CRC: Padrón 1926 Series No.90 Maduro

[Hoosh]

I enjoy smoking Padrón cigars for many reasons, not the least among them is the fact their cigars are ready to smoke the minute you buy them; you don’t have to put them away for years to develop some mythical flavor profile that more than likely isn’t how the Padrón family wanted the cigar to be smoked anyhow (the “keep quickly smoking our cigars so we can sell you more” argument is valid, but IMO, not with Padrón). The resulting smoke of this No.90 verifies this. 

It’s round - the only 1926 Series cigar to be so (Personal bias, I detest a box pressed cigar, especially those that are hard pressed). It comes in a tube - again the only 1926 Series cigar to do so. Its dark wrapper is almost crudely rolled - unlike almost all Padrón’s I’ve smoked. It’s ~$28 - expensive in my mind for some tobacco. Does any of that matter? After and hour and three quarters of smoking time, for me, it’s a resounding “No.”

A sweet milk chocolate and fig nose added to the unlit draw flavor of chocolate marzipan wafers. I was immediately reminded of the green Ritter Sport candy bar - IYKYK. 

Once lit, the initial blast of both pepper and wood settled into predominantly earthy flavors, combined with some nuttiness, thinly veiled, sweet tobacco, and a very peppery retrohale. The aroma on this cigar made me wonder why all cigars don’t smell as wonderful as this…At this point, even after a large dinner, this was a solid medium strength cigar. 

Deep into the second third and almost halfway, is where the cigar changed. Spice and earth took a a backseat to major coffee/espresso flavors. It reminded me of some Kona Peaberry I had in the morning. Again, IYKYK, but I would argue that such coffee is as good as it gets, and if you haven’t had it, don’t worry about the price. Just buy some whole bean to grind yourself. You’ll know what I’m talking about with this cigar then. 🙂

 

The burn line was almost perfect, surely nothing to do with my smoking pace. The ash held well, though not tightly. And while the retrohale was still indeed peppery, a syrupy dark cherry flavor was added to the coffee, and it was here, in the last third, that I realized this cigar was even stronger than I had anticipated. Despite the aforementioned large dinner, I was even sitting down and realized just how much nicotine was contained therein! Nice - an advertised full strength cigar that actually was. I’ve smoked a lot of Padróns (and mostly full strength cigars in general) and this was the first one that hit me with the strength that most folks say Padrón cigars contain. 

A wonderful cigar. In my mind, worth the cost for the experience. Get some when you find them, but be wary - it is what they say it is. This is a 90+ cigar. 🙂