Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan (Estelí & Jalapa)
Size: 6 x 52 “No.4-Toro-Box Pressed”
Body: Medium
Price: $6.10 MSRP
Today we take a look at the Padilla La Pilar No.4.
I want to thank Darryl Martin for the gift.
BACKGROUND:
Factory: Tabacalera Aguilar
Release Date: July 2015
Regular Production
Debuted at 2015 IPCPR trade show
You know all you need to know about Padilla Cigars. Their web site is down and there just ain’t good information floating around the usual cigar news sources.
DESCRIPTION:
This is a beautiful cigar. A lovely box press. Tight seams. Very few veins. An impeccable triple cap.
And I love the wrapper’s color…a light, caramel/russet/maple brown that shines in the light from all the oil in the wrapper. It has that translucent appearance like a big maple leaf on the forest floor after a big rain.
The cigar has a double cigar band system that seems to be in conflict with each other. The main band is a simple, but classy, design with a gold lion in the center. And then they place a Casa Fernandez/Tatuaje/You Name the Cigar secondary band that is your standard black band with gold trim and the size in big letters: No.4. Beneath that, it says “CRAFT BATCH SERIES.”
It would have been classier if the bands matched.
SIZES AND PRICING:
5 x 54 Robusto $5.50 MSRP
6 x 52 Toro $6.10 MSRP
7.5 x 57 Gordo $7.10 MSRP
AROMAS AND COLD DRAW NOTES:
From the shaft, I smell a very bland aroma of earthy tobacco and a touch of leather. That’s it folks.
From the clipped cap and the foot, I smell dark cocoa, coffee, spice, sweetness, maple syrup, and little touches of this and little touches of that.
The cold draw presents flavors of bittersweet chocolate, strong red pepper, creaminess, caramel, vanilla salt water taffy, and fresh apples.
FIRST THIRD:
I better not fuck this up as this is the only sample I have.
The draw is spot on.
The body is solid with the perfect give when squeezed.
Smoke pours from the foot like my face is on fire.
Flavors arrive early: Red pepper, creaminess, maple bar, caramel apples, a yeasty bread element, several malts, cinnamon stick, and real earthy notes.
Strength is a medium+ body.
The char line is dead nuts. Way to go. (For those new readers…Dead Nuts is an old Ironworker’s term for high strength bolts being tightened to the exact tension or torque. I forget which. A machine is used to determine when the HSB is dead nuts. Perfect.)
The Padilla La Pilar No.4 doesn’t taste like a value priced blend. It is pretty good. Of course, I’ve only begun. What was the name of that Carpenter’s song with that in the title? I got it. “We’ve Only Just Begun.” LOL. In the 80’s, you couldn’t have a wedding without that song being played for the bride and groom dance.
Charlotte and I got married in the County Clerk’s Office in Indio, CA. No courtroom was available so we did it in the clerk’s office with big windows that allowed people paying tickets to watch the ceremony. This was not good. But while we were poor, we were in love…..Ahhhh…Ohhhh…
Strength moves down to a more classic medium body.
The flavor profile takes a small dump on me. The spiciness remains but everything else sort of plays Hide ‘n Seek. Most probably due to lack of proper humi time. I’ve had this cigar a couple weeks.
The ash is quite tough. More than an inch hangs on before gently disembarking into the ashtray.
I gave you a list that Anonymous Stogie sent me. Cigars I put on my wish list. He sent me two of each and I have smoked one of each and they just weren’t ready. I still have the Rocky Patel 20th Anniversary, Camacho Shellback, Centurion H-2K-CT, and the Undercrown Shade to review. Tomorrow will be one of the above.
With 1-5/8” burned, flavors come rushing back.
Just a side bar:
Do you want to have your own Padron Cigars Family Reserve Limited 50th Anniversary cigars? You can get 50 cigars in a custom made humidor for only $5300. That’s $106 per cigar. Less if you count the cheap 50 count humidor. Look closely at the photo. The cheap bastards use “Analog Hygrometers!!!” And they don’t even match!!
This is their PR:
“For the Padron’s 50 Anniversary, not only is Padron releasing the Family Reserve 50th, but they are also releasing a limited edition cigar called The Hammer, which is packaged in a numbered 50 Count Humidor with a secret blend that has been saved for a special occasion like Padron’s 50 Anniversary.”
SECOND THIRD:
Flavors: Creaminess, spice, nuts, toasty, caramel apple, Chocolate, coffee, lots of malt, vanilla bean, floral notes, maple bar, and cinnamon stick.
The reviews I read don’t taste a lick of any of these flavors. They all seem to love it but their descriptions are sparse.
Strength remains at medium body.
There is no complexity. Balance is so so. But it does have a nice long finish. Maybe with a couple months of humi time, this will all change. But in Reviewer-Ville, the first to review wins the Blue Ribbon.
Got my Fallen Angel Devil’s Ink box of 10 yesterday. Thank you dear reader. And yes, the CI page is still up where you can bypass the CI site and pay the 1 Day Special price of $24.99 for a box of 10 instead of $60.00.
I smoked one ROTT and damnation! That was a great cigar. I used this analogy on my FB page yesterday: “You know those wedding and Bar Mitzvah chocolate waterfalls you dip shit in? This cigar is like sticking your entire head into the waterfall. A spicy chocolate candy bar.”
Now I shall let the balance rest a few weeks. Can’t wait to review it. AJ has pulled it off once again.
The cinnamon stick and red pepper mesh nicely. Reminds me of those hot cinnamon toothpicks we would buy as kids. Back when the dinosaurs fought for the sweet leaves at the top of the trees.
OK Bruce Cholka. I hope you are happy. I got rid of my “Mr. Hollywood” profile photo and replaced it with one I took yesterday. As you may be able to tell, this disease has not been kind to this structurally perfect, ruggedly handsome face of mine. But even my wife approved it. And then I said I should have tied my hair into a pony tail. WTF? And then she told me that the photo I had been using was “Disturbing” but didn’t want to say anything. So she waits til I remove it and then tells me it’s disturbing. Fucking women.
Nearing the halfway point, we have the Sweet Spot 1.0. Flavors do become complex. The balance is spot on.
I’m sure with enough humidor time, the Padilla La Pilar No.4 will taste like this from the get go. I think word of mouth will get out on this blend and it will become very popular. And since it is a regular production blend, we will eventually see it on Cbid for a couple bucks less per stick. I’d recommend that my babies.
Yesterday was a good day for me. They come less frequently. I even went on to Face Book and had fun with friends: Joey Holub, Bobby Winter, Charles Amster, Kevin Esser, Jim Ohlstein, Timothy Beaugard, and many more. A fun day.
The halfway point is dripping in flavors. Strength is constant at medium body.
I love it when I take a sip of water and then puff away. Such intense flavors on a good cigar.
I’m really impressed with the construction of the Padilla La Pilar No.4. So many expensive sticks have given me problems in the past. And here comes this value priced blend and it is unloading all rounds.
Once again, I am reminded that a good cigar need not cost $13.00.
Every single big online store on the planet carries the Padilla La Pilar. And prices vary.
CI sells this size for $5.45. Famous sells it for $5.45. Atlantic Cigars sells it for $5.45. Do you see a pattern here?
The Padilla La Pilar No.4 is most definitely worth your time and dough.
My best guess is buy a box, take off those damn cellos, and give them a full month’s time in your humidor. A real winner will emerge. And super wallet friendly.
LAST THIRD:
I’m getting a green vegetal element. Green bell pepper. Nice. I was not hard to please as a kid. I loved veggies. I begged my mother to buy bell peppers. I would cut them up, a little salt, and ate them raw. Heaven. I still do it.
Sweet Spot 2.0.
Strength just barely hits medium/full.
The spiciness is now in full force. It drags with it all those wonderful flavors of which none have dissipated.
Man oh man. Thank you Darryl Martin my Bubbelah.
Darryl is one of my regulars that actually takes orders from me. Cigars for review and cigars for pleasure. He knows what I like and he sends them to me. I have a nice care package on the way. Darryl is a true mensch.
He’s not the only one. I have several other dear readers who do the same thing. It’s just that I hit a dry spell in the last month and went through all the cigars readers sent me.
Paul Braden actually sent me some nice cigars in a designer type of Tupperware. That was a first.
One day, I will post something thanking all the folks who have been so kind to me. And not just with cigars. But with dough to help me pay bills. I’ve been very good about that and while the temptation was to buy cigars; well, that wouldn’t be right. So I spent every dime on paying down my medical bills as advertised on my Go Fund Me account.
I’ve made my mind up. Tomorrow’s review will be the new El Centurion H-2K-CT. A gift from Pudding.
The Padilla La Pilar No.4 is a very smooth baby. Made so by the medium body.
I’ve only reviewed 4 Padilla blends. Why? Because for the most part, they are just pedestrian cigars. Not aimed at the experienced palate. There are exceptions of course.
I really like the Padilla La Pilar No.4.
Padilla is typically an Old School group of blends. They need a lot of humidor time. This blend is the exception to that rule.
The Padilla La Pilar No.4 breaks through all the preconceptions about Padilla cigars. They came to the plate and hit a home run.
I find that there are only a handful of reviews of the Padilla La Pilar but everyone seems to really like this blend. Me too.
It will come to Cbid but at less than $6 a stick, it won’t explode your wallet. You should give the Padilla La Pilar No.4 a shot. Even if it is only a 5 pack.
And with that, I go out on listening to Led Zep’s “You Shook Me.” So nice.
RATING: 91
