In 2011 Ernesto Padilla and Oliva announced they were teaming up to produce a cigar, again. There was once talk of a Padilla NUb, that never happened. With the launch of Oliva's new Studio Tobac (the parent of the NUb and Cain brands), Oliva hinted that they were open to working with other companies on limited joint products and Padilla was the first benefactor. We hope this will be the first of many collaborative projects. Released in the fall of 2011, the Padilla Studio Tobac Figurado spots a Padilla band up top and a Studio Tobac band right below, each resting on the beautiful reds of the Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. Interestingly, this is the second most expensive cigar Oliva's factory has made and also one of the smallest production sizes, with only 1,000 boxes of 10 cigars being made.

The Padilla Studio Tobac may be made from the exact same mold as Oliva's Serie V Figurado, but the flavor is quite different. The Ecuadorian wrapper and the Nicaraguan fillers deliver leather, coffee, nuts and cedar with a decent amount of pepper. While it's not sweet because of any single flavor, it does have a sweet flavor profile overall. It's full flavor, full body, full strength and fully good. The limited availability of this stick is a shame, because this is one of the better cigars bearing Padilla's name. That is quite high praise considering some of the cigars of they've released in the past five years. Without a doubt, the Padilla Studio Tobac Figurado is worth the price, the only question is are you going to be able to buy enough before they're all gone?