Padron Damaso No. 15 Review

There were a few new releases at the trade show that were highly anticipated and at least two of them were Connecticut Shade wrappers which given the direction of new releases lately seems pretty rare.

Today we look at one of those releases, Padron Damaso. According to the Padron website where Jose O. Padron writes, “THIS CIGAR was named for my grandfather Dámaso, who was the first Padrón to arrive in Cuba sometime in the late 1800’s from the Canary Islands. In Cuba, we called people from there “Isleños”. They were serious people who kept their word. Isleños tended to work in farming, and in this tradition my grandfather rented a small piece of land in Pinar del Rio and started growing tobacco. Dámaso was an honest, decent man and a hard worker. He taught us to honor our word and be humble. These are lessons that have stayed with me throughout my life. I have tried to pass them on to my children. It means a lot to me that we are making this cigar in honor of my grandfather. He gave us life, a family and our start in this industry. I hope he’s somewhere looking down and feeling proud of the company we have built. I’d like to think Dámaso would be honored that we are continuing his legacy. He would be proud that cigars bearing his name are sold around the world.”

Cigar Review: Padron Damaso
Size: 6 x 52 (No. 15)
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Strength: Mild
Source: Two Guys Smoke Shop

The Look: The Padron Damaso features a blonde looking Connecticut seed wrapper that has a perfect appearance to it. Seamlessly rolled the cigar has 3 bands. The primary band which denotes Padron is white and gold and a maroon border with a secondary band underneath it to deter against counterfeiting which the company was once victim to. The third band denotes Damaso in gold with similar colors to the primary band. In the hand the cigar is firm with no soft spots and slightly under packed foot.

The Notes: The cold draw of the Padron Damaso is buttery and earthy with a subtle element of cedar while the foot mimics that experience.

Once the cigar is toasted and lit it is incredibly smooth and creamy. There are faint notes of butter and hay, with a caramel like sweetness at the base. The aroma of the cigar is nutty, and as the first third comes to a close there is a taste that reminds me of the shell from a sunflower seed.

In the second third of the Padron Damaso the sunflower seed notes remain with some rich butter notes that join the mix. Some earthy notes begin to develop, but the cigar reminds me of fresh bread that has been lightly toasted with an abundance of butter as the second third comes to a close.

The final third of the Damaso continues to serve up notes of butter and some faint earth. There is a very slight pepper through the nose, the first time on the cigar, though it remains very mild until I put it down with less than an inch remaining.

The Burn: The Connecticut wrapper that adorns the Padron is well fermented and aged as evident by the thin combustion line. The draw was perfect and the light color ash held for approximately a third at a time. The burn was even, and it remained lit from first light to last puff.

The Finish: The key to the Padron Damaso is to separate yourself from the brand. For so many years we have grown accustom to the core line and the Anniversario line; the Connecticut is so vastly different. If you can separate yourself you realize quickly that the cigar while mild is something special and it may take a couple of cigars to figure that out as it did for me. The perfect cigar to smoke on the back deck in the morning on a special day or to offer to a friend who might be partaking in the hobby for the first time.

Score: 90
Price: $15.00

Bullet Points
(Random Thoughts When Smoking)

• The first time I smoked this cigar I disliked it; but refused to give up on it. It’s Padron right? Therefore it deserves a chance. What changed for me? I stopped thinking of it as the Padron’s I know and love.
• I’ve now smoked about 3 in each of the four sizes; but the No. 15 is my favorite.
• The cigar is elegant, but I think it would be geared more toward the novice than the true aficionado.
• Smoking a round Padron feels very different.
• If these were priced more like the core Padron line I could see them being an everyday morning cigar, but the price point is a little too rich for that.
• All three bands removed with ease; though finding the seam on the counterfeit band took some effort.
• Smoking time was 1 hour 45 minutes.
• I paired the cigar with water.