Tonight's study smoke was a Padron 6000, maduro. The "Thousand" series in the Padron family consists of reasonably priced, well constructed cigars that are as consistent as they are consistently satisfying. The accompaniments were Girl Scouts Samoas and Scooby Doo dogbone-shaped graham cookies. The cup was my standard Martinson's coffee, freshly brewed, regular.
Prelight and Initial Stage
This cigar was a solidly-built belicoso sporting a pinpoint head and a rich, oily wrapper. Sometimes this series has a tendency to come with dryish wrappers but this was not the case this time. With better than a full year of age, the wrapper was healthy and resilient with light veining and a forgiving resiliency.
The bundling was nice and roomy at the foot but felt noticeably tighter at the head and so I made my cut fairly far down the cone. I have never found Padrons in this series to smell particularly interesting. Nothing but good, well-fermented tobacco without any hint of ammonia or greeness. Lighting was flawless and after a few cleansing puffs, I was rewarded with substantial curls of opaque white smoke.
After the initial settling-in, the signature (at least to my palate) woodiness, dry-nuttiness and cedary notes started to come through. Not a particularly "moist" smoke, it lacked any real leatheriness or deep earthiness but did come through with some light coffee overtones.
And so I hunkered down to write, munch, sip and puff.
Middle and End Stages
The cigar burned exceptionally well. Even in the relative cold and dry atmosphere of my garage, the burn was organically straight with a stiff and well-formed light gray ash. I can't say the cigar was very complex nor did it change much in the first two-thirds. It was just solid, consistent and satisfying.
I did notice that unlike many cigars of this similar gauge, it was extremely tolerant of hotboxing. I always run this short test and not all smokes pass. On slightly more insistent puffing, almond and nutty notes came through as did some more spice and tang but without any tendency to harshness. Clearly, good tobacco coupled with moderate aging is good thing. I like being able to occasionally puff with slightly more urgency as I think and this cigar took it in stride and rewarded with a different, pleasing character.
The draw was slightly firm but this did not seem to affect the burn, taste or smoke volume, which was very decent.
In the last third, things got a little richer and a bit more tangy still. All in all, a pleasing progression and development. I found myself holding the stick out just to watch the tendrils of smoke curl up into the air. The finish or aftertaste was also indicative of good, pure tobacco. It was straight-up and tasty with none of the weird nastiness that one sometimes finds.
Before I knew it, an hour and forty minutes had passed. My feet were getting cold but the 6K was still earnestly giving me its best. And so I propped up this soldier and came inside.
In sum, this stick demonstrates the skill of the Padrons. Even though not an Anniversary or a Serie 1926, this is a cigar that is as dependable as it is satisfying. At least as far as my tastes, it is easily the equal or superior to the Fuente or Ashton maduros. At $5-6 per stick, this is a cigar worth stashing away a box. Heartily recommended.
(IMG:http://webzoom.freewebs.com/photonjazz/Padron6000Mad.jpg)
Wilkey
Prelight and Initial Stage
This cigar was a solidly-built belicoso sporting a pinpoint head and a rich, oily wrapper. Sometimes this series has a tendency to come with dryish wrappers but this was not the case this time. With better than a full year of age, the wrapper was healthy and resilient with light veining and a forgiving resiliency.
The bundling was nice and roomy at the foot but felt noticeably tighter at the head and so I made my cut fairly far down the cone. I have never found Padrons in this series to smell particularly interesting. Nothing but good, well-fermented tobacco without any hint of ammonia or greeness. Lighting was flawless and after a few cleansing puffs, I was rewarded with substantial curls of opaque white smoke.
After the initial settling-in, the signature (at least to my palate) woodiness, dry-nuttiness and cedary notes started to come through. Not a particularly "moist" smoke, it lacked any real leatheriness or deep earthiness but did come through with some light coffee overtones.
And so I hunkered down to write, munch, sip and puff.
Middle and End Stages
The cigar burned exceptionally well. Even in the relative cold and dry atmosphere of my garage, the burn was organically straight with a stiff and well-formed light gray ash. I can't say the cigar was very complex nor did it change much in the first two-thirds. It was just solid, consistent and satisfying.
I did notice that unlike many cigars of this similar gauge, it was extremely tolerant of hotboxing. I always run this short test and not all smokes pass. On slightly more insistent puffing, almond and nutty notes came through as did some more spice and tang but without any tendency to harshness. Clearly, good tobacco coupled with moderate aging is good thing. I like being able to occasionally puff with slightly more urgency as I think and this cigar took it in stride and rewarded with a different, pleasing character.
The draw was slightly firm but this did not seem to affect the burn, taste or smoke volume, which was very decent.
In the last third, things got a little richer and a bit more tangy still. All in all, a pleasing progression and development. I found myself holding the stick out just to watch the tendrils of smoke curl up into the air. The finish or aftertaste was also indicative of good, pure tobacco. It was straight-up and tasty with none of the weird nastiness that one sometimes finds.
Before I knew it, an hour and forty minutes had passed. My feet were getting cold but the 6K was still earnestly giving me its best. And so I propped up this soldier and came inside.
In sum, this stick demonstrates the skill of the Padrons. Even though not an Anniversary or a Serie 1926, this is a cigar that is as dependable as it is satisfying. At least as far as my tastes, it is easily the equal or superior to the Fuente or Ashton maduros. At $5-6 per stick, this is a cigar worth stashing away a box. Heartily recommended.
(IMG:http://webzoom.freewebs.com/photonjazz/Padron6000Mad.jpg)
Wilkey
