Ernesto Padilla was born in Cuba to a pair of talented literary parents. Padilla’s mother was a poet and his father an award-winning writer/poet, who, because they voiced their unvarnished opinions of the Cuban government, were branded “counter-revolutionaries” in Cuba and jailed for their outspoken views against the Castro regime.

 

Ernesto has traversed a hard and indirect path to the United States and, eventually, the cigar industry. After a short stint working for the Perdomo Cigar Company, Ernesto Padilla set out to accomplish his dream of creating his own premium cigar brand.

 

I recently contacted Ernesto and he graciously accepted my request for an interview. What you will read in the paragraphs below is about a man who has a clear vision and an intense passion for creating sublime cigars and who has succeeded in bringing his brand to the forefront of a cigar industry that is full of proud traditions and fine cigars.

 

DOC: Many people know you were born in Cuba, but when did you come to the United States and under what conditions?

 

ERNESTO:  In 1979, Fidel Castro allowed me to leave with my mother from Cuba. My father was one of Cuba’s most famous intellectuals for both his writing and poetry and knew Castro well from his college years. An attribute to my father’s career was his ability to travel, especially to many different countries; Europe in particular, which opened his eyes to many different economies and political standards, which in turn opened his eyes to the failures of Cuba and communism.

 

In that time, my father began gaining popularity throughout the world for his works and shortly after published a book known as “Fuera del Juego,” [“Out of the Game”] which received an international prize; resulting in an uproar within the Castro regime. My father was arrested and detained along with my mother; who was later released due to international pressure on the Castro regime.

 

 

DOC: Can you tell us about how your experience as an immigrant has shaped your desire to succeed and how your family has also figured into your success?

 

ERNESTO: Honestly, I am like anyone else that has come to this country to succeed, and believe I am offered the same opportunities as anyone else. As a young adult, I am able to do some things that I would have never dreamed possible especially with my personal hardships linked to Cuba.

 

DOC: You are solely responsible for blending of several of your cigar lines; can you describe the typical process that you take for blending cigars? How long does it usually take and what are the steps in creating a great blend?

 

ERNESTO:  Blending a cigar is extremely time consuming, and requires an infinite amount of detail to create a specific blend. For example our first cigar, the “Miami 8&11” consisted of a blend we created with Pepin Garcia and took roughly six months to blend the cigar, and throughout that waiting period we began bouncing around ideas of what the cigar should stand for, meaning all the factors that contribute to the blend of the cigar such as the strength, complexity, aroma and size. Usually, we begin with a traditional size, such as the Toro or Robusto and blend each cigar according to its size or shape or “Vitola” as we refer to in Spanish.

 

 

A unique process used by Pepin dated back to his days in Cuba, which involved a specialized fermentation process, which lends to each cigar unique characteristics. With our new Padilla Signature 1932, we were looking to create a full-bodied Cuban style cigar like those from Bolívar. Pepin brought out some unique techniques, which I am not at liberty to discuss, that made our 1932 fuller-bodied, balanced, smooth, and enjoyable to smoke.  Overall the process is very fun yet time consuming.

 

DOC: How difficult is it to find enough premium tobacco for your cigar lines and what are your current production numbers?

 

ERNESTO: We use very rare and limited Cuban seed first generation tobaccos in almost all our blends. Our wrappers are some of the most expensive on the market and require careful work to bring out the best in them. Hence we can only produce a limited amount of these cigars. Our production numbers have changed from year to year, and all I can say is currently there are only about 300 retailers that carry Padilla products and we try to keep up with the demand of our products, but keep in mind that the Padilla Miami 8&11 only has 10 Cuban rollers all trained by Pepin Garcia to produce this limited cigar.

 

We also set out to work with the Oliva family to create the Padilla Habano, which is created in the Oliva factory in Nicaragua. One of the reasons we began working with Gilberto Oliva and his sons is the quality and inventory of tobacco they have on-hand. We use some of the highest primings and limited tobaccos from the Oliva family who grow a tremendous amount of tobacco on their own farms in Nicaragua. We wanted to create a Cuban style cigar at a great value and have achieved this, and the ratings have also been a testament to that. All our cigars have been rated 90 or above, and for 2 years straight we have been named one of the “Top 25 “cigars in the world. The true success is when I’ve done events and cigar smokers have commented on how enjoyable and unique the cigars have been.

 

DOC: What are the things that excite you about your job? What are the factors that keep you focused and challenged?

 

ERNESTO: Honestly, developing and packaging unique blends is one of my favorite aspects. Although, I also enjoy having the opportunity to work with older Cubans who have an immense amount of experience in both the industry and life and I feel that I am constantly learning from these individuals. As far as focus and challenge, it is a constant challenge to make a consistent cigar, to blend it correctly and to release it to the marketplace. Overall this job is very unique, and I got involved in this industry because I love cigars, smoke cigars and enjoy sharing them with people.

 

DOC: What projects are you working on that the consumer can look for in 2007 and beyond?

 

ERNESTO: We are working on a Maduro blend right now, slightly box pressed as well as more unique connoisseur-sized cigars cigars such as petite Corona’s, Lancero’s and Figurado’s in all our lines.

 

Beyond 2007 is simple. I was born in Cuba, I left with my family when I was six years old and have been very fortunate to take advantage of the opportunities we are offered in this country. However, I am definitely planning on returning when there is a democratic elected government in Cuba. I still have family that cultivate tobacco on our family’s land, and hope to be smoking Cuban Padilla’s in the near future.