Usually a trademark of most Cuban cigars is a black ash. I had a recent release of a Padron Annivesary Maduro Superior today that burned with the blackest ash I've ever seen on a cigar. It was also one of the best tasting PAMs I've ever had and I've experienced quite a few PAMs / PANs. I don't know if the black ash is a indicator of the flavor profile of the cigar I smoked today or not. What ever the Padrons are doing, I hope they keep it up.

Barry

Seen that too Barry but only on a few occasions and they were finger burners. Padron is tops for consistent quality and can only imagine if anything, they would be getting better.

The color of the ash is mainly determined by the amount of magniesum in the soil, the more there is the lighter the ash.

Is a darker ash the sign of a higher quality cigar? Is it in any way related to the taste of the cigar? For example, higher magnesium content in the soil tends to produce a particular kind of leaf with a certain taste & trait?

I had a RyJ Cedros De Lux No 2 a few weeks ago that had a really dark ash. Decent smoke.

Actually ... in years past, the lighter the ash, the more high quailty the cigar was thought to be ...

Personally, I don't think it really has much to do with the flavor; not as much as what blends the cigars are made with, and what contries (climates and soils) the leaves were grown in.

Magnesium is just a small part of it ...

what Slim said...

yup what slim said