An evening with THE Jorge Padron

[Apoco]

Last night was a spectacular night. My local B&M (Burn's Tobacconist East in Chattanooga Tennessee) hosted a dinner with Jorge Padron. I got lucky enough to go alone and was able to get the 1 extra spot at Jorge's table!

The dinner consisted of standard small talk. He walked away knowing what each person at our table did (or had done) and which Padron was our most enjoyed. He is very sincere and kind with his feet firmly planted on the ground. (PS - In case you were wondering - he's a fan of JW Black label, and prefers more peaty scotches to floral scotches like Lagavulin).

He also explained why the hammer is such an important symbol to the Padron family, and the background behind it. I thought the story was very intriguing, and so that's what I'll share with you all today.

When his father (Jose Orlando Padron) first came to the US as a refugee from Cuba, the US had a Cuban Refugee Assistance Program (...I see why they didn't put that in acronym form...) to help Cubans get on their feet. It amounted to around $60 a month to help supplement whatever wages the Cubans may have had. Orlando had complained about how he felt like a "leech" for taking that hand out each month. One of the workers in the program contacted Orlando and said "I know that you mentioned that you did carpentry work before coming to the US. I have a hammer that I'll happily give you so that you may supplement your check from us each month." Orlando accepted it and got to work. Orlando used the hammer to raise the $600 he needed to form the company and begin producing Fuma (fumar is spanish for "to smoke", so fuma (I believe) would translate simply as "smoke") cigars.

I had no idea about the background of the Padron line of cigars. Now that I know the back story, I can't help but think about how insane it is to see what a huge success the company has become today. From all the way back when his father first started selling cigars for $6 per bundle of 25 (!!!) to now when his cigars are some of the most consistent and delicious cigars in the market.

It was a very fun night for us lucky 100 attendees


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[Apoco]

Forgot to mention - but as part of the event everyone got: Signed Ashtray, PAM 64, 26, Padron 6000. I enjoyed my 64 and 6000 that night around the steak dinner
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[jjirons69]

Green with envy! Glad you had a great time.

It was an AWESOME event and night!!!
He is a very genuine person. Again, awesome sticks and event!!!

[TBone]

I won't lie, I'm straight up jealeous....glad you had a great time

[HK3-]

Glad you guys had fun. Wish I didn't have to be out of town to miss this event.

Did Matt and Jason smoke their Milleniums that night?

[Apoco]

Originally Posted by HK3-

Glad you guys had fun. Wish I didn't have to be out of town to miss this event.

Did Matt and Jason smoke their Milleniums that night?

I know that Jason did not. He had about 11 cigars and wanted to really be able to tase the Millenium, so he saved it.

I don't know if Matt did or not.
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[icehog3]

Very cool night and story, Alex, thanks for sharing with us.

Sounds like a great event, its always fun to meet the people and families behind the cigars!

[gnukfu]

Sounds like a great night full of great company and fantastic cigars.