Padron 50th Anniversary Maduro cigar Review

• published: 09 Jun 2015
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Padron 50th anniversary cigar (Maduro)Review Origin : Nicaragua Format : Doubal Robusto Size : 6.5 x 52 Wrapper : Nicaragua Binder : Nicaragua Filler : Nicaragua Hand-Made For the past few years, there has been a growing amount of speculation as to what Padrón would have in store for its 50th anniversary, which was celebrated in 2014. New versions of the Padrón Family Reserve, which had become the company’s headlining release at the annual IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, were absent from the 2012 and 2013 shows, and while there was no shortage of traffic and a few new products, it was clear that the focus was on celebrating the company’s 50th anniversary, occurring in 2014. It has been a long and interesting journey for the company, founded in 1964 by José Orlando Padrón after leaving Cuba and settling in Miami. The story is best told by José Padrón himself, and is featured on the company’s website: In 1962, I arrived in Miami, an unknown city in a foreign land. I had to start from zero. At first, I received $60 monthly, as government aid given to Cuban refugees. I was thirty-six years old, strong, and in good health. Every time I cashed that check, I felt like a burden on the country that had taken me in. For many days, I looked for a job and did not find one. Every night, I went home and thought of the future. I was determined to do something so that I could support my family.One day Raul Fernandez, a friend who worked in the Cuban Refugee Office asked if I had any carpentry skills. I said I did. He gave me a gift—a small hammer—which he asked me to put to good use. The hammer made me feel I had the necessary tool to become self-sufficient and not depend on a government hand-out. During the days, I worked as a gardener. At nights, I did carpentry with the hammer.My dream was to save enough money to open a factory to make great cigars, like the ones we used to smoke in Cuba. Through a lot of sacrifice and hard work, I managed to save $600—money I made working with the hammer. With that, I made my dreams come true and opened Padrón Cigars in 1964.I still have the hammer as a reminder of how it all started. More than forty years later…The hammer is still here and so is Padrón Cigars, the brand the hammer helped build.—José O. Padrón Along the way, Padrón went from making small cafeteria cigars to opening Tabacos Cubanica in Nicaragua in 1970, which was burned down during a civil war on May 24, 1978. That October, José Padrón went to Cuba to meet with Fidel Castro in hopes of getting political prisoners released; as a result his Miami offices were bombed. In 1979 the company moved operations to Honduras after the Sandinistas take power in Nicaragua and interrupt the company’s operations. That same year another bomb is planted at the company’s Miami headquarters and destroys the north side of the building, while the company moved production back to Nicaragua. The 1980s were kicked off with another bombing and graffiti scrawled on the company’s Miami headquarters, with another bomb detonated in 1983. The company endured the U.S. embargo against Nicaragua from 1985-1990, forcing production back to Honduras. It wasn’t until 1994 that the company released its first high-priced premium cigar, the 1964 Anniversary Series, a line still highly regarded and available in humidors around the world. The 1926 Series launched in July 2002 in celebration of José Padron’s 75th birthday, followed up by the company’s 40th anniversary cigar released in 2006 and the 1926 Serie 80th Anniversary in 2007. That same year, the Padrón Family Reserve debuted with the No. 44, a line that has since grown to five release with the No. 45, No. 46, No. 85 and this year’s No. 50. But while the Padrón Family Reserve No. 50 would have been the headlining cigar in other years, it was overshadowed by another cigar. The Padrón 50th Anniversary Limited Edition was one of the most talked about releases at the trade show: a release of just 1,000 humidors, each containing 50 cigars and both are incredibly gorgeous, with the former designed by the noted designer Nelson Alfonso and made by Golden Age. In addition, a limited edition lighter and ashtray were designed and produced by S.T. Dupont. As is fitting given the roots of the company, the hammer design is prominently featured throughout the release, as well as within the name of the cigar. Each humidor and cigar is individually numbered, so much so that each humidor indicates which cigars are inside. But as I wrote about in my coverage of the Padrón booth at the 2014 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, a few of the humidors are being held onto by the company, including #8, since the company was founded on Sept. 8, 1964. A full list of the reserved humidors has not been released by the company.