Padrón 1926 Serie No. 35 Maduro

By Daniel T. | April 7, 2010

Padrón is synonymous with great high-quality cigars, both on the premium and inexpensive levels. Most anyone who smokes cigars has tried or at least heard the Padrón name. Damaso Padrón and his sons cultivated tobacco fields in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, in the 1800’s and began the legacy of the Padrón family name. Sometime later, the Padrón family moved to Little Havana, Florida and began Padrón Cigars in 1964. Padrón cigars is one of the few manufacturers that handle all aspects of the cigar making process, from growing the tobacco seeds all the way through to distribution of the finished product. Read more about the Padrón family and Padrón Cigars by visiting their website: www.padron.com

Padrón Cigars offers 3 consistent lines along with a select few special releases. The particular cigar I reviewed was from the “1926 Serie” and is called the “No. 35” measuring in at 4inches with a 48 ring gauge. All vitolas in the series are available in both Maduro and Sun-Grown Natural wrappers. The other sizes available in this line are: No. 6 (4.75 x 50), No. 2 (5.5 x 52), No. 9 (5.25 x 56) and two specialty vitolas, ‘40th Anniversary’ (6.5 x 54) and ‘80 Years’ (6.75 x 54). The prices of these cigars tend to be fairly high but they are intended to be a premium line and more than live up to their selling price. The 1926 Serie was first released in 2002 and is a commemoration of Jose O. Padrón’s 75th birthday. The minimum age for all tobacco in this line is 5 years, so rest assured you are getting a wonderfully aged product right out of the box, no need to let them rest. Light up and enjoy!

I also wanted to note that each Padrón 1926 Serie cigar comes with a second band under the logo band that is individually numbered after undergoing their strict quality controls. The annual production of this cigar will be limited to only 100,000 each year. When I picked up this cigar on a trip down in Florida I was hesitant whether it would live up to the name given the small vitola. Take a few minutes to read my notes on the cigar and you’ll see that it was worth every penny.

Cigar: Padrón 1926 Serie Maduro
Drink: Niagara Region Merlot from Peninsula Ridge
Vitola: No. 35 (48×4)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $13.00
Burn Time: 1 Hour

Construction:
• Box pressed shape
• Slightly bumpy wrapper with no major veins
• A deep brown color with a nice oily sheen
• Very firm throughout with very minor spring to it
• Very neat single cap
• The band was just perfectly loose so I know there are no glue or wrapper issues underneath
• Individually numbered second band below the logo band
• Cut was effortless and even
• Draw is dead-on perfect which is surprising considering the firm feel, stayed perfect throughout the cigar

Burn:
• Toasting was quick and even, no awkward or dark spots
• Burn was razor sharp straight from the toasting
• Not much else to say here, it was perfect, no wavy burn, no touch ups, burned without me needing to babysit. Every cigar should be like this

Smoke & Ash:
• Good mouthful of smoke
• Not overbearing and not wishing for more, just right
• Resting smoke is just right and giving off a perfect “cigar smell”, not sure how else to describe it… just sweet and savory
• Light gray ash with some black highlights
• Ash is very tight and strong with no flaking
• Held on past 1 inch, surprising considering the smaller size and ring gauge
• It’s almost like a piece of art, looks too perfect

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper aroma is light and just smells of tobacco
• Foot has a nice tobacco aroma with a bit of a barnyard scent
• Pre-light draw has a mild spice to it and some pepper on the lips
• Initial draws have a great sweet tobacco flavor and some earthy tones
• Medium bodied and well balanced
• About half an inch in, starting to detect some coffee/espresso notes
• Retrohale has a small bite to it and a great finish of sweet tobacco and coffee
• Approaching the halfway point, starting to pick up some woodsy notes
• The balance of spice on the retrohale and flavors in the draw are near perfect, couldn’t ask for anything else
• Past the half-way point, the bitter coffee flavor (think espresso) has changed to a roasted coffee flavor, very nice
• Great cedar flavors as I approach the end
• Some pepper and spice came in near the end and body ramped up to a medium-full
• Very minor bitterness at the end, more like a coffee bitter instead of the usual harsh bitter on the nub of other cigars

Final Thoughts:
This is a wonderful cigar experience and would definitely recommend this to anyone that asks. The flavors throughout the cigar were pronounced yet balanced and enjoyable. There was not a single spot in the cigar that I wasn’t enjoying myself, it was great from the first draw to the last. Although in the higher price range, this is definitely a box-worthy cigar to be smoked on any occasion, whether a special day or just relaxing on a sunny afternoon.

Pairings:
A cigar like this requires a good pairing or you could throw off the delicate balance of flavors that make this a great cigar. My pairing with a medium bodied, semi-dry wine worked perfectly. I can also see this working well with a fine scotch or cognac. Don’t opt for the inexpensive stuff here, it will take away from the experience. I also wouldn’t go with port or soda on this cigar as the high sugar content could also lessen the experience. For a non-alcoholic pairing, I’d probably go with water or coffee to make this cigar really shine.