Rant- Padilla, the honeymoon is over-Updated!

fla-gypsy

I have been a fan of Padilla cigars for some time and then they started doing stupid things. They came out with some cheaper and horrible blends IMO, begin to drop some of their better stuff (1932, etc). Recently they rebanded (reblended? not sure) the Cazadores which was a good everyday at work stick. I recently bought a box of these which are selling at great prices and was just horrified with the experience. These things are so green, spongy (first day at Torcedor school maybe?), and burn inexplicably, and just tasted so bad it is unbelievable. This is not what they built their reputation on. I have smoked or given away about half the box but the rest are going to the bottom of the Humi in hopes some miraculous transformation takes place. WTH is going on with Padilla?

Vision

fla-gypsy:

I have been a fan of Padilla cigars for some time and then they started doing stupid things. They came out with some cheaper and horrible blends IMO, begin to drop some of their better stuff (1932, etc). Recently they rebanded (reblended? not sure) the Cazadores which was a good everyday at work stick. I recently bought a box of these which are selling at great prices and was just horrified with the experience. These things are so green, spongy (first day at Torcedor school maybe?), and burn inexplicably, and just tasted so bad it is unbelievable. This is not what they built their reputation on. I have smoked or given away about half the box but the rest are going to the bottom of the Humi in hopes some miraculous transformation takes place. WTH is going on with Padilla?

I will be holding off now.... But I do agree. Bigharpoon sent me one with 2 years on it.... out of this world. My dad gave me one with a white band... sorry dont remember the series and it SUCKED. I cant tell you how dissappointed I was.

RCY Cigars

Wow, well first things first. Good to see you around Mr. Al. As for Padilla, I have had similar thoughts. I guess you can say. The only one I have had IMO, that was good. Was the Padilla Serie 68', but even the ones I have are dated in 2010. I've tried the Padilla Artemis, Padilla 1932 and the Padilla Achilles and they did not go well with me. If you can find the ones you like with a later date. You may get what you want. Sorry to hear one of the cigars you favored isn't producing like they use to.

catfishbluezz

Every Padilla I've ever had benefitted from age.... It sounds like the new production needs to sit

jgibv

fla-gypsy:

I have been a fan of Padilla cigars for some time and then they started doing stupid things. They came out with some cheaper and horrible blends IMO, begin to drop some of their better stuff (1932, etc). Recently they rebanded (reblended? not sure) the Cazadores which was a good everyday at work stick. I recently bought a box of these which are selling at great prices and was just horrified with the experience. These things are so green, spongy (first day at Torcedor school maybe?), and burn inexplicably, and just tasted so bad it is unbelievable. This is not what they built their reputation on. I have smoked or given away about half the box but the rest are going to the bottom of the Humi in hopes some miraculous transformation takes place. WTH is going on with Padilla?

Sorry to hear about your poor experience with them. I've only had a couple Padillas and they never "stood out" to me. They weren't great, they weren't bad - but landed smack dab in the middle. If they were a term-paper I'd give them a "C".

But I digress....to answer your question "WTH is going on with Padilla" - take a peek at these articles Padilla Restructures Entire Brand Portfolio and Ernesto Padilla Plans Major Portfolio Makeover, hopefully that helps you out.

RCY Cigars

jgibv:

fla-gypsy:

I have been a fan of Padilla cigars for some time and then they started doing stupid things. They came out with some cheaper and horrible blends IMO, begin to drop some of their better stuff (1932, etc). Recently they rebanded (reblended? not sure) the Cazadores which was a good everyday at work stick. I recently bought a box of these which are selling at great prices and was just horrified with the experience. These things are so green, spongy (first day at Torcedor school maybe?), and burn inexplicably, and just tasted so bad it is unbelievable. This is not what they built their reputation on. I have smoked or given away about half the box but the rest are going to the bottom of the Humi in hopes some miraculous transformation takes place. WTH is going on with Padilla?

Sorry to hear about your poor experience with them. I've only had a couple Padillas and they never "stood out" to me. They weren't great, they weren't bad - but landed smack dab in the middle. If they were a term-paper I'd give them a "C".

But I digress....to answer your question "WTH is going on with Padilla" - take a peek at these articles Padilla Restructures Entire Brand Portfolio and Ernesto Padilla Plans Major Portfolio Makeover, hopefully that helps you out.

I'll have to check this out when I get home. Thanks for the info...

Lee.mcglynn

I am a sucker for the padilla Miami but recently I've been having trouble with the draw!! I've poked and prodded and nothing. I'll turn red in the face trying to get the scrumptious smoke out but no matter what I do I always end up chucking it. I don't think I will buy anymore of these for a while but am very disappointed since the ones that do smoke well are worth every penny IMO

Amos Umwhat

fla-gypsy:

I have been a fan of Padilla cigars for some time and then they started doing stupid things. They came out with some cheaper and horrible blends IMO, begin to drop some of their better stuff (1932, etc). Recently they rebanded (reblended? not sure) the Cazadores which was a good everyday at work stick. I recently bought a box of these which are selling at great prices and was just horrified with the experience. These things are so green, spongy (first day at Torcedor school maybe?), and burn inexplicably, and just tasted so bad it is unbelievable. This is not what they built their reputation on. I have smoked or given away about half the box but the rest are going to the bottom of the Humi in hopes some miraculous transformation takes place. WTH is going on with Padilla?

Uh oh. I was just about to get the Weekend Blitz, as I always enjoyed the Cazadores, but haven't had one in quite a while. Now I'm wondering if any of the originals are still out there?

Gaetano7890

I purchased a box of the Miami lanceros on the box bedlam im starting to get into lanceros and with my cigar budget dropping i thought it was to good of a deal to pass up. I too loved this smoke got a couple of boxes on a deal couple of years back in the toro size and loved them. They look pretty good I will let you guys know if they are still as good as they were.

blurr

I'm sad to see this happening all too often anymore...Rocky Patel TOTALLY jumped the shark and I won't buy a single stick, now possibly Padilla??? Note I haven't smoked any of the newer stuff, in fact since the Artemis were released I don't think I've smoked many new ones.
Rebranding and restructuring or whatever is going on down there is one thing, but driving away your customers can happen all too quickly with just a few bad boxes. Sad to hear of this happening, hopefully they get their act together QUICKLY before losing customers.

And sad to say this totally reminds me of Rocky's Greed Grab, as I call it. You know when the 'no more discounts online, all B&M prices across the board'. When Rock believed discount prices online were causing damage to his brand name...Umm no there Rock maybe its the ten thousand new lines you release everyday that are making your cigars a joke. Maybe Ernesto should pick up a phone and ask RP how it worked out for him alienating customers by trying to control how high your sticks are priced. From the 1st article seems thats what Ernesto is basically saying, he can't justify his OBSCENE $12 price tag for a padilla 1932, so the brand has lost value...No thats just a much more reasonable price based on the quality of your cigars, $4 to me is reasonable for a Padilla. This seems to be a greedy "i want to charge $15 for my cigars so I'm going to restructure, make a few brands disappear, and come back in a year with NEW & IMPROVED $15 Padillas". I think I see where this is going, the same way my support of the RP brand went, down the drain.

Gaetano7890

First Lancero down and it did not disappoint. All the flavor that I loved just in a new size that is appealing to me more than ever. From what I was told by a C.com rep was that Padilla is gonna bring back some of his higher end offerings and make them super premiums. I can't agree or disagreee with this desciion until I try one. Not to argue but I can't say 12 bucks is obscene for a cigar especially a 32. I was happy to pay 10 for a miami not that I always did most were had by me for much less but I think that is a far price for a miami, 32, or Dominus. Artemis and others are value sticks and rate in the 4 dollar price range. I really hope were not comparing Padilla to Rocky in a few years because I really like his stuff. It's a shame Rocky went that way he did the 1990 really got me back into cigars and was a really nice smoke the sungrown too which was one of my all time favorites. I have been scared to buy one lately due to the quality just not being there anymore. I think it was in 2010 when I started noticing Rocky cigars cracking at the head when you cut them. This could have been from a lot of things back then to dry sticks to a dull cutter but since I only saw it with his smokes I think it was rocky's cigars. I did recieve a Thunder from Nish himself at cigarfest and it was a nice cigar I guess we will see.

y2pascoe

I'm totally disappointed by the discontinuation of the Dominus and 1932. Those are two of my favorites that my B&M keeps in stock. The proprietor was also much disappointed by this because they're good sellers!

jsnake

I have always liked a couple of Padilla Cigars - Dominus, 1932. I never went for the cheap discount cigars. Rocky Patel Cigars are a joke to me and get none of my attention at all. Some personal reasons there too but mostly because of the new blend everyday. I think cigar smokers have gotten to the point of thinking that if a cigar is offered by an online company or at a deep discount it is a cheap dog rocket. Guys want the hard to find, limited edition, Boutique brands at $10 and up. I think a lot of it is all in our minds. I remember loving to get a new catalog and dreaming of how to stretch my dollars to get the most sticks. I have loved some cheap cigars and I have loved some really expensive cigars. We need to get back to not associating quality with a price tag.

Will I spend $10 plus on Padilla? Probably not. I already sold my soul to Viaje. If I am spending that kind of money I will go with my favorite brand. Not saying I won't try new Padilla. Ernesto is a fun guy and I like him so I will probably check them out eventually. I love boutique cigars so if these are as good as others and a step up from the Padilla of old that I enjoyed maybe this is a good thing. Change isn't easy. Look at what the whole EO Brands/Rocky Patel relationship did to 601.

Toombes

I chucked a Dominus Thursday night. Not sure of the year...
About an inch into it, a horrendous tar ball formed. I know it's one of the hazards of a hand-rolled, but I've never had a stick go bad so quickly. Normally I really dig Padilla, especially the Miami's, but Thursday nights experience wasn't one of my most memorable Padilla moments.

Gaetano7890

So far the Miami lanceros are smoking nice loved the one last night. Sucks to hear about the Dominus I've had good and bad experiences with that cigar but I will say i got one in a trade with some age on and loved every minute of it. Cigars are like a crap shoot some times.

blurr

Age seems to my palate what is most important, hopefully Ernesto gets back into the swing soon. Didn't mean to compare Padilla to tha Rock mess as that's not maybe fair. I think if you like just smooth flavors with no bite and no harshness like me then you lean towards the brands that age in-house for a while before selling. Getting into Cubans lately this is where I still find my home with NC sticks. They KNOW how to age tobacco where that's unheard of on certain islands. That's why I mainly smoke cigars that have been in my humis for a few years minimum. Hoping that's the only issue with Padilla cigars, the restructuring and what not has them off their game and sticks not aged and not ready for market are being sold. I am maybe just a mellow flavor cigar puntang so its all relative.

Padilla-Cigars

I'm sorry to hear about your experience with our value brand Cazadores. We have made significant changes to the Padilla line focusing on quality not quantity. Keep in mind the catalogs sell quantity. Si gone are ALL the Padilla lines. The new Lines are as follows Padilla Invictus and Padilla Miami Maduro both small batch production made in Little Havana like our original blends. Then we have the Padilla Reserva & Reserva Maduro both are made in Nicaragua with the Oliva cigar family. Now as far as you getting a bad cigar well email me and I will glad to send you a free sample of our new blend. Here's my email Ernesto@padillacigars.con Thank you for trying Padilla cigars. I hope you will see that my passion is making quality cigars. Taste the new blends and see for yourself. Regards, Ernesto Padilla Miami

kaspera79

Hmmm. Interesting reply. Another fine example of customer service. I love those 1932's Ernesto !!

jthanatos

This is the sort of thing that will get me to try a stick from a line whether I have sampled it in the past or not. It is reassuring to see a company looking to improve their customer's experience.

Amos Umwhat

jthanatos:

This is the sort of thing that will get me to try a stick from a line whether I have sampled it in the past or not. It is reassuring to see a company looking to improve their customer's experience.

+1

catfishbluezz

Amos Umwhat:

jthanatos:

This is the sort of thing that will get me to try a stick from a line whether I have sampled it in the past or not. It is reassuring to see a company looking to improve their customer's experience.

+1

+2...I am really looking forward to trying the new blends. I still have a few of the old Miami tucked away, and need to get some more while I can.

JudoChinX

Wow. It's kind of crazy to see who drops in here from time to time. Though I'm not thrilled with change in general, I'm still excited to see where the brand goes from here. I've said it once and I'll say it again: Padilla is my favorite.

fla-gypsy

E-mail sent to Ernesto, I will let you guys know what he adds to the conversation.

jgibv

Ever hear back from Ernesto?

And did you see this .... "Oliva takes over Padilla Distribution" - http://www.halfwheel.com/news-oliva-distribute-padilla/ - wonder how this, and the brand "makeover" will play out...

JudoChinX

For what it's worth, I also emailed but never heard a thing.

fla-gypsy

Ernesto and I had a nice conversation and he sent me some samples of his newer stuff to try which I much appreciated and told him so. Any time you have several blends from one maker together you compare them to each other and none were bad IMO but some were better than others to my palate.The clear winner though really stood out to me and it was the Padilla Miami Maduro. That is a cigar that lives up to it's namesake. So if you are like me and have had issues with the blends changing or maybe you felt the older blends were not getting the attention in production they deserve try some of the newer ones and see what you think. Absolutely try the Miami Maduro!

Amos Umwhat

I'm not seeing the new line-up in CCOM's menu yet, any idea when we'll have these available here?