REVIEW: Padrón 1964 Smoke Inn 15th Anniversary Maduro

The cigar I smoked today was one that I had been looking forward to ever since it arrived on my doorstep last week. The Padron 1964 Smoke Inn 15th Anniversary (SI-15 for short) Maduro is the largest size cigar that Padron has ever made in the Anniversary size (and how can that be a bad thing?) In the last few months I've been lucky enough to be given quite a few Padron Anniversary cigars and, I have to say, it's really brought me back to loving this brand. I visited the Padron factory and tobacco fields in Nicaragua this past January with my partners from Cigar Explorer and it gave me even more of an appreciation for what goes into making these high class cigars.

The SI-15 is an exclusive cigar to Smoke Inn in Florida, as one of the four special-release cigars celebrating their 15 years in business. Some details on the stick from the Smoke Inn Website: This monster stick bellows smoke like a chimney. The sheer amount of tobacco used in this cigar creates a bold experience differing from the other vitolas in this line. All tobacco used in this limited production series is aged for four years, creating a smooth and complex flavor

Big thanks goes out to Abe (owner of Smoke Inn) for sending me this sample. This cigar is a big guy, so let's get this party started. On to the review...

Specifics  
Vitola: Double Toro
Length: 6
Ring Gauge: 60
Wrapper: Niaraguan Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $18.50
Smoking Location: House of cigar
Beverage: water
Manufacturer's Website: http://www.padron.com/

Pre-Light 

HUGE cigar! There is no doubt in my mind that the first thing everyone will say when they pick up this stick is something about its size. It feels so large in hand that it actually made me feel like that fast food commercial where the actor is holding a big burger and the special effects have made him have tiny hands (If you haven't seen it, sorry.) The cigar is nicely packed, but not stiff, and has a bit of a give when squeezed. The wrapper, although it had some decent sized veins, is extremely smooth to the touch and stunning to look at. The pre-lit aroma is strong smelling of sweet cedar and aged tobacco. Since the ring gauge of the cigar is so large, I went with a V-cut to not open up the head too much. The cold draw was perfect and had a lot of flavor. I tasted some sweetness, some woody flavors, and an almost chewy espresso note. I spent some extra time tasting the cold draw of this cigar just because it is one of the more interesting cold draws I've ever had.  

First Third

Right out of the gate the press release on Smoke Inn's website was spot on. This cigar from first touch of flame bellowed smoke like a chimney. Not only was the volume of smoke big, but (not surprisingly) the flavors were bigger. The first few puffs of my SI-15 had a strong warm spice on the front of the profile, mixed with a rich, thick cocoa flavor on the finish. Imagine a cup of dark hot chocolate with cinnamon sprinkled around the rim and that's pretty close to the start of this cigar. The ash was a little flaky, but held strong and was a brilliant white color. About an inch into the "monster" of a cigar, the flavors started to change up a bit. The warm spice backed off a little and I started to taste hints of espresso on the tip of my tongue. This is a flavor I commonly associate with with Padron Anniversary cigars, so I was expecting it to show up even just a little. The body was right in the middle between medium and full.    

Second Third

In the second third of my SI-15, the flavors changed up yet again. The warm spice from the first third had all but disappeared from the front of the flavor profile. What replaced it, and replaced it strongly, was a leather flavor that really threw me for a loop. I didn't expect this after the first third (which took easily a 1/2 hour to smoke) but it was a great change of pace to the experience. The finish was still very similar and tasted of dark chocolate. Another change during this portion of the cigar was the mouth feel of the smoke. I didn't notice in the first third anything special or different feeling in the smoke than what you get in most other high end cigars, but during this section of the stick, the smoke felt very creamy and almost silky. For me it added a bit of smoothness to the exhale that made for a high class smoke. The body was rising a bit at this point and leaning even more into the full range.  

Final Third and Final Thoughts

The final third and especially getting down to the nub of the (LARGE) cigar is when both the first third and the second blended together to bang out huge flavors. I started again to get the warm spice from the beginning, but still just as strong was the leather notes from the second third. The finish was steady as a rock though, keeping up with the nice dark chocolate taste. The draw was still as perfect as the first cold draw I took and the smoke volume never let up. Something that everyone writes during Padron reviews is how unbelievably great the consistency of the construction is. The SI-15 doesn't deviate from that at all. This stick burned straight, never needed any touch ups, and never got hot. I was seriously disappointed when I could no longer hold on to the cigar for fear of blistering my fingers.

My final thoughts on the Padrón 1964 Smoke Inn 15th Anniversary Maduro? 6 x 60? Are you kidding me? No way. Oh wait. It's a Padron 1964 Anny? Give me as many as you have. Not many brands and or blends can hold up in this size and still be really enjoyable for me. The SI-15 is certainly one that can.  The decent complexity,  the power, and just overall smoking experience of this cigar was amazing. Once I thought I had the cigar figured out, it would throw another flavor bomb on my palate and send me reeling. I had to be careful toward the end of this stick, as I kept smoking it faster and faster to get those amazing flavors, but in doing so gave my head a bit of a spin.  If you like what you read above and want to try it yourself, work quickly. This is a limited release for Smoke Inn and I'm sure they'll go fast.   
 
Would I buy it again? I would buy this cigar again in a heart beat. Like any Padron Anniversary stick, they are not on the inexpensive side, but in my opinion, this one is really worth the cash.

Would I buy a box?  I wish! These are way out of my price range for box purchases, but if money is no object for you, I would snatch up a box ASAP.

Dan

REVIEW: 601 MACHO Edicion Limitada

The cigar up for review tonight was generously sent to me by fellow BOTL Steve Valle (@SteveVlilo on twitter) of smokingstogie.com fame. If you don't know about SmokingStogie.com or haven't visited in awhile, I suggest you head over there and check it out right after you read this review. Brooks and Steve have one of the best (and in my opinion THE best) cigar review sites on the web. Keep up the good work, guys.

There isn't much info to be had around the web on this specific cigar, so I emailed Eddie Ortega (@eddieor on twitter), co-owner of EO Cigars (the makers of 601), for some details.

The Limited Edition 601 “Macho,” was just a short and very limited release produced

to accompany a book signing by Roberto Martin Perez.  Mr. Perez was a long time political prisoner in Cuba before finally being released and seeking asylum in the US.

We wanted to commemorate the occasion by making something really special for him, he loves the 601.

We only made 364 boxes and were only available at Sabor Havana Cigars in Miami, don't even know if they have any left.

The cigar was made at Pepin's factory.  Is really a great cigar.

-regards

 Eddie

Thanks for responding to my email Eddie and thanks for the info. The cigar looked great so I was stoked to light it up.


(Editor's Note: I had some problems with our camera for this review, so I only have a final third photo.)

Specifics  
Vitola: Toro
Length: 6
Ring Gauge: 52
Wrapper: Niaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: ??
Smoking Location: House of Cigar
Beverage: water
Manufacture's Website: http://www.unitedtobaccoinc.com/

Pre-Light

The 601 Macho had a medium brown, very natural-looking tobacco wrapper. The wrapper did have quite a lot of veins, but all were small enough that they posed no problem to the burn. Squeezing the stick, I could tell it was evenly packed and not too tightly bunched, as it had a nice subtle give to it. The unlit aroma was surprising strong, smelling intensely of cedar with hints of black coffee. The cap clipped easily and the cold draw tasted very sweet. I would describe the flavor as raw/brown sugar.

First Third

My 601 Macho lit very easily with a soft flame lighter. Right off the first two puffs, the flavors were coming through strongly. I love when a cigar roars out of the gate and this stick was feeding that love. The initial flavors were of a lot of cedar on the front with a sweetened spice on the finish. The finish lingered awhile on my palate and seemed to get sweeter the longer I waited between draws. Speaking of the draw, it was perfect for my preference. Just enough resistance that you don't feel like you're sucking air and the smoke coated my taste buds slowly. About two inches into the stick, the flavors on the finish started to fade and the spice was replaced by just slight hints of coffee. The body was in the medium range and the burn was excellent. (Sorry I can't show you.)

Second Third

The second third of my 601 Macho had that previously-mentioned coffee flavor really pick up. Unlike the pre-lit aroma, where it was more of a black coffee note, this flavor was blending evenly with the sweetness on the finish to create a coffee with sugar taste. The cedar notes were still very strong on the front of each draw, but it was the finish that really had me smiling. The flavor sounds simple when I read my notes, but remembering the smoking experience, it was quite complex. Another nice change-up from the first third was that the texture of the smoke became very creamy. The first third was not dry or anything to be upset about, but the smoke in the second third was obviously much richer. The body was still a solid medium and the burn was great.

Final Third and Final Thoughts

The final third was an absolutely pleasurable smoking experience. The coffee and sugar flavors that were only dominate on the finish until now, started to keep into the strong cedar notes on front of the profile to make a very interesting taste. I can't describe it exactly, but imagine making a pot of sweetened coffee over an open wood fire and maybe that smell is similar? I'm not sure if that's it, but what I'm sure of is that I liked it a lot. Towars the nub of the cigar, some of the spice I had picked up at the start came back into the mix, but it was not for long as I was almost near finger burning zone by then and had to put the stick down. The body was exactly the same for the entire smoke, in a nice relaxing medium range, and the construction was top notch and had zero problems. 

My final thoughts on the 601 MACHO Edicion Limitada? This cigar had amazing flavors that really kept my interest from start to finish. The further I burned into the stick, the creamier the smoke became and the more relaxing and enjoyable the experience got. I was bummed when this stick had to be put down because it is the only one I have and I'm not sure if I will be able to get more. I like a 601 cigar every now and then to mix up my rotation of everyday smokes. I have smoked all of the lines and I have to say that this stick is the best of them all. Figures it's the limited release from 601 that I like the best, but maybe if enough people try this cigar and speak out about it, we'll get a larger re-release.
 
Would I buy it again? There is not one bad thing I could say about this cigar, so given the chance I would absolutely buy more of these sticks. If I can't buy them, I will be looking to some more BOTL for trades.

Would I buy a box?  I'm not sure what the price was on these, but if the price was right, these are 100% box-worthy.

Dan