Some Padron Cigars from Holts

The folks at Holt’s asked me to buy some Padron cigars from them, and helped me out a little with the purchase. This was a bit ironic considering the passing of Jose O. Padron last week.  I’ve smoked Padron cigars over the last 20 years, and it’s amazing how consistent they are. Twenty years ago they were one of the few Nicaraguan cigars, and for a while, if I remember correctly, they were made in both Nicaragua and Honduras. The Padron family can certainly be credited with popularizing Nicaraguan cigars. Over the years I’ve smoked everything from the 1964 Anniversary down to the fumas that were sold in Miami cafeterias, and I had the good fortune to smoke a Millenium just a couple of years ago, as well as having smoked one when they came out in 2000 (thanks Bruce!).

I bought the Padron #88 Natural Sampler from Holt’s, and had it been a week later, I might have sprung for a couple of the 1926 line, which I’ve not had the opportunity to sample (largely due to my frugality. The #88 sampler is a great deal at $38.99, you get one each of the following:  #2000 Natural (5 x 50), #3000 Natural (5.5 x 52), #4000 Natural (6.5 x 54), #5000 Natural (5.5 x 56), and Anniversary 1964 Exclusivo Natural (5.5 x 50). I usually get the maduros, which is why I deviated from my usual course and got the natural wrapper versions. These come in a nice cardboard box, suitable for gift-giving!  This week I smoked the #5000, #3000 and #2000 and they were all spectacular. They have a dusty cocoa flavor along with a sweet tobacco. They aren’t the prettiest, some of the caps are a little shaky, but they had a nice box press and an effortless draw. I’ve been busy smoking newer cigars to the market, sometimes it’s good to go old school and get back to basics. It’s hard to go wrong with Padron cigars, and I really enjoyed smoking the three I smoked over the last few days.  Now I have to put some maduros in the humidor, sad to say I don’t have a lot.

Thanks to the folks at Holt’s for helping me out with the purchase of these great cigars (along with some others, they had free shipping over a certain dollar amount, and I’d much rather use the shipping money on cigars, and it wasn’t convenient for me to run into the city!). Take a look at their blog too, it’s got some good inside information from a retailer’s perspective. In other news, CigarCraig’s Secret Santa assignments went out last week and I’ve heard from two people who received goodies. Participants are encouraged to use the CigarCraig Facebook page to share their thank-yous to their Santas if they like, like Kevin did. Mine went out yesterday, as well as the hygrometer winner’s prize. Stay tuned for some more contests, ’tis the season!  Until the next time,

CigarCraig