My Favorite Cigar
Jason Taylor • NFL Legend
Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series Torpedo
When it’s time for a cigar, Jason Taylor reaches for ones with unquestionable pedigree. “My favorite for sure is the Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series Torpedo,” he says, speaking of Cigar Aficionado’s Cigar of the Year. The stately Nicaraguan figurado comes in two varieties, natural and maduro, and Taylor enjoys them both, but at different times of the day. He smokes the natural early, “before noon,” he says. Switching to the maduro “for the rest of the day.”
Taylor spent 15 standout seasons in the NFL, most of them with the Miami Dolphins, and exhibited the kind of toughness needed to excel in the NFL, dealing with pain that would render most people incapable of moving. In 2008, what he thought was a stubborn bruise on his foot turned out to be compartment syndrome. His doctor ordered him to the hospital, as he was hours away from amputation. Three games later he was back on the field.
He holds a host of awards, including NFL defensive player of the year in 2006. The six-foot-six lineman wreaked havoc on quarterbacks during his long career, with 139.5 sacks (seventh all time), and scored eight touchdowns, more than any man to play his position. In 2017, his first year of eligibility, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
