I left my apartment at 10:30 am and it was Raining and basically yucky out. The traffic sucked, and I narrowly escaped more than a few "Accidents" because of Idiots that could not find their gas pedal, but had absolutely no problem finding the brake. So by the time I got to Bon Ton Roulet Cigar Shop at Ridgmar Mall in Ft Worth Texas I was all keyed up. But since two sisters of the leaf who each look like they just walked out of Glamour Shots own the shop, I knew the blah would soon fade.
I went in and bought a CAO Moontrance to try and calm down, not a bad little smoke, it was my first one. When that was finished I decided to light a La Aurora Robusto that was sent to me by a brother here name of John (geldor1, Thanks bro) and by this time LuckyDawg had arrived, he bought a PAM Pyramide (always a yummy treat) and he fired it up and joined me. Then LuckyDawg decided we needed a glass of chilled wine, so we each got a glass of Martin & Weyrich’s Moscato Allegro poured by the most lovely shop owner in the cigar industry, equaled only by her sister and half owner in this shop.
This Moscato at the very first sip brought out the most delicious flavors in my cigar. I was truly amazed at the difference. The La Aurora is a good smoke, but while sipping that sweet white wine, the LaAurora went from the lower shelf straight to the Upper Shelf category. But all good things must come to an end, and the Aurora did just that. I would have had a real hard time deciding what to light next, but as LuckyDawg had barely started his PAM, the decision was easy...
Introducing, the Padron 1926!!!!!! You can read about these HERE.
This one was the #9 Toro sent to me by Andrew (Moki, Thanks bro). The #9 is a 5 1/4x56 Dark Chocolate maduro beauty that begged to be eaten. I have had many Padrons including a PAM, and while they all were pleasing to the eye and the palate, none could stand up next to this stick. The wrapper was toothy with a nice shine of oils. The boxed sides of the cigar were slightly indented rather than straight, which I assume was caused by this stick being slightly less packed than those next to it in the box (?). All in all the construction was a pleasing sight.
I stuck it in my mouth to get a taste while I was retrieving my cutter, the flavor was awesome. I snipped it with my Xikar and it was a real hard snip, the cap did not want to be cut and it scared me. I was astonished and relieved that the cut was smooth and clean, perfect! I tested the draw and it was easy with just the right resistance. At this point I toasted the foot and took a sniff of the resulting smoke. Ahhhhh this is gonna be so good. The little curl of smoke from the toasted foot was a nice blend of great tobacco and chocolate with a hint of walnut. Then I gave a little draw as I fired it up. The first puff was good, but the next was great. I took several puffs and loved it. Then I took another sip of the wine, and the next puff was the one that caused the tell tale wet spot. I didn't mean to get off like that but Damn this smoke was good. Ok, I am teasin' but Daaaaayum!!
The flavor of this smoke was a nice Sweet blend of Chocolate, and Nuts with a "salty" undertone and a hint of spice (can't place the spice, but it was there). About a third of the way in, there was a hint of pepper that lasted past the halfway mark but never overpowered and then gave way to a strong yet smooth flavor of just plain ligero. The chocolate and the nuts were always present as a base taste right down to the nub.
I did have a slight burn issue that righted itself after about 3/4 inch and then toward the end it got off again and I did have to true it up at this point. I attribute the burn issues to the soft roll that I spoke of earlier which cased the concave sides. But these issues did not subtract from the enjoyment of this smoke at all.
Since LuckyDawg was smoking the PAM 64 we decided to see if there really was a major difference in the two Padrons. We traded smokes a couple times during this Side by Side comparison and both concluded that the 1926 was in fact a better cigar, probably a good 25% better, of course this is a subjective figure but it was enough better to justify the cost of obtaining the 1926. I will describe the difference as best I can. It is like the difference between a good cup of strong coffee, and a cup of Espresso, without the harshness often associated with stronger flavor.
The shop where this took place has the Padron 1926 #1 in stock at $20/stick which I think is a good buy. I will smoke more of these, I will not do so often as they are rather expensive for my budget, but this is a cigar I will be willing to save my pocket $ to get a hold of one from time to time. As of this moment, the Padron 1926 goes into my ledger as the "best one yet".
Great big thank you to Moki for giving me this opportunity to hit the "Top Shelf"
I went in and bought a CAO Moontrance to try and calm down, not a bad little smoke, it was my first one. When that was finished I decided to light a La Aurora Robusto that was sent to me by a brother here name of John (geldor1, Thanks bro) and by this time LuckyDawg had arrived, he bought a PAM Pyramide (always a yummy treat) and he fired it up and joined me. Then LuckyDawg decided we needed a glass of chilled wine, so we each got a glass of Martin & Weyrich’s Moscato Allegro poured by the most lovely shop owner in the cigar industry, equaled only by her sister and half owner in this shop.
This Moscato at the very first sip brought out the most delicious flavors in my cigar. I was truly amazed at the difference. The La Aurora is a good smoke, but while sipping that sweet white wine, the LaAurora went from the lower shelf straight to the Upper Shelf category. But all good things must come to an end, and the Aurora did just that. I would have had a real hard time deciding what to light next, but as LuckyDawg had barely started his PAM, the decision was easy...
Introducing, the Padron 1926!!!!!! You can read about these HERE.
This one was the #9 Toro sent to me by Andrew (Moki, Thanks bro). The #9 is a 5 1/4x56 Dark Chocolate maduro beauty that begged to be eaten. I have had many Padrons including a PAM, and while they all were pleasing to the eye and the palate, none could stand up next to this stick. The wrapper was toothy with a nice shine of oils. The boxed sides of the cigar were slightly indented rather than straight, which I assume was caused by this stick being slightly less packed than those next to it in the box (?). All in all the construction was a pleasing sight.
I stuck it in my mouth to get a taste while I was retrieving my cutter, the flavor was awesome. I snipped it with my Xikar and it was a real hard snip, the cap did not want to be cut and it scared me. I was astonished and relieved that the cut was smooth and clean, perfect! I tested the draw and it was easy with just the right resistance. At this point I toasted the foot and took a sniff of the resulting smoke. Ahhhhh this is gonna be so good. The little curl of smoke from the toasted foot was a nice blend of great tobacco and chocolate with a hint of walnut. Then I gave a little draw as I fired it up. The first puff was good, but the next was great. I took several puffs and loved it. Then I took another sip of the wine, and the next puff was the one that caused the tell tale wet spot. I didn't mean to get off like that but Damn this smoke was good. Ok, I am teasin' but Daaaaayum!!
The flavor of this smoke was a nice Sweet blend of Chocolate, and Nuts with a "salty" undertone and a hint of spice (can't place the spice, but it was there). About a third of the way in, there was a hint of pepper that lasted past the halfway mark but never overpowered and then gave way to a strong yet smooth flavor of just plain ligero. The chocolate and the nuts were always present as a base taste right down to the nub.
I did have a slight burn issue that righted itself after about 3/4 inch and then toward the end it got off again and I did have to true it up at this point. I attribute the burn issues to the soft roll that I spoke of earlier which cased the concave sides. But these issues did not subtract from the enjoyment of this smoke at all.
Since LuckyDawg was smoking the PAM 64 we decided to see if there really was a major difference in the two Padrons. We traded smokes a couple times during this Side by Side comparison and both concluded that the 1926 was in fact a better cigar, probably a good 25% better, of course this is a subjective figure but it was enough better to justify the cost of obtaining the 1926. I will describe the difference as best I can. It is like the difference between a good cup of strong coffee, and a cup of Espresso, without the harshness often associated with stronger flavor.
The shop where this took place has the Padron 1926 #1 in stock at $20/stick which I think is a good buy. I will smoke more of these, I will not do so often as they are rather expensive for my budget, but this is a cigar I will be willing to save my pocket $ to get a hold of one from time to time. As of this moment, the Padron 1926 goes into my ledger as the "best one yet".
Great big thank you to Moki for giving me this opportunity to hit the "Top Shelf"
