Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 6.75 x 54 Box Pressed Figurado
Strength: Full
Price: $35.00
My cigars received 5 months of naked humidor time.
BACKGROUND:
This blend was released in 2006. The Padrón 1926 Serie 80 pays tribute to Jose Orlando’s 80th birthday.
This cigar is blended with Padron’s own 5-year aged tobacco. Naked humi time is merely perfunctory.
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
This cigar received a rating of 92 from Cigar Aficionado. That’s like 110 from me.
There is a flushing meadow of reviews of the Maduro but only a fingerful of the Natural.
Padron is a hallowed cigar brand…like saying Cohiba Habano. Not much mystery of what this review will reveal…but I got nothing to do this morning besides raking hay, herding the cows, and feeding the hogs. So, here’s my 2¢.
I’m on a run reviewing expensive cigars this year. I’ve written about every inexpensive good cigar available…very little left as the cigar industry uses its mechanical dollar inflator to wreak havoc.
When you’re in the moment alone with your cigar, you don’t always identify flavors. Suggestions from other smokers, whether on social media or industry reviewers, helps pinpoint obvious tasty notes. Subtle flavor points are up to you.
Some cigars just smell great. This one drips with caramel and milk chocolate.
The pointy cap and the tiny foot make it difficult to get air flowing. I am totally adept at artfully using my PerfecDraw on itty bitty openings, but I like to wait a couple minutes to see if the draw clears on its own. No one wants to fuck up a $35 cigar.
The damn thing is plugged. Anthony Perkins comes alive in me as I stab away with my PD tool. I calm myself with a hunk of cheese, and a naked portrait of Boris Badenov lounging at his Pottsylvania beach resort.
Incredible start. The cigar oozes rich notes of milk chocolate, malt, caramel, creaminess, lemon, and some vague nuttiness.
Flavors take second place to the complexity. There is no foolin’ around. This is a beautifully crafted blend. This is my third stab (Marion Crane) at this cigar and each one was brilliantly consistent.
I’d love to show you progressive photos as the cigar burns into the mystic…but there is slobber all over the cap. No one wants to see another man’s goo.
I clip ¼” of the slobbery cap and the airflow is now exemplary. Never be afraid of adjusting your cigar. Much like adjusting your underwear before and after a rectal exam.
Flavors continue to mass together to form a chain. The multifaceted blending approach clicks. I love big flavors. I also love sophisticated smokes that give me a wonderful window into the past. 80 Years is your daddy’s cigar blend. Everyone is running to catch up with exotic Dominican, Ecuadorian, Sumatran, and Peruvian blends. This is the future for the next few years. A first-rate line of attack. Diversity in your line-up finds the Serie 1926 a crucial part. Never be satisfied. Explore all avenues.
Strength began at a potent medium but now at 2” burned, the muscle is unveiled as full vigor kicks in. Empty stomach first cigar of the day…going to be a bumpy ride now.
Transitions are minimal in the flavor department. The growth appears in the vibrance of this tricky blend. You gotta pay attention to this baby. Padron and CA call out black tea. Spot on. I might have missed it.
Creaminess and lemon citrus show momentum. Whipped cream comes to mind as I consider cavorting. While you wonder why I brought up the need for cavortation, the cigar continues to bring subtle nuances of disciplinary action to the girls at the Catholic school. Which came first…the bruised knuckles or the ruler? Charlotte went to Catholic school in the 1950’s in Germany. Nuns wore armbands.
As conflagration was in full swing, my girlfriend told me she had participated in a ménage à trois. And never wanted to do it again. My boner hid in the corner.
Too many descriptive words? How did Toto get the word ‘Serengeti’ into a song? I rest my case.
The halfway point arrives. 1-1/4 hours. Strength is potent but without nicotine. But it doesn’t remove the swooning part of the program. My cavorting results in bumping into the furniture. The maid is going to be pissed.
Espresso, milk chocolate, slight black pepper, black tea, nuttiness, soil, caramel, cedar, black cherries, and tony ferret gloves. A flavor bomb? Nope.
If you want to experience being a grown-up man, the Padrón 1926 Serie 80 Years Natural is a must. A perfect cigar to see you through puberty.
I got my swoon on. No White Russian needed. I can’t get the cigar band off.
The second half is killer…just killer. Some dance to remember. Some dance to forget.
Nothing replaces aging. Merriam-Webster defines aging as ceasing to divide. Clearly, H.L. Mencken never smoked the 80 Years. We’ll run till we drop. Hemi-powered.
This was an astonishing journey. Get your own swoon on. I can’t recommend this cigar highly enough. Rarely are cigars at this price point worth it. Padrón lives in rarefied air.
You can purchase these cigars from sponsor Small Batch Cigar (10% off with promo code ‘katman’).
RATING: 98
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
This stick is a personal fav of one of my compadres. He swears by it. I have enjoyed a few myself and pretty much agree with your take. $35 is a tough pill to swallow when you smoke a stick a day. My personal fav in the Padron line is the 4000. Not as pretty as this stick, but it gets the job done.
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Hey Tony,
I’m a fan of the Padron x000 series blends. I just reviewed the Padrón 4000 Series Maduro Toro a couple weeks ago. And for a tad over $10 after promo codes, what’s not to love?
Thanks for your comment,
Phil
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This review had me rolling, great writing as always! I think I might have one of these hiding in my humidor from a blind variety pack I bought a while ago. I’ll have to look tomorrow, sounds like a beautiful cigar.
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After reading your review, and then the recap, I couldnt take the pressure anymore and I ordered 2 of these and 2 of the 90s. Well, there goes a day and a half’s pay! What was I to do? Sometimes we just have to make sacrifices.
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Yes, we do.
Phil
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