Padrón

José Orlando Padrón, born on 10 June 1926 in the Pinar del Río region of Cuba, into a family that grew tobacco there, leaves Havana in April 1961, passes through Spain and arrives in Miami in February 1962, says padron.com. Mowing lawns and working as a carpenter, he earns 600 dollars there, which allow him to open Padrón Cigars in September 1964, with a single roller. Drawn by the soil and microclimate of the Estelí region in Nicaragua, which are close to those of Pinar del Río, he ships tobacco there from as early as 1967, according to the house, and sets up his production there in 1970.

In 1978, José Orlando takes part in talks with the Cuban government that lead to the release of political prisoners; Holt's writes that Miami's anti-Castro community has regarded him as a traitor ever since. According to Holt's, his Miami premises are bombed three times between 26 July 1979 and 1983, after a first bomb that had not exploded in March 1979; Omega 7, an anti-Castro group, claims responsibility for the January 1983 explosion at the Padrón factory in Little Havana (UPI), whereas padron.com mentions attempted attacks by a small group of local extortionists. In Nicaragua, the civil war destroys the Estelí factory in 1978, and the American embargo from 1985 to 1990 drives the family to produce in Danlí, Honduras, where the rolling of cigars stopped in 2007.

In 1994, the house launches the 1964 Anniversary to mark its thirty years, then the Serie 1926 for José Orlando's seventy-fifth birthday. Its farms are around Estelí. José Orlando dies in December 2017, aged 91; his son Jorge, who joined the company in 1991, was running it in November 2021, says the trade press.

Range Depth

• 1964 Anniversary Series

  Wrapper Sun-grown, natural/maduro · Strength Medium-Full

  Introduced in 1994 to mark the house's thirty years, says padron.com, first in a box-pressed form, following the Cuban tradition. Sun-grown wrapper, natural or maduro, and tobacco aged four years. Sixteen formats (length in inches x ring gauge), among them the Exclusivo 5½ x 50, the Monarca 6½ x 46, the Torpedo 6 x 52, the Presidente 6 x 50 and the Diplomatico 7 x 50.

  Exclusivo · Monarca · Torpedo · Presidente · Diplomatico

• Serie 1926

  Wrapper Sun-grown, natural/maduro · Strength Full

  Released in 2002 for the seventy-fifth birthday of José O. Padrón, says padron.com; a profile published in 2014 dates it to 2001, the year he turned 75 (he was born in June 1926). The series carries José Orlando's year of birth, writes Holt's. Tobacco aged five years, sun-grown wrapper, natural or maduro, ten formats: No.1 (6¾ x 54, length in inches x ring gauge), No.2, No.6, No.9, No.35, No.40, No.47, No.48, No.80 and No.90.

  No.1 · No.2 · No.6 · No.9 · No.35 · No.40 · No.47 · No.48 · No.80 · No.90

• Padrón Series

  Wrapper Sun-grown · Strength Medium-Full

  The Padrón Series, says padron.com: fifteen longfiller formats described as medium to full, from the Cortico to the Magnum, in sun-grown tobacco aged for a minimum of two and a half years. The 2000 (5 x 50), 3000 (5½ x 52), 4000 (6½ x 54), 5000 (5½ x 56) and 7000 (6¼ x 60) are among them.

  2000 · 3000 · 4000 · 5000 · 6000 · 7000

• Dámaso

  Wrapper Ecuadorian Connecticut · Strength Mild-Medium

  Presented at the IPCPR in July 2015, according to Cigar Coop: Padrón's first Connecticut, rolled round and not pressed, with Nicaraguan binder and filler. The house says it comes in an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, with a mild to medium profile, and names the line after Dámaso Padrón, the first Padrón to reach Cuba, from the Canary Islands, in the late nineteenth century; Cigar Coop makes him José O. Padrón's grandfather. Formats: No.8 (5½ x 46), No.12 (5 x 50), No.15 (6 x 52), No.17 (7 x 54), and two fuller-bodied Red Labels, the No.32 and No.34.

  No.8 · No.12 · No.15 · No.17 · No.32 · No.34

🥃 Pairings

• Ron Flor de Caña 18 years

  Spirits

  An aged Nicaraguan rum accompanies a cigar rolled with tobacco from Nicaragua: a pairing by country, to be served neat or with an ice cube.

• Macallan Sherry Oak 18 years

  Whisky

  The sherry of the Macallan carries on the sweet notes of a maduro wrapper: a pairing suggested for a maduro 1964 Anniversary.

• Nicaragua Single Origin

  Coffee

  A single-origin Nicaraguan coffee, not very bitter, accompanies a cigar of the same origin: a pairing by country, lighter than the spirits.

👤 Associated figures

• José Orlando Padrón

  Born on 10 June 1926 in the Pinar del Río region, he leaves Havana in April 1961, arrives in Miami in February 1962 and opens Padrón Cigars in September 1964, says padron.com. The headquarters has remained in Miami, while production moved to Estelí, Nicaragua, in 1970. He died in December 2017, aged 91; his son Jorge, who joined the company in 1991, was running it in November 2021, says the trade press.

✨ Notable limited editions

• Padrón Serie 1926 80 Years
• Padrón Family Reserve No.50
• Padrón Family Reserve No.46
• Padrón 50th Anniversary