It's Thanksgiving, time to celebrate with some of my best Padron cigars. I make it a habit of smoking nicer and more expensive cigars on holidays, anniversaries, birthdays, etc.
I am not going to go into too much depth, just a few notes of the 1 of 3 cigars I smoked on thanksgiving.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 6 7/8 x 52 (pyramid)
MSRP: $16
I love the unique shape of the pyramid, however it would be more accurately described as a long cone shape. This cigar was from a 10 pack I bought around a year ago, so the extra year age made it even more delightful.
The wonderful flavor profile at the beginning included vanilla, graham cracker, cream, dark chocolate, espresso, and a mellow spice. This particular Padron is a lot less spicy than they typically are. I assume this is due to the fact that it isn't a baseline cigar in the Padron line.
The 1964 is what I call level 2 in a 3 tier price and quality range of Padron. The baseline Padrons with the plain band and reasonably priced are tier 1. The 1964 (this one) and the 1926 Anniversary are tier 2, priced $15-$20. Finally there is tier 3 which are the best Padrons such as the 1964 Family Reserve, 1926 dated (40 year, 80 year, etc). The tier 3 are priced $24-$33. I am sure to keep one of each in my "best cigars humidor" for special occasions.
The difference in all 3 tiers is not really the blend, but the age and quality of the tobacco. Around 3 years for baseline, 5 years for tier 2, 5-7 years for tier 3 with the tobacco being hand-selected-cream-of-the-crop of all Padron tobacco stock.
The Padron Pyramid flavors change some after the halfway point. The vanilla graham cracker I talked about earlier has almost a dark maraschino cherry added in. Toasted vanilla bean, with a buttercream finish and slight pepper throughout, now dominates the main nuances. The cigar remained very smooth throughout, with an easy draw, cloudy smoke, and no burn problems. The spice was pretty minimal for a Padron cigar. As I stated above, the Anniversary series uses some top tobacco from each years crops which have a little more age on them than the baseline, this is why it is more mellow in spice.
The flavors are amazing, this is one of the best cigars I have smoked in over two months. I wish I had more, time to invest in picking up at least another 5 pack.
I rate the Padron 1964 Anniversary Pyramid Maduro a whopping 9.75 out of 10
