Price is no indicator of quality.
Let me say it again: Price is NO indicator of quality. If you like cigars and don't like wasting money, memorize those 6 key words.
I can think of a dozen cigars that I've enjoyed more than the extremely expensive ($14 list price, higher at retail) Padron 1964 Imperial maduro. This long, handsome, square-pressed, well-constructed cigar offers a good draw and burn but nothing much else special to speak of. The flavor was fairly strong and peppery and held up without modulation for a good 90 minutes or longer.
My complaint is that for this high a price, you'd expect more: Some nuanced flavor characteristics, some development, some "aha" or "whoa" moments as you puff away at each 2-dollar-plus inch. Instead it's just a straightforward head-buzzer of a smoke, like dozens of other maduro cigars that cost half as much. And the construction was not exactly perfect: It went out at the halfway point, and I had to pick up the pace and smoke it a little hotter than usual for fear it might go out again. I didn't even try to "nub" it, but let it go out with 1.5 inches remaining: Bitterness had set in. A perfect specimen it was NOT.
So, in summary, another overpriced disappointment on a par with the Arturo Fuente Hemingway Series. Overhyped, overpriced, and overused by people who apparently choose their cigars for prestige not pleasure.
And what about those dozen cheaper cigars I mentioned that offer equally good or better quality in the dark, full-bodied category? Here goes: Rocky Patel Vintage 92. La Flor Dominicana Chisel. Oliva Series G. Carlos Torano 1959. 5 Vegas classic (yes, the reviled 5 Vegas). Gurkha Regent (not exactly cheap, but cheaper and easier to find). CAO Italia. Almost every dark-wrapped Camacho ever made. Padron's own (and much cheaper) Londres or Ambassador maduros. The list goes on and on.
Repeat after me: Price is no indicator of quality...
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2 comments:
...and "quality" is largely a matter of taste. I happen to love this cigar -- though I prefer it in natural -- and I think it's worth every standard retail cent. To say that it's "equally good or better" than a 5 Vegas Classic or CAO Italia (Yuck!!) is, to me, patently ridiculous. But, as you probably agree, this is largely a matter of taste.
Fair enough, cigarfan. Taste varies from person to person.
The Padron 1964 Imperial Maduro is a well-made cigar that performs admirably.
I stand by my main point, however, which is that you can find several other cigars of similar strength, flavor and quality for a much lower price.
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