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Padilla Signature 1932 Robusto

flamchop

65/65
Joined
Jan 7, 2008
Messages
1,185
Over the past year or so I found myself buying a ton of these Pepin-made Padilla 1932 smokes... and I liked each one better than the last. Now they're a favorite for me. As you know, Padilla has recently taken over the production of these smokes from Pepin, rolling them in his own factory along with other smokes like the Miami 8/11. Not too long ago I bought a few of these new Padilla-made versions and thought it would be a good chance to do a side-by-side. I've read in a few places that Padilla said the blend would be the same, the only difference being the location of the production, but there have been mixed reviews from people who swear the new cigars taste different. Over the past couple days I smoked both, and wrote a review after each one.

Padilla Signature 1932 Robusto
5 x 50
Nicaraguan Puro
Cuban-seed w/b/f with the Corojo wrapper aged 5 years.


Comparisons

Side by side, the first noticeable difference is the cello. Pepin's came with cello, Padilla's come without cello.



Pepin on left, Padilla on right. The bands are similar in style but there are some major differences in fonts, words, and some colors. There are also a lot of subtle differences if you look closely.



Pepin's has the line "Little Havana Miami" on the side, and Padilla's has "Cuban Seed Corojo."



With the cello removed, here is another comparison. I tried my best to get the same lighting... but it's hard in my computer room on two different nights. To the naked eye, the wrappers are almost identical, but in these two particular smokes, the wrapper on the Pepin-made was just a tad darker even though the picture doesn't show that.



Reviews

Pepin-made

Purchased for $12 from C.I.

The beautifully dark wrapper has a nice oily sheen to it. Taking a dry smell is like opening a fresh box of chocolates. I punched the cap and took a draw... a bit tight. Not plugged by any means, but I hoped it would loosen up with some torching. Upon toasting, I was surprised by the lack of Pepin spice. This particular smoke has been sitting in the Vinotemp for about 9 months. I was immediately hit with the dark chocolate and cedary notes I usually get in the second half of these smokes.

The burn was good, no touch-ups the whole way down, and the light gray ash held steady and didn't fall until I wanted it to, about every inch or so.

Approaching the halfway point, the smoke was much more creamy and the draw loosened up a bit. The chocolate notes were still there but I could pick up much more wood, leather, and coffee. The finish is very long lasting and very pleasing on the palette.

Even though this is a full-bodied smoke, it's an incredibly smooth smoke. This cigar has never given me a bludgeoning over the head, never left me woozy or dizzy. There is always lots of complex, delicious flavors coming from this high quality smoke.

If I had to compare it to anything else, I'd say it's fairly close to a Tatuaje J21 for me, which by the way has also become one of my all time favorites.

So naturally I'm looking forward to smoking the new batch of 1932's coming from Padilla's factory....




Padilla-made

Purchased for $10.40 from C.I.

The wrapper looks about the same as the other one as far as quality and construction, but the bunching in the foot looks looser. I punched the cap took a draw and immediately noticed the draw was pretty loose. Taking a whiff, I didn't get any chocolate, but it was a fresh woody smell.

Fired it up and the draw was indeed loose but not so much that I couldn't get some good flavor and smoke. I noticed a little spice, but mostly cedar, even hay? Any of the chocolate or sweetness the Pepin-made smoke had was not present in this one and it had a much dryer taste. It was a very tasty tobacco flavor on the palette nonetheless. The burn and ash were about the same.

A bit of sweet kicked in around the halfway point, with lots of wood... cedar.

Overall I have to say I noticed a definite difference with these two smokes. There could be any number of reasons for this even though Padilla is using the same exact tobacco... but more of these will have to be set on fire for me to get a better idea. This smoke was less complex, and more on the medium-body side than the rich Pepin-made cigar.

For comparison, if it makes any sense... this one seemed less like the J21, more like a Series '68... another favorite. I look forward to smoking the rest of this batch... trying to put a couple down for a while. Based on these two particular cigars I admit I liked the old one better, but would still recommend the new one. If the new ones all smoke like this one did... chances are I would still buy some from time to time... but it would however drop severely in my personal rankings. But that judgment can't be made just yet.

 
Thanks for the side-by-side review. I've been wondering how the new would compare to the old in a face-off. :thumbs:
 
Nice review & pics. I have a few of the Pepin mades stashed away for the future.
 
A very nice review, and I read it as I am sitting here now smoking my first 32 from the Padilla blend.

I do believe they are very diffrent, but I also do not dislike this new 32. While the old one was in my top 10, this newer version may not be. I will have to smoke a few more.

Thanks again.
 
Thanks for the great review.

I picked up box of the Padilla made toro's.
I love this cigar...one of my favorites.
 
Thanks for the review! This is pretty consistant from what I've experienced as well. I too like the Pepin mades better, but at the same time really enjoy the new ones too.
 
Thanks for the review. I just got a box of the Padilla made 32's in. Can't wait to give them a try
 
Awesome review. Thanks for doing the work -- though I imagine it was a pleasant task. Still, a great service to the community.
 
Excellent Review. Thanks for taking the time to do a side-by-side comparison.
 
Just wanted to add an update to this review... tonight I smoked a second Padilla made 1932....

I felt that this smoke was much better than the first one I had during this review. I still have to say however that there's something different about these than from the Pepin rolled ones. It's hard to put my finger on other than to say that they are a little more bland, and lack a certain something they used to have.

But I have smoked a handful of the newer Padilla made Miami smokes... and I can't get enough of them. I feel like I might have been the only one here who wasn't too impressed with the old ones (8 & 11) but these new ones are very good... go figure!

My opinion right now is that there has been some change at least since Padilla has taken this over... some for the better some for the worse. It boggles me though that he insists they are the same blends.
 
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