Padron 50th Anniversary Singles

[sar127]

Sadly I think this is a industry wide trend to an extent.   A lot of us have bagged on Tatuaje for these exact things, and now everyone else seems to be following the trend.   More "rare" cigars, at higher prices while the quality of the everyday lines seems to be slipping.   I first really noticed it with Pepin, but I've seen a down turn in Fuente and Tat.    I haven't noticed it in Padron, but a lot of my stock is a few years old and I haven't smoked as much new stuff lately. 

 
Sneedly hit it here. They attach the story of rarity and up goes the price, but not necessarily the quality.
 
I think this goes hand-in-hand with the availability of tobacco. With the numerous storms going through these regions in the last 4-5 years, I think some tobacco aging in barns was lost...much like Cuba. The growers have realized that they can maximize their profits in micro-batches of tobacco versus the growing of production tobacco in huge amounts. 
 
Let's say that you have a parcel lot of tobacco available from Oliva and it's a one shot deal, maybe enough to roll 10K cigars. You can't put it in a production cigar because they can't guarantee to duplicate that lot over the coming years.So, what do you do? You make it a 'one off' cigar with some fancy packaging, attach a story to it making it sound really special, and along with the story....up goes the price. But in the end, it's really no better than a higher end production cigar...like a Padron 5000 or 6000. So instead of a box of 26 at $180.00....you now have that same cigar selling for $325.00 a box of 20 with a small tweak in the blend. This also seems to make sense when you factor in the box sizes. How long have we been seeing 10ct. boxes of 'special cigars' now? Including CC....that's marketing based on the tobacco available...like the Padron 50ths, 10 cigars, $250.00 a box...limited amount of tobacco.
 
Like I said, the industry has turned more towards a marketing machine to maximize profits per cigar in the 'one offs'....and the quest for the special blend that becomes the rage of the industry has taken a backseat to money. Think about this, if you had a parcel of tobacco that was earmarked for a Padron x000 series cigar and upon tasting it you discover it's nicer than normal....do you really think that tobacco goes to that production cigar? I would venture a guess that the answer to that question is NO. They take that lot and move it over to the department of special cigars blenders and work their marketing magic....and that's where I think the regular line stuff suffers. 

Interesting breakdown.

 

[vortex]

Londres Maddie suddenly makes sense! Why pay more than $5/cigar if aging them a bit makes them comparable to the Superiors?

 

[rebus20]

They have these at my local shop for $55. Still too rich for me.

 

[bucfan444]

Finally got my hands on one of the Limitied Edition sticks that come with the complete humidor. Purchased a couple of singles at $70/each because as a big Padron smoker it had to be done. The complete humidor in the photos belongs to a good friend of mine who also tried a single with me without having to break his complete set.
I didn't think to take notes/photos for a full comprehensive review, possibly next stick in a couple of weeks, but I can tell you the flavor profile is best summed up as a very refined and smooth blend of previous Padron 1926 and 1964 Serie. Those nuances are brought together with obviously well aged tobacco providing a flavor profile that sets itself apart from other Padrons (as it should considering the price)
I'm just going to assume the leaves that went into this blend are some of the oldest stock Padron had statched away thus providing such a refined, yet slightly muted profile. Very enjoyable but the jury is still out on $70 a stick enjoyable.

 

[madurotrout]

I am of a similar mindset. If and when I come across one, I will pull the trigger and try one. I am 100% sure that if it doesn't come with a "happy ending" it is not worth the $$$ I am shelling out, but I have to try just to say that I have.

 

[Cparker]

While I have not purchased one of these, I can tell you that you should feel free to negotiate on the price. A local B&M has them for sale as singles. Good shop and the owner is a nice guy. When discussing how he would price them originally, he thought $106 ($5300/50). I reminded him that this price includes the humidor, which should account for at least half the price. He agreed acknowledging he would ask $2650, and he dropped his price to $53. Still too steep for me, but worth noting if you find some asking above $55 a stick.

 

[Maduro Clint]

I am of a similar mindset. If and when I come across one, I will pull the trigger and try one. I am 100% sure that if it doesn't come with a "happy ending" it is not worth the $$$ I am shelling out, but I have to try just to say that I have.

Let me know where you find the one with the Happy Ender...that would be a hell of a deal.

 

[madurotrout]

I am of a similar mindset. If and when I come across one, I will pull the trigger and try one. I am 100% sure that if it doesn't come with a "happy ending" it is not worth the $$$ I am shelling out, but I have to try just to say that I have.

Let me know where you find the one with the Happy Ender...that would be a hell of a deal.

 

[Pugman1943]

I really enjoy Padron. My go-to is the 3000 Maduro and I just bought a box of churchills. This year my SS gifted me with both a '64 and a '26. The later two are a fine, refined smoke and extremely enjoyable. Would I like to try the 50th, heck yeah but those kind of funds are not so available without cutting back on a few other buys. I hope to first find one and then be threatened with bodily harm to buy it. For that 90 minutes of brief pleasure that a lot of dough. I ain't holding my breath.