Big Smoke Meets WhiskyFest Seminars
The audience at the Big Smoke Meets WhiskyFest seminars on March 4 are in for a special treat. They will be among the only people in the world to smoke a special prototype of the cigars being made by Padrón and Fuente in the project that honors each of their fathers. The audience will get a prototype cigar made by Fuente in honor of Jose Orlando Padron, and a prototype cigar made by Padron to honor Carlos Fuente Sr. They will also hear from the men behind the cigars, Carlos Fuente Jr. and Jorge Padrón.
That is only one of the seminars that will take place March 4 in Hollywood, Florida. There will also be a seminar and tasting on Japanese whiskies (Hibiki Harmony, Hakashu 12 and Yamazaki 12 will be poured); an all-star seminar on the past and future of the cigar business featuring some of the biggest names in cigars, including Ernesto Perez-Carrillo and Litto Gomez; plus a tasting of the No. 2 Cigar of 2022 paired with the No. 1 whisky of 2022. Cigar star Rocky Patel will be on stage for that seminar, sharing his Rocky Patel Sixty Sixty (a 96 pointer) with the audience. The smoke will be paired with Jack Daniel’s Bonded (a 97 pointer), Whisky Advocate’s No. 1 Whisky of 2022.
The Fuente/Padrón project is unique. Both of the companies are coming together to create a special humidor filled with cigars, half of them made by Fuente, half made by Padrón. The project was the focus of Cigar Aficionado’s September/October 2022 cover story called “A Tale Of Two Cigar Families.”
These aren’t the final versions of the cigars—those will be sold in very limited form in special humidors, with a release date after the Big Smoke. But Carlos Fuente Jr. and Jorge Padrón have agreed to share prototype versions of these cigars with the audience as they discuss what brought them together on this historic project.
It's fitting that this special project will be discussed at Big Smoke Meets WhiskyFest, for the idea was hatched over cigars and whisky.
The seminars take place March 4. Seating is limited, but tickets are still available. For more information and to buy tickets, visit bigsmokewhiskyfest.com
