Padrón

A family-run Nicaraguan house whose reputation rests on consistency more than novelty.

José Orlando Padrón started the company after leaving Cuba, and the family still runs it. Padrón makes Nicaraguan puros — every leaf in the blend is Nicaraguan — which is unusual and gives the whole portfolio a recognisable cocoa-and-earth signature. The other thing Padrón is known for is quality control: draw, burn and ash are dependable across boxes and across years, which is why the brand gets recommended so freely. The numbered Anniversary lines use longer-aged tobacco and cost accordingly.