In late 2008, Padrón released a special edition cigar to commemorate Holt’s Cigars’ 110th year in business. The Padrón 1926 Holt’s 110 Legacy is a 6 x 48 box-pressed toro based on the 1926 blend, and was sold in both natural and maduro wrappers.

There were only 2,000 cigars of each wrapper produced—valued at $20 per cigar—however, the cigars were only offered in a five-cigar sampler that sold for $85. It included:

  • Padrón 1926 Holt’s 110 Legacy (6 x 48)
  • Padrón 1926 Serie No. 1 (6 3/4 x 54)
  • Padrón No. 6 (4 3/4 x 50)
  • Padrón No. 9 (5 1/4 x 56)
  • Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series Torpedo (6 x 52)

The Holt’s website had a description of the release:

To celebrate Holt’s 110th year of business our good friends the Padrons decided to blend a brand new, extra-special cigar exclusively for our customers: The Padron Legacy. Not only is this a momentous release due to the fact the Padron’s rarely produce anything new, but also because the cigar itself is spectacular. An incredibly well-aged blend of all Nicaraguan tobaccos in this gem, providing it with a complex, but balanced, full-bodied flavor boasting layers of earth and leather interwoven with nuts and spices, culminating in a smooth, chocolaty finish.

Padron 1926 Holt s 110 Legacy Natural 1

  • Cigar Reviewed: Padrón 1926 Holt’s 110 Legacy Natural
  • Country of Origin: Nicaragua
  • Factory: Tabacos Cubanica S.A.
  • Wrapper: Nicaragua
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Size: 6 Inches
  • Ring Gauge: 48
  • Vitola: Toro
  • MSRP: $20.00 (Samplers of 1, $20.00)
  • Date Released: November 2008
  • Number of Cigars Released: 2,000 Total Cigars
  • Number of Cigars Smoked for Review:

A honey brown wrapper covers the overtly box-pressed Padrón 1926 Holt’s 110 Legacy Natural that is smooth to the touch, but totally devoid of any oil whatsoever. The box-press that is present looks more rounded than a regular Padrón to my eyes, although that is probably due to the age. I can feel multiple obvious hard spots up and down the length when it is squeezed, and I am hoping that it does not affect the draw. Aroma from the wrapper is a combination of strong dark cocoa and leather, and the cold draw brings more of the same, along with some slight black pepper.

A slight honey sweetness combines with flavors of oak, leather, dank earth and espresso to start off the Padrón 1926 Holt’s 110 Legacy, along with some great black pepper on the retrohale that is quite strong for the first 10 puffs before calming down a bit. About 15 puffs in, I taste a strong sweet licorice note for a short time, but it disappears as quickly as it showed up and does not show up again in the first third. The draw is excellent with just the right amount of resistance, while the burn gives me no major problems at all so far, although it is a bit wavy. Interestingly, the smoke production is well above average, but seems a bit thin as it is coming off of the foot. The strength is not overly noticeable yet, and ends the first third about halfway between mild and medium.

Padron 1926 Holt s 110 Legacy Natural 2

The licorice sweetness from the first third shows up again around the start of the second third, albeit not even close to the strength that it was at the beginning of the smoke. The same basic flavors flit in and out of the Padrón 1926: gritty earth, oak, leather and black pepper. Right before the end of the second third, I noticed a creamy coffee note that combines well with the rest of the profile, and the black pepper increased as well. Construction-wise, the draw continues to be wonderful, while the burn continues to be wavy, although far from problematic. The strength has increased noticeably by the end of the second third, and ends up solidly in the medium range.

 

Padron 1926 Holt s 110 Legacy Natural 3

The final third of the Padrón 1926 Holt’s 110 Legacy loses most of the licorice sweetness in the profile, but the rest of the flavors still have not changed much, with oak, leather, espresso, earth and a slight black pepper leading the way. There is a nice nutty note that shows up very late, but it is not overly strong at any point so does not really affect the rest of the profile all that much. Strength-wise, the Padrón gets a little stronger than medium by the end of the smoke, while the construction remains a carbon copy of the second third and I am able to get the nub down to less than an inch before it becomes to hot to smoke.

Padron 1926 Holt s 110 Legacy Natural 4

Final Notes

  • Holt’s is owned by the Levins, who also own the Ashton brand. the Fuente family has also had an ownership interest in the retailer at various points throughout the company’s history.
  • The company uses the 1898 date to signify its founding, although there’s some places that say it was not founded until 1911, presumably the date it was filed as a corporation. The Levins bought the business in 1957, Robert Levin has been with the business since 1974.
  • The secondary band matches the background color of the main Padrón 1926 band, but still ends up looking a little cheap and out of place when compared to the main Padrón band, which always looks amazing.
  • The cellophane this came in was quite yellow.
Padron 1926 Holt s 110 Legacy Natural Cellophane
  • Most of the single store releases that Padrón has released has been in the 1964 blend, including the Padrón L. J. Peretti Company 140th Anniversary, the Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series SI-15 Natural and Maduro, and the Padrón W. Curtis Draper 125th Anniversary Natural and Maduro. There has been at least one other single store release in the 1926 blend, the Padrón 1926 Serie TP40 made for Tobacco Plaza in 2013.
  • In January, Padrón confirmed a project commemorating their 50th anniversary of the brand. Named Puros Gold, the release will reportedly include a limited number of hand crafted humidors which will each be filled with 50 Nicaraguan puros.
  • I photographed a portrait of Jorge Padrón back in 2010 for our Portraits series.
  • Like the other cigars in the anniversary lines, the Padrón 1926 Holts 110 Legacy includes a band with individual serial numbers.
  • The Padrón 1926 Holts 110 Legacy is a unique size in the 1926 line, although the No. 35 has the same 48 ring gauge and is only two inches shorter.
  • While both samples I smoked exhibited the same wavy burn at various points, the draw on both was excellent, with just the right amount of resistance for me.
  • If you are looking to pick up any of the Padrón 1926 Holts 110 Legacy cigars, the only way you can get them these days is on the secondary market.
  • I am not entirely sure where the cigars came from. I’m fairly certain I bought them on the secondary market, but they could have been given to me. 
87 Overall Score

For the most part, I think Padróns, particularly in the Anniversario and Anniversary series, should be smoked when they ship, not after a few years. As such, I am not a big fan of the profile. While it is not the most complex profile in the world, I am happy to report that the Padrón 1926 Holt's 110 Legacy held its own after more than five years in the wild, with flavors that are distinct and tasty without becoming stale. While I still consider the Padrón 1964 Exclusivo to be consistently one of the best Nicaraguan cigars ever made, the Padrón 1926 Holt's 110 Legacy is well worth trying if you can get ahold of one, even at the price tag that comes with it.

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Brooks Whittington

I have been smoking cigars for over eight years. A documentary wedding photographer by trade, I spent seven years as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I started the cigar blog SmokingStogie in 2008 after realizing that there was a need for a cigar blog with better photographs and more in-depth information about each release. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars. I am a co-founder of halfwheel and now serve as an editor for halfwheel.