I've found that
Padrón cigars just might be the most consistently well-constructed -- and the most consistently
good -- cigars out there. In fact, I simply haven't had a Padrón that I didn't like. I can't say that for even my most favored brands.
While Christmas shopping last month in Plymouth I simply had to make a side stop at
La Casa de la Habana, one of my three favorite cigar haunts. (Okay, there are at least two ... no, three more favorites. And then there's ... uh-oh, better stop there.) While there I had a steaming cup of intense Cuban-style coffee. And I picked up a few cigars, including two of the Padrón 3000 vitola -- one a self-described "natural" (really an EMS, English Market Selection) and the other, a maduro. They weren't cheap, setting me back $7.99 apiece.
The Padrón 3000 can't be considered a toro, since it's not quite long enough; I'd say it's more properly a corona gorda. Both of these Nicaraguan sticks came cellophaned. I do recall that
Cigar Aficionado had rated one of these (I don't recall which) in the high 80s or low 90s not too long ago. So, with this (and the amazing Padrón consistency) in mind, I was looking forward to an excellent smoke. I review the natural or EMS in this entry; I shall
review the maduro version separately, in the near future.
This darker-than-normal, ripe-looking cigar should probably be classed as a colorado-maduro; referring to the cigar as EMS -- or (
gasp) "natural" as does the Padrón family -- is doing it a disservice. It had a neat cap and an attractive, matte wrapper of a solid, deep colorado color. The lack of significant oiliness betrayed its youth. Before lighting it I wondered what it might look like after a year or more in my humidor!
Bystanders could not detect much aroma as I lit the cigar. To me, however, the Padrón 3000 was intense; it struck me as a full-bodied, flinty smoke, right out of the gate. It was quite earthy at first, but very quickly settled out into a toasty robustness. This was not a cigar for the faint of heart. If Emeril Lagasse made cigars, this one would have been kicked up several notches. Bam!
The draw was lighter than average, but the burn was quite even. The flavor started to develop citrus notes at about the 1/4 mark. The cigar had, at this point, mellowed into a full-bodied complexity without harshness. And at the 1/3 mark, the impression of dry cocoa began to emerge. This flavor soon became dominant, giving the cigar a resemblance to a maduro. Here I tapped off a long, precise, 1.5" ash, which took some effort. And my daughter began to praise the aroma.
After half an hour the smoke was still burning perfectly and had reached tha halfway mark -- somewhat quickly, in my opinion. I reasoned that this straight but slightly rapid burn might perhaps have been a function of the light draw.
At the 2/3 mark the finish took on a distinctly cedary character, while the flavor now tended toward coffee. After three quarters of an hour I tapped off another 1.5" of precise, solid ash -- this took some effort, making me wonder whether I could have smoked the whole cigar without ever dropping ash. The flavor was, at this point, full-bodied but still smooth.
When only a one-inch stub of this pretty cigar was left, I considered abandoning it. But it was still so good that I continued; it was not at all hot yet. This beauty was definitely going to be a knuckle-burner, I told myself; when I did finally abandon the cigar it was not due to heat nor harshness, but because I had begun to sense a slight effect of nicotine. This is an occasional side-effect of my preference for full-bodied cigars; it is not an effect that I desire, and I rarely encounter it with mild or medium smokes.
This Padrón 300 Natural was a delightful, complex, full-bodied smoke that burned well (albeit quickly) and provided me just over one hour of delightful appreciation of fine tobacco art. I would consider this cigar to be highly recommended.
