Cigar Review: Padron 50th Anniversary Maduro

• Vitola: Box-pressed Toro
• 6.5” x 52 ring gauge
• Price $64.99
• Purchased at Burns Tobacconist

Background

50 years ago (actually closer to 51 now), Jose Orlando Padron started up the cigar company that bears his name. He had fled Communist-controlled Cuba several years earlier for south Florida and worked as a carpenter to make ends meet while he started making cigars. Over the subsequent half century his last name became legendary in the cigar marketplace, first with the Padron Series (commonly known as the 1000’s), then with the 1964 Anniversary Series, then the 1926 Serie (commemorating the year of Padron’s birth) and finally the Family Reserve.

In 2014, the company announced not one, but two, special cigars to celebrate the 50 year mark. First up was the Family Reserve 50 years, which showed up in October or so. It was available in Natural or Maduro wrapper (as is typical with Padron), retailed for between $25 and $30 a stick, and sold very briskly. It is a regular release, though, so after initial demand was satiated, it started to become easier to just walk into your local Padron retailer and pick them up.

The second cigar is the subject of this review. Simply called the “50th Anniversary” but also referred to as “The Hammer” (a reference to the carpentry work Jose Orlando Padron did while starting the company), it is also available in Natural or Maduro wrappers and is only available when accompanied by a magnificent white humidor containing 50 cigars.

Many stores are selling the humidor and cigars all together for upwards of $5500. Other stores are keeping a humidor or two for themselves so they can sell the cigars (including the 5 50-cigar refills that each owner is entitled to). For stores including the price of the humidor with the single stick purchase price, expect to pay well over $100 a stick. If the store is only charging for the price of the refills, expect to pay well south of $100 a stick (but well north of anything else in the Padron line-up). The tobaccos are all aged a minimum of 10 years and include Nicaraguan filler and binder, and wrapper leaves from Nicaragua (Natural) or Mexico (Maduro).

Burns, where I now work full-time, has one humidor of Maduros out for sale already and expects to receive additional humidors for sale, including a box of Naturals we we make available for single-stick purchase. The boss is allowing employees to buy a single stick at employee discount…fair enough, I think, because I really couldn’t afford to buy much more than one. I bought one my first day as a full-timer, but was then surprised later in the day when the boss dropped by and gave me another…call it a “signing bonus,” if you will. I’m smoking one for this write-up and I’ll save the other for some future celebratory time. You’ll note I called it a “write-up” and not a review…I’m not sure how I feel about reviewing such an expensive cigar. How do you rate value? I’m just not at that level really for purchasing. Plus, I didn’t pay anywhere close to full price when factoring in the two sticks I have at the employee discount rate of one stick that I paid for out of pocket. So I’ll just record some thoughts without giving it a numerical rating.

When I got these cigars, east Tennessee was in the grip of some fierce winter weather that kept our regularly mild 50º February highs down to about 40 instead, with seemingly weekly (or twice weekly) bouts of 30 degree highs along with ice and snow. I made myself a promise…I was not going to waste one of these fine cigars during a time I had to bundle up just to sit outside and smoke for an hour or two (more than an hour often gets to be a little torturous) and I was not gong to waste one of these smokes at a time I was working (I frequently have to relight any cigar two or three times while I’m working). The first day that I could light one up also happened to be the first day of Daylight Saving Time, so I took a Padron 50 Maduro Hammer out on the porch with me along with a big cup of coffee and here’s what happened…

Prelight

Any cigar costing this amount of money should be immaculate in appearance…and the Padron 50th Anniversary is. Absolutely flawless wrapper leaf with moderate amounts of oil and veins. Very even and solid box press, while keeping the corners softly rounded. Beautiful high-end band (and let’s not forget the humidor, which is a work of art all by itself). The only slight ding I would give it is that the cap seems to be a single cap, not the triple-cap that you so often see on Cuban cigars and high-end non-Cubans. Seems like an odd choice.

The wrapper smelled earthy with a touch of dark chocolate and some cedar. The foot had a rich earthiness with a great aged tobacco overtone. After clipping, the prelight draw was flawless and tasted of cocoa powder, earth, dark fruit and cedar. Since this is not a scored review, I paired the cigar with my normal black coffee.

Flavor

So it finally came time to light up The Hammer…I have to say, the first few minutes were a bit of sensory overload. The initial puffs were very reminiscent of other Padron Maduros, especially the 1926, with plenty of earth and cocoa powder, but then I started getting a fine sweetness, cedar, well-aged tobacco, and red pepper notes on the palate, as well as more red pepper, earth and roasted nuts on the retrohale. My wife came out on the porch and called this one a “stinky cigar,” which I guess has its own appeal…it tastes great and will keep non-smokers at a distance so they are less likely to disturb your reverie.

The Hammer only got more interesting as it went on. In the second third, the pepper spice diminished a bit while more sweetness came through. The bitterness of the Mexican wrapper was balanced very well by this and the essential earthiness that you expect from any Padron was well represented. I got occasional notes of dried fruit, cedar and anise mixed in.

The last third showed further refinement with notes of smooth, aged tobacco, dark chocolate, and earth that all mixed extraordinarily well with my coffee.

Construction

Perfect construction. Enough said.

Value

I’m still not sure any cigar is worth $50 or more, but this is a strong argument for the affirmative.

Conclusions

The Padron 50th Anniversary Hammer Maduro truly is a fantastic cigar. I had my doubts that it could be better than the 80 Years Maduro (from the 1926 Serie) but it was. Was it twice as good (to go with twice the price)? That’s hard to quantify, so I’ll let you make up your own mind. For me, it was a superb smoking experience that I would definitely like to repeat, although the price will make it a “very special occasion” smoke only. For me, it was strong, full-bodied and very possibly the best cigar I’ve ever had the pleasure of smoking.