Stogie Reviews: Padrón 5000 Maduro

Before I lit this heavy Nicaraguan puro, I passed the wrapper beneath my nose. I swear it smelled like a chocolate after-dinner mint, something I can’t recall ever encountering in other Padróns or elsewhere. It was a pleasant aroma and set the stage for a pleasant smoke.

This Padrón line gets little attention. Heck, the company’s own website doesn’t even seem to list the 6000 torpedo – which I think is one of the best cigars you can buy – much less the newer 7000.

I happened to pick up some 5000s a few months ago when an area shop had a going-out-of-business sale. I think they were 40 percent off the $6 price, and I got the eight or ten that were left. They’ve been in my humidor for several months.

One thing that tends to set Padrón maduros apart from other maduros is that they aren’t very dark. Sometimes, in fact, it can be difficult to tell them from their natural-wrapped brothers.

This five and ½ inch by 56 ring gauge stick is no exception. But it has the typical maduro sweetness and warm coffee flavors, as well as some wood and leather – the hallmarks of Padrón cigars.

Padróns also invariably produce thick, white smoke and burn precisely. About the only negative I found was a dryness that developed in the final third.

If your Padrón smoking experiences haven’t included this line, you should change that. Soon. I’m giving the Padrón 5000 Maduro four out of five stogies.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys