Padilla Miami (8/11) Review

[koolbooy]

PADILLA MIAMI (8/11)

Strength: Full
Wrapper: Nicaragua (Cuban Corojo)
Binder: Nicaragua (Cuban Criollo
Filler: Nicaragua (Blend of Corojo & Criollo)

Style: Torpedo
Draw: Real Good
Flavor: Spice, Mild Spice, Coffee Spice, Little Caramel Leather

Review: It’s a Friday night and it’s a good night, but cold. The weekends coming up, why not start it right with a good smoke? Tonight’s special is a Padilla Miami (8/11).

In my opinion, the Padilla Miami is not much to look at. The band is nice and that’s about it. The wrapper is not beautiful like a Carlos Toraño Signature or the Padron Maduro …. Okay, maybe I shouldn’t be making comparisons, but c’mon these type of things matter to me. Maybe not to the majority of cigar smokers, but to a guy like me, it does. Whether it’s a Cameroon wrapper, Connecticut Wrapper or a Corojo Wrapper, it should make my mouth water. You know what im talking about, the type of feeling you get when your watching Emril or better yet Rachel Ray cook on the food network. There was no “BAM !” and it was missing plenty of “E.V.O.O”.

Lets talk about the toast up. It was fantastic, when your toasting the foot of the cigar, you’ll get hit with some sweet aroma. It was really pleasing, I got some nice honey, cinnamon and a soft peppery smell. Anytime I smell an aroma like this, it gets me excited, especially if its followed by tons of smoke, which it was.

The 1st puffs of the smoke is full of spice and that to me is a big UH OH. And I think you know why …. (I don’t want to bring his name up just yet). There’s so much spice in the beginning of this smoke, that if there is any other flavors, I cant get them, because of the overpowering spice. I like spice, but not like this, I like little bits of it. Puffing away towards the 2nd part of the smoke, the overpowering spice because a little more mild, but there’s still plenty of spice. Once in awhile, you get hit with coffee espresso notes, but guess what? …. Yup, it has spice on it. It feels like they accidentally put 2 Tablespoons of spice, when they were only suppose to put 1 Teaspoon. I was getting ready to put this out, because I hate cigars like this, but I decided to smoke a little more. The 3rd part of this smoke was really interesting to me, in a weird “I hate you” kind of a way. Let me explain …. The 3rd part of this smoke is a smooth caramel leather, but how can this be? Either the spice completely went away or my palate is numb from it. There was nothing but smooth caramely leather for a good couple of puffs, but then it came back …. The spice that is. I couldn’t take anymore so I put it out.

The name I didn’t want to mention earlier was the famous and most hated person in the world “The Evil Spice Monkey”. He was definitely here tonight and he was being a pain in the ass like he always is. This cigar is way to one dimensional for me, from start to finish all you get is spice and I hate that. The draw was really good and the ash was very flaky, but strong. The burn was fine too. The construction of this cigar was top notch, but that wasn’t the problem.

Final Notes: If you’re a spicy cigar smoker, you’ll love this cigar, because you’ll get hit with every spice you can think of. However, I don’t recommend this cigar, I don’t plan to smoke another one and im definitely not excited about anything else from Padilla. I know im going to get lots of hate mail from this review, because there’s tons of people who rave and hype this cigar up, but tonight there’s nothing to hype about.

Rating: 2.9/5 - Its okay. It gets a “.9” because the last puffs I took from this cigar were nice and tasty.
Date Smoked: 2-9-08

http://thestogiebaby.blogspot.com

[dantzig]

I've been letting mine sit for a while and resisting the temptation to light them up since anything blended by "The Evil Spice Monkey" seems to be improved with a little age. CaddoMoney sent me a DPG Black with a year of age on it that was divine. The spiciness had mellowed from pepper down to something much smoother and complex. Come to think of it, my Padilla Miami 8/11s are about at the 6 month mark. Maybe I should test one out soon!

[koolbooy]

Originally Posted by dantzig

I've been letting mine sit for a while and resisting the temptation to light them up since anything blended by "The Evil Spice Monkey" seems to be improved with a little age. CaddoMoney sent me a DPG Black with a year of age on it that was divine. The spiciness had mellowed from pepper down to something much smoother and complex. Come to think of it, my Padilla Miami 8/11s are about at the 6 month mark. Maybe I should test one out soon!

good point, with some age, it could be better. we'll see.

[kheffelf]

I am a big fan of the Padilla Miami, probably been for the last year and a half, this cigar is the first Pepin I ever had. Actually bought it before I knew Pepin made it. Obviously I am going to disagree with you with this cigar, but that is the great thing about cigars, there are so many out there for everyone to enjoy. But in my opinion the wrapper on these cigars looks a lot better than the regular line Padrons, that is a cigar that I have never really been that impressed with the wrapper. Good cigars and construction but wrappers have never been that big for me to look at. Don't count Padillas out, try out the new 48s, a great medium bodied cigar made by Pepin, not a lot of spice or the Hybrids or the Habanos.

[koolbooy]

Originally Posted by kheffelf

I am a big fan of the Padilla Miami, probably been for the last year and a half, this cigar is the first Pepin I ever had. Actually bought it before I knew Pepin made it. Obviously I am going to disagree with you with this cigar, but that is the great thing about cigars, there are so many out there for everyone to enjoy. But in my opinion the wrapper on these cigars looks a lot better than the regular line Padrons, that is a cigar that I have never really been that impressed with the wrapper. Good cigars and construction but wrappers have never been that big for me to look at. Don't count Padillas out, try out the new 48s, a great medium bodied cigar made by Pepin, not a lot of spice or the Hybrids or the Habanos.

thanks for the reply ! i like how u disagree lol (if that makes any sense). maybe i'll give other padillas a try and just like you said, maybe this cigar isnt for me. we all have our own taste buds. thanks again for the reply.

[Poriggity]

Yup, I disagree as well, but hey, to each there own. It is a spicy smoke, but IMHO, thats what makes it so good
Scott

[Fire It Up]

I have to disagree also, I thought it was a beautiful looking cigar, one of the better one's i've seen. I had a belicoso so Im not sure if its the same as your torpedo, the rounded tip made it a very attractive cigar. I also didn't get as much spice as you talked about, it was more nutty and leathery if I recall. I definately could tell that I was smoking a quality cigar. For the $6-$7 you can get these for on the devils site, I think its a pretty good buy.

[gnukfu]

I love these in the Corona size. After I tried them I grabbed a box. If you look at the ratings on Top 25 the scores for the Torps are much lower than the other sizes. Not sure why, I didn't read the reviews for the Torp.

[jloutlaw]

I really like the robusto and the lancero. They have just the right amount of spice to make it interesting. I've never had one that was overbearing.

[dantzig]

To follow up on this, I smoked the first Padilla Miami 8&11 robusto from my stash tonight. It had been sitting for about 6 months. It was spicy but not overwhelmingly so with a clean and slightly sweet finish. I would rate its strength and body as medium maybe leaning towards full depending on what you considering a full strength or full bodied cigar. The burn was clean, cool, and razor-perfect from light to the nub. Construction was excellent with no defects in the wrapper and a flawless triple cap. Overall, it was very smooth and enjoyable. I don't have anything bad to say about this cigar. The only thing stopping me from giving with a wholehearted recommendation is the price but that's not so bad if you get a good deal on CI or cbid and are willing to let it sit for long enough to dry out a little.

[Boston_Dude05]

These are pretty good smokes. However, wrapper can be a bit thin once in a while. So far some are hit some are miss. Keep trying. I haven't given up on these yet.

[gvarsity]

I agree with you in some ways about DPG. I like some spice but the spice bombs he creates are too much for me. I found the Miami 8&11 to be somewhat subtler than some of the other blends of his I have had and I do enjoy them. Thanks for the review.

[partagaspete]

I like DPG cigars when young and spicy but I just bought some 48's, 68's, cuban classics, and this baby's.

I had the 8/11 robusto and loved it but I do hear that the torp is not so good...maybe it needs some age. I plan on letting these all rest atleast 6 months well maybe a few in a couple weeks to see how they are. but otherwise let the lot rest.

Dont give up on DPG he is a wonderful blender maybe try one with a bit more time in the Humi. Oh and a lower Rh is important for DPG cigars. I like mine around 65% like cuban cigars.

Enjoy what you like.

T

[yourchoice]

Smoked the first corona out of a box earlier today while running around for work. First cigar I've had since getting over the flu, so I felt more kick than normal, but not overpoweringly so.

Strange flavor I picked up while smoking it. Movie Theater Popcorn! I kid you not. Weird I give Pepin two . It's a shame he's not going to be rolling these any longer. CA Article Link

[gnukfu]

I love these things - I have a box of the Corona too....mmmmmmm good - heh it's funny what you taste sometimes when you smoke. I tasted mustard for a couple of puffs of one cigar I was smoking yesterday. It was good. Blended in nice. I figured the roller must have had hot dogs for lunch.