Cigar Aficionado Rating 97

What a great cigar. The Padrón Serie 1926 No. 9 impressed the Cigar Aficionado tasting panel again and again, rising to the top after repeated tests to become the best cigar of the year of 2007.

In the end, when only a few cigars remained in the last blind tasting, this one stood above the rest: it was richer, rounder, more complex and rewarding than any other cigar they smoked.

This pressed beauty is rolled in the recently expanded Padrón factory in Estelí, Nicaragua, under the watchful eye of José Orlando Padrón, his son Jorge and the rest of the family members who ensure that the 5 million or so cigars they produce each year are of impeccable quality.

This is perhaps the finest of the line, just blossoming with flavour right from the first puff. It’s a complex smoke with perfect balance, showing flavours of chocolate, coffee and nuts, as well as some black cherry. The cigar has a finish so long it seems to never leave the palate. The 97 points is the highest score the Cigar Aficionado have given a cigar in many years.

Padrón Serie 1926 cigars are a bit stronger than the company’s other luxury line, the 1964 Anniversary Series, and are considerably more expensive. The family has an affinity for anniversaries: 1964 is the year the company began making cigars, and 1926 is the year José Orlando was born. The cigar debuted in 2002, on José Orlando’s 76th birthday, a year later than originally intended.

The Padróns have never finished out of the top five in the Cigar Aficionado Top 25 tastings, and this is the second time one of their cigars have been named the No. 1 cigar of the year.

Wrapper: Nicaragua

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua

Strength: Full

Length: 5 1/4

Ring Gauge: 56