Padron Series Palmas (Comparison Review)

Skip the fluff and jump straight to the review!

Cigar Stats
Brand Owner: Padron Cigars, Inc. – Miami, FL (website)
(distributor operates under the name Piloto Cigars, Inc.)
Factory: Tabacos Cubanica, S.A. – Esteli, Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacos Centroamericanos, S.A. – Danli, Honduras
Model/Vitola: Padron Series Palmas (Natural and Maduro)
Size: 6.25 x 42 (long corona)
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Filler & Binder: Nicaragua
Body: Medium to Full
Strength: Medium to Full
Average Retail: $3.50 USD
Cigar Insider/Aficionado Ratings: Consistently high 80s to low 90s

Fourteen other vitola sizes are available in the traditional Padron Series along with one which was recently discontinued.

Frontmark	Length x Ring	Shape
2000	5.0 x 50	robusto
3000	5.5 x 52	robusto
4000	6.5 x 54	toro
5000	5.5 x 56	robusto
6000	5.5 x 52	torpedo
7000	6.25 x 60	toro
Ambassador	6.875 x 42	lonsdale
Chicos	5.5 x 36	discontinued
Churchill	6.875 x 46	churchill
Corticos	4.25 x 35	short panatela
Delicias	4.875 x 46	corona extra
Executive	7.5 x 50	double corona
Londres	5.5 x 42	corona
Magnum	9.0 x 50	giant
Palmas	6.25 x 42	long corona
Panetela	6.875 x 36	panetela

All sizes come in lacquered cedar boxes of 26, packaged with cellophane sleeves on individual cigars. Many vendors list a box size of 25. I am not entirely sure why that is. It may be that Padron changed the box count since the initial release. The Corticos are the exception packaged in boxes of 30 or tins of 6.

From the Padron website …..

“We deliver only the finest, handmade, complex cigars with the flavor of the Cuban heritage out of which the Padron recipe was born. Our primary mission is the exceptional quality of our product, not the quantity produced. As a vertically integrated, family-owned company, we pay personal attention to every detail throughout all steps of our tobacco growing and cigar manufacturing process. Because we strive to give you, the smoker, the confidence that each cigar is the same ….. perfect.”

If you are interested in more KOTF info on the Padron Story, you can read it here.

The Keepers of the Flame Padron Series Roundup

This comparison review is one in a series on the original Padron line of cigars. When we have completed reviews on the entire line, a vertical tasting for each wrapper will be published. Each review will be an amalgam opinion of cigarfan and lucky7 along with that of the guest reviewer(s). Our guest reviewer for this vitola is:

Padron Series Palmas – Natural and Maduro

Those of us who have been around for a while know that the names manufacturers choose for their cigars do not always follow standard nomenclature. We all remember our first trips into the humidor, gazing starry-eyed at the assortment of cigars and wondering what all the different terms mean. Eventually our confusion is compounded when we find out that what one cigar maker calls a “toro” another one calls a “corona gorda” and another one calls a “robusto extra,” and so forth.

In the same spirit, the term “Palmas” is a little misleading here. The Padron Palmas is a little too large to be a traditional palmas, which is a slim panatela with a 33 ring gauge. What we have here is something closer to a lonsdale, or a long corona.

Natural

If you were to remove the band from this cigar and offer it to an experienced cigar smoker, you might get a piercing glare, or at least a hearty guffaw for your trouble. This is not a pretty stick. Our reviewers described it as bumpy, misshapen, and most forgivingly, rustic. One sample was cracked at the head and required a bit of magic mending tape to render it smokable. (Yet another example of the fearless ingenuity of the dedicated cigar smoker.)

In addition to its slovenly appearance, the Palmas Natural features soft spots, a loose roll, and a draw that is a bit on the loose side. Maybe this one is best smoked in the dark.

Fortunately it gets better from here. A cold draw presents a “chocolatey tobacco” flavor and the wrapper scent is earthy with a little leather.

The Palmas Natural opens with a touch of harshness that abates after an inch or so and then becomes smooth and medium-bodied with a slightly citric tang. All three reviewers agree that the predominant flavor at this point is coffee; outlying flavors include cocoa, dark chocolate, and Lisa detected a hint of cloves.

Cigarfan and Lisa noted identical overtones in the middle section: cedar, leather, and a peppery taste that grows from this point onward. Despite the early indications of construction problems, there are no burn or draw issues aside from a slightly weak “zebra-colored” ash.

The flavors intensify into the last third, gathering leather and pepper together with a long earthy finish.

Maduro

The dark and oily wrapper on the maduro immediately gives it an edge over the natural. It’s still not a perfect beauty, but the rough and tough appearance of a maduro wrapper often seems to hide aesthetic flaws. In this case that is a very good thing, because again our reviewers hurled unflattering descriptors at the Palmas: “rough and wrinkled,” “large veins,” and “a little sloppy.” But Lucky7 remarked on the fine grain of the wrapper, and cigarfan found the dull oily sheen rather appealing.

And where the natural version suffered from a loose roll, the maduro goes in the opposite direction. Our samples were firm to very tight; in one case the cigar was plugged. As always, we remind ourselves that cigars are handmade products and not every one is perfect. A plugged stick is certainly an anomaly for Padron, and this is the first one we’ve come across in recent memory.

Lisa noted a hint of “sun dried prunes” in her pre-light inspection. This is interesting in light of the prunes and raisins that Lucky7 and Brian found in the 7000 maduro.

The Palmas maduro starts up with a little harshness on the throat that gradually mellows after an inch or two. A woody flavor predominates, accented by notes of leather and a nutty sweetness, almost like hazelnut or coconut. Lucky7 described a “healthy nose twang” that slowly dissipates through the middle part of the cigar.

The middle section is creamier, smoother, and brings more flavors of coffee, leather and chocolate.

This long corona finishes up with “chewier flavors,” as Lisa says: roasted nuts, leather, vanilla, and pepper. Lucky7 found “toastier flavors” with a cocoa or java aftertaste, and cigarfan experienced burnt coffee and char in the last third.

Conclusion

While there was more agreement about the flavor characteristics of the natural Palmas than the maduro, all reviewers did agree on one thing: we preferred the maduro to the natural in this size. Both wrappers have their own distinctive tastes, as well as their own aesthetic flaws, but the maduro wins out for its earthy core and sweet molasses overtones.

Lisa added that this size in particular appeals to her:

“The Palmas vitola is quickly becoming my personal favorite to smoke. I feel like you get a nice concentration of flavors and an appreciation of learning to smoke slowly due its limited draw. Also, I feel women could feel really comfortable smoking this size and not feel like a fool. Long and slender really strikes an elegant profile.”

And there’s one thing nobody will argue about: the price. They’re straightforward smokes with a working class disposition, but they’re a great value and provide a smooth and even tempered smoking experience.

We certainly enjoyed working with Lisa on this review and wish her well with all things “Her Humidor”.

… cigarfan & lucky7