In 2016, Padrón Cigars made a special blend to celebrate the 89th birthday of José Orlando Padrón, the founder of the company. It was a somewhat quiet project, with a black band adorning the classic Padrón name and coded secondary band. Made in both a Maduro and a Natural wrapper version, only 200 boxes of each were released back then. Jump ahead to 2018, and Padrón Cigars announced they would be re-introducing the Black No. 89 as a TAA Exclusive release. The cigars were highly anticipated, and finally shipped to select TAA retailers in February of 2019.
In addition to the Maduro reviewed here, the Padrón Black No. 89 TAA 2018 was also released in a Natural. Each was made available in 10-count boxes, exclusively to TAA retailers.
Padrón Black No. 89 TAA 2018 Maduro
MSRP: $16.50
Size: 6 x 46
Origin: Tabacos Cubanica S.A. (Nicaragua)
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Prologue
Right away, I notice that the dark brown wrapper has an extremely defined tooth. The texture looks like 60-grit sandpaper, yet oily and silky at the same time. The overall look of the cigar is pretty rustic. It is bumpy, and the cap is somewhat messy. The wrapper has a faint smell of cedar, but the foot aroma reminds me of molasses cookies. When I try a cold draw, I get more of that molasses with some black pepper and some hay.
Act I
The first half-inch or so is very peppery and bold. I get plenty of smoke on each draw, and it has a chewy texture. The black pepper combines with some dark rye and a dark-roast coffee note. The first attempt at a retrohale was probably a mistake. I felt like a family of fire ants climbed in my nose, but fortunately it dissipated quickly to a basic black pepper spice.
Act II
The the transition of flavors was unmistakable when this cigar closes out the first third. The black pepper moves quietly to the background, then some really nice notes of dark cocoa and aged tobacco sweetness. I also get some really subtle hints of earth and wood. The retrohale has also mellowed significantly, with nice aromas of cocoa, coffee, and sweetness with a little spice.
Act III
The end of this cigar stays mostly consistent, but I do notice a few flavors joining in. The wood and earth are complemented by some licorice or anise flavors. That also fits nicely alongside notes of leather, spice, and sweetness. I go back to the retrohale at the end and it has a nice uptick in spice mixed some of those cocoa and coffee aromas from before.
Epilogue
When I found out this cigar would be released as a TAA special edition, I was definitely looking forward to it. I was lucky enough to try a special size of this cigar at Puro Sabor back in January of 2018, and really enjoyed it. This latest release is also a very good cigar. The smoke has great texture and a complex structure of flavors. Considering the special nature of this release, I was a little surprised to see the rustic appearance and the slightly messy printing/embossing on the bands. It didn’t affect the flavor or burn of the cigar, so I say it doesn’t matter so much. This cigar is rich, complex, and extremely flavorful, while still being approachable even to relative novice cigar fans.
Padrón Black No. 89 TAA 2018 Maduro – How Bout That Cigar?
Rating: How Bout A Box?
Overall Score: 94
PAD: +0.0 (What is PAD?)
Flavor Summary: Cocoa, Spice, Sweetness, Coffee
Strength Assessment: Medium-Full
Source: Cigars for this review were purchased by HBT Media LLC