General Info
- Price: $22
- Made By: Piloto Cigars Inc.
- Factory Location: Nicaragua
- Dimensions: 6.75 ” by 54 ring gauge
- Shape: Churchill
- Filler: Nicaraguan
- Binder: Nicaraguan
- Wrapper: Nicaraguan
- Cold Draw: New Leather, Earthiness, Fresh Cut Grass, Light Roast Coffee, Light Spice
- First Third: Heavy Spice, Baker’s Chocolate, Strong Cedar, Black Pepper
- Second Third: Cocoa, Spice, Strong Cedar, Black Pepper, Coffee, Roasted Peanuts, Fresh Cut Grass
- Final Third: Heavy Spice, Earthiness, Light Cocoa, Roasted Peanuts, Coffee
Appearance
The Padron 1926 Series No. 1 Maduro comes in a gorgeous box-pressed format. It’s Churchill shaped which is a long, fat cigar. The name Churchill is for Sir Winston Churchill, who favored the shape. Some believe he smoked around 300,000 similarly shaped cigars in his day! Box-pressed cigars burn slower and provide an easier draw. Many connoisseurs state this technique also delivers more consistent flavors.
The Padron 1926 Series No.1 Maduro first hit shelves in 2002 to mark the 75th birthday of José Padron. Only 100,000 are released annually, so each band bears a unique serial number to ensure the Padron in your humidor is the real deal. The tooth-ridden dark chocolate brown Maduro wrapper shimmers with oil and is silky soft to touch, while the overall cigar is firm and sturdy. The construction appears flawless, save a vein or two that actually add a welcome rustic feel to the stick.
Taste & Draw
Like so many Maduro cigars, the Padron 1926 Series No.1 Maduro is where the sweet and spicy perform their balancing act. This is a full strength full bodied cigar reserved for experienced smokers. While it is highly complex, never does it shift to being too harsh or overbearing. It’s an interesting smoke that starts with a bang of spice, which quickly becomes a hint, only to return full tilt in the end. Along the way, other spicy notes such as black pepper become balanced out by baker’s chocolate, cocoa, roasted nuts, and fresh cut grass.
The only way to describe the draw is effortless. This box press practically smokes itself. This cigar performs in the top flight manner you’ve come to expect from Padron. At such a high level of quality and consistency, you could probably smoke a dozen of these and uncover the same result time after time.
Cold Draw
New Leather, Earthiness, Fresh Cut Grass, Light Roast Coffee, Light Spice
The cold draw is among the first of many exciting stops along the cigar smoking experience. Sure, you’ve opened the packaging and examined the stick, but the cold draw is your first true introduction. This is where you gather hints as to what flavor gems may lie ahead. The cold draw is not exhaustive and sometimes misleading, but it is our best pre smoke glimpse.
With the Padron 1926 Series No. 1 Maduro, the first flavors you’ll notice are new leather and earthiness. Behind the earthiness, there’s a fresh cut grass note that’s like a glorious time machine to childhood. In the background, you’ll pick up a light roast coffee flavor and a touch of spice . But since this is a Nicaraguan puro, chances are that spice note will quickly establish itself once the cigar is burning.
The cold draw is surprisingly lacking in complexity for a cigar well known for it. While this introductory peek hinted at a few things, rest assured there is much more to this story.
First Third
Heavy Spice, Baker’s Chocolate, Strong Cedar, Black Pepper
Introduce the Padron 1926 Series No. 1 Maduro to your lighter, and you’ ll soon experience billowing clouds of rich smoke laced with heavy spice. Combustion really took what was a nice tame spice in the cold draw to the next level, but just a handful of pulls later, the spice backs down a bit as baker’s chocolate enters the picture.
As previously stated, this sweet and spicy dance is not uncommon when there’s a Maduro wrapper involved. Smoke a little further down, and a strong cedar note enters the picture. And by strong, I mean there’s a spice to it. This is surprising as cedar and spice don’t collaborate much. Perhaps what I’m tasting is the previous spice picking back up around the cedar.
The story is becoming complex, though these tobaccos aged between five and ten years, resulting in a refined smoothness and balance. Everything is holding steady, and while the heavy spice is indeed out front, the other notes are close behind with seemingly firm footing. So far, so smooth.
Second Third
Cocoa, Spice, Strong Cedar, Black Pepper, Coffee, Roasted Peanuts, Fresh Cut Grass
The second third continues many of the previous themes, though the seating arrangements have changed. The first thing you’ll notice is the baker’s chocolate is now a cocoa note, and this cocoa is running the show. The spice has backed way off, but I don’t think this is the last we’ll see of it.
The cedar is unchanged, and a new black pepper note has firmly established itself on the palate. The coffee is back in a big way. It is far beyond a light roast at this point. A satisfying roasted peanut note came out of nowhere, and the fresh cut grass from the cold draw now serves as a refreshing background. The complex dance remains smooth and expertly balanced by one of the oldest cigar families operating today. So far, the burn line is razor sharp, the draw effortless, and the smoke output outstanding.
Final Third
Heavy Spice, Earthiness, Light Cocoa, Roasted Peanuts, Coffee
The excitement builds as you head into the final third. As expected, the heavy spice is back and has almost completely overwhelmed the cocoa, though it still hangs in the background. At no point is this spice harsh or overbearing. The fresh cut grass is now an earthiness flavor. This, combined with the roasted peanuts, helps keep everything balanced . As you approach the nub, the spice and coffee kick into high gear like they have something to prove, though they remain in check.
Padron 1926 Series No. 1 Summary
The Padron 1926 Series No. 1 Maduro is a complex top shelf premium that remains smooth and well balanced from head to nub. There were no issues with the burn line, draw, or construction of the cigar. This is of little surprise, considering the Padron cigar family roots trace back to the tobacco fields of mid 1800 s Cuba.
This rich and complex Maduro remains smooth all the way down, balancing feisty spice and pepper notes with the milder sweet flavors like baker’s chocolate and cocoa. When you smoke a Padron, you’re smoking quality, aged tobacco cultivated on Padron farms. This means that from the second the seed is planted until the cigar reaches your humidor, Padron takes care of everything, ensuring quality and consistency at a level difficult to beat.
Our advice is to keep these sticks aging in your humidor for as long as possible. When you can’t take it anymore, and it’s the end of a long week, grab your drink, your smoke, find your favorite smoking hideout and enjoy this time away. You’ve earned it. Just make sure to get a good meal in before sparking up since this is one strong number. Once you get this candle cigar burning, blow a lush cloud of smoke upward to wish a happy birthday to the man himself, José Padron.
Padron 1926 Series No.1 Maduro Pairing Notes
When compiling this list, I selected drinks that mirror or contrast the cigar’s flavor notes. At times it is important to amplify specific notes while balancing others out. Considering this is a full strength full bodied stick, this list is primary built around strong stouts, brown spirits, and coffees.
- Chocolate Doberge Cake Stout by Abita Beer
- High Water Campfire Stout
- Maduro Brown Ale by Cigar City Brewing
- SanTan Oktoberfest Lager
- Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Aged Whiskey
- Masterson’s 10 Year Old Rye Whiskey
- Medium Roast Coffee
- Dark Roast Coffee
Padron 1926 Series No.1 Maduro History
One can trace the Padron cigar family roots back to Damaso Padron working the Cuban tobacco fields as a boy in the mid 1800s. After saving enough money, Damaso purchased a small tobacco farm. The family continued to work hard and buy farms throughout the Pinar del Río region of Cuba.
When Castro’s communists seized power and began nationalizing the tobacco industry in 1959, the Padrons fled, ultimately landing in Miami. Soon, José launched Padron Cigars in 1964, producing 200 cigars a day with the help of a single roller. In 1967 José began using Nicaraguan tobacco in his cigars. When demand outpaced supply, he moved his operation to Nicaragua and Honduras.
As it so often does, hardship would strike the Padrons several more times, but each time they got back up and kept planting, cultivating, and rolling. Today Padron owns and operates a vast cigar manufacturing facility in the rich growing region of Estelí, Nicaragua.
The Padron 1926 Series No. 1 Maduro debuted in 2002 to commemorate the 75th birthday of José Padron. These cigars are highly sought after and highly limited, with just 100,000 released annually. This is one cigar you do not want to miss. Line your humidor with as many as you can, as soon as you can. You won’t regret one puff
