Padrón (cigar brand)
Encyclopedia
Piloto Cigars Inc. is a privately held company
that produces the Padron cigar
brand from Nicaragua
. Commonly known as Padrón Cigars, the company was founded September 8, 1964 in Miami, Florida
by Cuba
-native José Orlando Padrón. In 1970, Padrón moved the company to Estelí
, Nicaragua
.
Padrón Cigars is managed and curated by three generations of the Padrόn family, under the leadership of José O. Padrón and Jorge Padrón. The company controls all aspects of cigar production, including tobacco
growing, sorting, processing, cigar manufacturing, and distribution. In fact, the Padrón family takes great pride in not having a salesforce and handling all of their customers needs themselves, in order to maintain the integrity and credibility behind the Padrón name: "When Padrón Is On The Label, Quality Is a Matter Of Family Honor".
(Spain) in the middle 1800s when he was a young boy. As was designated in those days, the "" (islanders) were made to work in the tobacco fields. With what little money they had, the Padrón family bought a small farm in the Pinar del Río region of Cuba, Las Obas. At that time they made $7 every 100 lbs of tobacco they cultivated in Cuba. From there, the Padrón family continued to buy farms around the Pinar del Río region including a factory in Piloto, where the name of Jose's company, Piloto Cigars, is taken from.
Jose Orlando Padrón was born in 1926 in Cuba and grew up near the Pinar del Río
region, famed for its tobacco. His family has been working in the tobacco industry since the 1850s, and, when Jose moved from Cuba in 1961 after his tobacco farm was nationalized by Fidel Castro, went to Spain, then New York, and then he brought over a century's worth of tobacco knowledge to Miami. In Miami, Jose earned $60 every month from government aid to Cuban refugees. After a friend gave him a small hammer, Jose obtained a carpentry job. It was this job that enabled him to raise the $600 dollars to start his own cigar brand and business. To this day, the little hammer has been a symbol of Jose's start as a cigar blender and manufacturer.
Padrón produced 200 cigars a day, made in typical Cuban rolling style, with one torcedor. Padrón then came to the idea of making a new cigar, the "Fuma". Made completely from Connecticut broadleaf tobacco, many bought this cigar for its curly head cap, which resembled the traditional cigars from Cuba.
It soon became very limiting to deal only with Connecticut broadleaf tobacco because of its long curing process. Padrón was approached by a man from a tobacco company in Nicaragua touring around for potential buyers, who asked him to inspect his tobacco for its quality. Padrón thought very well of his tobacco and told him to come back after his trip to Europe so he may travel to Nicaragua and inspect the tobacco and the fields. There, in the Jalapa
valley of Nicaragua, Padrón found the tobacco he would use for his cigars.
The factory in Nicaragua was rebuilt soon after the disaster, and another factory was created in Honduras. After the Sandinista rebellion and take over, there was much uncertainty at the Padrón factory as to what the workers were to do. Padrón asked them to continue working, and eventually Padrón returned to Nicaragua where he spoke to a Sandinista official, who promised him there would be no more problems with his factory.
enacted by President Reagan on Nicaraguan products. Padrón scrambled to move as much tobacco and cigars from Nicaragua to Tampa
, Florida during the 5 days allotted before the blockade took effect. He was later granted an extension by the U.S. government to continue to move his product for another 6 months, then, whatever stock he had left in Nicaragua, remained there. After the blockade lifted, Padrón shifted his main operation back to Nicaragua, where it still remains today.
In 2003, the company opened a new 12000 square feet (1,114.8 m²) rolling facility in Estelí, Nicaragua, a building twice the size of the company's previous Estelí facility. The new rolling center was the 17th building owned by Padrón in Estelí and brought the company's usable space in the city up to a total of 75000 square feet (6,967.7 m²), mostly dedicated to the storage of tobacco. At that time the company maintained an inventory sufficient for more than 25 million cigars — six years' worth of production.
The Padrón cigar company makes three different blends of cigar, all with their own unique flavor points and sizes. As a business, Padrón Cigars tries to cater to all their customers, and that means catering to all price points as well.
Padrón has received numerous awards and high ratings from many respected cigar critics, connoisseurs and aficionados. The Thousand series has received over sixty one ratings, the lowest being an 88 and the highest being a 94 on a one hundred point scale. The Padrón 1964 Anniversary blend has received sixty two ratings, the lowest being a 90 and the highest being a 95 on a one hundred point scale. The Padrón 1926 Serie blend has received twenty seven ratings, the lowest being a 90 and the highest being a 97 on a 100 point scale. The special release Padrón 1964 Anniversary "A" received a rating of 91 twice, while the newest Padrón 1964 Anniversary "Millennium" has received no ratings.
Privately held company
A privately held company or close corporation is a business company owned either by non-governmental organizations or by a relatively small number of shareholders or company members which does not offer or trade its company stock to the general public on the stock market exchanges, but rather the...
that produces the Padron cigar
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
brand from Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
. Commonly known as Padrón Cigars, the company was founded September 8, 1964 in Miami, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
by Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
-native José Orlando Padrón. In 1970, Padrón moved the company to Estelí
Estelí
Estelí, officially Villa de San Antonio de Pavia de Estelí is a city and municipality within the Estelí department. It is the third largest city in Nicaragua, an active commercial center in the north and is known as "the Diamond of the Segovias."...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
.
Padrón Cigars is managed and curated by three generations of the Padrόn family, under the leadership of José O. Padrón and Jorge Padrón. The company controls all aspects of cigar production, including tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
growing, sorting, processing, cigar manufacturing, and distribution. In fact, the Padrón family takes great pride in not having a salesforce and handling all of their customers needs themselves, in order to maintain the integrity and credibility behind the Padrón name: "When Padrón Is On The Label, Quality Is a Matter Of Family Honor".
Origins
Demaso Padrón, Jose Orlando Padrón's grandfather, immigrated to Cuba from the Canary IslandsCanary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
(Spain) in the middle 1800s when he was a young boy. As was designated in those days, the "" (islanders) were made to work in the tobacco fields. With what little money they had, the Padrón family bought a small farm in the Pinar del Río region of Cuba, Las Obas. At that time they made $7 every 100 lbs of tobacco they cultivated in Cuba. From there, the Padrón family continued to buy farms around the Pinar del Río region including a factory in Piloto, where the name of Jose's company, Piloto Cigars, is taken from.
Jose Orlando Padrón was born in 1926 in Cuba and grew up near the Pinar del Río
Pinar del Río
Pinar del Río is a city in Cuba. It is the capital of Pinar del Río Province.Inhabitants of the area are called Pinareños.Neighborhoods in the city include La Conchita, La Coloma, Briones Montoto and Las Ovas.-History:...
region, famed for its tobacco. His family has been working in the tobacco industry since the 1850s, and, when Jose moved from Cuba in 1961 after his tobacco farm was nationalized by Fidel Castro, went to Spain, then New York, and then he brought over a century's worth of tobacco knowledge to Miami. In Miami, Jose earned $60 every month from government aid to Cuban refugees. After a friend gave him a small hammer, Jose obtained a carpentry job. It was this job that enabled him to raise the $600 dollars to start his own cigar brand and business. To this day, the little hammer has been a symbol of Jose's start as a cigar blender and manufacturer.
Padrón produced 200 cigars a day, made in typical Cuban rolling style, with one torcedor. Padrón then came to the idea of making a new cigar, the "Fuma". Made completely from Connecticut broadleaf tobacco, many bought this cigar for its curly head cap, which resembled the traditional cigars from Cuba.
It soon became very limiting to deal only with Connecticut broadleaf tobacco because of its long curing process. Padrón was approached by a man from a tobacco company in Nicaragua touring around for potential buyers, who asked him to inspect his tobacco for its quality. Padrón thought very well of his tobacco and told him to come back after his trip to Europe so he may travel to Nicaragua and inspect the tobacco and the fields. There, in the Jalapa
Jalapa, Nueva Segovia
Jalapa is a municipality in the Nueva Segovia Department of Nicaragua. It is located close to the Honduras border. According to the Washington Lieutenant Governor's files, it is a sister city with Port Townsend, WA, US, which is located on the Puget Sound on the eastern coast of the Olympic...
valley of Nicaragua, Padrón found the tobacco he would use for his cigars.
Move to Nicaragua
Jose Padrón began using the Nicaraguan tobacco in 1967, but due to inability to meet the demands of his consumers, he moved his company to Estelí, Nicaragua in 1970; a country with numerous political troubles at the time. Padrón tried to remain apolitical during his stay in Nicaragua however, after riots broke out and Padrón's factory was burnt down, Jose began to search for another location for his business.The factory in Nicaragua was rebuilt soon after the disaster, and another factory was created in Honduras. After the Sandinista rebellion and take over, there was much uncertainty at the Padrón factory as to what the workers were to do. Padrón asked them to continue working, and eventually Padrón returned to Nicaragua where he spoke to a Sandinista official, who promised him there would be no more problems with his factory.
Nicaraguan blockade
A new problem arose for Padrón after making peace with the Sandinistas: the United States embargo against NicaraguaUnited States embargo against Nicaragua
The United States embargo against Nicaragua was an embargo that prohibited all trade between the U.S. and Nicaragua. It was declared by then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan on May 1, 1985. Although the embargo was a very visible measure against Nicaragua, it did not have nearly as devastating an...
enacted by President Reagan on Nicaraguan products. Padrón scrambled to move as much tobacco and cigars from Nicaragua to Tampa
Tâmpa
Tâmpa may refer to several villages in Romania:* Tâmpa, a village in Băcia Commune, Hunedoara County* Tâmpa, a village in Miercurea Nirajului, Mureş County* Tâmpa, a mountain in Braşov city...
, Florida during the 5 days allotted before the blockade took effect. He was later granted an extension by the U.S. government to continue to move his product for another 6 months, then, whatever stock he had left in Nicaragua, remained there. After the blockade lifted, Padrón shifted his main operation back to Nicaragua, where it still remains today.
Current history
Now, both Jose Orlando Padrón and his son, Jorge "George" Padrón, run the family business. As President, Jorge is moving into the director's position for the company; making more trips to visit the factories in Estelí and working on the business end of the company. It is the intent of the Padrón family that Jorge will eventually take the main leadership roll in the company one day.In 2003, the company opened a new 12000 square feet (1,114.8 m²) rolling facility in Estelí, Nicaragua, a building twice the size of the company's previous Estelí facility. The new rolling center was the 17th building owned by Padrón in Estelí and brought the company's usable space in the city up to a total of 75000 square feet (6,967.7 m²), mostly dedicated to the storage of tobacco. At that time the company maintained an inventory sufficient for more than 25 million cigars — six years' worth of production.
Product line
Padrón Series
There are fifteen vitolas in the Padrón series. Each is available in a natural and a maduro wrapper. With the exception of the Corticos, the band for all of the vitolas is brown with "Padrón" and "Handmade" in white lettering. The wrapper, filler, and binder leaves are all sun-grown habano from Nicaragua, aged two-and-one-half years.| Name | Vitola | Length (in.) | Ring Gauge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delicias | Corona Extra | 4 7/8 | 46 |
| 2000 | Robusto | 5 | 50 |
| Londres | Corona | 5 ½ | 42 |
| 3000 | Robusto | 5 ½ | 52 |
| 5000 | Robusto | 5 ½ | 56 |
| Palmas | Corona | 6 ½ | 42 |
| 4000 | Double Corona | 6 ½ | 54 |
| Panatela | Panatela | 6 7/8 | 36 |
| 6000 | Torpedo | 5 ½ | 52 |
| Ambassador | Lonsdale | 6 7/8 | 42 |
| Churchill | Churchill | 6 7/8 | 46 |
| Executive | Churchill | 7 ½ | 50 |
| Magnum | Giant | 9 | 50 |
| 7000 | Toro | 6 ¼ | 60 |
| Corticos | 4 ¼ | 35 |
Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series
In 1994, Padrón introduced the 1964 Anniversary Series, in celebration of the company's 30-year anniversary. Like the regular Padrón series, these cigars are made entirely from Nigaraguan-grown tobacco, and are available in both natural and maduro wrappers The series is limited in its production and to assure authenticity, the company labels each individual cigar with its own 6-digit serial number.| Name | Vitola | Length (in.) | Ring Gauge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diplomatico | Double Corona | 7 | 50 |
| Piramide | Pyramid | 6 7/8 | 52 |
| Exclusivo | Robusto | 5 ½ | 50 |
| Monarca | Grand Corona | 6 ½ | 46 |
| Superior | Lonsdale | 6 ½ | 42 |
| Corona | Long corona | 6 | 42 |
| Principe | Corona extra | 4 ½ | 46 |
| Imperial | Toro | 6 | 54 |
| Torpedo | Torpedo | 6 | 52 |
Padron 1926 Serie
The third and final cigar blend that Padrón offers is the Padrón 1926 Serie, created in 2002 in honor of Jose Padrón's 75th birthday. Consisting of 7 vitolas, each cigar features either a sun-grown habano natural or Maduro wrapper, and contains Nicaraguan tobacco aged for no less than five years. Just like the Padrón 1964 Anniversary blend, the Padrón 1926 Serie is box pressed and has 6 digit security codes on their bands to ensure against counterfeiting.| Name | Vitola | Length (in.) | Ring Gauge |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 35 | Rothschild (short Robusto) | 4 | 48 |
| No. 6 | Robusto | 4 and ¾ | 50 |
| No. 2 | Belicoso | 5 ½ | 52 |
| No. 9 | Robusto | 5 and ¼ | 56 |
| No. 1 | Toro | 6 and ¾ | 54 |
| 40th Anniversary | Torpedo | 6 and ½ | 54 |
| 80th Anniversary | Figurado | 6 and ¾ | 54 |
Awards/Recognition/Ratings
- 1926 Serie No. 9 was designated one of the 25 Best Cigars of 2007 by Cigar Aficionado magazine.
- 1926 Serie 40th Anniversary was designated one of the 25 Best Cigars of 2004 by Cigar Aficionado magazine.
Padrón has received numerous awards and high ratings from many respected cigar critics, connoisseurs and aficionados. The Thousand series has received over sixty one ratings, the lowest being an 88 and the highest being a 94 on a one hundred point scale. The Padrón 1964 Anniversary blend has received sixty two ratings, the lowest being a 90 and the highest being a 95 on a one hundred point scale. The Padrón 1926 Serie blend has received twenty seven ratings, the lowest being a 90 and the highest being a 97 on a 100 point scale. The special release Padrón 1964 Anniversary "A" received a rating of 91 twice, while the newest Padrón 1964 Anniversary "Millennium" has received no ratings.
External links
- Padrón Official website, padron.com/ Retrieved September 16, 2010.
- Padron Family Website