Vitola: Corona Gorda- 6” x 46 ring gauge
- ~$17
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
The Padron No. 89 was originally released for Jose Orlando Padron’s 89th birthday and was a shop exclusive for Smoke Inn. In 2018, it was announced that another run of No. 89s would be produced for the exclusive group of retailers known as the Tobacconist Association of America (TAA). Padron has done several TAA releases, including the 1964 Anniversary Series Toro and Belicoso, as well as the 1926 Serie No. 47 and 48. Of those previous releases, the 1964 Toro and 1926 48 are still in production as TAA-exclusives. The 1964 Belicoso has been discontinued to my knowledge and the 1926 No. 47 is now available to all Padron retailers. It has been stated that this No. 89 release is a “one and done”…once they are gone, they will not see the light of day again. I’m experienced and cynical enough in the cigar industry by now to not automatically believe anyone saying “we’ll never make this cigar again.”
The blend was announced at the March 2018 TAA convention in the Dominican Republic and it was expected to ship in the summer of 2018. It was later reported that the civil unrest in Nicaragua had delayed the shipment of the cigars and they did not actually start making it to retailers until February 2019. I’m going to openly call BS on the claim that the civil unrest delayed the cigars, though…if that was the reason for the delay there was really no excuse at all for not shipping complete orders to stores that have been waiting 11 months for these cigars. As it is, every TAA member shop that ordered the cigars got partial shipments…somewhere between 15 and 25% of the total ordered amount. The shop I work in got 10 boxes of Maduros and no Naturals at all…we ordered 30 boxes of each wrapper variety.
Padron is also very secretive about what tobaccos they use for their blends. We can assume they are using Nicaraguan filler and binder for these cigars. As for the wrapper…who knows? I have had several people inside the industry tell me Padron is one of the biggest buyers of Mexican wrapper leaf and I know they use it for at least the 1964 Anniversary Series Maduro. I don’t know about this blend or others.
I smoked one of these the day they came into the shop and bought another to bring home for review. None of Leaf Enthusiast’s current sponsors is a TAA shop and these are only available at TAA member stores. In addition, nearly all of the initial shipment of these cigars sold out within a day or two from most stores that are vocal on social media. Check TAA’s website to find the member store nearest you.
Prelight
The box was classic Padron with a simple wood stained just slightly darker than “natural.” This isn’t the first Padron to come in a 10-count box…all Family Reserve lines, as well as a few 1926 lines are 10-count boxes…but this is the smallest, if I’m not mistaken and that makes for a small box. Makes me almost wish for a larger box count just so a cigar this long-anticipated would have a more substantial box. The band is a black and gold version off the simple band you may know and love from the regular Padron Series (or “1000s Series,” as it’s commonly called), and it uses the second band underneath is with a serial number like the 1964 Anniversary Series. It’s an interesting and unique appearance that I took to right away…but I have to admit more than a couple people didn’t see it as a Padron automatically when I pointed the box out to them. It just kind of disappeared.
Part of that could have been the way the black band doesn’t have a huge amount of contrast with the very dark wrapper leaf of this Maduro version. The wrapper was a dark roast coffee brown with a healthy amount of oils to the eye and to the touch. There was also the slightest sandpapery toothiness under my fingers. The aroma of the wrapper was dark earth, leather and anise…and I was almost immediately convinced that this was Mexican leaf, too, by the way. The foot of the cigar was earthy, but also had a rich semi-sweet chocolate aroma.
The cold draw was very good and offered up flavors of dark earth, bittersweet chocolate, salt, and wood. For the second time in two cigars, after clipping the head at a standard (shallow) depth, the wrapper began to unravel on me during prelight draws. I’ve noticed this on other Padron cigars of varying levels, too, and it does seem to be becoming a real issue. It’s fine that their cigars taste great, but if you want to sell them for as much as a Davidoff, maybe it’s time to make them with as much skill and care, too.
Flavor
The Padron No 89 Maduro opens with a heavy, thick earthiness, semi-sweet chocolate notes, salt and an unrelenting black pepper. The pepper did fade on the palate fairly quickly. The retrohale was nutty, salty, and peppery. The rest of the first third was full-bodied, spicy, woody, and earthy. I would have to guess Mexican for the wrapper leaf, although with more age on it than they normally give to the 1964 Maduro wrapper as it has more sweetness than bitterness. I will say that the first third does border on harsh at times with the aggressiveness of the pepper and earth.
In the second third I still got a strong earthiness, along with an increased sweetness and an abatement of the peppery note. Somewhere along the way some anise snuck into the flavor profile, adding its distinctive flavor as an accent.
The final third of the Padron No 89 Maduro got sweeter while pepper spice morphed into more of a red pepper heat that lasted long after each puff. Earth and leather were in the mix, as well.
Construction
The cigar lost half a point on construction because of the consistency of the peeling wrapper caused by too little glue at the cap. Other than that, I had a solid ash, great draw and very even burn line.
Value
Very good cigar at a price that’s right in between the Anniversary Series and 1926 Serie, so I say it’s worth the price.
Conclusions
The Padron No 89 is a very fine cigar marred only by slight construction issues that seem to persist across many Padron lines as well as a first third that was almost harsh at time. In the end, though, it was full-bodied, sweet, earth, spicy, and definitely a Padron. If you are already a fan of the company’s Maduro offerings, you’ll like this cigar…or you may love it. For myself I like it a lot and would put it preference-wise in between the 1964 and 1926 blends. I look forward to trying the Natural to see how it stacks up.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10
