At the beginning of the extremely eventful history of Padron little cigars, there is a hammer, more precisely: a carpenter’s hammer. Like many of his compatriots, company founder José Padrón fled from his home country of Cuba to Florida after the revolution. As a penniless immigrant, he relies on US $ 60 monthly support to help him and his family survive. His job search is initially unsuccessful and Padrón is increasingly concerned about the future. A hammer, which his friend Raul from the Cuban refugee office gives him, will ensure the happy turning point in his life.
“El martillito” – “the hammer” – becomes the tool that Padrón uses to gain a foothold in the United States. During the day he works as a gardener, at night as a carpenter, driven by his big dream: he wants to make Padron little cigars – the kind he knows from his homeland. When he saved $ 600, the time had come: In 1964 he opened his own factory in Miami; six years later he moves production to Nicaragua.
Today Padrón is at the forefront of his guild, the American trade magazine “Cigar Aficionado” has once again named a Padron little cigars brand product as the best cigar in the world. But the way there was by no means easy: During the civil war in Nicaragua, the factory burned to the ground and the company’s headquarters in Miami was the target of several bombings. When President Reagan imposed a trade embargo on Nicaragua in the 1980s, manufacturing temporarily had to move to Honduras, and devastating Hurrican Mitch, which swept across Central America in 1998, did not stop at the Padrón fields.
Classic Padron little cigars consist of Nicaraguan sungown tobacco that has been matured for at least two years, either in a light natural or in the darker Maduro wrapper. The range is supplemented by exclusive special editions, such as the “Padrón 1964 Anniversario”, which was published on the occasion of the company anniversary or the “Padrón Series 1926 Anniversary” in honor of the birthday of company founder José.
By the way: The hammer has long had a place of honor in the company. Even if tobacco has long been the bread of the family, the Padróns know what they owe to “el martillito”.