Newbie Samples Padron 3000 Natural & Maduro

[Linder]

Hi everyone,

A little over a week ago, I picked up two of the Padron 3000 series to compare against each other in order to figure out which wrapper version I liked best. I smoked these three days apart but kept my notes as I will present below.

APPEARANCE
NATURAL - Very visible seam with one side of the wrapper much darker than the other side to the magnitude one side of the seam was tan while the other side appeared dark brown.
MADURO - The color of the maduro was very light. In fact, it would have been very difficult to differentiate the two without having been able to compare them side by side in the box at my local tobacconist. The only differentiator I saw was the maduro wrapper had a slight reddish tint.

CONSTRUCTION
NATURAL - During the smoke, the last third of the wrapper began falling apart in chunks large enough I was unable to continue smoking.
MADURO - This one stayed together in one piece, hah.

FLAVOR
NATURAL - A slightly nutty spice for the prelight drawl with a very mellow and mild first third. During the second third, I tasted what reminded me of horseradish. I was unable to smoke the final third due to the aforementioned wrapper issue.
MADURO - Black coffee. From the prelight drawl to my final puff, my newbie pallet was only able to detect plain black coffee.

VALUE
$5.16 each. A good middle of the road stick, I think. Not ultra premium but not really a yard cigar either, in my mind. Rather, something in between that came nicely aged off the truck but not yet perfect either. These were definitely less enjoyable than the 1964 Exclusivo Maduro I had previously sampled at twice the price. For myself, the very occasional smoker (so far, lol), I think I would rather have one 1964 Anniversary versus two of the 3000 series.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE
In the end, the natural wrapper was too mild while the maduro was probably a bit too reminiscent of coffee for my preference. I believe something a little less coffee with a little more spice would be ideal.

The quest continues

[Dux]

Wow Nice review, very detailed

[KyLongbeard]

Great review!

[snkbyt]

Originally Posted by Dux

Wow Nice review, very detailed

very nice review. love those sticks

[rick l]

Linder , don't give up on the maduro. They were my first box purchase, after reading so many great reviews. I was somewhat dissapointed when I smoked the fist few.I smoked one again after a year in the humi and it was so much better. The flavours had blended nicely and the overall smoking experience was great. The coffee is still there but there is cocao and a bit of spice near the end. Put some down for awhile and I thing you will be pleased. Rick

[kheffelf]

Thanks for the review, I have a box of each.

[mastershogun]

thanks for the review. I am doing the same thing in a couple of weeks.
love trying out new smokes and comparing them

[fireman43]

Very nice detailed review!! I will have to try these.

[muziq]

Excellent review, Linder! I know exactly what you mean about these two sticks; although I think Padron's thousand series is better than many other "regular" gars, I usually spend the extra $$ to bump up to a small PAN/M or, if they're in stock, the '26 #35, which is a REMARKABLE little smoke that can be had for ~$10-$12 per. Sure, that's fewer cigars for the money, but oh man, what a memorable little smoke!

[Cigarface78]

Very detailed review. If only I had the discipline to keep a log of the cigars I have tried as detailed as this review...I would think it would be one great resource for nailing down the exact types of cigars I enjoy.

Great job

[tiptone]

I notice the least difference in color between the Padron Naturals and Maduros, the Maduros are always darker but sometimes it is just barely. In the humidor at the B&M I often have to slide the box back and look for the sticker on the corner to be 100% sure which is which. As much as I like the larger ring gauge thousand series I like the smaller and cheaper Londres even better.

I've got to get by the PO Monday afternoon to send out my end of a trade, PM me your address and I'll send you out a Maduro Londres to try (beware of stowaways, they're sneaky ).

[Dgar]

Why choose between a 000 series, and an Anniversary series, smoke both

I always keep plenty of both on hand. Padrons are near the top of my favorite list.

My favorites X000 series 2000, 3000,.... Anniversay series,64 Exclusivo, and the diplimatico.

Dgar

[mhillsing23]

I would give them another shot. The X000 is definitely not a complex cigar, but there is more there than just the black coffee. I have gone through a couple of boxes, and they are great to have for a good everyday type of stick.

[KASR]

Great review! I was turned on to the 3000 line by Hoosier after I got a hold of a lousy 2000 maddy. They are all very consistent and predictable, the 3000 having a much better flavor in my opinion.