How about a non-cuban review?: Padrón Anniversary 1964 Series Natural Wrapper (Vintage 2009)

[Fumadoro]

Pics: http://imgur.com/a/fhQVf

Cigar: Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series Natural

Vitola: Superior

ID number: 781354

Pairing: Water

Pre-light Inspection: The cigar has a 4mm crack midway on the cigar (probably from my many moves), and had a somewhat lumpy texture. The wrapper has a mottled brown color to it, but has no large veins.

Smell: The wrapper smells of cedar and aged tobacco, while the foot has additional notes of chocolate and barnyard. There is no hint of manure or spice present.

Draw: There is a perfect amount of resistance. Just enough to slightly bring in the sides of my mouth. The cold draw has flavors of barnyard, manure, and sweet chocolate.

1/3: There is a surprising start to this cigar; the first note that hits me is a cilantro herbaceousness. I have never had this in a cigar before; subtle yet distinct. The more prominent flavors I perceive after the initial shock are cinnamon, black tea, and malt sweetness all wrapped in an overwhelming creaminess. At this point I feel like the full intensity of flavors are subdued by the creaminess. The smoke volume is good right off the bat. As we get into the meat of the first-third milk chocolate and hazelnuts come into the mix, and the initial vegetal flavor is lost. The flavors are also becoming more intense.

2/3: As we move into the second-third the flavors have changed a bit. Vanilla, cream, baking spices, chocolate, hazelnuts, and a hint of orange zest are present. The orange zest was another surprise to me. By the end of the second-third there was an addition of cedar and the flavors have continued to intensify, but still remain creamy.

3/3: The creaminess of the cigar is now taking on a more moderate role and the flavors from the end of the second-third keep cycling. One puff spice is dominate, another chocolate, next nuttiness, then vanilla. It is like a bunch of musicians jamming, taking four bars each while the rest keep the chord progression going. The flavors keep intensifying as I nub the cigar, eventually loosing the creaminess all together and becoming almost solely spicy. This is when I decide my time is up.

Total smoking time: 1 hour 45 minutes

This was a very memorable cigar experience for me, and I’m glad this is my rebirth into the cigar world. The complexity of this cigar remained after five years of age, and I loved every minute of it. Even though there were a few construction issues on sight, the cigar burnt fantastically, going though the crack with no problem. I would unscientifically rate this cigar experience as 92/100.

Happy smoking!

[bradbrennan]

It sounds better than a 92

[Fumadoro]

It sounds better than a 92

I guess I'm a bit too harsh. It takes a lot for me to rate a 95 and above. I really did enjoy it though, and would highly recommend this cigar, especially with a few, or more, years of age on it.

[CaptainQuintero]

Top stuff! I think that's the first premium NC that I ever smoked too:

http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=106495&view=&hl=&fromsearch=1

Sounds like we both had a pretty great experience!