Padron Sadness

[dannymer1974]

I am a newbie to cigars and am smoking as many different tpyes of cigars as possible.

So, considering that the overwhelming majority of people here swear by the padron line, I have purchased several padron 2000's in maduro and a couple in natural.

I have now smoked two of the maduros and have been unimpressed with the burn and quality of the cigar. The taste has been enjoyable, but the quality of construction on both of these cigars has left me scratching my head. There were runners all over the place that had to be corrected with my torch. The amount of smoke with each puff was minimal, and the draw was tight. In fact, it was a chore keeping this thing going by the half way mark.

The natural was a little bit of the opposite. The taste was not overly enjoyable. There were nice clouds of thick smoke with each puff and the draw was very loose (almost too loose). In the end, there were also runners on this one that made touchs ups a requirement, and it even tunneled towards the end.

I have tried other smokes from the same humidor to see if the storage conditions could have impacted the experience, but they have been fine. LGC's, CAO's, Fuentes, Casa Toranos,.....the point is, different brands have all been fine in the 70 degree 64 RH humidor.......

Has anyone else had a similar experience? I was really hoping to enjoy these as they are so popular and affordable, but I keep finding myself looking to other cigars.

 

[humboldtflyer]

To each their own I guess... I would suggest you don't give up on these right away though. It could have been just a fluke situation, the only advice I can really give is to let them rest in your humi for a little while before you smoke them, just in case it is in fact the climate they were stored in... Also smoke them slower... that will probably help the running issues.(Unless its just a poorly rolled stick, then you are just kinda up sh!ts creek)

 

[Wurm]

lets see....

cigars running/burning weird, too tight... taste funny.

How long have they been at 65% ?

They sound still wet to me, my 2000's always burn like a razor at 65% the only construction bitch I'd had to date was how fugly the caps are applied.

I'd suggest giving them a few more months in the humi and trying them again.

 

[LilBastage]

So, considering that the overwhelming majority of people here swear by the padron line

There's a good reason for this. Like Wurm said, they sound a little wet. I've never had a problem with any Padron burning funky. Flavor is subjective and you may just not like them, but construction has never been an issue with any Padron I've ever smoked. Keep them at 65% or so for a couple of months then give them a try. If they're sopping wet from the vendor, it may take that long to get them where they need to be.

 

[TugBoat]

I'm just going to echo whats been said.

It really sounds like they may have been wet. Did these come out of your humidor? A friends? B&M? If its yours or a friends humidor how long did you let them sit between buying and smoking? If its the B&M's humidor they are probably still damp from shipping (many times cigars are shipped a bit damp to avoid drying out during shipment.

And also you say the humidor has been kept at 64%, what type of hygro are you getting this reading from? If it's analog, even properly calibrated I wouldn't trust it. If it's digital how long has it been since it was calibrated?

And like LilBastage said, taste is subjective I may love one cigar and you may hate it. But construction is pretty straight forward. My experience is Padron's x000 series is best as far as construction is concerned in its price range.

 

[chewbacco]

When I first started smoking cigars, I too tried the Padron 2000...

...I too was unimpressed.

Maybe it could have been my ignorant palate...maybe it was just my tastes.

But, what I did notice is that the Padron X000 series tastes nothing like the 1964 or 1926 series.

If you don't like the Padron X000 series, give the other 2 a try.

 

[mr.mac]

X2 what has already been said

They need to rest. Give em a couple of months... then check back in.

mac

 

[jabba]

I think the reality is... no matter how highly regarded a brand is, it's definitely not for everybody.

That said, I've smoked a lot of Padrons and can't say I've had many construction issues... maybe 1 or 2 in total.

 

[dk_ace]

I didn't like the 2K I had from the B&M. Some burn issues I can deal with, but the taste was a little funky. I had bought two of them. The other one sat in the humi forgotten for a couple months. One day I was looking to smoke, but didn't want to light up something too nice because I wasn't sure that I was going to have time to smoke a large cigar.

I figured I'd burn the 2K because it didn't cost much, and I wasn't out much if I had to leave and put it out. A couple months is just what it needed for me to see what all the hype was about. I have found this true with all the ones I've had since. Too wet, and I don't like them at all really. With some rest at 65%, a great little smoke. I say give them another shot with a little rest.

D

 

[Wurm]

When I first started smoking cigars, I too tried the Padron 2000...

...I too was unimpressed.

Maybe it could have been my ignorant palate...maybe it was just my tastes.

But, what I did notice is that the Padron X000 series tastes nothing like the 1964 or 1926 series.

If you don't like the Padron X000 series, give the other 2 a try.

And its been the experience of more than one person here, that the longer you leave a X000 series to rest, the more it tastes like a 1964/1926 blend.

Letting them sit is a win/win situation.

 

[dannymer1974]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I am going to let the few that I have sit for at least 6 months and see what happens.

 

[Saxjazzman]

So, considering that the overwhelming majority of people here swear by the padron line

There's a good reason for this. Like Wurm said, they sound a little wet. I've never had a problem with any Padron burning funky. Flavor is subjective and you may just not like them, but construction has never been an issue with any Padron I've ever smoked. Keep them at 65% or so for a couple of months then give them a try. If they're sopping wet from the vendor, it may take that long to get them where they need to be.

The Padron's are a great cigar in their range. In terms of construction, I can only echo the above. The problem may be with the vendor. They are some of the best constructed cigars I have had. I hope this resolves with more time in the humi. I usuallly let mine sit for about six months before I smoke them. Good luck.

 

[Glacies]

I think the 1926's and the 1964's are to die for, but the x000 series I am not a huge fan of taste wise. With that said, I think Padron has some of the best put-together smokes I've ever experienced. I've never had an issue with construction or burn on any of them.

 

[mr.mac]

And its been the experience of more than one person here, that the longer you leave a X000 series to rest, the more it tastes like a 1964/1926 blend.

Indeed. I got some 2000 maddies with a little time on them from BBS in a trade. By far the best tasting 2000's I've had and definately a bit reminiscent of the '64's that I've been smoking lately...

mac

 

[Newfie]

Interesting that I just saw this today. I just laid down a 2000 after 8 or 10 puffs that was tighter 'n a popcorn fart.

I was planning on maybe doing an autopsy on it later, and now I believe I'll do just that and take some pics.

 

[moki]

Padróns are in general very well constructed cigars. As has been noted, whether you like them or not is really a personal issue, so I won't touch on that.

However I do want to point out that usually burn issues are not a result of construction, but rather uneven humidity levels in the cigar.

Remember that cigars will gain moisture in from the outside in. That is, if they are put in a more humid environment, moisture will go through the wrapper first, then into the binder, and then into the filler.

A cigar that is taken from a dry environment into a more humid environment will end up with a wrapper that is more moist, and thus won't burn as easily, as the interior of the cigar. This can cause tunneling, as the interior tobacco burns more quickly than the wrapper.

The same thing happens in terms of moisture loss. First the wrapper will dry out, then the binder, and then the filler.

What was described here is the cigar not burning evenly. I've found that generally this is a result of one of two things:

1) The cigars are in a humidor that doesn't have a fan moving the air around, and thus moisture is not evenly distributed throughout the humidor. Cigars closest to the credo unit end up being really moist on the side facing the credo unit, and less moist on the side that's resting against the wood or other cigars (which can also absorb moisture).

2) The cigars are smoked "fresh" and the tobacco itself hasn't had time to stabilize in terms of moisture distribution. Some parts of a leaf may retain more moisture than other parts. The only thing I've found that fixes this is time in the humidor, hopefully one with a fan that moves the air around.

Just my observations, hopefully others have more to add.