Jose Padrón began manufacturing cigars in Miami in 1964. Padrón had grown up in the Pinar del Río region of Cuba, and he wanted to re-create the taste and quality of the cigars made from that tobacco. To satisfy the increasing demand for their cigars, the Padróns moved their operation to Nicaragua in 1970. After a move to Honduras in 1978 (to escape the Sandinistas), the Padróns returned to set up a permanent shop in Nicaragua in 1990. They now have factories in Esteli, Nicaragua and Danli, Honduras. In our current cigar culture where most manufactures are releasing a new cigar every few months to satisfy smokers who always want to try the latest and greatest thing, the Padróns have decided to take a different approach: make a small number of cigar lines and do it very very well. I personally find this approach to be highly commendable. Padrón only has three cigar lines in regular production: the Padrón Series (consisting of 13 vitolas), the Padrón Series 1964 Anniversary Series (consisting of 9 vitolas), and the Padrón 1926 Serie (consisting of 5 vitolas). That is a total of 27 different cigars --- Gurkha will likely have that many NEW releases in 2008!
The Padrón X000 cigars are the flagship cigars of the Padrón line and are available in both natural and maduro. They are a Cuban-seed, Nicaraguan puro. The Padron 2000 is a 5 x 50 robusto. Within the cigar box I found a small paper note from letting me know that “Fanny” had packaged the box which I though was a nice touch. She was clearly very skilled at her craft. And given that I literally took this cigar box off her hands I couldn’t help but think of one of my favorite songs by The Band: “Take a load off Fanny, take a load for free; Take a load off Fanny, And (and) (and) you can put the load right on me”. I love this cigar already.

The Padrón 2000 Maduro has a rustic, milk-chocolate brown wrapper that has a few large veins, large seams and has a slightly bumpy appearance. It also has a very noticeably light weight in the hand for a robusto ---more on that later. Whatever shortcomings this cigar has in appearance are forgotten when you stick it up to your nose and take a whiff. Its aroma is quintessential barnyard with delightful scents of moist soil, hay, and manure.

After taking a couple draws on this cigar, it immediately hits you with the “holy trinity” of classic maduro flavors: bittersweet chocolate, coffee and rich soil. The chocolate flavor in this cigar is particularly exceptional and noteworthy: the Padrón 2000 Maduro is to other maduros as Ghirardelli chocolate is to Hershey’s. I also pick up some nice sweet spice, especially when retrohaling. Through the first third of the cigar these flavors engage in a complex dance to create what I call a “Bits & Bites” cigar: each draw is a little different. In the second third, I found that the earth/dirt flavor became more prominent with just a hint of the sweetness in the background. I also picked up some roasted nut flavors which were fantastic! The final third of the Padrón 2000 Maduro I found to be a little variable from stick to stick. For three of the samples I tried the flavor was earthy and sweet right to the nub while for another two samples the flavor became very bland (with just a dirt taste) and boring. I am very interested to see if I experience this again in my next tasting of this cigar in three months. In trying different drink pairings, I found that this cigar is best paired with black coffee or a whiskey that is not too sweet. With really sweet drinks (like soda and coffee with a lot of sugar) the cigar tends to have a little more bitterness. Overall, the Padrón 2000 Maduro is a full flavored cigar that is mild to medium in body, therefore, I think it is an ideal cigar for smokers of any level of experience.



Not to be overshadowed by its wonderful flavors, I need to mention this cigar’s incredible smoke aroma. For me it has a delightful sweet, baked-bread smell. If you are trying to convince your significant other that cigar smoking is a sophisticated pastime rather than a disgusting habit, the aroma of the Padrón 2000 Maduro will definitely help your cause!

The burn for the Padrón 2000 Maduro is in a word, flawless. It doesn’t get any better than this folks! Perfect even burn line that at no point even suggested that a correction may be needed. Solid ridged white ash that easily held to 2”. Exactly what you would expect from an exceptional company like Padrón. The quality of the draw, on the other hand, is not as clear cut. For me, the draw on this cigar sits right on the border between “easy” and “loose”. Overall, I wish it was a little bit tighter. The nature of the draw is consistent with light feeling in the hand I discussed above and the cigar’s only flaw in my opinion: its smoking duration. I consistently nubbed the Padrón 2000 in 50-55 minutes whereas a typical robusto vitola lasts me around 1hr and 15 minutes. But at $3.30/stick combined with its amazing flavors and perfect burn, I am willing to overlook this minor shortcoming.

The Padrón 2000 Maduro is everything that a maduro can and should be: rich, sweet and flavorful with a wonderful aroma (both pre-light and smoke) and flawless burn. And all at a very reasonable price. Given its hints of complexity and excellent construction, I have a feeling that it is a cigar that will continue to blossom with age.

~Rob