Padron Cigars

Padron cigars were founded in 1964 by Jose Padron, in Miami, Florida. Padron had moved to Florida from Cuba, and after only seven years he moved the company to Esteli, Nicaragua in 1970. The 1970's were hard for cigar companies that had based their business in Nicaragua because of the political unrest that had taken over the country. Under Daniel Ortega, the Sandinistas took control of the country, and became defacto ruler of Nicaragua when the FSLN (Sandinista National Liberation Front) overthrew Somoza. Times were rough for Nicaraguans, as they had just gone through a civil war, and then as if that wasn’t enough, the United States condemned the FSLN for joining sides with Cuba to support Marxist revolts in Latin America. Since President Reagan was still basking in the wonderful McCarthy era of the United States, this was something that he could not stand for, and the CIA trained rebels, known as the Contras, to oppose Ortega and the FSLN. The Pardon family was forced to open a new factory in Honduras, where they shifted some production in order to maintain the same output from their factories. On May 1st, 1985, President Reagan declared an embargo on the country of Nicaragua, which directly affected the factory that Padron had in Esteli, Nicaragua. They were forced to move all of their production to the smaller factory in Honduras until the embargo was lifted five years later.

Times were tough for the Padron family. They lived in a one bedroom apartment above the cigar factory and worked long days. The living conditions in the cities which the factories were located weren’t that great either, and there was actually a plot to kidnap Jose Padron, which was foiled. The authorities discovered the layout of the entire factory, as well as his apartment. Through all of this, Padron cigars have been the main focus of the family, and the quality of their cigars has proved this. Most of the market for Padron cigars was Cubans in Miami, Florida, during the 1980's, and it wasn’t until 1993 when Padron went to their first trade show, that their target audience changed. Everyone thought that Padron cigars were too strong, and that no one would want a sun-grown wrapper, which has ironically made Padron cigars famous. Also, the fact that Padron cigars aren’t that expensive has turned off some people, because they associate a high dollar per stick ratio to mean quality, which isn’t the case as we all know. Since the inception of their company, Padron has only had three major lines: (not including the new 40th Anniversary cigar, or the Millennium Series which are currently both limited in production) the original Padron, the 1964 Anniversary and the 1926 Anniversary.

The classic Padron cigar is something that is well respected and revered throughout the cigar industry as an excellent, well-priced, complex cigar. Padron handles all the aspects of the creation of their cigars. No company is a middle man for Padron cigars, as they handle their own production, and distribution. These medium-full bodied cigars are made in either the Tabacos Cubanica factory in Esteli, Nicaragua or Tabacos Centroamericanos in Danli, Honduras. Every cigar in the classic Padron line is offered in Natural, as well as Maduro. The tobacco that is used for the binder and filler are both Nicaraguan. For a regular everyday smoke in the Cuban tradition, try a box of the classic Padron today!

For Padron’s 30th Anniversary, they released the Padron 1964 Anniversary cigar. Padron wanted to come out with a cigar that was aged much longer, was a different blend, and had different composition. The idea was also to create a box-pressed cigar in the 1940's Cuban tradition, which was something that wasn’t that common when the Padron 1964 Anniversary was released. Since this cigar came out, it has been an overwhelming success for Padron, and we can’t stress enough how fast these boxes fly off our shelves. Don’t hesitate to give us a call at 1-888-41-CIGAR to find out the availability of these elite, rare cigars.

For the latest, most coveted Padron cigar, the Padron 1926 Anniversary cigar was released to commemorate the 75th birthday of Jose Padron. The idea was to create a more full-bodied cigar than the Padron 1964 Anniversary cigar, and to select even rarer tobacco leaves. The Padron 1926 Anniversary is argued by some to be even more complex than the 1964 cigar. One thing is for sure, Padron goes about creating these cigars the right way, they don’t concentrate on quantity, but instead on quality. They could sell double the amount of Anniversary cigars that they do if they wanted to, but they want to maintain the consistent quality that has made the Padron cigar what it is today. Don’t hesitate to give us a call to ask about our stock on these rare cigars, and we promise we will work with you to have whatever box of Padron you want at your doorstep at the soonest possible time.