Brand guide
La Palina cigars
La Palina is an American cigar brand created by Samuel Paley in Chicago in 1896 and revived in 2010 by his grandson, with cigars now made in Miami and other countries.
La Palina is named for a wife on a cigar box
Samuel Paley, an immigrant from Ukraine, opened a cigar shop in Chicago in 1896 and began making a brand he called La Palina, "the female Paley."
The female Paley was Goldie Drell Paley, his wife. She appeared on the box art in Spanish costume. His company was the Congress Cigar Co. A 1921 photo on Wikipedia shows a Baltimore and Ohio railroad car packed with the cigars.
Radio made the family famous. Congress Cigar sponsored La Palina programs, including a Kate Smith show on CBS. Samuel's son William S. Paley went on to found CBS. One source gets the dates muddled: Cigar Aficionado's company page says the grandfather created the brand in the mid-1800s, which conflicts with the 1896 date the same page and other sources give.
La Palina left the family, then came back
La Palina left the family in the 1920s, when it was sold to General Cigar, according to Cigar Aficionado.
It later passed to Consolidated Cigar Corp., now part of Altadis U.S.A., and became a machine-made cigar. Bill Paley, Samuel's grandson, bought the rights back in 2009 and relaunched the name as a premium handmade brand in 2010 under a new company, La Palina Cigars.
Where are La Palina cigars made?
La Palina does not have one factory; Cigar Aficionado says it now makes cigars in all the major non-Cuban cigar-making countries.
The first modern run came from Graycliff in Nassau, the Bahamas, in small batches. Paley said he wanted a signature cigar for the family's retreat there. The Bahamas charge a 100 percent duty on imported tobacco, per Cigar Coop, and that priced the line out of practical sale. In 2015 the Family Series moved to El Titan de Bronze in Miami's Little Havana, which already made the Goldie and Mr. Sam. El Diario, a cheaper everyday line from 2011, was rolled at Fábrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas in Honduras.
Paley told Cigar Aficionado in 2011 that he wanted to work with a different cigarmaker every year or so. The brand's spread of factories follows that plan.
La Palina blends on the record
La Palina publishes few full blends, and the clearest one in our sources is the Family Series Miami.
Cigar Coop lists it as an Ecuadorian Corojo '98 wrapper, an Ecuadorian Habano binder, and Nicaraguan filler from Jalapa and Estelí. The original Bahamian Family Series was blended by Paley with Enrico Garzaroli and Avelino Lara, and Paley said the tobacco used in it is no longer available. El Diario's blend was not disclosed at launch.
| Line | Wrapper (stated) | Factory | Notable sizes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family Series Miami | Ecuadorian Corojo '98 | El Titan de Bronze, Miami | Pasha (7 x 50), Babe (5 1/4 x 50), Alison (6 x 52) |
| Goldie | Not published in our sources | El Titan de Bronze, Miami | Limited sizes by series |
| Mr. Sam | Not published in our sources | El Titan de Bronze, Miami | Not published in our sources |
| El Diario | Not disclosed | Raíces Cubanas, Honduras | Six sizes at launch |
No strength ratings are published for these lines in our sources. Cigar Aficionado's brand page also lists Illumination, El Año 1896 Oscuro, Classic, Black Label, Red Label and Maduro.
La Palina milestones
La Palina's dates run from an 1896 Chicago shop to a 2010 premium relaunch.
- 1896: Samuel Paley starts La Palina in Chicago.
- 1921: photographed by the railcar load.
- 1920s: sold to General Cigar; later held by Consolidated Cigar.
- 2009: Bill Paley buys back the rights.
- 2010: premium relaunch, first made at Graycliff in the Bahamas.
- 2011: El Diario announced, made in Honduras.
- 2015: Family Series Miami moves to El Titan de Bronze.
- 2021: 125 Años limited edition shown at the PCA trade show.
Before you buy a La Palina
La Palina sells many short runs from different factories, so the line name tells you more than the brand name does.
A Goldie from Miami and an El Diario from Honduras share a logo and little else. Check the factory on the box. The Bahamian Family Series and the Miami Family Series also share a name but not a blend. Goldie sizes change by series, so the vitola matters: a Laguito, for instance, is a long, thin shape. Look up any unfamiliar size in the cigar size chart, and see how wrapper shades compare in the wrapper color chart.
La Palina questions answered
Who owns La Palina cigars?
Bill Paley, grandson of founder Samuel Paley, bought the rights in 2009 and relaunched the brand in 2010 under his company, La Palina Cigars, per Cigar Aficionado.
What does La Palina mean?
The name means "the female Paley." Wikipedia says it refers to Goldie Drell Paley, Samuel Paley's wife, whose portrait appeared on the box art.
Where is La Palina Goldie made?
El Titan de Bronze, a small factory in Miami's Little Havana, makes the Goldie and Mr. Sam lines, according to Cigar Coop and Cigar Aficionado.
Is La Palina connected to CBS?
Yes, through the family. Samuel Paley's Congress Cigar Co. sponsored La Palina on radio, and his son William S. Paley went on to build CBS.
Where the La Palina facts come from
- La Palina, Wikipedia
- La Palina Cigars company highlight, Cigar Aficionado
- A Less Expensive La Palina, Cigar Aficionado
- La Palina Family Series Miami, Cigar Coop