Much has been said about legendary Padrón founder José Orlando Padrón’s contribution to the cigar industry in the last several decades, but less is known about José’s turbulent ups and downs before his company became a roaring success in the mid-1990s. José didn’t have it easy in his early years before he started the firm that bears his name. He used his skills as a carpenter to pull together the money to start Padrón, and even after the business got going, he suffered devastating setbacks when his offices in Miami were bombed (by Cuban radicals) and his factory in Nicaragua burned to the ground. Nevertheless, José survived through these events and so many others in the years after the founding of his beloved brand. Thus, this cigar, the Padrón Serie 1926 No. 90 in a Maduro wrapper — released on the occasion of José’s 90th birthday in 2016 — is a fitting tribute to the patriarch who “paid his dues” more than perhaps any man in the cigar trade.
Unlike most of the smokes in the 1926 series, the Padrón 1926 No. 90 Maduro is round, not box-pressed, and it’s presented in a stylish tubo container — a first for Padrón. Standing conspicuously apart from the other vitolas in this storied line, this “puro” Nicaraguan stick features a dark, toothy wrapper, and binder and filler tobaccos that have aged for a minimum of five years. Medium-to-full-bodied, full-strength and irrepressibly rich, the Serie 1926 No. 90 Maduro is dominated by spicy, woody notes that turn herbal and minty as the smoking progresses.
Awarding a score that precisely corresponds to this stick’s high-numbered name, Cigar Aficionado accorded it a 90 rating in 2016, bestowing the designation in the year before José passed away at the age of 91. Though he may no longer be with us, José’s spirit continues to live on in this very special smoke crafted to celebrate the life and times of one of the cigar industry’s most highly regarded, lively figures. If you want to experience one of the last cigars José Orlando smoked before he passed away, order a box of the 1926 No. 90 Maduros today, and see if you can’t discern the true character of Padrón.