97' Padron 1964 Anniversary Corona

Cigar : Padron 1964 Anniversario Corona
Size : 6 x 42
Purchased : Boston 1997
Pairing : Can of Coca Cola
Venue: My porch

This is PAN I bought sometime in 1997, so believe it to be from either 96' or 97'. I have not had one from this purchase in at least 5 years, although the 1964s in general are some of my favorite cigars. I love them young so it is a miracle that I still have a handful that are over 10 years old. I tried an original release Opus this morning so I figured why not continue the day by checking out another older NC. It was getting darker as I smoked this and a bit colder so I stoked up the propane heater.

As you can see from the pic, this was before they added the second band with the serial #. The wrapper is immaculate with almost no detectable veins (how do they do that?) To the touch there is a toothy grip on the fingers and has a powdery feel to it almost like the cigar is has a layer of talc on it. Clean cut with the Palio. Prelight draw was extremely easy with woody cedar flavors.



Cigar lights easily and draws very smooth. Mild perfume / potpourri flavors with no harshness at all. There is a small bite on the tongue but nasal exhale is as smooth as can be. Burn starts off a little uneven but corrects itself within a few minutes. There is a slight vegetal note but very much in the background. Light grey ash that was a bit flakey but the majority of it managed to hang on for close to an inch. The smoke takes on a rich creamy / buttery component. Draw is effortless.



Second portion stick takes a stronger turn. Much more power, with mocha flavors. Smoke seems to have more weight in the mouth as well. Heavy smoke pours through the cigar with more butter and cocoa flavors. Wow, some real strength here for a cigar this age. Very impressive. Burn is extremely clean. Retro-nasal has much more of a punch to it with a bitter chocolate finish.



Third part of the stick the smoke just comes billowing out. Similar flavors to above, bitter chocolate and cocoa and a touch of honey. strength without harshness. Flavors seem a little more muddled but still tasty. Never really sours but it pretty strong at the very end. Nubed it.




Conclusion:
This is a killer cigar! Worth the wait and basically everything I could have hoped for from aging out this one. It was close to two hours smoking time. Construction on this cigar is amazing. Burn is flawless, draw easy, and you can wait several minutes between draws without it going out. Definitely the finest aged NC I have smoked. It holds up the theory that if it’s balanced when you lay it down, it’ll be balanced when you smoke it. I don't know if it is going to get any better but I have no doubt that it is holding up fine and I see no rush to smoke these if you have them.


~Vitis