The award-winning Padron 1926 Serie premiered in 2002 to commemorate Jose O. Padron’s 75th birthday. The line contains refined tobacco aged five to ten years and it comes in a Natural and Maduro wrapper. Today on The Cigar Authority we offer up a review of the Maduro.
Cigar Review: Padron 1926 Serie
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Length: 5.25
Ring Gauge: 56
Size: No. 9
The Look: Packaged in wooden boxes of 24 cigars the Padron 1926 Serie is laid out in two rows of 12 cigars. The cigar features a primary band of maroon, cream and gold with a secondary anti-counterfeiting band underneath. The cigar is box pressed to perfection with a pristine wrapper that has a subtle took to it. In the hand the cigar is firm to the touch with a nice weight to it and a well packed foot.
The Notes: The cold draw of the No. 9 offers up a strong cedar component with a subtle hint of caramel which in this case reminds me of a candied apple. The aroma off the foot of the cigar serves up subtle notes of paprika, wasabi and cedar. Once the cigar is lit there are notes of cedar and spice, oh so nice.
Moving into the first third the spice pulls back and the addition of cocoa and coffee battle for the dominant profile. By the time we reach the end of the first third, espresso notes are dominant with the cigar being creamy smooth. The retrohale of the Padron offers up some subtle peppers and an abundance of cedar.
Moving into the second third coffee notes are joined by a subtle cocoa and earth all melding together to give an experience that is described with one word, Padron. The aroma of the cigar serves up sweet cedar notes and through the retrohale there is pepper which has grown slightly in intensity along with some added cedar.
The final third continues status quo which for the Padron Serie 1926 is just what you would want. Coffee, Mocha, Earth on the palate, cedar and pepper on the retrohale. Smooth, flavorful, refined. It’s what you want from a cigar.
The Finish: When I started cigar smoking the benchmark was Padron. In fact, if it wasn’t for Padron I might have given up on cigars as in the late 90’s there was a lot of crap on the market. The company was my first go to cigar, and today it continues to be one of my top go to cigars. It’s smooth and balanced, with a lot of consistent flavor, and the cigar is spot on from box to box, year to year.
Score: 95
Price: $20.00 / $479.99
Padron 1926 No. 9
Padron 1926 No. 9 Foot
Padron 1926 No. 9 Burn
