Ageing Padrón 2000

[AusDyer]

Hello all,

I have recently got my first full box of Padrón 2000 natural, having tried many singles over the years. It's a really nice looking box of them though the date is noted inside as having been rolled in late October, so they are extremely fresh. Usually the 2000s have an extra spicy first inch before the blend seems to settle down on the ligero a bit, and these are the spiciest naturals I've had, and assume that is particularly due to them being so recently rolled.

In short, I am wondering if anybody here has any proper experience with how these particular cigars develop with box age. I have read that unlike the Padrón anniversary and reserve lines, the thousand series benefit much more from a few years in the box. My main question for anyone who may know is, if I snip the ends of the cellophane off (trim it to open the foot while leaving them otherwise fully wrapped in the cello), will this possibly let the first inch of the cigar from the foot mellow out more than if I leave them fully wrapped as normal? Also, anyone with any other experience maturing the 2000 naturals able to offer any other tips or findings like how long before they may start to turn more bland?

I would assume cigars with such strong oils and ligero like these should age like champs for a very long time, but I just can't really find any proper info on them - everyone always just quotes what other people have told them about the more expensive Padróns that are rolled with extra aged leaves and just start to go bland with ageing over more than 12 months.

I have had some 2000 naturals before that were older and did seem much more mellow, though this may well have been blending inconsistency also. But I have had some that were particularly softer, creamier and with distinct caramel notes. I was wondering if this comes mainly from ageing as with cigars like Por Larranaga petit coronas?

Thanks in advance if anyone can help!

 

[El Presidente]

For an October box, throw any preconceived thoughts out the window. 

Revisit after 90 days down acclimatised in your humidor and plan a strategy from there. 

Couple of things: 

• increased spiciness may just be a case of the October roll. You will know come February. 
• trimming cello wouldn't make much difference (to my mind). I wouldn't do anything until Feb but if they remain unsmokeable (I am assuming that is the issue), and you want to speed up the process, then maybe remove the cello and clip the cap on the cigars. 
• Strong oils and Ligero have little causation to exceptional aging potential. 

[SCgarman]

AFAIK, these Padron 2000 cigars are rolled with 3 year aged tobacco. Shouldn't need much down time, just follow Rob's advice. Personally I don't like cello wrapping on my cigars, so it gets removed so they are naked. But to each his own, everyone has their own preferences. Cannot go wrong with any Padron, they are one of the best for good reason!

[brewsandbullets]

I've had some 10+ year aged Padron X000 series and they are wonderful, though not exactly in the same vein as fresh sticks. They smooth out on the peppery notes and the leather and cedar come forward a bit. Throw them in a tupperdor and forget about them for a while - whenever you pick them up again, they'll be great.

[BlueRidgeFly]

Have some natural and maduro Padron 2000s, 3000s, and Londres, acquired almost two years ago. I sample one every few weeks, and they get better and better. Some are in cellophane and some are not. I do think removing the cello speeds things up a little but I haven't compared enough of them to say for sure. Generally, I think the Padron thousand series sticks age well.

[Lamboinee]

12 hours ago, AusDyer said:

though the date is noted inside as having been rolled in late October,

I haven't bought a box of Padrons in a while, but they are great cigars. I'm curious about the box date. I was told that Padron re-uses a lot of their boxes and asks retailers to send back empty boxes. I haven't verified this. If they do reuse them, I wonder if they erase the old box date stamp. 

Let 'em rest. I do not fully understand the effects of long term aging , but I am confident that initial resting makes a difference. 

[Çnote]

I've had some aged x000 (and 64s and 26s)

X000s get mellow after a couple years, and then hold for a long time, kinda like CC. 64s seem to bloom after a year or so, and then the box disappears within a couple of weeks. I've never held on to 26s more than a couple years, I just smoke them. 

My understanding is that the pilons from which the x000s are rolled are chosen as the tobacco is as mature as they think it will get and thus isn't chosen for longer aging to then go into a 64 or 26. Another opinion I've heard is that Padron only has so much space to hold tobacco, and priority is given to potiental wrappers, so higher quality filler than you would expect is often in the x000s.

Don't expect the world to change with a couple of years age, but who knows, it could be your jam.

As for cello, I age everything NC as it comes, if nothing else so as to have an easy way to mark it later with a sharpie. I've been known to cello stuff just to mark it. It's also an extra layer of protection for the evitable singles bin where it may get knocked around for a couple months (years).

[Capn_Jackson]

I don’t have much experience with the x000’s, but I do like my 1964’s with 2 or even 3 years’ rest. They become just right, for me. 1926’s, maybe a year.

[SCgarman]

12 hours ago, Lamboinee said:

I haven't bought a box of Padrons in a while, but they are great cigars. I'm curious about the box date. I was told that Padron re-uses a lot of their boxes and asks retailers to send back empty boxes. I haven't verified this. If they do reuse them, I wonder if they erase the old box date stamp. 

Let 'em rest. I do not fully understand the effects of long term aging , but I am confident that initial resting makes a difference. 

The date along with names of buncher/roller are on a small piece of paper inside the box. At least on my last box of 1964 Principe received last December.

[GVan]

Just to add a little more info - your Padron 2000 Natural's will definitely get better with age. Before getting into CC's these were my number 1 go-to-cigars and I would occasionally splurge on a box of 64's. Back then, I smoked a lot less, and the Padrons would often get some pretty good age on them. One of my all time favorite cigars is a 1999 Padron A that was inadvertently aged for 15+ years because I buried the box in the back of my humidor. A 95 point cigar that was exceptionally smooth and still flavorful. For golf, I used to buy many boxes of Padron Executives and some of these would be 5+ years before the box was finished.  

To this day I still keep Padrons as an infrequent NC in my regular rotation. This past weekend I brought Padron 64 Ann'y Monarca Maduros (Sept-21) to a guys duck hunt (along with many Cubans, 35 cigars in all) and I was surprised to see they were the first 4 chosen by the guys to smoke by the campfire. Currently in my rotation is a box of Padron 64 Ann'y Corona Naturals from (10-2012), a box of Padron 64 Ann'y Maduro Coronas from (12-2013), a Padron 26 # 35 (6-2011) which according to my smoking notes is still one of the strongest Padron's in the line-up. I believe that even though most Padrons are 3, 4 or 5 year old tobacco prior to shipping they just keep getting better with age.

[SCgarman]

13 hours ago, GVan said:

Just to add a little more info - your Padron 2000 Natural's will definitely get better with age. Before getting into CC's these were my number 1 go-to-cigars and I would occasionally splurge on a box of 64's. Back then, I smoked a lot less, and the Padrons would often get some pretty good age on them. One of my all time favorite cigars is a 1999 Padron A that was inadvertently aged for 15+ years because I buried the box in the back of my humidor. A 95 point cigar that was exceptionally smooth and still flavorful. For golf, I used to buy many boxes of Padron Executives and some of these would be 5+ years before the box was finished.  

To this day I still keep Padrons as an infrequent NC in my regular rotation. This past weekend I brought Padron 64 Ann'y Monarca Maduros (Sept-21) to a guys duck hunt (along with many Cubans, 35 cigars in all) and I was surprised to see they were the first 4 chosen by the guys to smoke by the campfire. Currently in my rotation is a box of Padron 64 Ann'y Corona Naturals from (10-2012), a box of Padron 64 Ann'y Maduro Coronas from (12-2013), a Padron 26 # 35 (6-2011) which according to my smoking notes is still one of the strongest Padron's in the line-up. I believe that even though most Padrons are 3, 4 or 5 year old tobacco prior to shipping they just keep getting better with age.

The guys that grabbed the Padron 64 knew there is 100% chance of having a smokeable cigar with a great draw. As we all know with Cubans that percentage decreases dramatically. Just a fact of life. And Padron 64s have that wonderful, distinctive flavor. 

[HoyoFan]

As many have noted, these are wonderful with age. I have found an incredible amount of richness and flavor around the 3-4 year mark on the 2000 Maduros and every time i fire one up, I can't believe I'm smoking a $6-7 cigar. Enjoy and try to keep your hands off of them!

[Tinny]

On 12/13/2023 at 7:32 AM, HoyoFan said:

As many have noted, these are wonderful with age. I have found an incredible amount of richness and flavor around the 3-4 year mark on the 2000 Maduros and every time i fire one up, I can't believe I'm smoking a $6-7 cigar. Enjoy and try to keep your hands off of them!

Exactly how I feel about the 3000 maduro, IMO maybe the best value non-Cubans out there.

[jazzboypro]

You guys are lucky. Over here Padron is as expensive as many Cuban cigars.

[Corylax18]

10 hours ago, jazzboypro said:

You guys are lucky. Over here Padron is as expensive as many Cuban cigars.

It's not luck. Its an active, aggressive, well funded Cigar Lobby that fights ridiculous laws from the second some dipshit thinks them up. You can bash the US political system all you want (I sure do) but people fighting for what they believe in is a big part of what makes the country great. 

[SCgarman]

6 hours ago, jazzboypro said:

You guys are lucky. Over here Padron is as expensive as many Cuban cigars.

Padron 1964 were always $300/box and up depending on vitola size. You typically could buy 2 boxes of Monte 4 for that price. Now the Monte 4 is $370/box. Padron 1964 is obviously the better buy, now! YMMV

[jazzboypro]

32 minutes ago, SCgarman said:

Padron 1964 were always $300/box and up depending on vitola size. You typically could buy 2 boxes of Monte 4 for that price. Now the Monte 4 is $370/box. Padron 1964 is obviously the better buy, now! YMMV

 More around 600 and up over here for the 1964 line. They definitely are not worth that much to me.

[Chibearsv]

11 hours ago, jazzboypro said:

 More around 600 and up over here for the 1964 line. They definitely are not worth that much to me.

Can't you buy online from the same places we can in the U.S.?  A local cigar shop here will charge close to that same price but online shops are much less expensive.

[jazzboypro]

6 hours ago, Chibearsv said:

Can't you buy online from the same places we can in the U.S.?  A local cigar shop here will charge close to that same price but online shops are much less expensive.

I did that for a long time with a lot of success but for the past 4 years or so nothing gets through customs and I get heavily hit by taxes. To give you an idea, a $300 box of Padron will cost around $1400 after applicable taxes. It's nearly impossible to order outside of Canada unless you have very deep pockets and don't mind paying insane taxes. I buy what I can in Canada but for some reason Padron seem to be lot more more expensive than other brands so I don't buy them since I don't think they are good enough to warrant that price.

[Chibearsv]

5 hours ago, jazzboypro said:

I did that for a long time with a lot of success but for the past 4 years or so nothing gets through customs and I get heavily hit by taxes. To give you an idea, a $300 box of Padron will cost around $1400 after applicable taxes. It's nearly impossible to order outside of Canada unless you have very deep pockets and don't mind paying insane taxes. I buy what I can in Canada but for some reason Padron seem to be lot more more expensive than other brands so I don't buy them since I don't think they are good enough to warrant that price.

Wow, I had no idea. I just tried my first Padrón 1964 this week and really enjoyed it. $20-25 at the lounge once in a while isn’t too bad but a full box at those prices would make me itch too. 

[jazzboypro]

5 hours ago, Chibearsv said:

Wow, I had no idea. I just tried my first Padrón 1964 this week and really enjoyed it. $20-25 at the lounge once in a while isn’t too bad but a full box at those prices would make me itch too. 

The 1964 series is between $28 and $83, pretty much the same for the 1926 and family reserve series.