Ah, the Famous Cigar Expo, the gift that keeps on giving. As I was looking through my humidor, trying to decide on what to light up for this week’s review, I stumbled onto a small collection of Famous 70th Anniversary Padrons I picked up while I was at the expo. I was a little surprised to see that I had any left. I was certain I smoked all but one of them at the event.

The word is that the Famous 70th marks a first for Padron, the first cigar they have ever made exclusively for a single customer. (Not the last, however. I’ve already seen another Padron exclusive on the market.) In fact, a new cigar from Padron is noteworthy all by itself. Years often go by between new offerings from the Padron family.

This 70th is officially an addition to the 1964 series, and says as much on the second band. Before I noticed that, I asked Jorge Padron if it was the same blend at the 64 line. I had heard that it was, or was close. He said it was very similar, but not the same cigar with a different band. As a extension of the series, it is available in a single box-pressed robusto vitola with either a natural or maduro wrapper. And as the name implies, the 70th is available exclusively at Famous Smoke Shop. Now let’s light it up.

Cigar Stats:
Size: 5 x 50
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Smoking Time: 1 1/2 hours
Beverage: Water
Price: MSRP $14.00

The Pre-Smoke
It’s a little hard to verify ring gauge of a box-pressed cigar, but one of the first things I noticed about the stick is that it seemed to be a little smaller than the 50 ring gauge claimed on the Famous website. Maybe a 48 or even a 46. At any rate, it definitely didn’t visually look the part of a fat 50 ring gauge stick.

The cigar was also a little lumpier and had larger veins than I remembered from my previous experiences with the 64 series, but was consistently firm. The only flaw I saw was some minor damage at the foot of one cigar. It didn’t appear to be caused by my rough handling, but it’s really hard to say. It wasn’t anything that concerned me.

The scent of the wrapper was the standard compost and the cold taste offered up some creamy, sweet coffee flavors.

The Burn
Aside from a little unevenness in the burn in the final third of the Famous Padron 70th, there isn’t anything negative to report in the burn department. The ash was solid and white, and the draw was flawless. I did manage to rip the wrapper when removing the band from one cigar (a little too much glue on that one), but it burned through that smoking foul without issue.

The Flavor
The 70th kicked things off with sweet and creamy coffee and cedar flavors, and in short order built up a bit in body, introducing bolder espresso and earth flavors. I also noticed a vegetal component to the flavor in this third that wasn’t present later on in the cigar.

By the time the second third rolled around, the cigar had moved into a combination of dark, bitter sweet chocolate and earth flavors. The creaminess and sweetness of the previous third was long gone, but the coffee and espresso was still appearing from time to time.

The final third was a continuation of the same flavor profile. Dark chocolate, coffee, espresso and earth all the way to the end.

The Price
$14 a stick is well outside my comfort range for a cigar. And unfortunately the per stick price for the Famous extension to the 1964 Padron line is a buck more a stick than the slightly larger Exclusivo. You don’t need a diploma from Tobacconist University to see that the combination of higher price and limited availability will be a barrier to many cigar smokers. And to others, these factors will make the cigar a must buy.

The Verdict
The Famous 70th Anniversary Padron is a great cigar. It burns well, it looks great and has a lot of great, full flavors. It’s a cigar I would very much like to smoke again often in the future, but the price will keeping waiting for them to show up as a deal on Cigar Monster before I pick up more.

I can see it now, somebody’s gonna ask, how does it compare to the 64 natural? Well, to be honest, I don’t smoke a lot of the 64 series, and when I do, I usually light up a maduro. But have no fear, I light up a 64 natural while writing up this review for a little comparison. They are not nearly as similar as I would have expected. I found the Famous version to be significantly fuller in body and flavor. To be fair, the 64 I smoked had been sitting around in my humidor for well over a year and was surprisingly mellow, so it probably wasn’t the best comparison. But definitely a bit of research I’d recommend trying.

Liked It: Yes
Buy It Again: Probably. I’ll wait for a deal.
Recommend It: Yes

Tower of Burn
Here for your viewing pleasure is my trademark Tower of Burn.