Padron Cigars was founded in 1964 by Jose Orlando Padron, a Cuban exile who emigrated to Miami, Florida after the Cuban Revolution. Padron initially began making cigars in a small factory in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood, using a $600 loan to purchase equipment. The company gradually expanded, establishing manufacturing operations in Esteli, Nicaragua, where all Padron cigars are produced today. Jose Orlando Padron passed away in 2017, and the company is now led by his son, Jorge Padron.
Padron is known for its exclusive use of Nicaraguan tobacco, grown on the family's own farms in the Jalapa and Esteli valleys. The company controls every stage of production from seed to finished cigar. All Padron tobacco is aged for a minimum of two and a half years before being rolled, and the premium lines use tobacco aged significantly longer. The company's flagship product is the Padron 1964 Anniversary Series, introduced in 1994 to commemorate the brand's 30th anniversary. The 1926 Serie, launched in 2002 to honor founder Jose Orlando Padron's birth year, is the brand's ultra-premium offering.
Padron cigars have received more 90+ ratings from Cigar Aficionado magazine than any other brand, and the 1926 Serie No. 1 earned the publication's #1 Cigar of the Year award in 2004. The brand has also won the #1 spot in 2023 with the Padron 50th Anniversary. Both the 1964 Anniversary and 1926 Serie are available in Natural (sun-grown) and Maduro (dark, fermented) wrappers. The company also produces the more accessible Padron Thousand Series and the Padron Damaso line, which uses a Connecticut-seed Ecuadorian wrapper.
Padron remains a privately held, family-operated company headquartered in Miami, Florida, with all manufacturing in Nicaragua. The brand is widely regarded by enthusiasts and critics as one of the most consistent and highest-quality cigar producers in the world, with a reputation built on decades of uncompromising standards.