Issue: Cigar Aficionado, Jun 01, 2003

Score: 91

Pressed, dark and attractive, this cigar burns with a gray ash. It's sweet, woody, nutty and toasty, smacking of espresso on the finish. Medium bodied.

Issue: Cigar Aficionado, Jun 01, 2002

Score: 91

Attractive color on this box-pressed cigar. It smokes nicely, holding a long ash. The cigar has a sweet and nutty taste, with a hint of char on the finish. Black cherry flavor was also noted.

Issue: Cigar Aficionado, Aug 01, 2001

Score: 93

This firm box-pressed cigar has a silky black wrapper. It has a perfect draw and burn, delivering rich, peppery smoke that has a heavy nutty flavor. A medium to full-bodied cigar.

Issue: Cigar Aficionado, Jan 01, 1970

Score: 94

The Padrón family continues to impress the cigar world with their complex, flavorful and eminently balanced cigars. Family patriarch José Orlando Padrón began making cigars under his name in 1964. His original efforts were made solely for his fellow Cubans living in Miami. His son Jorge began expanding the company's sales to new markets, and the 1994 introduction of the Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series took the brand to new heights, making them a must-have in the humidors of top cigar shops. The Exclusivo size is a bit thinner than the typical corona gorda, and longer than the typical robusto. The smokes are packed with Nicaraguan tobaccos from Jalapa, Condega and Estelí, all of it grown in the open sunlight. Then they are sharply pressed in a distinctive style. In maduro wrapper, the cigar is dark, with that trademark rich Padrón cocoa flavor. The Padróns have never failed to have a cigar in Cigar Aficionado's top five, and have won Cigar of the Year on several occasions.