TIMES A ‘CHANGIN
Adrian Lesley reflects on the momentous changes of the
year so far in Cuba, and what it means for cigar lovers
Arriving in Havana on 24 February
for the 10th annual Habanos Cigar
Festival, my visit coincided with Fidel
Castro’s resignation and thus with the
start of a debate: what will happen to
Cuba and its 11 million citizens?
Change was the decisive theme of the cigar festival,
too. Over 1,000 delegates were there to draw on the
smoothest smokes in the world, yet barely a month
earlier effective control of the global cigar business had
moved from Spain to the UK when Imperial Tobacco
completed its €16.2bn takeover of Altadis, which, in a
joint venture with the Cuban government, controls and
distributes Cuban cigars throughout the world.
Would Imperial’s acquisition mean changes for
Cuba’s third most important export (after sugar and
nickel) and, more to the point, would the festival unveil
a vintage crop of new products for eager aficionados?
The answer to the second question was clear a few
days later. This year will see the creation of 15 special
‘Regional’ Edition cigar for markets from Hong Kong
to the Benelux – the idea is to tailor the cigars to local
tastes – plus three new Limited Editions. Furthermore,
the new Epicure and Magnum Lines will feature cigars
that were previously launched as Limited Editions with
double bands to emphasise their collective identity.
Distributors, retailers and aficionados enjoyed a
spectacular but hectic week of events, often broadcast
on Cuban TV, culminating in a gala dinner. This year,
the auction, which brings the festival to a close, raised
over €950,000 for Cuba’s health system. They had all
gathered to pay their dues, and respect, to a country
that has, against all odds, kept faith with its Revolution.
However, if one really wants to discover the culture
and tradition of tobacco in Cuba one has to visit the
Pinar del Río province, where towns such as San Juan
y Martínez have grown the finest tobacco for over 160
years. I visited octogenarian Alejandro Robaina at his
farm in the Vuelta Abajo. An icon in Cuba, Robaina is
the only living person to whom a brand of cigars has
been dedicated. He still retains a passionate interest
in tobacco and, despite new innovations, is proud
of his tradition of labour-intensive cultivation. The
entire Robaina family lives for tobacco so when I asked
if he was concerned by the upsurge in anti-smoking
legislation he simply replied: “When you have the best
in the world you need not fear.” He’s right: People will
always celebrate life with the best that money can buy.
HOT STUFF
In contrast to the 18 Limited and Regional Edition cigars making
their debuts this year, the new Epicure and Magnum Lines are
milestones in the evolution of the Hoyo de Monterrey and H.
Upmann brands. With distinctive double bands, the cigars can
be appreciated straight from the box – a pleasant change from
some previous limited edition cigars that needed ageing.
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