Cigars—Old and New—In Havana
My first full day in Cuba is behind me. As I sit in my room pecking away at this blog, it’s a bit past midnight, and I’m reminiscing after a long, smoky start to my trip.
My first cigar of this Habanos Festival was one that’s been around for some time, a Montecristo Edmundo. I’ve long preferred its truncated cousin, the Petit Edmundo, but this Edmundo smoked beautifully, full of rich wood notes, touches of leather and a long, succulent finish. One of the best Edmundos I’ve smoked. It is a current production smoke and indicative of the high quality of new Cuban cigars.
I heard many people complain about the lack of cigars in shops, but the two I visited today had cigars in good supply. The Casa del Habano at the Meliá Habana was packed when I arrived, but the humidor had a decent supply of smokes. I chose a few cigars (more on those later) and was off to the next stop.
The Casa del Habano at the Meliá Cohiba hotel had decent stocks of cigars, including several boxes of Cohiba Behikes, which have been rare of late. I ran into Frederic Dechamps from the Casa del Habano in Belgium. He had just bought one of Cuba’s newest cigars, the H. Upmann Robusto. Each cigar is adorned with an elaborate secondary band commemorating Columbus’s journey across the Atlantic.
I was given one in the Casa del Habano at the Melia Cohiba this evening, and I puffed it in El Aljibe as we sat down to dinner. (You have to love the smoking laws in Havana.) It wasn’t so impressive at the start with tart notes, but it really turned into a lovely cigar about an inch or so in. The price is right, too; they were 76 CUC for a box of 10, or about $8 per cigar when you factor in the loss upon a dollar-for-CUC exchange.
In between all these new cigars, I had something very old. My friend José Antonio Candia set up a tasting with folks from James Fox Cigars in Dublin. They brought some cigars that were nearly as old as me, 40-plus-year-old Partagás Fox Seleccion No. 1s, made in the Conde 109 shape, which is a double corona with a slightly tapered tip. The wrapper was like fine silk, the draw sublime The cigars had a delicate start and picked up steam as the cigar progressed. You’ll hear more about that one in a later blog, and in Connoisseur’s Corner.
Before heading out for dinner, I sat down in the Meliá Cohiba with Gordon Mott and Mexico’s cigar master Max Gutmann. He handed us the Conde 54 regional edition smokes for his Mexican market. These are among the best regional edition cigars I’ve ever had, and I’d say they are a must try for anyone who loves Cuban cigars. They are big, gorgeous smokes brimming with intense flavors. Truly remarkable cigars.
My last cigar of the evening was one I picked up at the Meliá Habana, a Bolivar Belicoso Fino of recent vintage. I lit it after finishing a great meal of roast chicken at El Aljibe with a great group of friends, including Gordon Mott. As a small cup of Cuban coffee was placed before me, I put fire to the foot of the chunky figurado. It was as good as BBFs always should be, with a good, muscular kick.
Wow—that was a lot of cigars. There will be many more tomorrow.
