Padilla Fumas Maduro

Today, I’m smoking a Padilla Fumas Maduro in a traditional 5 x 50 Robusto. As the leading value nut at Holt’s, I consider myself among the foremost authorities on fumas – mixed-filler cigars, also called “Cuban sandwich” cigars. Fumas are rolled from the same well-aged tobaccos used in the manufacture of premium handmades but at a much cheaper price. Because frugality, friends, is in my DNA, I’ve made it my personal mission to consume any and all fumas that pass through our spacious warehouse aisles for the sole purpose of providing an honest evaluation of their flavor, construction, and cost – and, to top off my coolerdor at home with the most desirable specimens.

You’ll find my previous appraisal of Padilla Fumas Connecticut in our staff review archives. Let’s taste how Padilla Fumas Maduro measures up with its dark-brown Honduran wrapper and mixed-filler concoction of Nicaraguan tobaccos inside. The caveat is that mixed-filler tobaccos are a by-product from the manufacturing process of premium long-filler cigars in a brand’s portfolio. Any tobacco leaf that is shorter than the full length of the cigar being rolled in a long-filler format is retained to make a fuma later. The practice is prevalent in many yard ‘gars and inexpensive bundles, and the price – around $2 or less per cigar – is often a dead giveaway that you’re smoking fumas.

Right away, Padilla Fumas are different – they come in a box. If we graded all fumas on presentation alone, Padilla would graduate at the top of the class. When I slide the lid open, a sultry selection of chocolate-hued cigars that look good enough to eat tingles my nostrils with a cedar fragrance and a uniform semblance from head to foot. As I slip the cellophane off, prominent notes of leather, cocoa, and pepper profoundly punctuate my first impression.

I prefer to cut fumas with a bullet cutter to prevent any bits of loose tobacco from entering my palate. A bullet cut also constricts the draw and ensures a slower burn rate. The pre-light puffs I take are still a bit loose but well within my stringent standards of quality control. Sweet notes of cocoa and pepper precede a citrusy tang. Many Honduran cigars exhibit a similar zest.

With a few blasts from my triple-jet torch, we’re off to the races. A long, earthy finish basks the palate as the initial sweetness recedes in each puff. Padillas Fumas follows a steady path throughout the first half with a sequence of chocolaty, spicy, and earthy tasting notes. Twenty minutes have gone by, but I tend to smoke cigars I enjoy a bit faster than I should. The cigar’s cool, easy draw begins to heat up due to my enthusiastic consumption. To counter the intensity, I puff a little slower.

After thirty-five minutes, a nub emerges. Reaching the end of any good cigar is a sad occasion, but making it past the nub is a testament to its taste and quality. Padilla Fumas Maduro accomplishes a solid benchmark, closing out with notes of dark cocoa, jalapeno, leather, and wood that linger long after the ashtray is cool.

Would I buy a box of Padillas Fumas Maduro? Check. I’ll gladly provide my credit card receipt. I’m awarding bonus points for near-perfect construction and a solid ash that held on in excess of one inch at a few points before a forceful tap over the ashtray necessitated its removal. And lastly, because my barometer for price has been described as superhuman, I emphatically endorse Padilla Fumas Maduro for a paltry $1.99 per cigar. Add a batch to your smoking rotation before word hits the street the top tightwads at Holt’s are hoarding boxes of Padilla Fumas for themselves.

Until next time, long ashes to you!