If I have a "go to" cigar this is the one.I can’t speak highly enough of it.Rustic looking and not the prettiest thing you'll ever see,for sure,but that's an irrelavancy here.Always expertly constructed and always very,very flavourful.As has already been said,it does have a very loose draw so you must baby it somewhat but you're well rewarded.
Spicy pepper in the opening which settles in to chocolate,coffee,an occasional note of things like cinnamon and even a caramel creaminess in there sometimes.The absolute definition of a satisfying smoke that you can just kick back with and relax after a hard day’s work and the one cigar that I make sure to never run low on.
It'll be something that the Cuban "snobs" would have me up for as a heretic but,to my tastes at least,Nicaraguan tobacco and the best of their cigars (the puros) has caught up to a lot of what's coming out of Cuba just now and in some cases even surpassed it!!
The range of QC amongst Cuban cigars is still far too large.You really do need to have a good relationship with a quality merchant or you risk getting a box of real rubbish! On the other hand,I know that I could buy a box of Padron from almost anywhere and be confident of the quality within the box.That being said it's still wise practice to develop that same relationship with a trusted retailer no matter what.
But The Padron 2000 is 99 times out of a hundred absolutely spot on.The 1926 series is out of this world but that's another review.