Padrón 5000 Maduro
Overall Appearance and Presentation - 18/20 points
The Padrón 5000 sports a rich, dark, and moderately toothy wrapper. The simple and elegantly understated band on the cigar let the flawless wrapper leaf speak for itself. This is one classy looking cigar that makes me excited to light it up.
Lighting and Burning Properties - 14/15 points
With a sudden, precise snip of the razor-sharp Xikar ZX and a gentle flame dancing around the foot, the Padrón produces a thick cloud of aromatic white smoke. The burn rate is slow and the burn line is ruler-straight from beginning to end. Fear not, no touch-ups were required.
Construction - 29/30 points
The wrapper on the 5000 showed no defects or soft spots and remained in perfect shape. Drawing on the cigar was easy and smooth.
Taste - 33/35 points
Tasting revealed that the beauty of this Padrón is much more than skin deep. This cigar exhibits a refreshing complexity while retaining a creamy smoothness. Balance was perfect for my tastes. Because of this complexity it was a difficult but fun task to distinguish each individual flavor. The Padrón 5000 leaves a pleasant sweetness on the palate. Well balanced notes of espresso, milk chocolate, leather, cedar, and a general "earthiness" were noted. Subtle and smooth secondary notes of pepper were also tasted toward the middle of the cigar. The taste was very well rounded with no sharp edges - which was much appreciated and enjoyed.
Total Score - 94/100 points | Smoking this cigar was nothing short of sublime. Buy a box....now....before I buy them all!