Padron 1964 Exclusivo Maduro: The Benchmark Still Holds

The Exclusivo is a squat, box-pressed Robusto, and the maduro wrapper on the one I picked up was that oily dark brown that photographs better than it needs to. The band carries a serial number, which is Padron's way of telling you the counterfeiters have been paying attention. Seams tight, pack even end to end, no soft spots when I rolled it between my fingers. I clipped the cap and the cold draw gave up cocoa and a little raisin sweetness with just enough give - none of that plugged resistance you have to fight from the start.

It comes out exactly the way I want a Nicaraguan maduro to: cocoa and espresso right out of the gate, with a black pepper snap up the nose that faded inside the first inch. Rich without being loud. The box press meant the burn tracked dead straight almost from the light, and I never reached for the lighter to correct it. This is the stretch where the cigar tells you whether it is going to behave, and this one settled in fast.

The middle is where the Exclusivo earns its reputation. The pepper backed off and leather came forward, with a toasted-nut note underneath that gave it some weight on the palate. By now a firm inch and a half of light grey clung to the end before I tapped it loose. A small thing, but the kind of small thing that separates a serious cigar from a merely good one. Medium-full to me, a heavier hitter might call it full, and either way it stayed balanced. Nothing turned sharp.

Down the stretch the sweetness that had been hiding in the cold draw came back as dried fruit, riding on top of the cocoa. No heat, no harsh turn, which is more than a lot of full maduros can claim in the last two inches - most of them start punishing you right about here. The draw stayed easy and full to the nub, and I smoked it down further than I meant to. Call it ninety minutes that never asked me to babysit it.