“At 89, obviously my dad has slowed down, but HE STILL COMES IN EVERY DAY .” The Padrón family, one of the preeminent clans in the cigar business, has an origin story as rich and complex as their finest smoke. started in 1880, when the Padrón ancestors emigrated from the Canary Islands to Cuba began growing tobacco, then took a dramatic turn when the clan’s patriarch, Jose Orlando, was forced to flee the Castro regime and fresh in the United States. Fifty years later, son, 47-year-old Jorge Padrón, is running show, with the thoughtful guidance of his and consigliere.
My father left Cuba in ’61. At that time, the U.S. government had this program to give all the Cubans coming in financial help and the basic goods they needed. My…
