Padron 2000 Maduro

Brand: Padron
Cigar: 2000 Maduro
Shape: Robusto
Size: 5" x 50
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Price: $5.25

Appearance: 7
Construction: 8
Taste: 7
Value: 8
Overall: 7

I picked up a Padron 2000 maduro on one of my infrequent trips to the local brick and mortar store in July and finally got around to firing it up today. This cigar featured a maduro wrapper that was a few shades lighter than is typical for that style of cigar. The wrapper also displayed the typical maduro raspiness with many tiny bumps befitting a well-aged, sun drenched leaf. There was also very fine veining and the wrapper and cap were wonderfully constructed.

The cigar cut and lit easily, burned rather quickly but evenly, and maintained a razor sharp burn line throughout. I finally got to try out my new Palio cutter and it did a perfect job. The Padron 2000 required no touch ups and was a delightfully low maintenance cigar.

Pre-light aroma was nice and rich with a very strong sweet smell almost like roses. For the first few draws the cigar was a bit too astringent but once the ash got to about a quarter of an inch it mellowed out.

There was a bit of spiciness as one would expect with a Nicaraguan puro but the maduro wrapper really tempered it well. The primary flavors were of wood smoke and burnt caramel (there's that sweetness again) and I detected none of the cocoa or coffee flavors often found in maduro cigars.

At about the halfway point I hit a patch where the flavors turned almost gag inducing and it took some steady purging to get past that point. There was probably a bit of bad leaf tucked in there somewhere but fortunately it burned out pretty quickly and the Padron 2000 resumed its normal taste.

There wasn't much complexity nor did the cigar offer up any evolving flavors as I neared the end. As I retired the nub I was left with a nice taste on my palate but I found the Padron 2000 maduro to be a little too middle of the road for me.

As a member of the bargain line from the Padron family, the 2000 maduro is an affordable way to try these wonderfully made cigars without breaking the bank. At $5.25 a stick retail it's one of the best deals going locally. I have to say that I much prefer the natural wrapped Padrons but this was in no way a bad cigar just not what I look for in a maduro.