The very eventful history of the Padron little cigars starts with a hammer, more precisely: a carpenter’s hammer. Like many of his countrymen, company founder José Padrón fled from his home country of Cuba to Florida after the revolution. As a penniless immigrant, he relies on US 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 cigars – the kind he knows from his homeland.
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 Padron little cigars.
Despite all the setbacks, giving up was never an option. They have now returned to Nicaragua and José’s son Jorge is now running the family business. In summer 2014, the German exclusive importer Kohlhase & Kopp negotiated much simpler supply channels with her. If you previously paid around twice as much for a Padrón as in the USA, the prices have adjusted, which also makes this cigar extremely attractive in terms of the price / performance ratio. Thus, they are now very cheap compared to series such as the Macanudo, Dunhill, Fuente, Rocky Patel or the Carlos Torano. The most popular Padron little cigars formats include the Churchill, the Exclusivo, the Diplomaticos and the Robusto. The German importer Kohlhase & Kopp also sells Flor de Copan, Chinchalero, Santa Damiana and Cumpay.