Padrón is not a company known for single store releases, however, the company has released a plethora of releases for retailers all over the globe, its most recent release was the TP40 celebrating Tobacco Plaza’s 40th year in business. It was the third release for the New York-based retailer’s 40th anniversary, although we broke the news about a third and final cigar, the TP40Q, last week.

We posted a story on the Padrón 1926 Serie TP40 back in March:

Padrón’s most expensive U.S. release cigar is heading to New York next month for its debut. The Padrón 1926 Serie TP40 has been commissioned for Long Island’s Tobacco Plaza in honor of Marshall Holman’s, one of the store’s owners, 40th year in the cigar business.  The 6 1/4 x 60 Maduro-wrapped cigar will be released at a private dinner with Jorge Padrón on April 17, 2013. 

At $35.00 per cigar, the TP40 slightly edges out the Padrón 1926 80th Anniversary as the most expensive cigar sold in the U.S. by the company. However, the box price pales in comparison to Padrón’s Millennium release and the Padrón J.J. Fox 225, made for the British retailer’s 225th anniversary last year, carried a higher price at the single level. Only 218 boxes of 10 cigars are being produced. The number is significant as Tobacco Plaza is located at 218 Lakeville Road.

Last year, Padrón introduced the 6 1/4 x 60 size as the 1964 Anniversary No. 4, a follow-up to the 2011 release of the Padrón 1964 SI-15, made for Florida’s Smoke Inn.

This is the second single release of 2013 for Padrón with the Padrón W. Curtis Draper 125th Anniversary being released in January for the Washington D.C.-based store. In addition, this is the second release of cigars made to honor Tobacco Plaza’s 40th anniversary. Last year, the Tatuaje Tobacco Plaza DD was introduced in honor of one of the store’s other owners, Danny Ditkowich.

Details for the dinner are available on Tobacco Plaza’s website. The store said it will begin selling the remaining boxes on April 18, 2013. 

Here are all of the cigars released for Tobacco Plaza’s 40th anniversary so far:

Tobacco Plaza DD Padrón Serie 1926 TP40

  • Tatuaje Tobacco Plaza DD (Box) (6 x 58) – March 13, 2012 – 500 Boxes of 10 Cigars (5,000 Total Cigars) 
  • Tatuaje Tobacco Plaza DD (Wet Pack) (6 x 58) – April 19, 2012 – 500 Boxes of 10 Cigars (5,000 Total Cigars) 
  • Padrón 1926 Serie TP40 (6 1/4 x 60) – April 17, 2013 – 218 Boxes of 10 Cigars (2,180 Total Cigars)

Here are what the boxes of Padrón 1926 Serie TP40 look like:

Padrón Serie 1926 TP40 Box 1

Padrón Serie 1926 TP40 Box 2

Padrón Serie 1926 TP40 1

  • Cigar Reviewed: Padrón 1926 Serie TP40
  • Country of Origin: Nicaragua
  • Factory: Tabacos Cubanica S.A.
  • Wrapper: Nicaragua
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Size: 6 1/4 Inches
  • Ring Gauge: 60
  • Vitola: Gordo
  • MSRP: $35.00 (Boxes of 10, $350.00)
  • Date Released: April 17, 2013
  • Number of Cigars Released: 218 Boxes of 10 Cigars (2,180 Total Cigars)
  • Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 2

Like the SI-15, the Padrón TP40 feels huge in my hands with a dark mocha brown wrapper that has an almost obscene amount of tooth to it. The box-press is quite evident but not extreme and it is hard as a rock when squeezed. The aroma off the wrapper is strong coffee beans, earth, dark chocolate and pepper.

The Padrón TP40 starts off the first third with immediate flavors of leather, espresso, cocoa powder, toast and cinnamon. There is a nice sweetness underneath the other notes that reminds me strongly of black licorice and while it is not overly strong at this point, it is quite distinctive. I am also noticing a wonderful black pepper on the retrohale which combines nicely with the other flavors. The burn is almost perfect, while the draw is a bit loose, albeit well within a normal range. Strength-wise, the Padrón TP40 easily hits the medium mark by the end of the first third.

Padrón Serie 1926 TP40 2

Coming into the second third, and the profile has turned more earthy with flavors of espresso, leather and oak ebb in and out. The black licorice note is actually a bit stronger towards the middle of the cigar and the black pepper on the retrohale has ramped up a notch. In fact, there are points in the second third where I could swear I am eating pepper right out of a pepper mill. The burn continues to impress, while the draw has tightened up nicely, and the strength has increased noticeably to a fuller medium by the end of the second third.

Padrón Serie 1926 TP40 3

The final third of the Padrón TP40 remains on the same path as the first two thirds, still with that wonderful, gritty earth note dominant, along with other flavors of bitter espresso, wood, cocoa powder and toast. The sweet black licorice note—while still obvious—continues to recede slowly throughout the final third and is almost totally gone by the end of the cigar. Thankfully, the black pepper on the retrohale is also receding, although not as quickly as the aforementioned sweetness. Both the burn and the draw are finally in sync with each other, and the TP40 ends up hitting just below the full mark by the end of the cigar.

Padrón Serie 1926 TP40 4

Final Notes:

  • Although the box does have the Tobacco Plaza name on it, there is no indication on the cigar itself that this is a special release. In fact, looking at it, the only way you would know it is not a normal release is if you know that Padrón does not make a 60 ring gauge cigar in the 1926 blend, other than this one.
  • While I do not usually think that 60 ring gauge cigars bring anything new to most blends—and in fact, that big of a ring gauge can actually detract quite a bit from a great blend—both the Padrón 1926 Serie TP40 and the Padrón SI-15 do it wonderfully.
  • The smoke production is copious, almost Liga Privada-like in volume. Honestly, I think it would almost be too much, even outside, if the wind here was not blowing 30 mph where I am reviewing these.
  • This cigar has one of the thickest and toothiest wrappers I have seen on a cigar in quite a long time, although it did not seem to effect the burn at all.
  • This is obviously a 60 ring gauge cigar when you are smoking it and it does feel a bit uncomfortable at times in my mouth. However, the box-press alleviates most of the discomfort in this instance. Honestly, I am not sure why every cigar manufacturer does not box-press more of their cigars that are 60 ring gauge and above.
  • The combination of the extremely strong black pepper—both in the mouth and the retrohale—and the sweet black licorice is a unique combination that I have not tasted in a cigar in a long time.
  • The vast majority of single store releases for Padrón have been in its popular 1964 blend. In fact, this is the first Padrón in the 1926 blend that can think of.
  • The construction was fabulous on both samples, with a perfect burn line and and almost perfect draw for the entire smoke.
  • The cigars smoked for this review were sent to us by Tobacco Plaza.
  • Tobacco Plaza does have a few boxes left, so if you want to purchase any of the Padrón TP40, they are available on their website here. Incidentally, they still have boxes of the Tatuaje DD Wet Pack available as well.
92 Overall Score

While I usually gravitate towards the 1964 blend when smoking Padróns, the Padrón 1926 Serie TP40 is a wonderful example of the 1926 releases. In fact, while I have never found Padróns to be overly-complex, this is a great example of any number of attributes: a wonderful classic Nicaraguan profile, excellent construction and perfect balance between flavors and strength. The price is definitely an issue, but if you are looking for a Padrón 1926 in this format, you really can't go wrong.

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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.