Padilla Finest Hour Connecticut

Since November 2020, we have been offering the Finest Hour cigars by Padilla exclusively. They are produced by one of Nicaragua’s hottest cigar manufacturers. Ernesto Padilla moved his production from Honduras to Nicaragua in order to benefit from the outstanding tobacco reserves of A.J. Fernandez. Anyone familiar with AJ Fernandez cigars and their ratings knows that exceptional tobaccos are used here, delivering a smoking experience of the highest caliber. Thanks to our excellent personal relationship with Ernesto, we had these cigars available even before their launch in the United States. Since then, we have imported additional cigars from him and now offer those exclusively as well.

Padilla Finest Hour Cigars From Nicaragua With AJ Fernandez Tobaccos

The Padilla cigar brand has existed since 2003. Owner and master blender Ernesto Padilla was born in Cuba in 1972 and left his native island with his parents at the age of seven. His father, Heberto Padilla, was a politically left-leaning and internationally renowned intellectual who returned to Cuba after Fidel Castro came to power. Following growing disillusionment, he eventually left the country again in 1980. After graduating from university, Ernesto initially worked in marketing and graphic design. As a passionate cigar smoker, his first job was with the Perdomo cigar company in Miami, working in marketing before he and his brother Carlos founded their own business in 2003.

Ernesto Padilla: From Marketing to Renowned Master Blender

Padilla cigars were most recently rolled at the Oliva family’s tabacalera in Estelí, Nicaragua. As a result of this partnership, they originally reached Germany through the importer Wolfertz from Solingen. The cooperation with Oliva Cigars ended in the mid-2010s, and Padilla Cigars gradually faded from the German market. We met Ernesto regularly at tobacco trade shows in the United States and maintained contact with him for years, even during the quieter periods. When he re-emerged with his current cigar line, The Finest Hour, he immediately thought of us, and we began exploring how to bring his cigars into our portfolio.

The Finest Hour Connecticut, Oscuro, and Sungrown Compared

In May 2019, the time had finally come: the three lines Connecticut, Oscuro, and Sungrown, available in the Double Toro, Toro, and Robusto formats, arrived and were initially available exclusively through us. Their blends are as follows:

• Connecticut (wrapper/binder/filler): Ecuador Connecticut / Nicaragua / Nicaragua & Dominican Republic
• Oscuro (wrapper/binder/filler): Connecticut Broadleaf / Nicaragua / Nicaragua & Honduras
• Sungrown (wrapper/binder/filler): Nicaragua / Nicaragua / Nicaragua

The Connecticut is aimed at lovers of milder cigars, the Sungrown offers more flavor and intensity, while the Oscuro delivers the most punch as a Nicaraguan puro.