Padilla 1932 Oscuro Returns This Spring

Source from:  Cigar Aficionado 03/24/2016

A limited-edition Padilla brand from the past is making a comeback. Known as the Padilla 1932 Oscuro Limited Edition, the cigar first launched in 2006 as an offshoot of the popular Padilla Signature 1932 line. The cigar saw life again in 2007 and 2009, then disappeared from the market for seven years. Now, the brand is returning this spring and brand owner Ernesto Padilla says the cigar will be produced on a more regular basis than it had been previously.

"We are reintroducing our Padilla 1932 Oscuro blend," Padilla told Cigar Aficionado. "It will be a sustainable, annual production...but still limited. We're not going to be making a lot. I'm thinking 50,000 cigars a year, approximately."

Rolled at Fabrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas S. de R.L. in Honduras, the new 1932 Oscuro features a Honduran wrapper proprietary to Raices, a Nicaraguan binder and fillers from the Jalapa Valley and Estelí, Nicaragua.

"This new blend is made with a proprietary wrapper grown by Raices Cubanas in Trojes, Honduras—on the border with Nicaragua—basically an extension of the Jalapa Valley in Nicaragua. It's a higher priming Cuban-seed wrapper making it Oscuro or darker and thicker than other wrappers," Padilla said.

Fans of the original 1932 Oscuro may remember that the 2006 and 2007 versions of the brand touted a different blend and were made in Miami at José "Pepin" Garcia's El Rey de Los Habanos factory.

"The original Padilla 1932 Oscuro was rolled with a Habano Ecuador wrapper and a Nicaraguan filler and binder," Padilla said. "It came in a special humidor with three sizes: Robusto, Torpedo and Churchill, 15 of each. The cigars weren't cheap, retailing for about $30 a piece."

In 2008, Garcia and Padilla parted ways and Padilla moved many of his brands to Raices Cubanas. The 1932 Oscuro blend was modified, and released a year later as the Padilla 1932 Oscuro Edición Limitada 2009 for Cigars International.

Padilla said that the 1932 Oscuro coming out this spring will be part of his regular portfolio. "We hope to be ready as early as May for a soft launch and then a full launch at the IPCPR trade show," he said. "We'll definitely do a Toro." He says the Toro will be 6 inches by 52 ring and mentions the likelihood of a robusto, a figurado and "Probably the classic perla size."

Pricing of the new 1932 Oscuro has not yet been finalized. The cigars will wear the same bands as the original release and will ship in regular boxes rather than ornate humidors. Enditem