Padrón Family Reserve No. 96 Maduro

I don’t think it was intentional, but having just finished up our coverage of the 2023 PCA Convention & Trade Show, it’s interesting to think that our first review post-show is of a cigar that debuted at the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show but which didn’t show up on store shelves until right before we started our coverage on this year’s show.

The cigar is the Padrón Family Reserve No. 96 Maduro, a 5 3/4 x 52 robusto extra that joins one of the company’s most upper-end lines. The cigar is named for what would have been the 96th birthday of José Orlando Padrón, continuing a naming convention that has become synonymous with the line and which my colleague Charlie Minato so kindly turned into a bullet point guide a while back:

• 1926 — José O. Padrón’s birth year.
• 1964 — Company founded.
• 40 — Anniversary of the company (2004)
• 80 — José O. Padrón Birthday (2006)
• 44 — Anniversary of the company (2008)
• 45 — Anniversary of the company (2009)
• 46 — Anniversary of the company (2010)
• 85 — José O. Padrón Birthday (2011)
• 50 — Anniversary of the company (2014)
• 47 — Anniversary of the TAA (2015)
• 48 — Anniversary of the TAA (2016)
• 89 — José O. Padrón Birthday (2016, released in 2016 though the birthday was in 2015)
• 90 — José O. Padrón Birthday (2016)
• 95 — José O. Padrón Birthday (2021)
• 96 — José O. Padrón Birthday (2022)
• 97 — José O. Padrón Birthday (2023)

 

While the cigars debuted in July 2022, they did not begin shipping until mid-April 2023. There wasn’t an explanation for the gap, other than that Padrón says it only produced the number of cigars ordered at the trade show. The company previously said it would be taking orders for more of the Family Reserve No. 96 at this year’s trade show, which happened in early July.

• Padrón Family Reserve No. 96 Maduro (5 3/4 x 52) — $29.50 (Box of 10, $295)
• Padrón Family Reserve No. 96 Natural (5 3/4 x 52) — $29.50 (Box of 10, $295)

As for the blend, it’s a Nicaraguan puro, with both natural and maduro options, though the company does not disclose specifics of the varietals of tobacco used or regions from which it comes. What it does say is that all of the tobacco is aged for 10 years. The series—which is not synonymous with the blend—debuted in 2008 with the Padrón Family Reserve No. 44.

• Cigar Reviewed: Padrón Family Reserve No. 96 Maduro
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Tabacos Cubanica S.A.
• Wrapper: Nicaragua (Maduro)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 5 3/4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Robusto Extra
• MSRP: $29.50 (Box of 10, $295)
• Release Date: April 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

I don’t know exactly why, but holding this round Padrón seems just a bit odd. The cigar looks great, feels great, is firm with nearly invisible seam lines and well-constructed heads, but the absence of a box press is noticeable. The wrapper has a very uniform, dark brown color, with some toothiness to the leaf that gives it some fine grit texture. One cap isn’t applied flatly, sitting up just enough to allow my cigar scissors to slide right underneath it, while another is just askew enough that it’s worth mentioning, but none are bad enough that I wouldn’t buy the specific cigar. The foot has a wonderful aroma of sweet earth, cherry compote, and a bit of moist chocolate cake, though without much in the way of pepper. One cigar has an interesting fragrance that has a light woodiness and almost seems like something I could find at the fragrance counter at an upper-end department store. The cold draw is smooth, with the flavors less vibrant and detailed than the aroma, offering a touch of earthiness and a bit of chocolate as the only things definitive enough to stand out.

The Padrón Family Reserve No. 96 Maduro starts with a very pleasant pepper on retrohales that is clear and direct but far from overpowering. It also opens up my nostrils a bit, not in the sense of making my nose run, but spreading through my upper nasal passages the way that wasabi does. The flavor is generally more subdued, with a light, dry earth and a bit of light pepper, an enjoyable combination though one that can get just a bit rough occasionally. There’s also a bit of creaminess, a flavor I generally don’t associate with the typical Padrón profile. It’s an impressively restrained opening inch or so but one that does not lack in flavor, aroma or the enjoyability of the physical sensation it offers. The next scene of the first third sees a bit of dry wood join the profile, both on the palate and via retrohales, a change that adds a bit more complexity while keeping the profile fairly light and bright. The creaminess returns and contributes more to the profile than it did earlier, hitting a spot that my taste buds find very enjoyable as this section wraps up. Flavor averages out to medium across the three samples, but only because of a bit of a Goldilocks scenario. Body is consistently medium and strength is mild across the three cigars. Construction is fantastic, as the draw is smooth, the burn line is even and the smoke production is plentiful.

If the first third was a tempered and well-behaved introduction to the Padrón Family Reserve No. 96 Maduro, the second third starts off by revealing more of the blend’s character. The black pepper opens up and starts to blanket my taste buds and nostrils, a shift from the sharper focus it had in the first third. Creaminess is still contributing quite well, while what earth the cigar has offered has dialed back for a bit. That’s not to say it’s gone, and the more I think about it, the more I realize it’s the better parts of the earthiness that are dialing back, as there’s still a rougher and rockier remnant of it, and while I don’t like to opine on what a cigar may be missing, I wouldn’t mind a fuller, slightly heavier, and definitely smoother earthiness should it return. One thing I have noticed as being absent is any defined sweetness, which I mention given the cherry and chocolate notes I picked up before the cigar was lit. The retrohales at the end of this section are still fantastic; the pepper is maybe a touch thinner than it was earlier, but the focus is laser-sharp, and its contribution to the experience is outstanding. There’s also a bit more black pepper hitting my taste buds and spreading outward throughout my palate. Flavor is medium-plus, body is a solid medium, and strength is approaching medium. Construction is fantastic and problem-free across the board.

Since lighting the cigar, I have found myself drawn to and almost preoccupied with the retrohales, something that generally means the cigar is above average in terms of its enjoyment, as I rarely get a cigar with an exceptional retrohale and subpar flavor. Those retrohales continue to deliver a very pleasant, nose-tingling pepper that has found an impressive midpoint in its expression, as it’s not as sharp as it was in the first third, yet not as blanketing as it was in the second. The flavor presents a bit more challenging of a sensation to enjoy, as those rougher spots in the earthiness are back, with rock, mineral and a textured pepper giving the profile a lot of character. The flavor is now smokier and a lot more stimulating to my palate, a fairly drastic change that, on the whole, is good for the experience. At times, it can get a bit gritty and that smokiness has a tough time not overwhelming the profile. Much like the first third, there is a bit of a Goldilocks phenomenon here, with one cigar offering more of that sensation than I would like, one offering just a touch of it and the third cigar sitting somewhere in the middle. At most, it’s a profile that simply needs a little more water to cleanse the palate. Flavor finishes at medium-full, body is medium-plus, and most notably, strength has ticked up to medium-full in two of the three cigars, imparting a bit of wooziness. Construction, on the whole, remains fantastic, though one cigar struggles with combustion in the final third.

Final Notes

• Unbeknownst to me, Brooks Whittington said the same thing about a round Padrón in his review of the Padrón Family Reserve No. 95 Natural.
• None of the three cigars measured a 52 ring gauge, or even to 51; one got to around 50.75, but never to a 51 ring gauge.
• The lengths were much more consistent and accurate, measuring 5.73, 5.74 and 5.77 inches.
• We also ordered the Padrón Family Reserve No. 96 Natural, and they had measurements of an exact 5.75 x 52, a 5.78 x 52, and a 5.76 x 51.25.

• This is actually the second box of Padrón Family Reserve No. 96 Maduro. The first box we purchased said “Maduro” on the outside, note the red sticker on the bottom right corner, but the cigars appeared to have a color nearly identical to the box of Naturals we purchased. We contacted Padrón and were told that the box in question was not the Maduro.
• I have not yet had the opportunity to smoke the Padrón Family Reserve No. 96 Natural, which Charlie Minato reviewed in June 2023, but given how the Maduro performed, I am certainly interested to do so soon.

• Padrón’s boxes come with a note on the bottom that you don’t see on others, which is that the company actively encourages the recycling of its boxes. Given that the vast majority of the company’s cigars are packaged in Miami, the company is able to reuse boxes. That also helps to explain why many sealed boxes of Padrón cigars can look a bit beat up.
• At the 2023 PCA Convention & Trade Show, Padrón released the Black PB97, the first official retail release for its occasionally-seen Black line. The cigars are currently slated to be released in the fourth quarter of 2023.
• There is some nicotine strength that comes out in the final inch or so of the cigar. After spending the first five inches or so being fairly mellow, strength hits the gas pedal in the back half of the final third, leaving me a bit woozy, looking for some sugar, and questioning the wisdom in smoking another cigar.
• Final smoking time was two hours and 10 minutes on average.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Cigar Hustler and Cigars Direct carry the Padrón Family Reserve No. 96 Maduro.