigars for its latest release, Hobson’s Choice Sungrown. According to a Lord Baltimore Distributors press release, the new cigar joins the Hobson’s Choice line, which the company says was built around approachable Shade, Sungrown, and Maduro blends that are flavorful and welcoming to all palates.
That “again” is doing some work. Hobson’s Choice was already a Perdomo-made line. When Lord Baltimore launched it in 2024, Perdomo was the factory behind it, and this Sungrown is a continuation of that partnership rather than a first-time collaboration.
The Sungrown is the newest of those wrappers. Lord Baltimore says the blend uses all aged Nicaraguan tobaccos, and it will be offered in four sizes: Robusto, Toro, Torpedo, and Churchill. The press release does not list ring gauges, pricing, or a ship date, and it does not describe how the Sungrown tastes. We will not invent those details here.
A sungrown wrapper, in general, is grown in open sunlight rather than under shade cloth. Brands often turn to that leaf when they want a slightly darker look and a bit more body than a classic shade-grown Connecticut, without jumping all the way to a maduro. That is useful context for the style, not a review of this particular cigar. We have not smoked it yet.
A New Wrapper for a Familiar Line
The box art for the new release is marked “Hobson’s Choice Sapphire Sungrown,” with a gold “H 1810” crest on a red box and a red-and-blue “1810” band. That Sapphire name is not new. When Lord Baltimore introduced Hobson’s Choice in 2024, it did so as Hobson’s Choice Sapphire, a Perdomo-made line that launched at the PCA Convention & Trade Show and began shipping on March 25, 2024, according to halfwheel.
At that debut, halfwheel reported two wrapper options: an Ecuadorian Connecticut-seed version and a Connecticut broadleaf Maduro, both with a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan fillers. Those cigars were offered in the same four size names now listed for the Sungrown, all of them 54-ring gauge: a 5 x 54 Robusto, 6 x 54 Toro, 7 x 54 Churchill, and 7 x 54 Torpedo. Suggested retail at the time ranged from $8.29 to $9.79 per cigar, packed in 20-count boxes. The new press release does not say whether the Sungrown uses those same dimensions or prices, so we are not assuming it does.
Lord Baltimore now describes the line as Shade, Sungrown, and Maduro. The Connecticut-wrapper cigars from the 2024 launch are the Shade side of that trio. The Sungrown is the piece the company is adding now.
Take It or Leave It
The name has a story. Lord Baltimore’s press release says Hobson’s Choice comes from an old horse-brokering term meaning “take it or leave it.” halfwheel’s 2024 report on the Sapphire launch gave the same origin and noted that Steve Castro — who co-owns Davidus Cigars with his brother David — has a horse farm that uses the same name.
That family connection matters for shoppers. Lord Baltimore Distributors is the wholesale side of the Castro family’s Maryland cigar business, and Davidus is its retail counterpart. The new press release is clear about one limit: the Sungrown is available only to current Lord Baltimore Distributors accounts because of limited availability. If your shop already buys from Lord Baltimore, it is worth asking. If it does not, this one may not show up in the humidor.
Lord Baltimore has not posted a public copy of the press release on its distributor website, which is account-login only, or on the Hobson’s Choice Sapphire pages at its retail site. We will update this story if the company shares pricing, vitola dimensions, or a street date.
The Cigar Guys Take
We have not covered Hobson’s Choice before, but Perdomo’s name on a project is usually a good reason to pay attention. We recently looked at the Perdomo Legacy Gran Collection, another release built around well-aged tobacco, and we have written about Perdomo’s Vintage Aged 12 Years as well. An all-Nicaraguan Sungrown from that factory, aimed at being welcoming rather than a once-a-year special, is the kind of everyday cigar we like to see land in shops.
The limited-account rollout is the catch. This is not a national drop you can count on finding everywhere next week. Ask your retailer if they work with Lord Baltimore. If they do, the Sungrown is the new wrapper in a line that already had Shade and Maduro covered, and it is the one to look for if you have already been smoking the earlier blends.
We have not smoked it yet. When we do, we will talk about it on the podcast.
Sources: Lord Baltimore Distributors press release · halfwheel: Lord Baltimore Adding Hobson’s Choice Sapphire (March 17, 2024)
