Cigar Reviews · Profile & review in progress
Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series
A Nicaraguan puro, box-pressed, with a long-standing following among cigar smokers.
The Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series is one of the most acclaimed lines in premium cigars, famous for its box-pressed shape, aged Nicaraguan tobacco, and a long run of high ratings. Here's the background ahead of our review. Cigars are for adults 21+, and we don't sell tobacco.
The Padrón story
José Orlando Padrón, a Cuban tobacco farmer's son, left Cuba and arrived in Miami in the early 1960s. In 1964, he founded Padrón Cigars in Miami's Little Havana, starting with a single roller. Around 1970, he moved much of his production to Estelí, Nicaragua, to source Cuban-seed tobacco. The company endured enormous challenges, including the Nicaraguan revolution, when its factory was burned in 1978, and the U.S. trade embargo on Nicaragua in the 1980s, during which Padrón shifted some production to Honduras. The company remains family-owned, led by Jorge Padrón since his father's passing in 2017.
Creating the 1964
For the company's 30th anniversary, José and his son Jorge set out to make a premium cigar from more aged, exceptional tobaccos. The 1964 Anniversary Series launched in 1994. It's a Nicaraguan puro — filler, binder, and wrapper all grown in Nicaragua — made from Cuban-seed tobacco. According to Padrón, all tobacco in the line is aged four years.
José Padrón chose to box-press the cigars, recalling cigars he enjoyed in Cuba. Jorge Padrón has said that, while they didn't invent the box press, few box-pressed cigars were on the market at the time. The line's success helped make box-pressed cigars common across the industry.
The cigars
- Wrapper: sun-grown Nicaraguan, offered in both Natural and Maduro.
- Binder and filler: Nicaraguan.
- Shape: box-pressed, in sixteen sizes according to Padrón, including the Exclusivo, Imperial, Principe, Diplomatico, and Torpedo.
- Band: a one-piece, individually numbered band designed as an anti-counterfeiting measure.
- Strength: commonly described as medium to full.
- Commonly cited flavor notes: cocoa, coffee, earth, cedar, and pepper. (These are published descriptions, not our tasting notes.)
Recognition
Padrón has been named Cigar Aficionado's Cigar of the Year four times, a record for the magazine's annual list, according to Cigar Aficionado. The 1964 Anniversary Series Torpedo in maduro was named Cigar of the Year in 2021, the first time a cigar from the 1964 line received that honor.
What we'll evaluate
- Construction: press, roll consistency, burn.
- Draw: box-pressed cigars can draw differently from round ones.
- Flavor: natural vs. maduro, complexity, and finish.
- Pairing notes.
Tips
- Box-pressed cigars can be easier to rest in an ashtray and often feel comfortable in the hand.
- Try both the natural and maduro to compare wrapper influence; see our wrapper guide.
- Buy from licensed tobacconists; the numbered band helps verify authenticity.
Status
No ratings have been assigned. Scores will be added after the hosts have smoked these cigars.
Related Padrón lines
Padrón also makes the Family Reserve, Serie 1926 (introduced for José Orlando Padrón's 80th birthday), and the classic Padrón brown-label line known for value. Comparing them is a good way to understand how added aging and blending change the character of Nicaraguan tobacco. Store all of them carefully; see our humidor guide.
Ratings
Ratings are editorial opinions and will be added once the hosts have spent time with this cigar. No scores have been assigned yet.
The verdict
Coming soon.
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