Brand guide
Padrón cigars
Padrón is a family-owned cigar company founded in Miami in 1964, and its cigars are rolled in Estelí, Nicaragua, from tobacco the family grows itself.
Padrón started with one Cuban exile in Miami
José Orlando Padrón founded the company on September 8, 1964, in Miami, Florida. Its formal name is Piloto Cigars Inc.
He was born in Cuba in 1926. The family had worked tobacco since the 1850s, after his grandfather Damaso Padrón came to Cuba from the Canary Islands. In 1961 his farm was nationalized. He left for Spain, then New York, then Miami. Three years later he was rolling cigars of his own.
The company is still private and still family. Wikipedia lists three generations in charge: José as founder and chairman, his son Jorge as president, and Orlando as vice president. José Orlando Padrón died on December 5, 2017.
Where are Padrón cigars made?
Padrón cigars are rolled in Estelí, Nicaragua, where the company moved its production in 1970.
The family started buying Nicaraguan tobacco in 1967. Three years later the whole operation went south. In 2003 it opened a 12,000 square foot rolling building in Estelí, its 17th building in the city, for about 75,000 square feet in all.
Politics got in the way once. During the US embargo on Nicaraguan goods in the 1980s, Padrón had five days to move its stock to Tampa, Florida. It went back to Nicaragua after the embargo lifted. Today the cigars ship from an office in Miami's Little Havana to tobacconists.
Padrón grows its own Nicaraguan leaf
Padrón calls itself vertically integrated: it germinates the seed, grows, cures, ferments, ages and rolls its own tobacco in Nicaragua.
The company's own walk-through goes step by step. Sun-grown habano in the field. Leaves hung on poles called cujes to dry. Piled into a pilón to ferment. Deveined, baled and aged before anyone rolls it. Each stage is explained in our guide to how cigars are made.
Aging is the number Padrón puts up front. Each line has a stated minimum, and it climbs with the line:
- Padrón Series: at least two and a half years
- 1964 Anniversary Series: four years
- 1926 Serie: five years
- Family Reserve: ten years
Padrón lines and their stated wrappers
Padrón sells five core lines, and four of them come in a choice of natural or maduro wrapper.
| Line | Wrapper (maker) | Maker's body note | Notable sizes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Padrón Series | Sun-grown, natural or maduro | Medium to full | 2000 (5 x 50), 3000 (5 1/2 x 52), Magnum (9 x 50) |
| 1964 Anniversary Series | Sun-grown natural or maduro | Not published | Exclusivo (5 1/2 x 50), Diplomatico (7 x 50), Principe (4 1/2 x 46) |
| 1926 Serie | Sun-grown natural or maduro | Full-bodied | No. 9 (5 1/4 x 56), No. 2 (5 1/2 x 52), No. 35 (4 x 48) |
| Family Reserve | Sun-grown natural or maduro | Not published | No. 45 (6 x 52), No. 50 (5 x 54), No. 85 (5 1/4 x 50) |
| Dámaso | Ecuadorian Connecticut | Mild to medium | No. 8 (5 1/2 x 46), No. 12 (5 x 50), No. 17 (7 x 54) |
Sizes are length in inches by ring gauge. Padrón's own pages print the ring first, so a "50 x 9" there is a 9 inch cigar at 50 ring. Convert any of them with the ring gauge converter.
Padrón milestones by year
Padrón's history runs from a 1964 Miami start to a fourth decade of numbered anniversary lines.
- 1964: company founded in Miami.
- 1967: first Nicaraguan tobacco.
- 1970: production moves to Estelí.
- 1994: 1964 Anniversary Series launched for the company's 30th year.
- 2002: 1926 Serie created for José Padrón's 75th birthday.
- 2003: new rolling building opens in Estelí.
- 2009: Family Reserve first made, per Wikipedia.
- 2015: 1926 Serie "Famous 75th" released, 1,500 boxes per version.
- 2017: José Orlando Padrón dies.
What to know before you buy a Padrón
Every Padrón line except Dámaso is sold in both natural and maduro, so the band alone won't tell you which wrapper is inside the box.
Shape varies by line. The 1964 Anniversary and 1926 Serie are box-pressed, with squared sides. If that's new to you, read what a box-pressed cigar is. The Padrón Series is the widest spread of sizes: 15 vitolas, from the 4 1/4 x 35 Corticos to the 9 x 50 Magnum.
Numbers matter here. The 1964 Anniversary carries a six-digit serial number. The 1926 Serie and Family Reserve carry six-digit codes on the band. Older lines age longer before release, and the stated minimum is the one fact Padrón prints for every line. Check sizes side by side in the cigar size chart.
Padrón questions
Where are Padrón cigars made?
Padrón cigars are made in Estelí, Nicaragua, where the company moved production in 1970. The office in Miami handles distribution.
Who owns Padrón cigars?
Three generations of the Padrón family run it as a private company, with Jorge Padrón as president.
Are Padrón 1964 Anniversary cigars box-pressed?
Yes. Padrón says the 1964 Anniversary Series was introduced as a box-pressed line, and the 1926 Serie is box-pressed too.
Why do some Padrón cigars have numbers on the band?
The 1964 Anniversary Series carries a six-digit serial number, and the 1926 Serie and Family Reserve carry six-digit codes on their bands, according to Wikipedia.
Where the Padrón facts come from
- Padrón (cigar), Wikipedia
- Padrón Series, Padrón Cigars
- Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series, Padrón Cigars
- Padrón 1926 Serie, Padrón Cigars
- Vertically integrated, Padrón Cigars