Cigar Aficionado

Fuente and Padrón fans eager to see the collaborative Legends humidor are going to have to wait a little longer. According to Arturo Fuente Cigar Co. and Padrón Cigars Inc., one of the shipping containers holding the humidors was “extensively damaged” on its way from the Dominican Republic to Fuente headquarters in Tampa, Florida. The damage was discovered when the humidors were unpacked at the warehouse late last week.

The second container was purportedly unscathed, but both Carlos Fuente Jr. and Jorge Padrón—respective owners of Arturo Fuente Cigar Co. and Padrón Cigars Inc.—intend on inspecting every humidor to make sure that each one is intact and pristine. 

“Each chest, each individual cigar, each portfolio simply has to be perfect,” said Fuente Jr. “In my entire life, I’ve never encountered a shipping catastrophe the likes of this. This project is about three things: ion for a shared, time-honored craft, family—two families, and integrity, honoring two great men. This project is so much bigger than simply one thing, which is why, again, each element has to be flawless.”

The humidor is a collaboration between Fuente and Padrón, who are two of the biggest, most recognizable names in the cigar business. Together, they came up with a novel idea: each would make a cigar in honor of the other’s father, and they’d do it in their own respective factories. 

Every Fuente y Padrón Legends humidor is filled with 40 Churchill-sized cigars, 20 made by Fuente in the Dominican Republic and 20 made by Padrón in Nicaragua. The Fuente cigar honors the late José Orlando Padrón while the Padrón cigar honors the late Carlos Fuente Sr. 

Cigar Aficionado has been reporting on this project both cigarmakers on the cover for September/October 2023. 

“Unfortunately, after years of planning and work we have had a setback in our Legends project. I am extremely disappointed we will have to delay its release,” said Jorge Padrón. “While these adverse situations are nothing new for either of our companies, I will look at this as a learning experience for the younger generations in our families. Our families are responding the way we were taught, working together to ensure that we see this project through to its completion being nothing short of what the two men being honored deserve.”

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