Padrón W. Curtis Draper 125th Anniversary Arrives

Nearly one year after announcing a four-part project to honor its 125th anniversary, Washington D.C. retailer W. Curtis Draper has received its anniversary Padrón, the final release for the limited edition series. The blend is described as a tweaked 1964 Anniversary blend offered in both Maduro and Natural form.

There are a total of 200 boxes of 10 divided evenly between the two wrappers with pricing set at $15.25 per cigar or $135.00 a box at Draper’s flagship Washington D.C. location. The 6 x 46 Corona Gorda was announced shortly before Draper’s annual Little Puff charity event last fall, where a signed box of 50 was offered for auction.

In a departure for Piloto Cigars Inc., the modified 1964 Anniversary cigars are round, as opposed to Padrón’s traditional box-pressing. The Padrón W. Curtis Draper 125th Anniversary is currently on sale at Draper’s D.C. location and should be on sale at its Bethesda, Md. and the newly-opened Civil Cigar Lounge tonight. Because of tobacco taxes, pricing at the D.C. and Maryland locations will differ slightly.

Three other manufacturers contributed cigars for Draper’s anniversary. First, Pete Johnson rereleased his Draper 120th release in the form of the Cabaiguan WCD 120 REDUX. La Aurora then offered a limited amount of original 100 Años. Finally, Cynthia Fuente presented the Arturo Fuente W. Curtis Draper 125, a modified Don Carlos Senior Blend. There are two large difference between the first three releases and the Padrón: all took place in 2012, the 125th anniversary, and all were accompanied by events with the principals of the aforementioned companies.

This is the fourth Padrón single store release in as many years. Last year, British retailer J.J. Fox received a special Padrón for its 225th anniversary. The year prior, Smoke Inn of Florida received a special Padrón for its 15th year of business and Boston-based L. J. Peretti received a Padrón for its 140th anniversary in late 2010.

Several other established retailers have commissioned special Padróns including Holt’s of Philadelphia for its 110th anniversary, New York City-based Arnold’s 95th anniversary and Old Virginia Tobacco Company’s 35th anniversary.

While W. Curtis Draper is offering the cigars for out of state customers, order will not ship until Tuesday due to Inauguration Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.