Padilla San Andrés Maduro | Cigar Review

By The Katman on December 19, 2015 • ( 2 )

Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan (AGANORSA)
Size: 5 x 54 “Robusto”
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $6.00 MSRP (Can be found for about a buck less online)

Photo below courtesy of Cuenca Cigars.

Today we take a look at the Padilla San Andrés Maduro.
A gift from a reader who prefers to remain anonymous.

I want to take this moment to thank a cigar company.
Thank you Duran Cigars. I reviewed their Neya F8 Ligero Typhoon the other day and they dug it. My old buddy, Jack Torano, left Torano Cigars and joined this company as Regional Sales Manager & Marketing & Public Relations. He and I kissed and made up. I’m not for holding grudges. Especially now, while I’m undergoing a fight for my life; as I know it. Alzheimer’s puts things in perspective and the little crap doesn’t mean squat in the bigger scheme of things.

BACKGROUND:
Factory: Raices Cubanas, Honduras
Regular Production
Debuted at the 2015 IPCPR trade show.
Three new blends made their first showing: Padilla Corojo, Criollo & San Andrés.
The Padilla web site is down. And not much info about the background of this release could be found. I don’t think it came out with any amount of fanfare.
I’ve had these two cigars resting in my humidor for two months.

DESCRIPTION:
I love the wrapper (It took me 6 times to type the word: love). Underneath this billboard sized cigar band is a beautiful, mottled, marbled, oily, dark walnut wood colored wrapper. Seams are extremely tight. The triple cap is flawless and nearly invisible save for my use of a magnifying glass to determine this. Mostly big veins but next to nothing in the area of smaller veins.

The Padilla San Andrés is a solid cigar. Yet, has the perfect amount of give when gently depressed with my thumb. There is a sandiness to the wrapper that gives it some tooth but I doubt will show up in photos.
The cigar band is something else. It looks like 2 or 3 bands but it ain’t folks. Just one big band made to look like more.

In the lower part of the band, it has a white background and a quote from Roberto Padilla in Spanish. Can’t read Spanish so I have no idea what it says. Maybe one of you, dear readers, will be able to translate for me.

SIZES AND PRICING:
Robusto 5 x 54 $6.00 MSRP
Toro 6 x 52 $6.50 MSRP
Gordo 6 x 60 $7.00 MSRP

AROMAS AND COLD DRAW NOTES:
From the shaft, I can smell spice, fruity sweetness, honeysuckle, cinnamon, coffee, cocoa, herbal mint tea, cedar, cream, and floral notes.
From the clipped cap and the foot, I can smell bittersweet chocolate, spice, honey, Worcestershire sauce, bitter horseradish, cedar, and coffee.
The cold draw presents flavors of berry preserves, pine, spice, cinnamon, chocolate, cedar, and floral notes.

FIRST THIRD:
The draw is a bit tight. I grab my cigar awl and it finds a lot of resistance as I plunge it down the stick like the famous duelists: Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro (1612).
Huzzah! Success. A clear passage to navigate the strange but alluring beast.

First flavors up to bat: Molasses sweetness, creaminess, roasted nuts, very rich coffee; like real Kona coffee (Yes, I’ve had it. A friend owns a Kona coffee plantations on the island of Kona, Hawaii). But I have to beg for a pound of the stuff and over the last years I got tired of begging. I do enough of that already with my wife.
The char line is ninja sword straight.

Then Blam! The spiciness shows up in legions of Samurais. (Japanese culture will be the theme for today). Mostly black pepper but it does have hints of red pepper as well.
Strength is immediately medium/full body. I love this.

Other flavors reveal themselves: Malts (I firmly believe this is an important element missing from all inexpensive blends and bundles), The AGANORSA bite (I’ve smoked enough to recognize that flavor and I have kept copious notes because my memory is of no use to me any longer), a cotton candy sweetness, caramel custard, Chinese cooking spices such as cinnamon, fennel, star anise, clove, licorice, and ginger.
Very nice.

The ash is hanging tough. The draw is now excellent. The flavor profile is very complex. The balance is cool Daddy-O. And the finish is a mile long.
There is just a bushel of subtle and nuanced flavors hiding beneath each other…not wanting to expose themselves lest they be arrested.

It figures. I’ve got some tremors this morning and I drop the cigar and that long beautiful ash becomes a stain on the carpet near my feet. What a schmuck.

Nevertheless, this is a fine, fine blend. The Padilla San Andrés Maduro is a helluva cigar blend for only $6.00.

SECOND THIRD:
Smoke time is 35 minutes.
Padilla really hit a home run with the Padilla San Andrés Maduro. Now I’d like to try the other 2 blends: Corojo and Criollo. This is the deal of the century if you can snag some of these blends on Cbid.

Here is a wonderful example of the Anti-Greed. Any other manufacturer or boutique brand would charge at least $10 for this stick. Kudos to the folks at Padilla.

This is an extremely smoky cigar. I mean that it pumps out smoke like a house afire. While I have shut off the heat so I don’t wake Charlotte up. Poor baby..still not feeling well from her flu. But she was able to eat yesterday and that’s a good sign. And no temp like she had on Friday.

I told you in the last review how I got her some readymade chicken soup from our upscale market nearby. They also have a bakery to die for. I bought some little almond glazed baby croissants with poppy seed filling for her. Little things. Four bites and they’re gone. I watched as she scarfed four of them yesterday one after another and then told me she no longer felt sleepy. I had tried to get her to take a nap but, as usual, she ignored my suggestion. And after those croissants, she was on a big sugar high. Sigh.

Slow going smoke.

I noticed that everyone calls this cigar something different and since the Padilla web site is down, I picked the most used name: Padilla San Andrés Maduro.

The sun is out but it’s cold. With the wind chill, it’s only about 14°. And for the first time since 1982, no snow for Christmas.

Back to the Padilla San Andrés Maduro.
Strength hits full body.
I hit the halfway point in 45 minutes.

Flavors are gorgeous and the malts become definitive: Coffee Malt, Flaked Rye Malt, and Chocolate Malt. (See Malt Chart).

I had a hunch on this blend. Its appearance had the look of passion. That the blender and the rollers took this blend seriously. Not just another inexpensive cigar to fill up the pages of the online catalogs. I could dig a box of these. But unfortunately, they are price controlled by Padilla. Every single online store sells a box of the Robustos for $107.95. No more, no less.

The Padilla San Andrés Maduro is full of transitions. Very complex. And with each puff, gets better with big bold flavors and subtle nuanced flavors.

Here they are: Malts, fruity berry sweetness, spice, creaminess, cocoa, roasted nuts, rich coffee, caramel, cedar, cinnamon, fennel, clove, licorice, and ginger.
This ain’t your ordinary Nic cigar blend.

I lit up an inexpensive cigar a reader sent me last night. It was an Obsidian. First thing I noticed while toasting the foot that it was terminated by the roller in terrible style. And as a result, I had awful burn issues until halfway through, I put it down. Plus, it tasted like crap.

Toasting the foot tells you everything. It gives you a glimpse into the soul of a cigar and its blender.
The Padilla San Andrés Maduro toasted beautifully. A nice even burn. Zero imperfections. And as a result, a near perfect char line from the start. It says a lot about a company when they put as much quality control on a $5 cigar as they do a $10 cigar.

LAST THIRD:
Smoke time is one hour 10 minutes.
This has been a totally enjoyable cigar experience. While being full bodied, it is so smooth that the strength isn’t an ass kicker. So far, no nicotine. There. I’ve jinxed it.

The Padilla San Andrés Maduro is something to watch out for on Cbid. A box, not a 5 pack or single. Trust your Uncle Katman. Unfortunately, as I write this, there is no box for sale…just singles. But that’s a good way to start.
Construction is top notch. The char line has needed a few minor touch ups.

The flavor profile is so complex that flavor elements have morphed into one big ball of flavors. Each puff gives you a different set of flavors.
I have one left. I shall treasure it. LOL.

Here are the dominant flavors: Chocolate, creaminess, a resurgence of black pepper, caramel, malts, berry sweetness, coffee, cinnamon, roasted nuts, licorice and cedar.

The last third turns the Padilla San Andrés Maduro into a true flavor bomb. I don’t use that word in a cavalier manner. If you read me with any regularity, you know it is not against my religion to absolutely trash a blend.

I found the cheapest price at Cuenca Cigars. The box is cheaper than any online store. My good buddy, Ana Cuenca, is a very nice lady and will take care of you. They sell all three sizes (All three blends) in singles, 5 packs, and boxes. Give this lady some of your business. Call and ask for her and tell her the Katman sent you.

The Padilla San Andrés Maduro has a solid finish. It doesn’t get soft. No harshness, heat, bitterness, cool to the touch, or nicotine.
I highly recommend this cigar. The most discriminating palate will dig this blend.

RATING: 90