Padron was founded in Miami, Florida, by Orlando Jose Padron in 1964. Since this time, the company has been manufacturing premium, long-filler, hand-rolled cigars from two companies it controls in Nicaragua (Tabacos Cubanica S.A.) and Honduras (Tabacos Centro-Americanos S.A.). Today, the company is also managed by Orlando Padron's son, Jorge Padron.


The Padron 3000
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Two days ago, I was in Las Vegas. After my wife had a fantastic dinner at the La Rotisserie des Artistes restaurant (Paris Hotel), we retreated to the Napoleon Lounge to enjoy our dessert. Well, for me that meant a cigar and Cognac.

The Napoleon lounge at the Paris Hotel is a great place for cigar enthusiasts. It is a dimly lit lounge with a very well appointed Cognac bar, plenty of cushy leather chairs and a Jazz band. When you walk into the place, many patrons have cigars lit up and snifters in hand... it is not like anything we have here in California, where it is illegal to smoke anything (cigarette, cigars, pipes) in any bar, restaurant, public building or even office space. In fact, the only venue where cigarette or cigar smoking is permitted in California is a tobacconist's shop... and there are not too many of those around anymore because of California's 100% tobacco tax.

Anyway, the cigar I selected was a Padron 3000. This a short, thick cigar, measuring 5½" in length and having a ring gauge of 50 (50/64th's of an inch in diameter). I selected this cigar because I budgeted one hour of time for my smoke and my drink, and I didn't want to keep my wife waiting all evening.

The tobaccos for Padron's current release cigars are all sun grown Habano -- grown from Cuban tobacco seed -- in Nicaragua. The tobaccos are aged for up to two years, and are then blended and rolled by Cuban-trained torcedores. From planting to production to aging, it takes about three years to produce a single cigar.

The overall construction of this cigar was excellent. The body was well filled and the barrel was firm. The head was solid, but accepted a guillotined cut with no resistance, and foot of the cigar was perfectly trimmed.

This is a well-made cigar with good heft -- being fairly heavy for such a short cigar. I started this cigar with a glass of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, which complimented the woody and earthy flavor experienced during the early part of the burn. As I eased into the second half of the cigar, the medium-bodied smoke called for a libation that was a little more substantial. I ordered a snifter of the Kelt XO Tour du Monde Cognac (Winner: Best XO 1996 -- United States Wine Enthusiast). I was in heaven -- of sorts -- and I was enjoying the experience very much.

This cigar burned evenly. I had no problems with the draw. The overall experience was quite satisfactory. This cigar compares very favorably to the Honduran Cohiba, which retails at a greater price.


Price and Availability
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I purchased this cigar at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, where is was very reasonably priced at $6 per single cigar (plus tax).

This cigar is available in fairly wide distribution from a number of large cigar retailers. At Thompson Cigars (www.thompson-cigar.com), they can be purchased for $97 per box of 25 cigars.


Recommendations
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A very good cigar from an independent company that -- just after the institution of the Cuban trade embargo -- started with the simply plan to produce cigars for Miami's Cuban community.

At a retail price of $6.00 per stick, I found this cigar to be fairly priced -- considering the circumstances of its purchase (at a Las Vegas casino). If you can buy it at or below $4 per stick, then I this is one cigar that I would highly recommend.

Next week, I will be in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, testing out some Cuban cigars.


Recommended: Yes

Cigar Name: Padron 3000  [natural]
Cigar Rating: Better than most
Price per cigar ($US): 4.00