This Padron 45th maduro is nicknamed 'little hammer' and that's because José Padron escaped welfare by carpeting with a little hammer he got as a Cuban refugee. The money he made turned into the now well known Padron brand. That same little hammer is in the Padron logo too. The 45th anniversary, created with 10 year old tobacco was created to celebrate the 45 years that Padron is in business. The cigar comes in one size only, 6½x52 and it is extremely box pressed.
The cigar looks fantastic. A nice dark, oily and leathery, wrinkled wrapper and two beautiful bands. The cigar is extremely box pressed, I suspect that this is done with a press in the factory. I smell some leather. The construction feels good and the spicy predraw is great.
I taste a sweet coffee flavor with a herbal spiciness. The sweetness fades away a bit and after an inch I get more herbs next to the coffee and I also taste an earthy flavor. The cigar is less spicy and sweet than at the start.
Halfway I also taste some chocolate on a bed of earth and herbs. The coffee and sweetness have completely disappeared, a little spice remains. The cigar slowly gets more spicy and the herbal flavors grow in strength. Near the end I get a strong pepper flavor.
This cigar lasted me for an hour and forty minutes and I enjoyed every single second. I got a lot of reasonably thick smoke. The pepper and salt colored ash is firm. The burn and draw are great. I got a decent flame while purging. The shape of this cigar makes it easy on the lips. The cigar is full bodied and full flavored.
Would I buy this cigar again? I love this cigar but it's way too expensive.
Appearance: 9 / 10
Construction: 8 / 10
Draw: 8 / 10
Burn: 8 / 10
Smoke & ash: 8 / 10
Aroma first part: 8 / 10
Aroma second part: 9 / 10
Aroma third part: 8 / 10