(Editors Note: Due to a problem with the photos of the first cigar photographed for the detail shots, another of the same cigar had to substituted for said photos…the cigars looked identical in every way. — brooks)

For those of you that don’t know…

As I keep looking through the cigars I have to review, the Padrón Millennium kept calling my name…I had wanted to review it before now (I am a sucker for anything with Millennium in the name), but I have a good friend who loves Padróns, and I thought I would wait until his birthday to spark one up, thinking it would be the perfect way to celebrate…

In 1999, Padrón rolled 100,000 of a specially blended version of it’s insanely popular 1964 Series cigar. Released in the year 2000, it was dubbed the Padrón Millennium, and 1000 humidors of 100 cigars each were produced. The blend was similar to the ’64 series, but was said to be quite a bit more bold in flavor, and the tobacco used was already aged for 5 years before it was rolled into the cigars (making the cigar I smoked for the review about 15 years old, and as opposed to the regular Anniversary line , which is aged for four years). The Vast majority of the cigars released were made with a Maduro wrapper, but there were some rolled with a Natural wrapper as well, but they are extremely difficult to find (estimates I have seen put the ratio of Maduro and Natural at 8 to 2, respectively).

The press release at the time they were released had this to say:

To celebrate the Millennium, the Padrón family created the limited edition “ Millennium 1964 Series”. Production was limited to 1,000 cases of 100 cigars each. The cigar, with dimensions of 52 x 6, is made with tobacco that has been aged for five years. All tobacco used for this single release was hand selected specifically for this limited production. Our goal was to blend a more full-bodied flavor while not compromising the balance that cigar connoisseurs have come to expect from our products.

The Padrón Millennium cases contain five solid cedar trays that accommodate 20 cigars each. Each cigar as well as each case is individually and sequentially numbered. To make this possible, new bands containing Jose O. Padrón’s signature were designed to accommodate the individual serial numbering of each cigar. Each case also features two solid brass plaques on the exterior lid. The first, appearing on the center of the lid, contains the 1964 Anniversary Series logo. The second, located on the bottom right corner of the lid, contains the following information:

Millennium 1964 Series
Limited Edition
Box No. x / 1,000
Cigars No. 000001-000100

But enough of that, let’s get down to business!

• Cigar Reviewed: Pádron Millenium Maduro
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Tabacos Cubanica S.A.
• Wrapper: Nicaragua
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua (Special Millennium blend)
• Size: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Toroish
  
• MSRP (at release): $25.00 Per Cigar, (Humidor of 100, $3,060.00. Price of Humidor $560.)
• Date Released: 2000
  
• Number of Cigars Released: 1,000 Boxes of 100 Cigars (100,000 Total Cigars)

The very first thing that jumps out at me when inspecting this cigar is the EXTREMELY dark wrapper...looking at it, it is almost black. The cigar is also extremely box pressed (as most Padróns are) and these two attributes together make for a very attractive stick…

The wrapper is also fairly rough and toothy to the touch, has almost no oil present, and smells slightly of Chocolate and tobacco (with just a hint of coffee)…I also love the band on this stick…Padróns are always classy, and this is no exception…

As I lit it and took the first few puffs in the First Third, I tasted a bit of pepper (not much at all), some cedar and a bit of chocolate….right before the 1/3rd mark, some spice kicked in…

As the Second Third, the spice picked up considerably (the pepper took a back seat), but the other flavors really did not change…more cedar and chocolate, perhaps a touch of coffee, but other then that, fairly boring…it did get a bit bitter right before the last 3rd…

The Final Third was much the same story…same tastes as before, but the bitterness increased (a little) and the spice was replaced (again) by pepper…it never got hot at the end, but I was definitely bored with it before I was done…

Final Notes:

• The Spice and pepper in this stick did not remain constant, in fact, they both went in and out for the whole smoke…sometimes the spice was dominant, and sometimes the pepper was…
• As is expected of any Padrón, the burn and draw of this stick was picture perfect (so to speak) for the entire smoke…
• Although I did not expect an amazingly complex smoke (Padróns are known for their consistency in construction as well as tastes), the flavors in this smoke seemed to be muted, almost stale…
• Final Smoking time for the Padrón Millennium Maduro was 1 hour 40 minutes…

The Bottom Line: I was extremely disappointed in this cigar, to say the least. While researching for this review, I came across many people who smoked one, and loved it, but most reviews were from the 2001-2004 range (in fact, it scored a 93 in November of 1999 from Cigar Aficionado)…I have heard from various people that Padróns are not meant to be aged for any significant about of time, and now I believe it (most of the Padróns I smoke are only about 1-3 years old)…In fact, in an interview with Cigar Aficionado, when asked about if they age their cigars, Jorge Padrón had this to say:

Our tobacco is aged before it’s made into a cigar. If you walk around our factory here, you notice that we were out of cigars. Everything that’s made is exported. We don’t keep any cigars, we don’t have any aging rooms or anything like that. The tobacco that goes into those cigars is aged prior to going into a cigar.

So, it seems to me that these specific cigars, being 10 years old (and 15 years since the tobacco started aging) could definitely be beyond their prime, and that is probably the main cause of the disappointing smoke. In fact, just to make sure I was not wrong, I smoked another one the night after, and got almost the same results (the second one had a bit more pepper though out)…After this, I cannot recommend picking these up at the prices they are commanding…buy a 45th Maduro instead….

Final Score: 79