The cigar world has lost one of its great brand ambassadors. Cigar veteran José Orlando Padrón passed away on Tuesday, December 5th at the age of 91.
Jose Orlando Padron, aged 59, who became a millionaire manufacturing cigars in Miami’s Little Havana, 15th March 1980. A third-generation tobacco grower, he fled from Cuba as a penniless refugee when his father’s plantation was confiscated in 1961. (Photo by Alan Oxley/Getty Images)
In September 1964, Padrón Cigars was founded by Cuban émigré José Orlando Padrón. He built his new company in Miami but the family’s cigar-making roots dated back to the 1850’s. His dream was to make a cigar that reminded him of the habanos he enjoyed in Cuba and share them with the world. José O. Padrón encountered many obstacles and the company’s goals were at times interrupted by war, embargo and a failed plot to kidnap him from his cigar factory. The Padrón brand endured and they are an elite leader in the world of premium, handmade cigars. Padrón Cigars had been managed by three generations of the Padrόn family. Along with son Jorge Padrón, the company maintains control over all aspects of cigar production; tobacco growing, sorting, processing, cigar manufacturing, and distribution.
“It’s a big loss for the entire cigar world,” said Lincoln Salazar, CEO and Publisher of Cigar & Spirits Magazine. “The cigar industry is world-wide, massive, but at its heart it’s about family, celebrations, and bringing people together. The Padrón family is the embodiment of all that and their patriarch will be greatly missed. All of us at Cigar & Spirits Magazine send our condolences to Jorge and the rest of the Padrόn family.”
José Orlando Padron’s family and cigar legacy will long be remembered. The Padrón 1926 Cigars and the 1964 Anniversary Series are respected world-wide and those blends are a testament to his life and love filled with cigars and family.
José Orlando Padrón is survived by his wife, Flory; children Elizabeth, Orlando, Jorge and Lisette; grandchildren Andres, Alfonso and Natalia, Marcos and Melissa, Jeffrey, Jessica, Daniel, David, Jorge Luis, and Daniella Miranda.
