On a recent visit to Burns, I spotted a Padron I hadn’t had before…that’s generally a pretty small list. It was a Family Reserve release…in a round shape. The list of Padron cigars not box pressed is shorter than the list of Padrons I haven’t tried…basically the No 90 (a Serie 1926 release), the entire Damaso line, and maybe one or two of the rare black label series. I don’t care for the Family Reserve in the Maduro wrapper, so I picked up a Natural and pulled it out to smoke at the end of a short, but long-feeling, work week.
I paired this Nicaraguan puro with some Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon, which sort of screamed that this was a “special occasion”…although it was really just a Wednesday night. On the cold draw, the cigar had hay and an odd woody sweetness. Just taking cold draws caused my lips to tingle from the spice, reminding me that many of Padron’s Natural wrapper leaves have more pepper notes than some companies’ Maduros.
Once lit…loads of cedar, tons of pepper, especially on the nose. I actually would have welcomed a touch of that sweetness from prelight in the mix, but what I got was pretty great, anyway…the bourbon added a good sweet oakiness to the experience. This blend really is great…I’m not sure I prefer this to any of the other Family Reserve Naturals, but it does hang with them very nicely. I don’t buy these often, but it definitely deserves consideration as a special occasion smoke.
