BACKGROUND: I first featured on Episode 184 on Sunday, August 30, 2009. These cigars have been resting in my humidor for 1 year and 2 months and I pulled out a couple last week to see how they are faring with an extra year of age.

The Padilla 1948 is the second installment to the Padilla trilogy started by Ernesto Padilla in honor of his father, Herberto, who was one of Cuba’s most accomplished writers and poets.

This special cigar series started with the Signature 1932, a date that marked Herberto's birth year. Then came the 1948, which marked the year that Ernesto's father published his first book. The trilogy was then completed with the Series 68. The 68 stands for 1968, the year the Herberto compiled his most controversial work, one that ultimately led to his imprisonment in Cuba for speaking out against Castro’s communist regime.

The Padilla 1948 was originally released at the 2007 cigar trade show in Houston, Texas. At that time, the cigars were produced at a small boutique factory in Little Havana, Miami, Florida. Brand owner Ernesto Padilla opened this small factory, after having parted ways with Don Pepin Garcia, in 2006. The problem has been that this small factory has remained small and the lion's share of production will likely remain in Nicaragua for some time.

The blend for the Padilla 1948 line starts with Cuban-seed Nicaraguan Criollo and Corojo filler tobaccos with a Criollo binder and topped with a golden brown Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper.

The Padilla 1948 comes in 4 different vitolas in boxes of 20 cigars. Today's featured cigar is the 6.7 inch by 42 RG Lancero.

TASTING NOTES: The Padilla 1948 is a medium bodied cigar that is medium to full in flavor. The biggest change from my tasting of this cigar a year ago is that it is now displaying a good dose of complexity. This Lancero expresses vegetal and spicy characters. I noted flavors of fresh hay, wet forest and moss. And there was also an aromatic mesquite wood and a bit of white pepper on the retrohale. I believe that this cigar is really coming into its own right now and is showing great balance and complexity, which makes it an interesting and challenging smoke.

The Padilla 1948 Lancero is not overpowering in the body and strength department and yet it provides a complex mix of smoked wood, spice and sweet tobacco on the palate and white pepper spice on the retrohale. The combination is very rich and satisfying and I can recommend this cigar to a wide range of cigar smokers. The construction was excellent on these sticks, which cannot be taken for granted on a cigar like a Lancero, which is more difficult to roll. This is a cigar to try and one for the archives. I'd say this cigar is good for 3-5 years and you should be able to pick these up for a more than fair price.

~Doc