Vitola: No. 90- 5.5” x 50 ring gauge
- $24.99
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
In October, I tried the Padron 1926 Serie No. 90 Natural and learned an important lesson…sometimes you just don’t mess with success. It was the first 1926 Natural I had ever smoked…simply because the price tag of this series is very high and I have always preferred their Maduros in both the Padron Series and 1964 Anniversary Series. Turns out I highly prefer the Maduros for the 1962 Serie, too. So I’m happy to follow up that review (which was largely negative) with one of the Maduro version of the cigar.
As noted in the previous review, this is the first Padron 1962 to be round (not box-pressed) and shipped in a tube (which is generally hard to do with a square cigar). As you probably already know, as well, Padron uses all Nicaraguan tobaccos for their filler and binder, while the origin of their wrapper leaves is somewhat of a debate. The Natural wrappers are, I believe, Nicaraguan. Some Padron Partisans will insist to you that their Maduros are also Nicaraguan across the board…but I’ve had reputable sources tell me that they know the growers in Mexico that sell wrapper leaf to Padron. Whether that Mexican leaf is used on all or just some of their Maduros, I honestly don’t know. I’m fairly certain the 1964 Anniversary Series Maduro uses Mexican wrapper, but I don’t know about the rest. The Padron family has actually never confirmed anything, to my knowledge; when I asked a member a few years ago, he said (in effect), “Who cares? Just enjoy it!”
This is not nearly my first 1926 Serie Maduro, but it is my first one in the No. 90 vitola, which was produced to celebrate the 90th birthday or family patriarch, Jose Orlando Padron. I bought it at Burns Tobacconist.
Prelight
The packaging is pretty much the same for these, except dark red/burgundy tubes. The rest is consistent with the Natural version, with the same print (except for the very tiny type at the bottom of the front of the tube that here says “Maduro”). The cigar comes in cellophane inside the tube.
The wrapper of the cigar was a espresso bean brown in color with almost as much oil shining in the light as roasted coffee beans have. It was smooth under my fingertips and had a rich earth aroma with a large anise component and lesser notes of coffee and leather. The foot had a rich earthiness with semi-sweet chocolate and cocoa powder.
After clipping, the draw was flawless and had a mix of cocoa powder and earth flavors with a touch of cinnamon.
Flavor
I got the No. 90 Maduro burning and got an immediate flavor cascade of earth, cedar, and espresso bean, following closely by cocoa powder and red and black pepper. The retrohale had more cedar and a very intense red pepper burn. Several minutes later, the pepper subsided a bit and the smoke rolled smooth and creamy across my palate, rich with flavors of earth and coffee and semi-sweet chocolate.
The sweetness intensified at times in the second third, with a very nice dried dark fruit note riding on the smoke. Mostly, though, it continued on with a very earthy flavor, accented by more coffee and cocoa powder. The pepper continued as a low level burn at the back of the palate and on the nose.
In the end, the Padron No. 90 Maduro had a fantastic balance of Nicaraguan earthiness and Maduro sweetness, carried on a creamy, smooth smoke that had anise, dried fruit, leather, and natural tobacco flitting in and out of the mix.
Construction
I had a fantastic draw, very even burn line and solid ash throughout.
Value
$25 is a lot to pay for any cigar, but this is a Padron 1926 Serie, and $25 is right at the mid-point of the range for these. And it was every bit as good as the 80 Year that I don’t mind paying more than $33 for, so I’d call this a very good value.
Conclusions
This is what I smoke Padron for. The Natural version definitely fell flat for me, especially in the end, but the Maduro is lively, sweet, earthy and complex. It has a medium-to-full body, creamy smoke, and a rich flavor profile that didn’t disappoint from beginning to end. Could be the best of the 1926 Serie…could be the best cigar I’ve had this year…and if anyone says differently, they might use be crazy.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 10/10
