The looks of this cigar are nothing to write home about. It’s rather plain looking wrapper has only gotten uglier with aging. Its veiny wrapper is mottled with age spots and looks fragile like the skin of a 90-year old. That said, I remind myself that this is a Padrón, and one should never underestimate a Padrón.

So, instead of underestimating, I simply trim, light and have at it. As I sit back to contemplate this smoke, I am immediately startled out of my slumber with a spice-ball-wakeup-call. I guess this Padrón didn’t take kindly to my criticism and decided to smack me in the face as a wake up call.

I am impressed with the complexity of this smoke. As I try to quantify my descriptors, I am getting flavors of nuts, wood, hay (or perhaps Alfalfa) and toast. The burn is absolutely dead even. This is the most even burning cigar I’ve had in a long time. The razor sharp burn line gives way to a firm light gray ash. I tap the ash off at the 1-inch mark and it reveals a perfectly rounded ember beneath.

The spice of the first few puffs gradually subsided and the smoke evened to a light-medium body.

The second half is just as interesting as the first half, with notes of wood, hay and nuts.
I am impressed with this understated smoke. It sure surprised me with its complexity. The body and flavors were medium in strength, but the complexity made it an interesting smoke.

I highly recommend this smoke to those who want a good medium bodied smoke that will age productively over the first couple of years.

AGING POTENTIAL SCORE: C = this cigar may age beneficially for the first two years, but we recommend smoking within the first two years.


~Doc