Padron 26 and 64

[Hank Koestner]

So far, the list below will show the vitolas I have smoked and what my first impressions were, as to wether I liked them or not.

1926
#2 Topedo Maduro............Excellent
#9 Natural ............Excellent
#35 Natural and Maduro........ Loved them both, but these are very small cigars at $10 a piece.

1964
Pyramide Natural and Maduro...... Very Good
Exclusivo Maduro...................... Excellent
Corona Natural and Maduro......... Did not care for either one
Imperial Natural ....................... Excellent
Imperial Maduro ....................... Good cigar, I think the Natural is better
Torpedo Natural ...................... This one did not fare well with me the night I smoked it. I was surprised, I thought this would be great.
I am going to order some of the sizes I have not yet smoked. So far the best rum to pair with these cigars has been ED15, IMHO. Vizcaya went well with the Pyramide Natural.

[Lew Barrett]

Thanks, Hank. I'm working my way through the various models of '26 and '64 now. I am at this moment smoking a '64 torpedo in maduro. Not bad, but not the unique Padron flavor I expected. Maybe needs some box time. Not what you expect from Padron though. The Imperial is superb and the 9 is a mindblower. That's the lot so far, but I have all the smaller vitolas in stock and will work through them one by one. As you know, I'm a fan of small cigars, so in some respects I'd rather have 3 petit coronas than one A. Therefore, I could see specializing in the smaller versions of these. Time will tell.

[orangecrusher13]

Hi guys, New arrival here at the Ministry of Rum.

I tend to prefer the '26 line overall, but I have found that the '64 torp maduro's do improve with age. I had a box with about 2 plus years on them, and they were a better smoke IMHO than off the truck/off the rack.

I still have an unopened box of '64 torp maddies buried somewhere in my coolers that have about 5 years on them that I need to dig out and give a try.

Generally, when I want that Padron profile, I reach for a 3000 or a Delicias, good value both in the Padron line. Given unlimited funds though, the '26 line gets my vote.

[Lew Barrett]

I like them both as a rule, but find that the more expensive vitolas in the line have attained the point of diminishing returns for me, and the less expensive are still too painfully priced to smoke as a ready diet or give away freely. I need to try some of your suggestions, as I do enjoy the Padron flavor profiles. The '64 torp I smoked was not a bad cigar, but neither did it knock my socks off. For less money, I'm just as happy with a DPG Generoso. But maybe I need to try another Padron; I only had the one, and it was fresh from the shop. Twenty five or thirty bucks a stick is just too much to burn for me, especially when I consider the alternatives that money will buy; including shoes!

[Hank Koestner]

I am finding that the 64's seem to pair well with rhum agricole. I will expound upon this more later.
And Lew, as a side note, I think they do improve wth about 4 weeks in the humi. I don't like them as much when they are freshly purchased.

[Lew Barrett]

I'm in for a few days, checking the board.

Hank, I find most cigars do better after a few weeks of settling in.
I bought enough Padrons to hold some back, including the 40th and 8th Anniversary sticks, which I haven't smoked yet. The weather has been strange here, and it affects my smoking. It needs to be nice for me to smoke regularly.