Padilla Finest Hour Sungrown Habano Robusto by AJ Fernandez (5 x 52)

Video review HERE.

(Description taken in part from Cigar-coop.com and Halfwheel.com websites)

Padilla Finest Hour draws its inspiration from Churchill’s legendary “This was their finest hour” speech that he delivered to the House of Commons on June 18, 1940 as Great Britain was in the midst of the Second World War.

In 2020 Ernesto Padilla announced that he would move the production of the Padilla Finest Hour lines from an undisclosed factory in Honduras to Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A.

The packaging and sizes will remain the same. The blend is also supposed to stay the same, though Padilla told halfwheel that it will use tobaccos from the AJ Fernandez inventory, meaning it likely uses the same basic tobacco varietals but the tobacco won’t be exactly the same.

Finest Hour is offered in three blends—Connecticut, Sungrown Habano and Oscuro—each in the same three sizes and price points.

Today we look at the Sungrown Habano.

In 2019 I reviewed the previous version which was made in Honduras. It scored an abysmal 84. This review will see if the move to AJ's facility makes a difference.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sungrown Habano

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Padilla Finest Hour Robusto (5 x 52) — $7.50 (Boxes of 20, $150) REVIEWED TODAY

Padilla Finest Hour Toro (6 x 52) — $8.25 (Boxes of 20, $165)

Padilla Finest Hour Gordo (6 x 60) — $8.90 (Boxes of 20, $178)

The cigar is well made and the wrapper is a reddish brown in color. It has an average feel in the hand.

The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were a little citrus, citrus peel, apple, brown sugar, cinnamon, and leather. There was black pepper rated at 7. Nice, interesting start.

At the first third (17 minutes) the notes have changed a bit. Now there is a citrus/cedar mix, citrus peel, light nutmeg, brown sugar, cinnamon, nougat, and a light to medium leather base. The finish is light citrus, leather, and a little nougat with good lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium bodied. The cigar is enjoyable at this point. I rated the first third 92.

Moving through the second third (36 minutes) there were more changes. The notes now are cedar, citrus peel, apple, brown sugar, nougat, cinnamon, leather, and earthy black coffee. The finish is citrus peel, leather, and brown sugar with good lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium bodied, leaning toward medium to full. The newly emerged earthy black coffee took away some of the enjoyment. I rated the second third 90.

The cigar lasted 54 minutes. A rather short smoke. In the final third the earthy black coffee really rose. It almost overtook the cigar. There were still notes of cedar, a little citrus peel, light brown sugar, cinnamon, leather, and a lot of earthy black coffee. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The pepper is actually one good point. It's very good. The finish has remnants of nougat, nutmeg, and light leather with very good lingering black pepper. The earthiness that started in the second third blossomed in the final third. It greatly took away from the enjoyment. I rated the final third 86. Still, this is a much better cigar than the original Honduran version.

Overall Score: 89.33