Cigar Reveal #123

Padilla

Finest Hour Oscuro

peppered-steak, cinnamon, milk chocolate, oak, and a natural creamy sweetness

From Illusione's Dion Giolito's conspiracy branding to Robert Caldwell's Eastern European vibes, there are certainly plenty of interesting characters in the cigar industry, but the last twenty years Ernesto Padilla has been making the case for that top spot. His cigar journey has been a winding road of conflict, passion, drama and wonderful tobacco. It could be argued that the lack of consistency has often hindered Padilla from truly being a household name in the industry, but despite this, his outstanding cigars have been the one thing that has remained through the years. Here's a brief rundown... In 2005 Padilla cigars were made by upstart Pepin Garcia (My Father Cigars) in the small El Rey de los Habana factory in Miami. A few years later they had a falling out and Padilla took his cigars to Raices Cubana in Honduras in 2011. A year later he moved production back to Miami, this time to El Titan de Bronze, where he had worked on small projects before. And finally... *today*, the bulk of his cigars are made by AJ Fernandez in Nicaragua. As what may be the case here, truly talented people can be difficult to work with, but it's hard to argue with the final result.