Padilla Cigars
Within the Padilla Cigar Company Ernesto handles product development and marketing, while Carlos handles administration and management. [7] Much of the graphic arts in the brand advertising, including band designs, is done by Coolbirth, Inc.
Padilla Cigar Co. is what is referred to as a "boutique" brand, i. e., a small company of limited production and distribution. This allows such a company to concentrate on achieving a high quality product. In the case of Padilla Cigars, they have chosen to concentrate on using very rare and limited Cuban-seed first generation tobaccos in almost all their blends, [8] production numbers are therefore also naturally limited.
In developing the blends used in Padilla cigars, Ernesto worked closely with several recognized experts, including master blender José "Don Pepin" García and Gilberto Oliva. [8] The results are easily seen, for in the short time that the company has been in existence, it has become recognized in the premium cigar industry as one of the leading boutique cigar companies, [5] and its cigars have been consistently been given high ratings. [9]
In 2008, Padilla parted company with García due to the latter's expanding commitments to other cigar makers. [10] Padilla opened up his own 2,000-square-foot (190 m2) manufacturing facility in the Little Havana section of Miami, Florida, to which production of Padilla's "Miami", "Signature 1932", and "1948" cigars was shifted. [10] Production of other Padilla-branded products continued under the auspices of other cigar makers, with the "Serie 1968" made in Honduras by Tabacalera Aguilar and the "Padilla Habano" made in Nicaragua by A.J. Fernandez. [10]
The company currently has several brands in regular production and makes special, limited release cigars from time to time as well as occasional custom brands.
2012 revamping
In May 2012 Ernesto Padilla announced a major change in the Padilla lineup. Four of Padilla's flagship products were to be discontinued, including the Signature 1932, Miami, Dominus, and the newly introduced Artemis, with these to be replaced by new Miami-made lines called Invictitus and Miami Maduro, as well as a Nicaraguan-made lines to be known as Padilla Reserve and Premier Cru. [11] The small El Titán de Bronze factory owned by Sandra Cobras was named as the maker of Padilla's Miami-based production, while a move was made from the Tabacalera Tropical factory to the TABOLISA facility in Estelí for manufacture of the company's new Nicaraguan line. [11] The TABOLISA factory is the same used by Oliva Cigar Company for the manufacture of its products. [11]
Late in 2011 another new line called Padilla Legacies was introduced, made in the Tabacalera Tropical factory for exclusive distribution by mailorder giant E.P. Thompson & Co. [12] This new line was to be unaffected by Padilla's 2012 move from Tabacalera Tropical to TABOLISA. [11]
Regular production lines (as of 2015)
- Padilla Maduro
- Padilla Hybrid
- Padilla Miami
- Padilla Signature 1932
- Padilla Obsidian
- Padilla Crianza
- Padilla Dominus
- Padilla Artemis (released May 2011) [13]
- Padilla La Terraza (released May 2011) [13]
- Padilla Legacies
- Padilla 8 & 11
- Padilla La Reserva
- Padilla Vintage Reserve (released 2013) [14]
- Gallery of cigar band designs by Ernesto Padilla
Padilla Edición Especial Achilles
old design
Special production cigars
Ernesto has produced several special cigars that took advantage of some special small-crop tobaccos by creating a series of very limited editions which he called Edición Especial. These are briefly listed below.
- Padilla Edición Especial en Cedro. This was a Toro Grande (6 x 52) and had a Connecticut wrapper surrounding tobaccos from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Peru. Each cigar was given a cedar sleeve.
- Padilla Edición Especial Obsidian. With a very deep black Nicaraguan ligero maduro wrapper, the Obsidian (a Toro, 6 x 54) was filled with Honduran Corojo from Jalapá mixed with dark, Nicaraguan tobaccos grown in Estelí, Nicaragua. Initial release was limited to 50,000 cigars, but it was later (late 2007) re-introduced as an exclusive to a single retailer, this time as a 6 x 54 Belicoso. This new version is made at Pepin Garcia's Nicaraguan factory, TACUBA.
- Padilla Edición Especial Achilles. This cigar was manufactured in Pepin Garcia's factory at Estelí, Nicaragua, Tabacalera Cubana. Production was limited to 60,000 of only one size, a Toro (6" x 50). A full-bodied cigar, the wrapper is a Corojo. Despite the low production numbers, it was reasonably priced.
- Padilla/Studio Tabac Special Edition Figuaro. Special production 2011 collaboration project between Padilla and Oliva Cigar Company, with a very limited one year production of 1,000 boxes of 10 cigars in a figurado vitola. [15]
Cohiba is a brand for two kinds of premium cigar, one produced in Cuba for Habanos S.A., the Cuban state-owned tobacco company, and the other produced in the Dominican Republic for US-based General Cigar Company.
Altadis is a Spanish-French multinational purveyor and manufacturer of cigarettes, tobacco and cigars. It was formed via a 1999 merger between Tabacalera, the former Spanish tobacco monopoly and SEITA, the former French tobacco monopoly. Through its international holdings, including ownership of the former Consolidated Cigar Holdings and half ownership of the Cuban state tobacco monopoly, Habanos S.A., Altadis was the largest producer of mass market and premium cigars in the world, as well as the fourth largest producer of tobacco products.
Montecristo is a brand of cigars and cigarettes produced separately and independently in Cuba by Habanos S.A., the national tobacco company, and in La Romana, Dominican Republic by Altadis, a subsidiary of British conglomerate Imperial Brands.
Bolívar is the name of two brands of premium cigar, one produced on the island of Cuba for Habanos SA, the Cuban state-owned tobacco company, and the other produced in the Dominican Republic from Dominican and Nicaraguan tobacco for General Cigar Company, which is today a subsidiary of Scandinavian Tobacco Group. Both are named for the South American revolutionary, Simón Bolívar.
Arturo Fuente is a cigar brand founded by Arturo Fuente, Sr. in 1912 in West Tampa, Florida. Following a catastrophic fire in 1924, the brand had a production freeze for 22 years, reemerging in 1946 on a limited, local basis. Ownership was transferred to Arturo's younger son, Carlos Fuente, Sr. in 1958. Following the 1960 United States embargo of Cuba, the Fuente brand began a period of slow and steady growth, emerging as one of the most critically acclaimed makers of hand-rolled premium cigars outside of Cuba. As of 2010, the company was producing 30 million cigars per annum from its factory in the Dominican Republic.
Quai d'Orsay is a premium cigar brand, made in Cuba under contract with Habanos SA.
Havana Soul is a brand of cigar owned by Cigar King, Inc. and created by José "Pepin" Garcia. It is manufactured in Little Havana, Miami, Florida at the El Rey de los Habanos factory.
Don José "Pepin" Garcia is the CEO of El Rey de los Habanos, Inc, a cigar company in Miami, also known as My Father Cigars. He is a noted cigar maker living in Miami, Florida. Born in Cuba, he is a master cigar roller and blender, and the creator and maker of numerous popular cigar brands.
Tatuaje is a brand of handmade premium cigar owned by Tatuaje Cigars, Inc. It was founded by Pete Johnson, with the assistance of José Garcia. The cigars are manufactured at the El Rey de los Habanos factory in Miami, Florida, and at Tabacalera Cubana S. A. (TACUBA) in Estelí, Nicaragua. Tatuaje also has a Private Social Club called “Saints & Sinners” which was created in 2011. In 2011, Tatuaje created the private social club "Saints & Sinners".
Don Pepín García is a brand of handmade premium cigar owned by El Rey de los Habanos, Inc.
Piloto Cigars Inc. is a private company that produces the Padrón cigar brand from Nicaragua. Commonly known as Padrón Cigars, the company was founded in September 8, 1964, in Miami, Florida, by Cuban-native José Orlando Padrón. In 1970, Padrón moved the company to Estelí, Nicaragua.
Oliva Cigar Co. is the manufacturer of several brands of cigars primarily grown and produced in Nicaragua and sold internationally. Melanio Oliva began growing tobacco in Pinar del Río, Cuba, in 1886. In 1964, in the aftermath of the 1959 Cuban Revolution, Melanio's grandson Gilberto Oliva emigrated with his family to Spain before eventually moving to Nicaragua and re-entering the tobacco business. In 1995, Gilberto and his son, Gilberto Jr., launched the Gilberto Oliva brand, which became Oliva Cigar Co. The company is currently based in Miami Lakes, Florida.
Perdomo is a brand of cigars primarily grown and produced in Nicaragua and sold worldwide by Tabacalera Perdomo. Manufactured by Perdomo Cigars, the company is a family owned and operated business headquartered in Miami Lakes, Florida and headed by CEO Nick Perdomo, Jr.
Tabacalera Fernandez, best known to the English-speaking world as A.J. Fernandez Cigars, is a maker of cigars primarily grown and produced in Nicaragua and sold worldwide. The company is run by Abdel J. Fernandez, a third generation cigarmaker, and is a prominent manufacturer of cigars sold under a variety of labels, including "Man O'War," "Diesel," and "San Lotano".
Nestor Plasencia Sr. (born October 8, 1949 is a tobacco grower and cigar maker of Cuban descent whose factories in Honduras and Nicaragua produce over 30 million cigars a year. Contracting out the use of his factories to Rocky Patel and other leading brands, Plasencia remains one of the leading figures in the Central American cigar industry.
Joya de Nicaragua, S.A., established in 1968, is the oldest brand of cigars made in Nicaragua. The company continues to manufacture its products today from its headquarters in Estelí. Today it is a major manufacturing center of handmade cigars.
José Blanco is the former Senior Vice President of the oldest Nicaraguan cigar company, Joya de Nicaragua S.A., in Estelí, Nicaragua, and the former Sales Director of La Aurora, the oldest Dominican cigar company in Santiago, Dominican Republic.
Gispert is the name of two premium cigar brands, one previously manufactured in Cuba for Habanos S.A., the Cuban state-owned tobacco company, and the other in Honduras for the Franco-Spanish tobacco monopoly Altadis S.A., a division of Imperial Tobacco.
Boutique Blends Cigars, formerly the Habana Cuba Cigar Company, is an American manufacturer of premium hand-rolled cigars based in Miami, Florida. The company was established in 1996 during the American cigar boom as the non-Cuban manufacturer of the historic Cuban "Oliveros" brand. The company was sold in 2002 to a new ownership group consisting of the Cuban-born Rafael Nodal, his wife Alina Cordoves Nodal, and Hank Bischoff.
Padilla Miami
Padilla Hybrid
Padilla Maduro
Padilla Habano
Padilla Habano
Signature 1932
Padilla 1948
Padilla Edición Especial Achilles
