A Busy Week In Cuba
It’s been a busy week here in Cuba for the Habanos Festival. And the week isn’t over yet.
As I’m writing this blog, it’s Friday afternoon, and I’m sitting at a cigar-friendly table in the courtyard of the Meliá Habana hotel, a few yards away from the property’s La Casa del Habano. There’s a slim, long Partagás cigar in my ashtray, maybe the fourth cigar of the day. It’s been one discovery after another, one cigar after another. So much has changed, and so much has stayed the same.
I landed here around noon on Sunday, and I’m ed on this trip by managing editor Gregory Mottola. Over the past week we’ve been to just about every quality cigar shop in Havana, we did a thorough reporting trip to a cigar factory, we interviewed cigar lovers, cigar distributors and cigar retailers and we took a productive trip out to the tobacco fields of Pinar del Río. We also tried a number of new restaurants to follow Havana’s ever-changing dining scene. There will be more reporting on this soon.
So what’s different here? First and foremost, cigars are more expensive than ever before. You’ve heard of the price changes on Cuban cigars worldwide—those changes extend to Havana. Gone are the days of $9 Montecristo No. 2s and $20 Cohibas. The former is more than $20 now, the latter can be $80 or more, depending on the size. Supply is spotty. Cigar shops were restocked during the festival (a common occurrence here, but more noticeable on this trip) and there are some things you just can’t find. Gone are the Cuban convertible pesos, the CUC, replaced with CUP, Cuban pesos. Conversion rates are fluid.
The restaurant scene has changed too. Some old favorites are gone, others are not as trustworthy, but exciting new ones have opened. I had an amazing pork shank “ossobuco” last night at Costa Vino, a newish place with a cigar-friendly patio. It was one of the better dishes I’ve had in this country. I was served a creative take on “sushi” made with perfectly fried eggs and ideal rice croquetas at Sesasioones, inventive and entirely creative.
The cigars have been largely wonderful. Someone criticized a post of mine on social media, lambasting Cuban cigars as plugged. I have smoked many, many cigars here this week, some new from the Festival, others from store shelves, others from friends, and all have performed irably. Some have been good, a few were forgettable and some were amazing, but none were plugged. Neither were any of Greg’s.
As we gather our thoughts and our notes from this long, productive trip, we will be posting far more here on cigaraficionado.com and much more in the pages of Cigar Aficionado. Cuba is a complicated place, more so than ever before. Visiting here can be tricky. If you’re interested, we will be your guide.
Stay tuned for much, much more.
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