Ernesto Padilla (born 1972 in
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. ,
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
) is a Cuban-American artist,
graphic designer and cigar maker. He is the son of
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
n poet,
Heberto Padilla.
Early life
Padilla was born to
Heberto Padilla, a Cuban writer and poet, and his wife, the artist and poet
Belkis Cuza Malé
Belkis Cuza Malé (born 1942) is a Cuban-American writer, journalist, and painter, best known for her poetry.
Biography
She studied literature at the University of Santiago de Cuba beginning in December 1964. After marrying her first husband, s ...
. Heberto Padilla was out of favor with the government of
Fidel Castro at the time of Ernesto's birth, and the family was living under
house arrest in an apartment in the
Marianao
Marianao is one of the 15 municipalities or boroughs (''municipios'' in Spanish) in the city of Havana, Cuba. It lies 6 miles southwest of the original city of Havana, with which it is connected by the Marianao railway. In 1989 the municipality had ...
neighborhood of Havana.
In 1979, Padilla and his mother were allowed to leave Cuba for the United States.
[Short biography](_blank)
online a
''Testimonio Cubano''
/ref> His father, Heberto, was not allowed to leave Cuba until 1980. They initially settled in Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
,[''per'' Frank Santos, Padilla Cigar Co., ''in litt.'', 12 Feb 2007.] but later moved to Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...
.
Early career
After graduating from high school in Princeton, New Jersey, Ernesto embarked upon a career in the graphic arts, and studied at several schools, including the Art Institute of Philadelphia, the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale
The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale is a former for-profit art and culinary school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida which closed in 2018. The school was one of a number of Art Institutes, a franchise of for-profit art colleges with many branches in ...
and the Miami School of Design. He has participated in numerous art exhibitions throughout the USA and currently has works at ''The Gallery of Cuban Art'' a
La Casa Azul
in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...
.
After completing his schooling, Ernesto began working in advertising, working on various major accounts.[Moretti, Michael. ''Ernesto Padilla, Owner, Padilla Cigars'', interview. ''Cigar Insider'', 7 June 2005, p. 7.] He moved to Miami to take a job with Tabacalera Perdomo
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 ...
, where he was involved in marketing and product development.
Transition to cigar maker
He himself had not been involved in the cigar and tobacco industry prior to his work at Perdomo, but he comes from a family that had been deeply involved in tobacco in Cuba. His great-grandparents had owned a tobacco plantation in the Pinar del RÃo
Pinar del RÃo is the capital city of Pinar del RÃo Province, Cuba. With a population of 139,336 (2004) in a municipality of 190,332, it is the 10th-largest city in Cuba. Inhabitants of the area are called ''Pinareños''.
History
Pinar del RÃ ...
region of Cuba, and his father had grown up on it.[Interview with Ernesto Padilla](_blank)
, Cigar.com Newsletter, December 6, 2006 issue. Ernesto attributes his love of cigars and the tobacco business to his father: "He always had a passion for cigars. He was like a secondary ambassador for cigars…I always loved it, always loved the business because of that." Coming from a tobacco family, Ernesto knew or was acquainted with many people in the tobacco growing world. Working for Perdomo served to solidify these connections, and in time, he struck out on his own.
On 24 April 2003, Ernesto and his brother Carlos incorporated as Padilla Cigar Company, and embarked on a new career as cigar makers.
Padilla Cigars
Within the Padilla Cigar Company Ernesto handles product development and marketing, while Carlos handles administration and management. 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, 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" GarcÃa and Gilberto Oliva.[Diaz, David (Dr. StogieFresh)]
Interview
with Ernesto Padilla. 27 Feb 2007. 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, and its cigars have been consistently been given high ratings.
In 2008, Padilla parted company with GarcÃa due to the latter's expanding commitments to other cigar makers.[David Savona, "Padilla and Pepin Parting Ways", ''Cigar Aficionado'', February 25, 2008.] Padilla opened up his own manufacturing facility in the Little Havana section of Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, to which production of Padilla's "Miami", "Signature 1932", and "1948" cigars was shifted. 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
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
by A.J. Fernandez.
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.[Charlie Mintano]
"Ernesto Padilla Plans Major Portfolio Makeover,"
''Halfwheel,'' May 28, 2012. 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 Estelà for manufacture of the company's new Nicaraguan line. The TABOLISA factory is the same used by Oliva Cigar Company for the manufacture of its products.
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.[Charlie Mintano]
"Padilla Legacies to Be Thompson Exclusive,"
''Halfwheel,'' November 18, 2011. This new line was to be unaffected by Padilla's 2012 move from Tabacalera Tropical to TABOLISA.
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)["2011 New Releases,"]
''Halfwheel,'' www.halfwheel.com/
* Padilla La Terraza (released May 2011)
* Padilla Legacies
* Padilla 8 & 11
* Padilla La Reserva
* Padilla Vintage Reserve (released 2013)["Padilla to release the new Padilla Vintage Reserve at the 2013 IPCPR,"](_blank)
''Blind Man's Puff,'' www.blindmanspuff.com/
Image:Padilla-Miami.jpg,
Image:Padilla-hybrid.jpg,
Image:Padilla Maduro.jpg,
Image:Padilla-Habano---old-design.jpg,
Image:Padilla-Habano.jpg,
Image:Padilla-Signature-1932.jpg,
Image:Padilla-1948.jpg,
Image:Padilla achilles.jpg,
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
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
wrapper surrounding tobaccos from Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
, the Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
and Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
. Each cigar was given a cedar
Cedar may refer to:
Trees and plants
*''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae
*Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar
Places United States
* Cedar, Arizona
* ...
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 EstelÃ
Estelà (), officially Villa de San Antonio de Pavia de Estelà is a city and municipality within the Estelà department. It is the 3rd largest city in Nicaragua due to the high urbanization of its municipality, at 83%, with an urban population of ...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
. 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
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 creat ...
's Nicaraguan factory, TACUBA
Tacuba is a municipality in the Ahuachapán department of El Salvador.
Church Of Tacuba
It is located in Villa of Tacuba. It is head of the municipality of the same name in the department of Ahuachapán, at about 14 Kilometers of the city of Ahu ...
.
* ''Padilla Edición Especial Achilles''. This cigar was manufactured in Pepin Garcia
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 creat ...
's factory at EstelÃ, 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.[Brian Hewitt]
"Padilla Studio Tobac Special Edition Figurado,"
Stogie Review, May 16, 2012. www.stogiereview.com/
Planned lines
* Padilla Legacies[Charlie Minato]
"State of the Brand: Padilla,"
''Halfwheel,'' January 27, 2011.
Footnotes
See also
* List of cigar brands
This is an alphabetical list of cigar brands. Included is information about the company owning the brand name as well as a column allowing easy viewing of the source of that information.
If a brand name begins with the English word "The" or its S ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Padilla, Ernesto
Businesspeople in the tobacco industry
Living people
1972 births
People from Havana