PCA 2022 Report: Padrón Cigars

Over the years, Padrón Cigars has had some high-profile launches at the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) and its predecessor shows (IPCPR, RTDA). When it came to the 2022 PCA Trade Show, nothing came close to what we saw with the collaboration with Arturo Fuente for Fuente y Padrón Legends. While this might not be a cigar many of us will get to smoke anytime soon, it is a cigar that made history.

If you aren’t familiar with the Legends collaboration, it’s a project that has been in the works for a while now. The principals of the project, Jorge Padrón and Carlos “Carlito” Fuente Jr. created cigars to honor their fathers, the late José Orlando Padrón and Carlos Fuente Sr. The twist is that each principal blended a cigar to honor the other principal’s father. In other words, Jorge Padrón created a cigar to honor Carlos Fuente Sr. and Carlito Fuente created a cigar to honor Jose Orlando Padrón.

One thing many of us in the media noticed when we looked at the Trade Show layout was that the Padrón and Arturo Fuente booths were adjacent to each other. There was also a small gap between the booths that was in Arturo Fuente’s name. Many of us suspected immediately that this could be used for the rollout of the collaboration. This wasn’t confirmed until the eve of the Trade Show.

Padrón and Fuente are not known to tip their hat on many projects, so it was no surprise that the details of the Fuente y Padrón Legends project had been scarce. The two companies decided to do a launch on July 10th on the Trade Show floor in the area between the two booths. It turned out to be sheer mayhem. I don’t think either company expected a crowd nearly as large as the crowd that was received at that booth. It would have been nice for the media to have better access, but it still doesn’t take away from the historical significance of the project.

The project is spectacular, from the packaging to the cigars themselves. We don’t know much about the Fuente y Padrón Legends cigars other than they are 7 x 50 vitolas and will be packaged together. It’s even an unknown how this cigar will be ordered.

When you open the box, there are two trays containing 20 cigars each. One tray contains the blend done by Carlito Fuente in honor of José Orlando Padrón. The other contains the blend done by Jorge Padrón for Carlos Fuente Sr.

Fuente y Padrón Legends: Carlito Fuente Blend for José Orlando Padrón

Fuente y Padrón Legends: Jorge Padrón Blend for Carlos Fuente Sr.

In addition, for the second year in a row, Padrón has brought two cigars to the PCA Trade Show that will be exclusive to attendees. It’s the sixth installment of the Padrón Family Series. Dubbed the Family Reserve No. 96, it honors what would have been the 96th birthday of José Orlando Padrón. Like the previous five installments, the Family Reserve No. 96 is both available in a natural and maduro format. It’s also a cigar that is rounded and in cellophane.