Cigar: Padron 2000
Size: Robusto, 5.0”x50
MSRP: $5.50
Strength: Medium-Full
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Origin: Nicaragua



Prelight: This is the best looking Padron x000 I have seen. Nearly seamless and veins are minimal and small. The wrapper has a milk chocolate color to it and smells like a strong mocha coffee. The foot is extremely earthy. I decide to use a punch on this one, as it looks to only have a single cap, and I’d hate to damage it with a guillotine. The draw is a bit on the loose side, but not horribly so, and tastes faintly oaky.



1/3: That familiar pepper kick starts of this cigar, and for a good inch, that is all I am getting. After that, cedar becomes the prominent flavor, with (slight) hints of leather and earth. And that was pretty much it for the first third, which I thought was a bit ho-hum. Right as I began to transition to the second third, the earth and leather was gone completely, and hay began to emerge.



2/3: The second third is cedar and hay, and some sort of sourness. It is not a very pleasant flavor. Every now and then, an earthiness threatens to rejoin the profile, but never for long and never with any strength. However, the ash and burn has been amazing for this cigar.



3/3: The final third is where this cigar really impresses me. Almost on cue with the transition, earth and leather return to complement the cedar, which has a bit of a charred note to it now, and I even detect a bit of anise in the finish. The nub gets even better with some sweet cream also coming out to play, and even some coffee notes.

Overall: I’m kind of disappointed with this cigar, as I really only enjoyed the flavors in the final third. The appearance of this one was great, but I think that the beautiful natural wrapper isn’t as good as the ugly maduro ones this line also offers. I do like the size and price of this one, so I think I’ll have to try the maduro version and see if that sweetness I got in the final third is more pronounced throughout.