Ernesto Padilla and Don Pepin Garcia used to work on a multitude of cigar blends together in Miami. The Miami 8 & 11 and Signature 1932 were two of the more famous blends by the two. A few years back (around 2008/09) with Don Pepin Garcia spending plenty of time creating blends for other companies and Ernesto Padilla desiring more control over production, they decided to go their separate ways. The blend for the Signature 1932 (which commemorates the birth date of his father) supposedly stayed the same with the only changes being the factory location moving from El Rey de Los Habanos in Miami to Nicaragua. The Padilla Signature 1932 toro that I reviewed was from 2007 when Don Pepin Garcia was still involved.
3/11/2012
Padilla Signature 1932 Toro Review
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan Criollo
Size: 6 x 50
Vitola: Toro
MSRP: $11.00
Drink: Water
Smoke Time: 1hr 40min
In humidor since: May 2007 (Don Pepin Garcia Blend)
Location: Tobacco Haven
Construction/Appearance:
The medium colored wrapper has some spots and varying colors but gives the Padilla Signature 1932 a very nice appearance. The cigar seems to be toothy but the veins are not prominent. The triple cap on this vitola is as seamless as you can get, another characteristic of Don Pepin Garcia’s quality. The cigar has some nice give when squeezed and doesn’t feel underfilled at all. The weight of the cigar average and there no tears or holes anywhere. I feel that the cigar looks very good and has gained some beauty over the past five years.
Burn/Draw:
I made a clean cut across the head but some of the tobacco was slightly protruding but nothing that was going to affect the draw at all. The cold draw feels full as it requires some effort which does concern me. As I lit the cigar, the burn is perfectly even around the foot giving off a nice swirl of continuous smoke. The draw is pretty good though it hasn’t opened up as much as I’d like for it to. The draw stayed this way throughout the duration of the cigar. The burn is almost even except for a few spots where it wavers though it wavers even more in the last 1-2 inches of the cigar. The smoke flows steadily from the Signature 1932 though the amount of smoke I capture in my draw is slightly below average. The ash looks aged with a smokey white appearance and falling off repeatedly around the 3/4 inch mark or so.
Flavor/Aroma:
There is a delicious smell from the foot and the wrapper reminding me of cedar, mocha and coffee. The initial draw was of leather, cream, nuts with a peppery finish. The flavors feel very smooth, especially with five years of age on the cigars. The first third is developing nicely tasting of sweet leather mixed in with some cream. The finish is very short and has a nutty profile to it. Any pepper I detect is light and brief, not staying on the tongue long.
The second third is of cream, dark chocolate, leather with a medium peppery finish. Even though I picking up a multitude of flavors, they seem subtle or subdued. I am thinking that this cigar might be slightly past it’s prime. In the 3rd, I am still tasting notes of wood, nuts and leather. The flavors are alternating often but not staying as long as I would have preferred. The retrohale was of pepper that had medium strength. With 3/4 of an inch remaining, I concluded that the cigar was not going to present anything else new to me and I decided to put it down.
Final Thoughts:
- The Padilla Signature 1932 is a very good cigar with 3 to 12 months of rest. I think there is a certain time point where the Signature 1932 doesn’t do as well.
- This cigar is one of my favorites when I first started smoking
- I can’t make any reasonable comparison to the Padilla only blends because of the difference in age. I can say that the current blends are very good and should be a staple in the humidor if you enjoy those flavor characteristics.
- I have a few Padilla Signature 1932 Lanceros from 2007 that I would like to review and see if the flavor profile and experience is similar.
- As a medium to slightly full bodied cigar, these are very enjoyable fresh as the cigar comes out to be more robust
Rating: 88
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