PADRON, A BRAND OF CIGAR FOUNDED IN 1964 BY A CUBAN IMMIGRANT, JOSÉ ORLANDO PADRÓN

Jose Orlando Padron, born in 1926, immigrated to the United States after the Cuban revolution. After working with Connecticut tobacco, he decided to expand his business by setting up production in Esteli, Nicaragua, in 1970. The political events of the country's uprising led to his factory being burned down, but José Orlando Padron quickly rebuilt it and set up a second production unit in Honduras. The United States embargo on Nicaragua forced him to move part of his tobacco production to Florida. Once the embargo was lifted, the entire production could return to Nicaraguan territory. Today, the main factory, located in Esteli, stretches over 1100m2 and has a storage area of over 7000m2. Permanent stock is about 25 million cigars, representing six months of production. Padron fully integrates the production process: from the cultivation of tobacco, to rolling and distribution. Three product lines made of Nicaraguan tobacco are found in the catalogue, : the Padron Classic Series whose tobacco has been aged for two years, the Padron 1964 Anniversary Series, a production to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the brand whose production is limited and numbered. The latest Series of the1926 Anniversary Series, created in 2002 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of José Padron consist of tobacco aged for at least 5 years.