The Padrón 46th Anniversary

On September 7, 2010 almost two hundred cigar lovers gathered at the Grand Havana Room in New York City to celebrate the Padrón family’s 46 years of cigar making, along with Tobacconist University.  These are the speeches delivered that evening: first an introduction by the President of Tobacconist University (TU), Jorge Armenteros, CMT and then a speech written by José Orlando Padrón and delivered in conjunction with his son Jorge Padrón.

On this evening we introduced the Padrón Family Reserve No. 46 cigar to the world.  And while most companies would encourage as much media coverage as possible, the Padróns wanted to host an intimate evening with family, friends, and their most passionate customers.  Thankfully, these videos were captured by TU staff for posterity and historical reference; which explains the low light.  Fortunately, we have been granted permission to post these here and share them with you.  If you ever wanted to get into the hearts and minds of the Padrón family, this is your opportunity.  Here are the extraordinary moments and speeches that marked this very special anniversary.

Our Vision

To build and project the credibility of the luxury tobacco industry in order to gain cultural acceptance around the world – preserving luxury tobacco for generations to come.

    

We have just finished  re-crafting our Vision to better communicate the long-term goals of Tobacconist University.   While our Mission is tailored to serve tobacconists and consumers, our broadest goal is to help preserve our industry for generations to come.  And the last decade has proven how difficult the challenges we face really are.  Legislation, taxation, smoking bans, and tobacco de-normalization have moved forward at an astounding rate because the culture we live in has turned against us.  Clearly, these are not the ‘glory’ years of the mid-1990s when Cigar Aficionado glamorized cigar smoking; those customers are long gone or ‘in the closet’ smokers today.

    

While the IPCPR and CRA battle on the economic and political fronts, there is much more to accomplish in order to sustain our industry.  Cigar and pipe smokers comprise a mere 5% of the population, so we must build and promote our credibility outward, into the society we live in, to survive.   If you don’t believe that, just think of what the last ten years have brought, and then consider the next ten years…

 

  

    

“We now stand upon the brink of a precipice from whence the smallest help plunges us headlong.” – Gen. George Washington

    

TU and our industry need your help to change the culture.  Get Educated!  Get Certified!  And participate with TU in making a substantive difference!