CUBA INSIDER’s GUIDE TO
CONTENTS A Brief History of Cuba............................................. 4 Havana......................................................................... 8 A Walk Through Old Havana.................................12 Havana Restaurant Update.....................................18 Havana’s Cigar Factories..........................................20 Cuba’s House.............................................................26 Vintage Cubans Heat Up at Auction.....................32 The Fat Cigar Trend Spreads to Cuba....................34 ■
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A Brief History of Cuba A
mere 500 years ago, Christopher Columbus first visited Cuba, pronounced it “the loveliest land ever beheld by human eyes” and discovered tobacco for the Old World. But you must go back at least 130 million years to fully appreciate
this land that makes up more than half of the area of the Greater Antilles islands. It was then that a complicated series of geologic foldings and uplifts began to form the sublime combination of limestone, clay and shale drainage that makes Cuban soil ideal for tobacco and sugarcane cultivation. Fast forward to the pre-Columbian years of this millenium, when Caribbean peoples called the Guanajatabyes, Siboneys and Tainos inhabited the island. The latter group dominated until the early sixteenth century, when Spanish conquistador Diego Velazquez began the conquest of Cuba. Enslaved and killed off by the Spaniards, the original inhabitants and their cultures virtually disappeared by the middle of the 1500s. Tobacco cultivation, nevertheless, survived. The island soon became a way station for Spanish colonization
1950’s-era American cars still cruise the streets of Havana. 4
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From Cigar Aficionado, May/June 1999
of the Caribbean. Conquistador Hernán Cortés used it as a base from which to wage his conquest of Mexico. With the demise of the indigenous culture, slave labor was imported (first from Africa and later from China) to work the burgeoning sugar and tobacco plantations. Colonialists, known as creoles, were often restive as they bridled at the tight controls that Spain placed on trade. Settlers were also at the mercy of English, French and Dutch pirates who attacked the island regularly. In 1762, the English captured Havana and traded it back to Spain in exchange for Florida. A loosening of trade restraints, particularly the abolishment of Spain’s tobacco monopoly, followed. Still, reform didn’t come fast enough. In 1868, the Ten Years’ War broke out between rebel Cuban forces and the Spanish administrators. When the smoke cleared, 200,000 combatants were dead and Spain promised massive reforms on which it never made good. By 1895, the forces for liberation had again mustered, this time under the Cuban Revolutionary Party of poet José Martí. Two years of bloody civil war followed before U.S. president William McKinley asked Spain’s permission to mediate. Following a
Travel Tips Americans are legally prohibited from traveling to Cuba unless they visit with an organization that has a license with the U.S. Treasury or have an exemption from the ban. (Some journalists and those with family in Cuba may be eligible.) Many Americans travel illegally to the island through Canada, Mexico and elsewhere. American visitors need to bring cash to Cuba, as credit cards backed by American banks do not function there. Travelers from other countries should also bring cash as their credit cards may not function in many places—hotels are an exception. Cuban vendors accepted U.S. dollars up to 2004, but today travelers need Cuban Convertible Pesos, known as cuc. The exchange rate is fixed at 1 cuc per dollar, however, you should expect to pay a 10 percent fee on the exchange. Get Cuban cash at the airport or hotels. Never change money on the street as a popular scam is to pay the duped traveler in the less-valuable national Cuban pesos, or cup, that locals use. 5
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mysterious explosion that sank the U.S. battleship Maine in Havana’s harbor in 1898, U.S. forces entered Cuba. By 1899, Cuba was under U.S. military rule and Teddy Roosevelt had gained fame as leader of the Rough Riders regiment. A new Cuban constitution that gave the United States authority to intervene to preserve Cuban independence (and an indefinite lease of the 45-square-mile Guantánamo
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LEFT: ANGUS MCRITCHIE; BELOW & OPPOSITE: THINKSTOCK
Old American cars serve as taxis.
naval base in eastern Cuba) was approved in 1902 and foreshadowed a sequence of mishandled relations between the two countries. A series of ineffective or corrupt administrations followed, prompting uprisings and several U.S. interventions. In 1925, Gen. Geraldo Machado became president of Cuba and soon made himself dictator, but by 1933 an economic crisis brought on by falling sugar prices caused his downfall. An army sergeant named Fulgencio Batista gained control of the army and, through it, the government and a succession of presidents. In 1944, when his candidate for president was defeated by reformminded Ramón Grau San Martín, Batista fled the country. With a military junta, he regained power in 1952 and was made president in an election that featured no opposition. Under Batista’s corrupt rule, American gangsters were invited to control
the island’s gambling interests and Havana became a playground for the rich. Most Cubans, however, remained in poverty. A guerrilla force led by Fidel Castro began waging civil war in the countryside, and, on January 1, 1959, his forces took power, as Batista fled to Spain with an ill-gained fortune. Castro quickly aligned himself with the Soviet Union and expropriated U.S. interests in the country. Cuban nationalists, who had also been stripped of their property, formed an enclave in Miami, and, in 1961, with help from the United States, launched a failed invasion at the Bay of Pigs. A year later, John F. Kennedy signed an embargo, curtailing trade with the island and making the importation to the United States of Cuban cigars (or any other Cuban products) illegal. In the fall of 1962, the discovery of Soviet nuclear warheads in Cuba caused a global crisis. After a tense standoff,
The Jose Marti Memorial Plaza.
the Soviets backed down. Castro married the island’s economic fortunes to sugar production and trade with the Soviet Union, which heavily subsidized the Cuban government. When the Soviet empire began to collapse in 1989, so did Cuba’s economy. —Jack Bettridge A panoramic view of Havana.
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Modeled after the U.S. Capitol, Havana’s El Capitolio looms over Old Havana.
Havana
The lost city of the Caribbean
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ay the city’s name out loud and the word triggers a cascade of images in the mind’s eye. Hot tropical nights lit by dim yellow street lights. Hip-gyrating rhythms of native Son music drifting from bars and clubs. Lusty dancers moving to the beat. A searing sun burning down on the wave-drenched seaside promenade, the Malecón. Alluring aromas of cigars filling the air. Sweet elixirs of rum and lime exploding on the tongue.
Those same visions of Havana, Cuba, existed before the revolution of January, 1959, and even as life is different there today, much also has not changed. Havana was once a playground beckoning Americans, but its doors slammed shut with Fidel Castro’s takeover of the island. For more than 50 years Havana has existed only as a mythological land for its northern neighbor, which quickly imposed wide-ranging embargos on commerce and travel that 8
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From Cigar Aficionado, November/December 2011
have isolated Cuba in an ideological time-warp. However, at least in part, it has been Cuba’s pariah status and the attendant economic stagnation that preserved Old Havana. Large swaths of the city remain untouched by modern buildings. Only widely scattered Soviet-era monstrosities jut out above its colonial skyline. And while you can’t ignore the lack of maintenance on many of the older buildings, extensive renovations of Habana Vieja are underway. The crumbling, dilapidated buildings juxtaposed against the sparkling, freshly painted and sleek stucco walls of the renovated edifices
speak to a future grandeur. Amidst the obvious signs of potential and failed promise, much of what made Havana alluring in the 1950s remains intact today. The music. The art. The cigars. If nothing has changed, why another travel guide to Havana? With European tourists arriving by the thousands, Cuba is slowly upgrading its tourist infrastructure to meet the demand and compete with other Caribbean tourist destinations. New hotels and restaurants are emerging on the scene. Many of those are being developed by government agencies in conjunction with interna-
The Malecón, Havana’s sea wall, is a long esplanade with four-lane street and a mix of vintage and modern buildings. 9
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A lineup of mojitos, one of Cuba’s signature cocktails.
tional partners and are definitely a step up from some of the older places. And, with recently implemented government regulations allowing more private businesses, Havana is witnessing one of the biggest expansions in restaurants and bars since the first wave of privately owned establishments was first allowed back in the mid-1990s. On top of that, Habanos S.A. is rushing to expand its presence throughout Cuba, so new Casas del Habano are opening around the country with a total of 17 currently operating. The last piece of the puzzle for Americans is the publication of new travel regulations announced in 10
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SAMI SARKIS/AGE PHOTOSTOCK
May, 2011. In a simplistic nutshell, the regulations have reverted to the standards of the Clinton-era, which allowed travel in a variety of categories: medical missions, academic research and artistic endeavors. Business-to-business contacts are now largely permitted under certain conditions. The license process is still fairly complicated, but instead of an almost automatic rejection of a request during the last 10 years, the licenses are being granted again. This means more and more Americans will be finding their way to Cuba, and more specifically Havana. Dave Savona and I spent a week in Cuba earlier this year, researching the old and the new in Havana. We decided to focus this in-depth report on Havana because for now it is most interesting, most compelling and most accessible for most foreign visitors. We have provided our choices for the best hotels (including one for the budget minded), the best restaurants, the coolest night spots and a complete list of Havana’s Casas del Habano, as well as some other cigar shops in the city. There is a word of caution. Things are changing rapidly in Havana. Make friends with your concierge immediately, and don’t be afraid of taking
Street dancers entertain passersby in Old Havana.
on a guide. There is not a Zagat’s or Michelin for Cuba, and certainly not a reliable CitySearch database for hotels and restaurants. It’s a wordof-mouth network that constantly updates itself and is 100 percent dependent on individual knowledge. Three of the restaurants we ate at were not there six months previously, and half the people we asked hadn’t heard about them yet. Other people kept telling us about places that our main sources hadn’t heard about yet either. So, be a little adventurous. If someone says they’ve heard about a great new place, try it out. You may discover something extraordinary. We hope you decide to visit. For a
cigar lover, it should be a no-brainer. But even for those who aren’t, the city offers beautiful and exhilarating changes as it begins to emerge from 50 years of stagnation. It is a wonderful place. Cubans are friendly and fascinated with Americans, wanting to talk about everything from the New York Yankees to where you are from and even about their frustrations with the government. They’ll chat with you as long as you feel like talking. In our humble opinion, people-to-people contact is the quickest path to long-lasting change in Cuba. Going there will only speed it up. Open the door. —Gordon Mott & David Savona
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The restored Plaza Vieja in old Havana.
A Walk Through Old Havana
An easy tour around a Spanish Colonial gem hat makes up a perfect day in Havana? After a week of walking the streets, exploring museums, hotels and restaurants, and spending the wee hours in jazz clubs and cabarets, there’s no single easy answer to the question. But I’m
going to take a stab at it, and tell you how I would spend one day in one of the oldest cities in the Western Hemisphere. In two words, it’s easy: Habana Vieja, or Old Havana. So, let’s start at my hotel for this fantasy day in the city: the Conde 12
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From Cigar Aficionado, November/December 2011
tropical hues with several older stone buildings facing the center. From there, I would head to the end of the square, take a left on Muralla down to the port and stop in at the Museo del Ron Fundación Havana Club, or the Havana Club Rum Museum. You need to join a tour to enter the museum, but tours in English are frequent. Find out the times and plan accordingly. If you’re lucky, you’ll happen on one leaving right away and you’ll learn about one of Cuba’s iconic products. And, then top it off with a slug of Havana Club rum. Great way to start the day. Afterwards, take a stroll down the Avenida del Puerto to the Plaza San Francisco and head up Amargura. At the corner with Mercaderes, turn right to the Museo del Tabaco (Tobacco Museum). It’s a small museum, and it has moved recently so you may need to ask where to find it. There are old lithographs, some old rolling tables from a cigar factory, and other items from the history of tobacco in Cuba. It’s a quick stop, maybe 15 minutes, but worth it for a cigar aficionado. By this time the Casa del Habano in the Conde de Villanueva is open, so I’d backtrack to my hotel and head up the small stairs to the mezzanine and shop. With any luck, Antonio
de Villanueva—it’s one of the most charming, if slightly rustic, hotels in the old quarter and that’s why it wins out for the purpose of this story over the Marqués de San Felipe or the Saratoga. Take a right out of the hotel door and down Mercaderes to the Plaza Vieja, and in the far left corner find a seat at Escorial, facing the square. This square is almost 100 percent renovated and gives you a sense of what Havana must have been like in the 1500s and 1600s. The square is a rainbow of pastels and bright 13
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Hevea will be in the store for the day, and he’ll guide you through a cigar selection. I like a big cigar when I’m out moving around, so I’d probably pick up a Romeo y Julieta Churchill, and maybe a Punch Double Corona. Buy your lunch cigar too, maybe a Trinidad Reyes, a very flavorful smoke to go with your post-lunch
coffee. Head back out and take a left on Mercaderes. The street will lead you toward the Plaza de Armas, and the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, which houses the Museo de la Ciudad (City Museum). This is a classic Spanish colonial edifice with a huge inner courtyard, big stone passage ways with arches on each floor and grand salons at every turn. You’ll find a complete history of Havana, with everything from pieces of the U.S.S. Maine—the ship that was blown up in Havana harbor in 1898, serving as the justification to start the SpanishAmerican war. There’s the usual array of uniforms and household items. It’s worth a good hour or two there to get a sense of the city’s long and colorful history. Now comes a tough choice: Lunch. You’re close to the Plaza de la Catedral, at the north end of which is the Cathedral of Havana. An old Spanishcolonial structure finished by Jesuits in 1777, it’s one of the most beautiful churches in the city. There’s a government-run restaurant there, El Patio, but frankly, it’s one of those places that never gets rave reviews. But you’re also close to El Templete, another government restaurant just behind the Hotel Santa Isabel on the Plaza de Armas. The seafood is out-
Defining Habana Vieja One day isn’t enough to see all that Havana has to offer, so to work within the limit of one day, you have to narrow the focus. But that’s pretty easy: Old Havana, or Habana Vieja, constitutes a great target. What is Old Havana? The classic boundaries are the Avenida de los Misiones, Monserrate and Ejido, which loosely follow the old fortified walls of Havana, built starting in 1519. In practical terms today, the western boundary is formed by the Paseo del Prado, which starts in front of the Capitolio and runs down to the Malecón. That constitutes about 1.75 square miles. This is a true guesstimate, but I would say about 40 to 50 percent of the buildings inside that zone have been or are being renovated. 14
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standing. If you’re looking for ambience: El Patio. If you’re looking for a decent lunch: El Templete. After lunch, head up Calle O’Reilly back through the Plaza de Catedral, and walk up Empedrado. You’ll pass Bodeguita del Medio, but keep going (you’ll be coming back there later in the afternoon). You’re on your way to Museo de Tropical colors and island architecture abound on a la Revolución (Museum trip down the cobblestone streets of Old Havana. of the Revolution) on the Avenida de los Misiones. Right next Capitol building. Its renovation is to the museum, amongst some tanks scheduled to be completed soon. Even and warplanes, you’ll see the monu- if it is still not open to the public when ment to Granma, which encloses you visit, find a spot on the steps or the legendary boat that carried Fidel cross the street to the Parque Central Castro from Mexico back to Cuba and find a bench facing the street. in 1956. The official newspaper is its From there, you will see an almost namesake. Both the monument and endless parade of Cuba’s famous old the museum will take you through American automobiles, many of some of the key events that led up to which are completely restored; there and occurred during the early days of are companies that provide tours the revolution. of the city in these old cars, but if There’s also a good art museum near you just want to catch a glimpse of the Granma monument, so if you’re them, sit still for a few minutes in the up for looking at some interesting park and they will roll on by. I saw art, stop in at the Museo Nacional a nearly perfect rendition of a 1957 de Bellas Artes del La Habana Chevrolet Bel Air with those big tail (National Museum of Fine Arts of fins, among many, many others. Havana). But I’d keep walking right Is it time to start drinking yet? on to the Parque Central and the Depending on how much time 15
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you’ve spent in the museums, I’d say, yes. Just behind the Parque Central, on the corner of Obispo and Monserrate, is El Floridita. This is the Cuban home of the daiquiri cocktail, the favorite of Ernest Hemingway on his frequent visits. I like sitting at the bar to get a close-up view of the preparations, and since they go down so smoothly, I don’t want to wait long for a refill. From there, just to finish off the afternoon, head toward Bodeguita del Medio on Empedrado, and a test of its famed mojito (another Hemingway-approved cocktail). Ask the bartender, Pedro, to describe the method and the ingredients, and he’ll be happy to oblige. That should do it.
You’re now ready for a siesta back at the hotel. Make dinner reservations at El Gijones, on Paseo del Prado for about 9 p.m. at the rooftop La Terraza setting. That way, when you’re done you’ll be ready to hear the local bands starting up all over the old part of town. To remain true to the day’s theme—Habana Vieja—you should head down toward the port and settle in wherever there is a band playing. Trust me, there will be a lot of options. I love the Café Paris. It’s small, and you can even just hang out on the street corner outside the café at Obispo and San Ignacio to hear the music. All in all, not a bad day in Havana. —Gordon Mott
Walk Through Old Havana Route Map ■
1. Conde de Villanueva 2. Plaza Vieja
9. Museo de la Revolución 10. Monument to Granma
3. Havana Club Rum Museum 4. Plaza San Francisco 5. Casa del Habano at the Hotel Conde de Villanueva
11. Museo de Bellas Artes 12. Parque Central 13. Capitol Building 14. El Floridita 15. Bodeguita del Medio 16. El Gijones/La Terraza 17. Café Paris
6. Palacio de Capitanes Generales 7. Plaza Cathedral 8. El Templete
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Havana Restaurant Update
Porto Habano This small (25seat) eatery in Vedado is the work of Jonathan Reyes and Raudel Corrasana. It provides simple, straightforward fare with excellent fish, and the steak was quite good (uncommon in Havana). The restaurant occupies the terrace of an apartment in a high-rise building and has a magnificent view from Morro Castle to the end of the Malecón. Best malanga frita I’ve had in Havana.
From Cigar Aficionado, May/June 2013
El Aljibe A stop here is my first-
Mediterráneo Havana’s seafood salad
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ith old favorites closing, new places opening every week and steady chatter about others on the horizon, the Havana restaurant scene is constantly changing. The week of the Festival del Habano is a tough time to explore because of the many official events, but we managed to eat at six restaurants worth mentioning – each one has been around for awhile and you can’t go wrong.
Doctor Café One of the oldest
paladars in Havana and a favorite for regular visitors. Great malanga frita. Excellent roast meats, including beef ribs, which are rare in Cuba. Also, ask the waiter if there is anything “special” on the menu. Nice wine list. 18
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DAVID SAVONA; OPPOSITE: JOSÉ GOITIA
night tradition in Havana. This time, it was packed with tourists, and people were even waiting for tables. Stick to the roast chicken and you won’t go wrong; it was as good as ever. However, be forewarned— the once stellar wine cellar seems to be a thing of the past. While the waiter said it was “under renovation,” there were far fewer bottles there than ever before. But the wine was always an extra, not the main attraction.
La Terraza This benchmark res-
La Moraleja The original res-
taurant is on the roof of the Sociedad Cultural Asturiana; there are other eateries on each of the other floors too. The best dishes come off the grill (the grilled octopus was fantastic). Good wines. A bit more expensive than some. But worth the stop. Expanded dining room off the main foyer on the third floor.
taurant of Jorge Luis Aniel and Olgalidia Hernandez, this private paladar has earned a spot among Havana’s finest. Eat upstairs in the courtyard, or in the enclosed dining room, but also consider a downstairs cellar room that is romantic and quiet. Be sure to try the duck and the rabbit or the Hemingway shrimps in a cognac sauce, and be a little adventuresome with the appetizers; order a nice selection for the table. The wine list is outstanding, although a little expensive for the big names, but there are plenty of good selections. Service is outstanding. —Gordon Mott
MediterrĂĄneo Havana A cozy,
bright paladar in Vedado with a chef from Sardinia who makes simple, fresh and tender seafood with olive oil and herbs. The seafood salad with clams, snail and octopus is a winner, and the homemade pasta is tasty.
On the rooftop terrace at La Terraza, diners can watch their food being prepared by the chef. 19
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Havana’s Cigar Factories
Touring a Cuban cigar factory is a journey back in time From Cigar Aficionado, November/December 2011
ou walk through the wide doorway with the tropical heat following you inside, and step onto a cracked marble floor, wondering just how many shoes have walked this weathered path before you. The clamor of workers going about their business reaches your ears and grows in volume with every step: A shout in rapid-fire Cuban Spanish, a call to an amigo, a friendly laugh, the hearty baritone of a golden-throated lector reading the daily news. Busts of José Martí stand atop pedestals and photographs of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara cover the walls. This is a Cuban cigar factory, a living, breathing thing that comes to life each workday. Then it hits you—the smell of unlit cigar tobacco, earthy and pungent and remarkably intoxicating. It pulls
you closer to the factory’s heart, a siren song that can’t be ignored, and you walk into the massive galera, the main rolling room of the fabrica. There before you are scores of workers, each making cigars entirely by hand. It’s an unrushed, antique and artisinal process, one that has not changed in any major way for hundreds of years. Havana is the birthplace of premium cigars, and the city is dotted with cigar factories of all shapes and sizes. Most tourists believe only the Partágas Factory is open to visitors, 20
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ANGUS MCRITCHIE
Y
but three in Havana welcome tourists: the Romeo y Julieta Factory (which has been transformed into the temporary home of H. Upmann), La Corona and Partagรกs. Production here is unlike almost every place else. Cuban cigarmakers, unlike their counterparts in most of the non-Cuban cigar world, make the entire cigar themselves. Most cigar factories in the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua split the process between roller and buncher. (And many have males doing the bunching and females rolling.)
Making cigars by hand (here at H. Upmann) is an artisanal process that remains virtually unchanged by time.
Cuban cigar factories also eschew Temsco, or Lieberman bunching devices, leather and steel pads that help the buncher craft the filler and binder together. Also in Cuba you typically see a cigarmaker, or torcedore, use two binder leaves rather than one large one. While Cuba was the first to make cigars, Havana cigar factories have learned some new tricks from their counterparts in the Caribbean and 21
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Central America. Draw testing machines are now in every Cuban cigar factory, which makes for better cigars, and has greatly reduced the draw problems that plagued Cuban cigars in the late 1990s. Cigar production has also slowed considerably, and is far from the crazy days that came as a reaction to the cigar boom. Here is a look at the factories you can tour, and what makes each one special. The government fixes the tour prices, and visiting any one costs 10 cuc (about $11.50). Note that Cuba is in the midst of refurbishing some of its factories. The iconic Partágas Factory was supposed to be closed in the spring, but as this issue went to press it was still open. Check with your hotel about
any changes before heading out for a tour. For those willing to spend a day out in Pinar del Río, there’s another factory you can see there.
Romeo y Julieta/ H. Upmann Factory
For the first time in years you can go inside Havana’s Romeo y Julieta Factory, which is the new (and temporary) home of the H. Upmann cigar brand. This is a somewhat confusing situation. The original 1800s H. Upmann Factory was closed in the early 2000s when H. Upmann moved to what was touted as one of Cuba’s most modern cigar factories. That new home didn’t handle Havana’s punishing summer climate nor its ocean air very well. After a mere 10 years, Cuban officials ordered it closed for renovations, and decided to move H. Upmann into Romeo y Julieta. So Romeo y Julieta is now operating as H. Upmann. In February 2011, H. Upmann factory manager José Miguel Barzaga Maceo and his workers had moved into Romeo, and began making cigars. By May, the transformation was almost complete. The Romeo factory had been decorated with umpteen banners and posters featuring the H.
Cuba’s H. Upmann Factory, has moved into the old Romeo y Julieta factory. 22
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ANGUS MCRITCHIE; OPPOSITE: JOSÉ GOITIA
Belascoaín 852 entre Peñalver y Desagüe, Centro Habana
Upmann brand, while items were still being moved around and painters worked on small touchups. As well as the entire production of Cuba’s H. Upmanns, the factory also rolls some Montecristos and Romeo y Julietas and several sizes of Cohiba. While the factory is also in charge of the diminutive Diplomaticos brand, none were being rolled in May. The rest of Romeo y Julieta production (it’s a large brand, with many sizes) is spread out among other Cuban cigar factories. The factory is very clean, and very efficient. There’s a beautiful old marble staircase to the left when you enter, and a huge black and gold banner reading H. Upmann Havana. The rolling gallery is one of Havana’s largest, with huge windows along either side providing light for the workers. There are 204 torcedores working here. The gallery buzzes like a hive, and is quite colorful, as some of the cigar molds are painted bright blue or crisp yellow, along with the more standard plain wood or black. The factory was rolling several new cigars in the spring, including the H. Upmann Half Corona and the H. Upmann Royal Robusto (a size that will be exclusive to Casa del Habano stores throughout the world). Each of these new sizes were
Partagás, the most famous cigar factory in Cuba, no longer operates in its historic facility, but the cigar store attached to the building remains open, and a must-visit.
introduced at the Habanos Festival in February 2011. The factory is quite popular with tourists disembarking cruise ships. There’s a good, but not great, cigar store around the corner due to be upgraded to a Casa del Habano. The renovation of H. Upmann is scheduled to last until around spring of 2012, but could be delayed.
Partagás Factory
(aka Francisco Pérez Germán) San Carlos Street, Centro Habana
The 169-year-old Partagás Factory, arguably Cuba’s best known cigar factory and certainly the one his23
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torically most frequented by tourists, has been a Cuban landmark for decades. If you pass by the grand facility on Calle Industria No. 520, not far from the capital, stand outside for a moment and take a full look, taking in the four stories with its signature balconies, shuttered windows and the oversized red and white Real Fabrica de Tabacos Partagás sign. (Standing outside admittedly requires a bit of patience. You are all but certain to be approached by locals selling cigars, even by the front door. Resist the urge—what they sell is almost assuredly counterfeit.)
The sad news is that this old, weathered factory with its cracked façade, splintered steps and chipped walls that was begging for a This Old House style repair has been closed, as it undergoes a much-needed overhaul. The good news? The iconic La Casa del Habano located inside remains open, and a must-visit for those coming to Havana. The store is often busy, festooned with photos from visiting dignitaries and blessed with a VIP backroom that remains one of the best smoking spots in all of Havana. Even better, visitors can still take a tour of the Partagás Cigar Factory, 24
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JOSÉ GOITIA
The rolling floor at La Corona is large and busy, and workers there make Hoyo de Monterrey, Punch, Cuaba and other cigars.
but in new home. Much like with the move of H. Upmann, the Partagás Cigar Factory has been relocated, in this case to the El Rey del Mundo factory on San Carlos Street, a gorgeous white building decorated with Ionic columns. That factory has undergone an extensive renovation of its own, in preparation of visitors and cigar production. Tours are still available, and they are still known as tours of the Partagás Cigar Factory. Go inside and you will see workers carefully rolling the Partagás brand, of course, along with Bolivar, La Gloria Cubana, Ramón Allones and Quai d’Orsay cigars, as the factory is the mother factory for those brands. A group of older workers, former cigar rollers, look over cigars for quality control, spot-checking the work of their younger comrades.
and has quite the Eastern Bloc feel. The entrance is small and simple, and inside the paint scheme is heavy on mustard yellow and dark brown. The very center of the building, which all can see from inside, is dominated by a five-story industrial elevator, with an open shaft and steel I-beams. It’s far from the most attractive cigar factory in the world. Still, the factory makes some very good smokes. This is the mother factory for Cuaba, Hoyo de Monterrey, Punch, San Cristóbal de la Habana, Flor de Cano and Por Larrañaga. There are workers here who can make amazing cigars, such as the multifaceted Cuaba Salomon. On a recent visit, a slim man in a green tank top carefully crafted a Salomone while puffing on a panetela. The crowded rolling gallery has an intriguing system of lights fashioned on curved poles at every roller station. There’s a tasting room at La Corona with cubicles, each one designed for a cigar taster. They work early in the morning (to ensure a fresh palate) and rate cigars to ensure quality. While the factory definitely merits a visit, you should skip the lackluster cigar shop next door. It’s plagued by cigar hustlers hawking fake smokes, and not meant for the sophisticated cigar aficionado. —David Savona
La Corona Factory
(aka Miguel Fernández Roig) Av. 20 de Mayo y Línea de Ferrocarril, Cerro
Just around the corner from the busiest baseball stadium in Cuba is the La Corona Factory. This building served as a cigarette factory until 2000, when it was converted into a cigar factory. The factory lacks the style of Romeo or the charm of Partagás, 25
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Cuba’s House
A look inside La Casa del Habano, the global chain of Cuban cigar stores
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From Cigar Aficionado, November/December 2010
f you’re in the market for rare and unusual Cuban smokes you need to seek out the official chain of worldwide Cuban cigar stores known as La
Casa del Habano. Created 20 years ago in Cancún, Mexico, these stores (there were 135 at press time) are not only the first in their respective coun26
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Some La Casa del Habano shops specialize in vintage Cubans. Dubai (above) stocks a 10-year vertical of Edición Limitada cigars.
tries to receive Cuba’s latest Edición Limitadas, they’re the first to get special new smokes. The Bolivar Gran Belicoso, the 2010 release of the Habanos Collection, presented in a box resembling a book, is exclusively available at La
Casa del Habano stores. The same holds true for the La Gloria Cubana Inmensos and the Ramon Allones Allones Superior, which were both expected to debut around the time this issue is printed. The beautiful Partagas Salomon, Cigar Aficionado’s No. 17 cigar of the year, began as a La Casa exclusive, and in October Cuba released the H. Upmann Noella (presented in old-fashioned glass amatista jars) strictly for sale at La Casas. All Casa del Habano stores, which deal only in Cuban cigars, also stock Regional Edition smokes. These are unique smokes, made exclusively for individual countries or markets. The shops, which are franchises part-owned by the Cuban government, are also dependable sources for legitimate Havanas in a market beleaguered by counterfeits. While Casas del Habano are certainly not the only places to buy a fine Cuban smoke, in many tourist areas—especially Latin America and the Caribbean—they offer your best chance to avoid fakes. To get a sense of what this singular resource has to offer, we perused the current stocks of many of the cigar world’s finer Casas. The Casa del Habano in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, is run by Gerry Cohen, who always seems to have a 27
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A small sampling of Cuban cigars available at La Casa del Habano.
smoke in his hand, very often a vintage cigar. “I smoke the humidor,” he says. While he puffs currentproduction smokes for quality control, his choice for pleasure is an aged cigar, and his shop stocks vintage goods that he procures on a regular basis. At press time he had well-aged La Gloria Cubanas (in the Taino size, a Churchill, as well as the skinny and elegant Medaille d’Or No. 4); some old Vegueros Especiales No. 1 (an off-the-radar lancero that is being discontinued); and cabinets of aged Punch Churchills. He also had a piece of history: the original release Trinidad Fundadores from 28
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LEFT: ANGUS MCRITCHIE
1998. “My clients are not the typical cigar smoker,” says Cohen. “A lot of them are collectors.” Cohen has also been doing a solid business in Edición Limitadas, Cohiba Behikes and Montecristo Petit Edmundos. The United Kingdom has many extensive Cuban cigar outlets, but only one Casa. Its location—about a half hour outside the city center of London—affords it the luxury of space. “We’re the only cigar shop in England to have a cigar lounge downstairs,” says Ajay Patel, who runs the store. As this issue was going to press, he still had stocks of the La Gloria Cubana Gloriosos, a 2008 Regional Edition cigar for the United Kingdom. Called Reino Unido by the Cubans, it has the phrase Exclusivo Reino Unido on the secondary band that is on every Regional Edition. He was awaiting the arrival of the Por Larrañaga Regalias de Londres Regional Edition for the United Kingdom and by November expects to receive Flor de Cano Short Churchills, the reborn, regional version of the robusto-sized smoke that draws such interest at auction when an old box surfaces. As with most Cuban merchants, Patel has been doing a brisk business in Cohiba Behikes. “The BHKs are just flying out,” he says. When asked of his vintage smokes,
London, (above) possesses the practically unattainable original Cohiba Behike humidor.
Patel answers: “How long do you got?” His stock of old Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 2s includes versions from the 1990s, 1980s and even the late 1970s. Patel boasted of having a box of Partagas cigars from 1968, Monte No. 2s from 1975 and Monte No. 4s from 1960. He also has a prized cabinet of 100 Partagas Dunhill Seleccion No. 777 from 1974 as well as a wide selection of rare Cuban humidors, including the Cohiba 40th Anniversary (shown on previous page), which contains the original 7 1/2-inch by 52-ringgauge Cohiba Behike. “I’m not just in the cigar business,” says Patel, “I’m a cigar collector.” Christopher Wolters of the La Casa
in Hamburg, Germany, boasts of his long experience with Havana smokes. “Having visited Cuba and all the cigar factories since the 1990s we know the Havana cigar trade from farm to factory,” said Wolters, who is the man behind the rebirth of Cuba’s Salomon shape. He stocks vintage smokes, including collectable humidors, old limited editions (such as the Cohiba Pirámides Edición Limitada from 2006) and the commemorative humidor for Cuban music legend Compay Segundo, which contains 100 Montecristo B cigars, a recreation of a shape that was discontinued in the 1970s. Montreal’s Casa del Habano has a gorgeous smoking lounge. It stocks 29
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La Casa del Habano in Hamburg, Germany keeps a floor-to-ceiling inventory of Cuban cigars.
Canada’s Regional Edition for 2010, the Bolivar B2, which is shaped like a Montecristo No 2. The shop, run by Marc Melanfon, has a separate section for smokes with 10-plus years of age. Melanfon began putting older boxes aside about five years ago. He has old Sancho Panzas (the Sancho size, for example, a 9 1/4-inch “A” that’s no longer made), Vegas Robainas, Romeos and the like. He cautions that you won’t find thick ring gauges or the biggest brand names in the vintage section of his shop. “And if you do, run away,” he advises, feeling
the best will have been picked over. Italy, once a terrible place to buy Cuban cigars because of limits on the type of cigar that could be imported, now is blessed with several go-to smokes. The Casa del Habano in Rome, run by Fausto Fincato, has one of the most eye-popping Regional Edition cigars ever made, the Punch Diadema for 2009. These cigars, stretching more than nine inches long, with supple tapers (they are 55 ring gauge at their fattest point), come wrapped in goldcolored foil. The Casa del Habano 30
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in Rome also has older Regional Editions, such as the El Rey del Mundo Torpedo (from 2008) and a pair from 2005, the Punch Superfinos and the Ramon Allones Selección Suprema. The Casa del Habano at the Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai stocks Cuba’s special releases from the past decade right in the humidor. The huge shop and lounge (it consists of some 1,400 square feet) also has high-end cigar accessories. The Casa del Habano in Zurich, Switzerland, is the domain of Samuel Menzi, a longtime cigar veteran. He has had that shop for some 17 years, and has sold cigars for 35 years. In October, Menzi had Switzerland’s most recent Regional Edition smoke in stock, the El Rey del Mundo Elegantes 2010. This extra-long robusto (it has a plump 50 ring gauge) is relatively mild, according to Menzi, with a rich aroma. He also stocks older Swiss Regional Editions, such as the Punch Poderosos and Por Larrañaga Valiosos from 2009. His best seller is the Partagas Serie D No. 4. The one thing Menzi does not have is vintage smokes. “No,” says the old master with a throaty chuckle. “I sell them before they are too old.”
More American Airports Can Now Fly to Cuba It’s getting easier to get to Cuba. Yesterday, United States Customs approved eight new airports for passenger flights between Cuba and the United States. Airports in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Tampa and San Juan, Puerto Rico, now join New York’s JFK, Miami International and Los Angeles International as operating legal flights between the United States and Cuba. This move comes after President Barack Obama’s January announcement that his administration would ease U.S. travel restrictions to Cuba. Any aircraft making the flight has to be authorized to travel between the U.S. and Cuba, and most Americans are still prohibited from traveling freely to Cuba. Journalists, medical professionals and those with family members in Cuba are among the Americans allowed to visit the island.
—David Savona & Gregory Mottola
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Vintage Cubans Heat Up at Auction From Cigar Aficionado, July/August 2013
ow much would you pay for an aged cigar? For one anonymous collector the answer is apparently more than $1,000, as a half dozen Dunhill Estupendos recently sold at auction for a recordsetting $6,200. The sale underscores a resurgence in cigars being sold this way after a period of flagging interest. The Dunhill cigars in question were rolled in Cuba in the 1980s and are examples of the brand that have not been made since 1991. They are considered among the finest cigars ever made, having rated a perfect 100 points on several occasions in this magazine’s Connoisseur’s Corner. British retailer C. Gars Ltd. conducted the sale last November. It is one of two cigar auctions it features every year in London. The most recent one took place as this issue was being printed.
Cigar auctions offer the chance to acquire aged rarities. A unique Trinidad humidor signed by Fidel Castro (top) sold for $172,000. A partially filled box of 1980s Dunhill Estupendos went for more than $1,000 per cigar.
Cigars have been sold at auction for more than 100 years, but the renowned auction house Christie’s had been on a seven-year hiatus before it too held a cigar auction in November, in Geneva. It was a fairly 32
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TRINIDAD HUMIDOR: CHRISTIE’S; DUNHILL: C. GARS LTD.
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modest affair, with about 60 lots of cigars (most containing two boxes) selling for around $1,000 per lot, or $500 for a box of 25. In May of this year, Christie’s held a far more illustrious cigar auction, with boxes of Cuban Davidoffs, which sold for $3,680 per box, and a one-ofa-kind Trinidad Humidor. The large piece had been made for the 2001 Festival del Habano auction, and contained 124 cigars, including 33 Trinidad Laguito No. 1 cigars, lanceros measuring 7 1/2 inches by 38 ring gauge, the same as the old diplomatic Trinidads. The piece was signed by Fidel Castro. It sold for $172,000, compared to the pre-sale estimate of $85,000 to $128,000. Diplomatic Trinidads had also been the hot cigar at auction during the cigar boom. In May 1997, a Swiss collector paid $11,400 for a box of 25 diplomatic Trinidads, or $456 per cigar, a record at the time. A new high was set in April 2000, when a Partagás Fabuloso Diadema from the 1970s sold for $880. That record was shattered in November at the London C. Gars Ltd. auction when the six Dunhill Estupendos sold for £4,000 ($6,200), or £667 ($1,034) per cigar. The seveninch-long, 47-ring-gauge Dunhills come packed in distinctive individual
white tubes. “Davidoff and Dunhill prices are on the increase, and remain the Holy Grail cigar for many collectors,” Mitchell Orchant, owner of C. Gars Ltd., said after the November auction. “Dunhills have always been more desirable than Davidoff and the interest in good quality vintage Dunhills with provenance increases year on year.” Boxes of pre-embargo Cuban cigars (sometimes referred to colloquially, if not accurately, as preCastro Cuban cigars) have waxed and waned in value. In the mid 1990s they sold for up to $6,000 per box at auction. By the year 2000, with cigar sales in decline, those boxes could be had for $1,000 to $2,000 per box. In November, they sold for £900 to £1,900 (as much as $3,000) per box of 25. Boxes of 50 sold for as much as £5,500 ($8,400). But just because a cigar is on the auction block doesn’t make it a gem. The November C. Gars auction also saw quite a few boxes of Cuban cigars from 1998 to 2003 sell, and those were troubled years indeed for cigars from Havana. If you buy at auction, do your homework first, and remember: age can make a good cigar great, but it won’t turn a bad cigar into a good one. —David Savona 33
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The Fat Cigar Trend Spreads to Cuba From Cigar Aficionado, September/October 2013
Many of Cuba’s newest cigars are among its fattest. The Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchill (left), which debuted in 2010, is the fattest Romeo cigar. The 2012 release of the Cohiba Píramides Extra (right) created a longer, fatter version of a standard Cuban pyramid.
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igars, like bears bulking up for a long winter’s nap, are getting fatter. The plump cigar trend that began in the non-Cuban cigar world has arrived in Havana, and some of today’s most popular Cuban cigars are among the fattest in history. “Sales of heavy-ring-gauge cigars— 50 or higher—account now for more than 50 percent of Habanos S.A.’s total sales,” says Fernando Domínguez Valdés-Hevia, premium cigar director of Imperial Tobacco PLC, which owns half of Habanos, Cuba’s cigar export organization. Fat cigar sales,
he says, are up by 50 percent over the past decade. “Based on the continuous research we carry out in our main markets, we have confirmed that consumers prefer thicker premium cigars. Additionally, in our more mature markets, current social habits are accelerating the trend towards shorter, but wider, sizes to enjoy the flavor and intensity in less time.” It wasn’t always so. Regular production, straight-sided Cuban cigars have traditionally topped at 50 ring gauge, the girth of a standard Cuban robusto. Consider that cigars com34
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monly considered “large” have ring gauges in the 40s. Cuban double coronas are 49-ring-gauge smokes, Churchills a mere 47 and corona gordas a downright slim 46. Decades ago, gentlemen preferred even thinner cigars, as anyone who has tried— unsuccessfully—to slice open a modern smoke with an antique cigar cutter can attest. Samuel Menzi of the Casa del Habano in Zurich, Switzerland, who has sold cigars for more than 35 years, has witnessed the evolution of Cuban cigars. Thirty years ago “thin, long cigars were fashionable,” he says. Panetelas and lonsdales, with ring gauges from 38 to 42, were in vogue. Today, Cuba is eliminating thin cigars, and it recently deleted the lonsdale-sized Sancho Panza Molinos and Vegas Robaina Clasicos from its porfolio. Cuba dipped a toe in the fat-cigar waters in 2002 with the debut of the Cohiba Siglo VI, measuring 5 7/8 inches by 52 ring. It was new ground for a parejo, but it would take another eight years before the fat-cigar trend really caught fire in Havana. Jump to the 2010 Habanos Festival, when Cuba unveiled the Cohiba Behike BHK trio of cigars. The portly, pigtailed smokes came in three ring gauges: 52, 54 and a massive 56. The BHK 52 was named Cigar Aficionado’s
Cigar of the Year for 2010, with a rating of 97. The same year also saw the release of the Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchill, which at 5 1/8 inches by 55 ring became the thickest of Cuban Romeos. The smoke has scored 92 and 93 points. In 2011, Cuba beefed up the Partagás brand with the Partagás Serie E No. 2 (93 points), which clocks in at 5 1/2 inches by 54 ring. Last year Cuba created a new shape with the Cohiba Pirámides Extra (93 points), a fatter, longer version of a standard Cuban pirámide measuring 6 5/16 inches long by 54 ring gauge. Cuba has made several special releases with even larger sizes. The Sublimes vitola (6 1/2 by 54) has appeared on Montecristos and Cohibas. One of the most splendid Cuban sizes is the Maravillas No. 1, 7 1/4 inches by 55, seen most recently on the Hoyo de Monterrey Maravillas No. 1, which came to market in a special humidor last year. Cuba’s Edición Limitadas are also fat. Those for 2013 all have ring gauges of 50 or more, none grander than the Hoyo de Monterrey Grand Epicure EL, 5 1/8 by 55 ring. Will Cuba ever reach the extreme of a 6-inch, 60-ring smoke, which is so in vogue in the United States? Such a cigar may not be far away. —David Savona 35
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