Tom M is the winner and he has been contacted by email… While none of his top 5 sticks made the Top 10 List submitted by the readers of this website I am sure he will enjoy spending his $100.00 on cigars that he loves the most…

Here is the top 10…

10. Tatuaje Noelle Reserve
09. Nestor Miranda 20th Anniversary
08. Tatuaje Boris
07. CAO LX 2
06. Oliva V
05. Room 101 by Camacho
04. My Father Le Bijou
03. Padron Family Reserve
02. Epernay

and the cigar of the year chosen by the readers of acigarsmoker.com

01. La Traviata by CAO Cigars

Padron Family Reserve

The Padron Family Reserve has begin to hit the shelves of tobacconists around the world. The cigar is meant to celebrate the company being in business for 45 years and is nicknamed “The Hammer”. The Padron Family Reserve comes in both the natural and maduro wrapper and are in boxes of 10 cigars. My local cigar shop got these in and despite the high price I have been smoking them religiously. I tend to favor the natural version, however on the shelf the difference between the maduro and natural to the naked eye was negligible.

Cigar: Padron Family Reserve (45 Years/The Hammer)
Size: 6 x 52 (Box Pressed Toro)
Wrapper: Nicaragua (Aged 10 Years)
Binder: Nicaragua (Aged 10 Years)
Filler: Nicaragua (Aged 10 Years)
Strength: Full

Appearance and Construction (20/20): Outstanding. That sums it up in one word. This toothy looking natural wrapper has almost no veins to speak up. The roll is seamleass, and the cigar is balanced. There are no soft spots on the stick and the foot reveals a well packed cigar. When it comes to box pressed sticks, Padron definitely sets the bar. The band is red and gold, and denotes the cigar is the Padron Family Blend. There is a hammer located between the 1964 which was the birth year of Padron Cigars. There is a secondary anti counterfeiting band underneath the primary band. The 3rd band denotes 45 Years.

Flavor & Notes (30/30): Prior to lighting my stick, the foot offered some notes of cedar and spice and the draw reveal some rich cocoa notes. From first light this cigar is definitely something special. Rich. That’s how I can describe this smoke. There are some notes of chocolate/cocoa with some coffee. But this cigar transcends the notes. The cigar is the smoothest, and most perfect cigar I have ever smoked. The second third has some slight spice to it which compliments the rich tobacco and cocoa notes. The final third right down til I couldn’t hold the stick provided wonderfully rich notes of chocolate, coffee and a slight cedar.

Burn/Ash/Draw (25/25): The cigar had the smallest carbon line I ever saw. The cigar burned even all the way down to the end. The ash was a nice light gray that held very well. The draw of the cigar was pure perfection.

Overall (24/25): In NJ with the tobacco tax these sticks retail for 35.00 and that prevents the cigar from being perfect. I know this is a contradiction, but despite the price I have been smoking them on a regular basis. The cigar is incredible. This stick provides a flavor profile that is so enjoyable and relaxing that I felt totally relaxed and unstressed after finishing the cigar. Those who don’t smoke, don’t understand. But this is my therapy and it’s cheaper then spending time on the couch of a psychologist.

Rating: 99
Price: $260.00 a box of 10 at Famous Smoke Shop