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Padilla Single Batch Perfecto

tomthirtysix

Wishing I was as cool as Phil
Joined
Dec 27, 2006
Messages
7,002
These were the 5 for $1 deal posted in the General Cigar Discussion thread. If you came here looking for a super-detailed, well thought out Kingantz type review, you're in the wrong place. But since a few people had mentioned they were going grab the deal, I figured I would give my quick rundown.

Living in NY, the scheduled delivery was really quick. It was supposed to be here Saturday. Except I had them delivered to my office. Push that to Monday as it sits and waits for me in the local post office. And then push that to Tuesday since I was out Monday. Humidity wouldn't have been a problem wherever it was sitting, since it's been a humidor-like 60-70% for at least a week. And temp was fine as it sat on my desk. Packaging was OK. Each cigar was in cello, the 5 pack was in a cello-type bag, and then that was sealed in plastic. Catalogs underneath, whole bunch of air pillows on top. Box was far too big for what it was I ordered, but they were firmly held in place.

I wasn't going to wait a couple weeks for the cigars to "settle in". I was heading out to grill, what I was grilling wasn't going to take long, and the Padilla was the perfect size. I opened up the package, put 4 in the humidor, and clipped the first victim. The cigar was firm, seemed to be well rolled. Clipped perfectly with my Xikar. Prelight draw was perfect, with some light grass.

Went outside, lit the coals, lit the cigar, and away we go!

First draw or two was good. Medium body, nothing special. Then my landlord came out to talk to me. We talked for a while, and I didn't pay nearly as much attention to the cigar as I should have. And that happens usually when I'm talking with them. And more often than not, the cigar goes out because I haven't been drawing. But the Padilla stayed lit. Definitely a plus. Burn was pretty straight.

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Then something happened I've never experienced with a cigar before. It went from medium bodied for the first couple draws to at-best light bodied. Almost Macanudo-like. The light grassiness from pre-light was still there, but it became a light bodied smoke.

The cigar drew like a dream. The ash held on well, especially considering it was somewhat windy outside, and I was actually grilling, not sitting and tending to my cigar. The ash fell a draw or two after I snapped this last pic:

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You can see the burn is still pretty straight. After the ash fell, I purged the cigar, and threw the meat on the grill. And it was at this point that it jumped back to medium bodied. Still somewhat grassy, and this remained throughout the entire smoke. But around the halfway point, there was some more body to it, which made it more enjoyable.

And that was the general trend for the rest of the smoke. With a little more than an inch left, the food was ready, so it was time to put it down and head inside.

Overall: I would not hesitate to grab another when I'm looking for a quick smoke when I'm doing something where my concentration won't be on the cigar itself. Even though the flavor was kind of one dimensional, and I prefer something at least medium bodied the whole way through, it was good enough. And since it was light - medium, I wouldn't hesitate to give one to a friend who doesn't smoke, but is looking for a cigar when I'm smoking one. It's been a long time since I smoked a Padilla, but I do remember most (if not all) of his post-Pepin stuff was bad. This might be one of his better post-Pepin offerings. If I needed to stock up on short yard smokes / smokes to hand out to friends, the $20/5 price CI advertises isn't awful. $15/5 would be a lot more in line with my thoughts on value. At $1/5 I'd do what some others did and use another address.
 
Great review Tom, I ordered these to smoke while grilling and will be trying them soon. Glad to see that they aren't total dog rockets. You don't even need a different address, my wife ordered me a 5er and both got delivered to the same address.
 
Nice review. I got notification that the ones I ordered have been delivered. I plan on giving them a try when I get home this weekend.
 
Great review. Mine should be here today, and with a known project on the homework plate for The Short One this evening, I can't spend my usual 1-1.5 hours outside reading and smoking after work. This might fit the bill nicely. I wish that CI would up their packaging game, though.
 
My dad got in on the deal. Hated them and gave them all to me. I have 20 now well 16 after smoking some
 
Tried one tonight. Some puffs were great and sweetly flavorful, but I'd say about 2/3rds of the smoke was unremarkable. I'm hoping if they sit for a few weeks they'll acclimate and get more consistent.
 
Smoked one today while mowing. Not great, not terrible. Definitely worth the 5/$1 price tag. It burned a little uneven, but that may have been because it was a bit windy outside. Don't think I'll buy these at full price, but I'll definitely smoke the remaining four.
 
Great review! These are mild yet tasty. A good first smoke. Or for those who want something light. Some pepper. Earth and leather. Developes a bit more as you reach the widest point. Perfect draw and straight burn line. Delicate wrapper. Tastes of some age.
 
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