Initial Thoughts

Padron cigars are always a cigar that people talk about with a little bit of mystique behind them. Everyone knows that they’re really good but can never put a finger on it. Let alone remember which one they smoked. I know I’ve had quite a few Padron cigars in my day and if it weren’t for this site I wouldn’t be able to tell you which ones that I have smoked because the numbering system is a bit confusing. After digging into the Padron website I think I’ve cracked the code though.

This Padron Family Reserve 45 Years Natural is part of the Family Reserve connection which is part of the newest addition to the Padron lineup. Each cigar in this line signifies important dates for the Padron family. It also utilizes tobacco that has been aged 10 years. Each blend comes in both Natural and Maduro wrappers. Today we’re smoking the Natural wrapper. This particular blend won Cigar Aficionado’s coveted Cigar of the Year award in 2009.

I wanted to find out why the 45 years or 1964 was an important date. Come to find out, that’s when Jose Padron founded the Padron Cigars company. So clearly a very significant date for the family and worthy of a very special cigar.

I decided to pick up a sampler of Padron cigars from Holts.com. I felt that was the most cost-effective way to get a few Padrons in my possession for reviewing purposes. The entire sample costs roughly $80 but you get 5 cigars which is about $16 / stick but I felt that was a decent deal because this Padron Family Reserve 45 Years Natural is usually $26 on it’s own. The math works in my head but I’m also a little goofy sometimes. Nevertheless, I think we should dive into the smoke and see what this cigar has to offer.

Looks

This Padron Family Reserve 45 Years Natural has a beautiful dark Colorado wrapper. It has a ton of texture to it as well which I love. The head looks a little mangled from the fermentation but I have no doubt that it’ll smoke wonderfully. I feel like on the Maduro version that I smoked the wrapper had a bit more tooth to it, this wrapper has a nice rugged texture but not much in the way tooth.

The cigar is decorated 3 bands actually, I initially thought it was just 2 until I was peeling them off in the dark and they kept coming at me. The secondary band that is maroon and gold with 45 years on it let’s you know the blend and the specific cigar of the family reserve. The primary band has the Family Reserve and 1964 on it, also in the traditional maroon and gold setting. There is a green-ish camo looking band as well that contains a serial number for each cigar. I just assumed this was part of the primary band but it’s set underneath the primary as it’s own. It’s a precise procedure to display all those bands together. I think it adds a bit of flair to the Padron Family Reserve 45 Years Natural overall.

Smoking

One thing that I know is, I’ve never had an issue smoking a Padron cigar. Spoiler alert, this Padron Family Reserve 45 Years Natural was no different. What I love about Padron cigars are the fact that yes you pay a lot for them, but they never let you down. The draw was absolutely perfect I was able to easily draw that smoke into my mouth with a just a bit of resistance but never got plugged. The burn was very straight throughout and produced an incredible ash which of course fell on my leg as I shifted in my chair (no surprise really). Just an absolute pleasure to smoke this cigar.