Review: Padrón Serie 1964 40th Anniversary Maduro

[GoldnGT]

I originally posted this review on another site that I'm affilitated with, but thought I'd share it here as well. I'd like some feedback on what you think about the review too.

I wish I had taken more pics while smoking it, but hindsight is always 20/20.

So here's the review I had posted out.


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Smoke Date: 6/27/09



Cigar Specs:

Length: 6.0
Ring Gauge: 54

Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Body: Medium - Full
Strength: Medium
Price: $25.00



Scott is officially a married man! Congratulations! I don’t think he could have done it without me though, as I had to hold his hand through it all as his Best Man. You know the drill, you gotta do everything for the Groom and keep them in line and from running away. Haha. Well, for all of my hard work, Scott picked me up a great Best Man’s gift – the Padrón Serie 1964 40th Anniversary Maduro.

So of course, at the wedding afterparty, it was only fitting that I light this bad boy up and see why Cigar Aficionado made the Padrón 40th the “Cigar of the Year” for 2004. Most of our usual group met up over at David’s house and decided to have a relaxing smoke in the pool.




Pre-Light:
Surprisingly enough, this cigar has a sweet smell with hints of chocolate and coffee. The construction seems great, and as with most box pressed cigars, the cigar looks nice and tight. One side has a place I am a little worried about, but perhaps that is just a minor cosmetic blemish. Unfortunately I didn’t think to take pictures of it, so I can’t show you what I mean. The torpedo end cut nicely in my Perfecto Cutter, even though I had to cut twice to get it as open as I wanted. It might still need another cut, but I’d rather it be a bit tight than too loose. The pre-light draw is smooth and the chocolate taste is a lot stronger here. When I pulled away the cigar from my mouth to light it there was a bit of oil on my lips that was a nice surprise!

The cigar lit very easily and the burn was perfect! The taste however threw me for a loop. There were several levels of complexity right off the bat that I couldn’t identify. The chocolate was there, there was coffee, there was earthiness and spice. Lots of spice. Maybe enough to be a bit harsh. But after about 5 minutes of pushing through that odd beginning, everything smoothed out.

1/3:
During the first third of the cigar, the coffee flavor that I tasted initially really takes the forefront with slight hints of chocolate. The ash is very firm and doesn’t seem to have any problems holding together. The burn has been pretty razor sharp throughout this third.

2/3:
The coffee has died down but the chocolate has remained, and been joined by a nice spice. The ash is still nice and firm, but for fear of the ash dropping in the pool, I’ve gotta let it go, so no testing the ash length on this review. The draw is semi tight, as I figured it would be based on my initial cut but as I said, I didn’t want to get it too loose. This cigar is still a very pleasant smoke none-the-less.

3/3:
The cigar has become really smooth and leathery now with a subtle bit of coffee re-entering the smoke. The spice is completely gone but as with the rest of the cigar, the chocolate has remained. This has been a very pleasant smoke and I wish it didn’t have to end, but as we all know, cigars only can burn for so long without setting your fingers on fire =)

Overall Impression:
I was very pleased with this smoke! It is one of the best Padróns I’ve smoked to date and I will definitely have to pick up a few more to put in the humidor. One thing that I didn’t mention at all since my pre-light draws was the oil! The oil that I tasted on my lips at the beginning of the cigar is still here and still lives on strong. Very enjoyable!

- Michael

Overall Geek Rating – 4.5 / 5 Stars