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Home > What's New > A Desert Drive With Ernesto Padilla
A Desert Drive With Ernesto Padilla
Posted: Tuesday, February 27, 2007
By Gregory Mottola
I recently tried a new size from the Padilla 1932 Signature series, a cigar made by Pepin Garcia in Miami. Smoking the Lancero, which will be out soon, instantly brought me back to the time I traveled across the desert from Arizona to Las Vegas with Ernesto Padilla, the brand's owner. Taste and olfactory stimulants can trigger memories decades old, and lighting up that 1932 Lancero instantly conjured the images of not only our desert ride, but also the release party that was held at Fat Buddha Cigars, an upscale shop and lounge in Scottsdale.
An open chest of Padilla Signature 1932 Cigars
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By the time I arrived at the party, the sun was setting behind the mountains. I had never been to Arizona, so striking images like a crimson desert sunset will always remind me of Padilla cigars. After making my way through the crowd of Scottsdale's cigar enthusiasts, I found Ernesto Padilla. He's a young guy who is enjoying a lot of success with his Miami 8&11 cigar line. He supercharged his existing Padilla brands last year with the Signature 1932 -- his most full-bodied cigar yet.
Padilla introduced me to the Owner of Fat Buddha cigars, Walt Balcer, before circulating among the crowd. I could see why he wanted his release party at Fat Buddha -- the place is gorgeous. All of its unusual and creative stonework gives the shop the appearance of being carved out of a cave from the granite espresso bar to the floor, which is laid with rare Brazilian stone cut to resemble wooden slats. And it gets an interesting clientele: the night I was there Jean-Claude Van Damme was puffing away.
Ernesto Padilla (left) and Fat Buddha cigar shop owner Walt Balcer
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When Padilla came back around with an open chest of Signature 1932 Churchills, I said, "I don't know, Ernesto, the samples you gave me were a lot better looking than these." Of course, I was just ribbing him. The cigars looked great, and I grabbled one and lit up. This is a powerful cigar indeed, but flavorful. A savory bomb that pretty much blasts layers of rich smoke onto the palate.
The next morning, a hulking Lincoln Navigator emerged from the horizon. Driving was a Mr. Eric Muhammad, hired by Padilla to deliver us safely across the desert to the Las Vegas Big Smoke. Mr. Muhammad stands nearly seven feet tall, so he doubled as Padilla's bodyguard should anyone attack him for his cigars.
Our drive across the craggy desert wasn't exactly Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Rather than driving under the influence of an ether binge with a suitcase full of firearms and narcotics, we smoked Padilla cigars and thumbed through issues of Cigar Aficionado.
"So you got any Cubans on you?" asked Ernesto as he perused the tasting section. "This Montecristo Robusto looks good. You got one? C'mon, hook me up."
Kevin Brinkworth (left), Ernesto Padilla, Greg Mottola and Eric Muhammad at the Hoover Dam
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"Sure," I joked. "All you do is bad-mouth Cuban cigars to the public, and then when no one's looking, that's all you want to smoke. Smoke your own cigars. They're good."
Padilla sighed and said, "You know, I'm nervous about speaking at the Big Smoke. What am I going to say? You ever see that Polaner All Fruit commercial with the guy at the table who says, ‘Cudja please pass the jelly?' Well, that guy is me. I'm just a hick who makes cigars. What am I supposed to say?"
"Here," I said, and passed him one of those Cuban Montecristo Edicion Limitada Robustos. "Will this make you feel better? Just talk about making cigars. You'll only be nervous until you get up there, and then you won't even notice that you're onstage."
A few hours later, at my request, Mr. Muhammad pulled over his vehicle at the Hoover Dam. I had never been there and always thought that seeing the dam was essential to the American experience. So we all stopped, breathed in some of that crisp desert air and lit up more Padilla cigars before resuming the trip. Shortly after, Las Vegas materialized. I've never driven up on it before, only flown in. The smog cleared and there it was, the perpetual World's Fair of amenities.
By now, readers have seen that the Padilla 1932 Churchill has made the list of 2006 Top 25 cigars in Cigar Aficionado. Only three sizes of the 1932 have been released: the Churchill, the Robusto and, most recently, the Toro. I spoke to Padilla on the phone the other day, and he told me that the Lancero, Torpedo and Perla (a 4 inch by 40 ring cigar made in Nicaragua) will complete the line. The Lancero is predictably strong but has an unexpected sweetness to it. Leather and caramel flavors underscored a solid core of strong tobacco and coffee bean notes.
After Padilla filled me in about the Signature 1932 brand extensions, I asked him what he thought of that Cuban Montecristo I passed him on the way to Vegas.
"What did I think?" Padilla asked. "I think Pepin makes really good cigars, that's what I think."
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