Padron No. 9 1926

I figured it was finally time to dust off the old blog and get back to reviewing my daily cigar.

There has been quite a lay off in activity for me, at least as far as blogging goes. I'm happy to report that my life has gone in a very positive direction since the last entry, and my involvement in the world of premium cigars has increased tenfold. Since the last time I wrote, I took over as general manager of a humidor and assumed control of all of the daily operations in the cigar department of the business I work for. As a result, in the year and change since that time, I've been able to double the size of our walk-in humidor, add countless new lines and old favorites to the inventory of the humidor, and build great relationships with my community of cigar smokers in the Western New York area.

It goes without saying that I have tried numerous cigars that I've grown to love in this time, too. My life has become cigars and premium tobacco, and I'm proud to say that I have been a positive boon to sales here at my humidor, the "World Famous" Tallchief Cigars humidor, located at the Native Pride truck stop here in beautiful Irving, New York.

My enjoyment of the hobby has increased tenfold (if you could even grasp that,) and to go from working nightly at my local cigar shop to effectively running my own cigar business has been the adventure of a lifetime. I'm trying a lot of new and old favorites, and I figured that now that it's getting a little more chilly and business is slightly slowing down (it's still tremendously busy inside the humidor,) that it would be time to revive Cigar Ledger and provide my customers and followers with even more content surrounding the hobby we all love to relax and share memories with.

All of this has brought me back to Cigar Ledger (sponsored by Tallchief Cigars) and this beautiful blog I worked so hard to build. I get my sticks from my own humidor, and all of the sticks I review going forward can be found on our new website, www.tallchiefcigars.com. I appreciate all of the support my blog has and will receive, and I decided to start things up again today with a bang and try my hand at one of the crown jewels of our humidor, the Padron 1926. 

Padron is not a brand I smoke a lot of - in fact, I'd venture to guess that I smoke only 3-4 Padron per year. This affords me the opportuity to really savor the experience that a Padron cigar brings, while also letting me really examine the cigar puff by puff to read the story it is telling me. I'll do my best to help you determine which cigars your budget belongs to while planning your next trip into my humidor. So, without further ado, welcome back to Cigar Ledger. I present to you, the beautiful Padron 1926.

Cigar: Padron 1926
Size: No. 9 (5 1/4 x 56)
Wrapper: Natural Nigaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Strength: Full

Padron is one of the most revered name in cigars, and for good reason: you can taste the difference when smoking a Padron compared to other smokes you'd find inhabiting most humidors worldwide. The story of Padron is one that has been told time and time again, so I'll save you the details of that one and just state that, whether it is for celebrating or just because you want a good cigar, if you've been involved in the hobby for a decent amount of time, it is likely you've reached for a Padron at your local humidor at least once or twice.

Padron rarely makes new cigars, and that is because they don't really have to. They don't send sales representatives around, and they don't do any promotional deals or sales. Finding a piece of Padron "swag" seems a near impossible task, and all of this is a testament to the standalone power of their brand. Through word or mouth, the Padron story and the smoking experience, Padron has been able to build a cigar empire on the back of one simple ingredient: prime, curated and delicious tobacco.

Padron produces all of the cigars in two different styles: ones with Natural wrappers and ones with Maduro wrappers. They skip using the traditional size names like Robusto and Toro, but stick to those types of sizes with their own monikers for each of them. For this review, I smoked a No. 9 Natural, which looks a lot like a fat Robusto or a slightly-shorter Toro. I believe that every cigar has its own perfect size for smoking, and while that is a principle I'll probably delve into in a later entry, this size is usually the one that I can taste the most of when trying cigars I wouldn't normally smoke.

I try to avoid using cliche words when reviewing a cigar, but the only thing I thought of upon taking the first five or ten pulls off of this Padron was how smooth it was. The tobacco is just a cut above the rest of the cigars in the humidor, and if a cigar was ever strong with no bite or pepper to the taste, this would be the one. I was initially blown away with how easy the draw was and how tasty the smoke was - the first few pulls and the rest of the first third contained notes of toast and nut that were impossible to ignore. I sometimes fear that when I some a full body Nicaraguan that I'm going to get obnoxious power from it, but everything about this Padron was measured and consistent to start. 

This cigar was crowned the 2007 Cigar of the Year and it isn't hard to see why: the construction is brilliant and the draw is borderine perfect for my preference. The second third of this one brings with it some coffee to pair with the nutty and toasty vibe that the first third set. The strength and intensity of this cigar pick up a tick into the second third; not enough to really notice, but it is there. I wouldn't call this cigar the most complex and evolving cigar through the first two thirds, but it comes to life even more in the finish which really hammers home why this cigar is so heralded.

The last third of this cigar is a powerhouse, and the intensity level here is noticably higher than the first two third of this smoke. The finish of the Padron No. 9 is where it really flexes its muscles, forcing the smoker to slow down and notice the nuance this cigar holds toward the nub. Almond and espresso really take over in the last third, with a subtle pepper to back it all up. The end of this smoke is long and drawn out, but in the best way possible: the flavor of this cigar is one to be savored, and the uptick in intensity will force you to take long, measured pulls every few seconds or so. You'll want to set it down and enjoy this one, as each pull packs a ton of flavor and body that wasn't necessariy missing through the start of this cigar, but maybe just a little more subtle. That subtlety is lost in the finale of this one.

Overall, it is easy to see why Padron is such a revered line in the history of cigars when sampling a No. 9. I'll need to have some time to delve into the other offerings from Padron, but as a re-introduction of sorts, this cigar offers the smoker so much in a single experience. At $26.10 per stick (www.tallchiefcigars.com) it's certainly a bit of an investment, but the experience pays off in a variety of ways as you enjoy some loud flavor, big pulls of smoke and perfect construction throughout. This cigar is a classic, and you should try one to truly experience why.
Rating: 4.5/5. A humidor staple for any intermediate smoker and above.