Dalia Padilla and María Eugenia Álvarez, from Christie’s London auction house, one of the world’s most famous of its kind, hosted the sale of six original humidors during the event’s evening Gala, held at the Pabexpo Exhibition Center, representing a tribute to the world’s most renowned Cuban cigar brands.

More than 100 humidors have been sold in auctions held during Habano Festivals since 1999 to date, with which over 15 million euros have been raised for Cuba’s public health system.

The first humidor auctioned, sold for 380,000 euros, was donated by the family of the 1998 Habano Man in Communications, Britain’s Simon Chase, who conducted 16 auctions during Festivals.

It was followed by the H. Upmann humidor (with 355 cigars) sold for 270,000 euros; the Partagás with 390 cigars, €400,000; Romeo and Julieta with 380 cigars, €400,000; Montecristo with 450 cigars, €420,000; and the humidor that attracted the highest bid: the Cohiba, dedicated to the 500th anniversary of Havana, with 550 cigars including all the company’s vitolas, that went for 2.4 million euros.

Previously, Habanos S.A. Co-Presidents Inocente Núñez and Luís Sánchez Harguindey, presented trophies to the winners of Habano Man of the Year prizes: Servilio Jesús Córdova (Production) from Cuba; Jean-Claude Reichling (Business) from Luxembourg; and Alexandre de Lucidio Avellar (Communications) from Brazil.

Tarek Gamayel and Fadi Hammad, from the United Arab Emirates, were recognized as winners of the International Habanos World Challenge, a competition in which cigar lovers display their knowledge of the Habano world.

Also in attendance were Rodrigo Malmierca, minister of Foreign Trade and Investment; Gustavo Rodriguez, minister of Agriculture; and Jose Angel Portal, minister of Public Health, among others.

The Gala, dedicated to the Romeo and Julieta brand on its 145th anniversary and its three new Gold Line vitolas (Hidalgos, Dianas and Nobles), the brand’s top Premium lines, entirely handmade.

The night’s artistic program included performances by Cristian Alejandro, Shiina, Laritza Bacallao, Camerata Guido Lopez, Mimos Cuerpo Fusión Theater Company, Saeed Mohamed, Geydy Chapman, Max Max, Osdalgia, Arlenys, the Litz Alfonso company, dancer Vengsay Valdés and her partner, as well as the outstanding U.S. disco and soul singer Gloria Gaynor, who pleased those present with several of her hits, including the legendary “I Will Survive” (1979).

(Source: Granma)

Over five intense days, around 2,000 participants from some 50 countries, as well as more than 180 national and international journalists, discovered and delighted in the best tobacco in the world, the product of a centuries-long tradition on the island. Attendees had the exclusive opportunity to enjoy new vitolas being presented this 2017 by Habanos S.A, sponsor of the Festival together with the Tabacuba Enterprise Group.

KEY RESULTS OF HABANOS S.A

During an encounter with the press at the Havana International Convention Center, the company’s marketing director, Enrique Babot Espinosa, noted that this is a positive time for Habanos S.A, which saw sales of some 445 million dollars last year, representing a 5% increase as compared to 2015. “This shows that despite the difficult international scenario, Habanos S.A. maintains its position as a leading cigar brand.”

The representative emphasized that the company’s premium cigars occupy around 70% of the global market share in units and 80% in regards to revenue (excluding the United States, to which the entity does not have access given the economic, commercial and financial blockade of Cuba).

In this regard, Javier Terrés Ercilla, vice president of Development, stated that the company is very pleased with results obtained last year.

“We must put the 5% sales increase in context, given that the international luxury goods industry only saw slight growth over the same period, which says a lot about the strengthen of our products, such as Cohiba, Montecristo, Partagás, Hoyo de Monterrey, H. Upmann, and Romeo y Julieta, among others, which represent a great asset in our hands. Given this reality we feel reasonably optimistic about the future and impending challenges.”

France, China, Germany, Cuba, and Switzerland represent Habanos S.A’s most important markets; making up 50% of the company’s total sales. Photo: Ismael Batista
Terrés Ercilla went on to note that the entity’s most important markets include Spain, France, China, Germany, Cuba, and Switzerland in that order. “These countries make up over 50% of the company’s entire sales, highlighting that the tourist boom in Cuba, which received over four million international visitors last year, has impacted sales increases in this sphere on the island in 2016.”

Meanwhile, the associated Trade Fair occupied a special place in this year’s event, representing a unique moment and the ideal occasion for technical and commercial exchanges between businesspeople, producers, artisans, artists, and suppliers linked to the world of Cuban cigar products.

Rodrigo Malmierca, the island’s minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, and Justo Luis Fuentes, President of the Tabacuba Enterprise Group, had the honor of inaugurating the Fair, which also took place in the Havana Convention Center, and according to the Cuban minister, had “one of the highest participation rates of the 19 editions held to date.”

In this sense he thanked exhibitors from Germany, China, Canada, Italy, Spain, France, and Panama, while also highlighting the incredible response once again from Cuban exhibitors, with 48 entities presenting a wide range of offers across diverse spheres such as crafts, cultural and musical production, fashion, tourism, gastronomy, and of course everything related to cigars, including collectable items and smoking accessories, such as a wide variety of innovative cases and humidors.

NEW SIR WINSTON, QUAI D’ORSAY & MONTECRISTO CIGARS PRESENTED

Not even the rain could dampen the enthusiasm of guests attending the Welcome Evening at the beautiful and historic Club Habana, founded in 1928 on the shore of Havana’s western coastline, and located near to the Marina Hemingway and neighborhood of Jaimanitas.

The great attraction of the night was undoubtedly the H. Upmann‘s Gran Reserva Cosecha 2011 in its Sir Winston vitola (47 x 178mm).

Rodrigo Malmierca, Cuban minister of Foreign Trade and Investment (right), and Justo Luis Fuentes, President of the Tabacuba Enterprise Group (left), inaugurated the Festival’s Trade Fair in the Havana International Convention Center. Also pictured: Luis Sánchez-Harguindey, Co-President of Habanos S.A. Photo: Ismael Batista
The best filler, binder, and wrapper leaves from the 2011 harvests in the Vueltabajo region of Pinar del Río province were selected to create this cigar, which underwent a lengthy and meticulous five-year aging process.

This is the brand’s first Gran Reserva line, presented in a one-time launch featuring 5,000 exclusive boxes each containing 20 cigars.

The brand’s flagships collection which was preceded by its first Reserve line, launched in 2014, in the vitola Upmann No. 2, made with carefully selected leaves from the 2010 harvest.

Meanwhile the Quai D’Orsay Tribute Night took place in the Main Hall of the Laguito cigar factory, located in the neighborhood of Miramar, during which the brand’s new design was presented alongside two novel vitolas: The Quai D’Orsay No. 50 (50 x 110mm) and No. 54 (54 x 135mm), available in units of 10 and 25 cigars which, in addition to the Coronas Claro vitola (42 x 142mm) make for an attractive portfolio of products, which will be available to purchase worldwide in 2017.

All Quai D’Orsay cigars are made entirely by hand, with the long filler leaves grown in Pinar del Rio’s Vueltabajo region.

In regards to the brand’s new look, the cigar band maintains its original geometric design, but is now bigger and better quality, featuring different gold tones, reliefs, and wefts. The global launch of the line will give smokers across the world the chance to discover and enjoy this special cigar, which contains all the flavor, character, and intensity which makes Cuban tobacco the best in the world.

This gem within Habanos S.A.’s portfolio, was created exclusively in 1973 by Cubatabaco for the French market, at the request of SEITA, the European nation’s former state-owned tobacco company, whose name refers to the famous port in Paris, where the facility was once based.

Meanwhile, taking place at the capital’s PABEXPO fairgrounds was the Gala Night dedicated to the Montecristo brand, which launched its newest and most exclusive 1935 Line, featuring original vitolas from the Leyenda (55 x 165mm), Dumas (49 x 130mm) and Maltés (53 x 153mm) collections.

All the cigars are hand rolled with long filler leaves and completed with the finest wrapper and binder leaves selected from the best tobacco farms in Vueltabajo; renowned for their strong flavor, which complements the medium to strong taste of the Clásica and Edmundo lines, and medium-flavor Open collection.

These three cigars are the result of concerted efforts between Habanos S.A, Tabacuba, monitored by their respective quality departments, and the most experienced cigar masters.

Montecristo is perhaps the most well known and appreciated of Habanos S.A.’s brands. The variety takes its name from the novel The Count of Monte Cristo, by celebrated French author and playwright Alejandro Dumas (1802-1870), and was founded in 1935 in the H. Upmann factory in Havana.

Meanwhile, other products presented during the Festival included Romeo y Julieta Petit Royales (47x95mm), as well as 2017 Limited Editions: Cohiba Talismán, Partagás Serie No. 1 and Punch Regios de Punch, the latter a medium strength, shorter cigar with a new thickness, among others.

In addition, this 19th Habano Festival upheld the annual challenge of offering the best combinations of cigars (Protected Denomination of Origin) and most exclusive beverages in the world, during which the prestigious Brandy de Jerez presented four of its most appreciated brandies: the Lepanto Solera Gran Reserva (González Byass), Cardenal Mendoza Carta Real (Bodegas Sánchez Romate), Fundador Exclusivo (Bodegas Fundador) and Carlos I Imperial (Bodegas Osborne), which were paired with Trinidad Vigía and Partagás Serie D No. 4, two habanos popular among consumers.
Other highlights of the festival included the eagerly-awaited tour of tobacco farms in the San Juan y Martínez region of Pinar del Rio, and the La Corona and H. Upmann factories in Havana, in addition to the International Habanosommelier Competition. The International Seminar and master classes also took place, featuring topics such as “H. Upmann, the connoisseurs’ brand,” “The past, present, and future of Quai D’Orsay,” “Montecristo: lines for all tastes;” “The art of combining (wrapper, binder and filler leaves),” – a workshop on the hand-rolling technique, as well as the longest ash competition.

After almost two decades, the combination of all these activities have made the Festival the ideal place to promote the planet’s best cigars, Cuban cigars.

(Granma)

This year’s edition was dedicated to Cohiba, the flagship Habanos brand, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, which was celebrated in style with a closing gala held at Havana’s Pabexpo exposition center.

In this context, the presentation of the new Cohiba Medio Siglo (ring gauge 52 x 102mm long) was a landmark event, a product that joins the brand’s regular portfolio within the Línea 1492 line.

Likewise, two other special edition products were launched to mark the occasion – a limited edition vintage-style humidor containing the exclusive Cohiba Majestuoso 1966 vitola (ring gauge 58 x 150mm) – aroused particular interest among worldwide tobacco manufacturers and suppliers, as well as artisans and smoking accessory collectors and dealers.

The luxury “Cohiba 50 Aniversario” humidor cabinet was also presented during the event, a limited edition of just 50 units, which is lined with Cuban ligero tobacco leaves plated with 24-carat gold. Each humidor is numbered and contains fifty “Cohiba 50 Aniversario” cigars.

This unique format vitola has a ring gauge of 60 by 178mm long, and is the first of this gauge (23.80mm) in the Habanos range, designed especially for the anniversary.

The 2,500 Habanos in this edition have been made with the signature taste the brand has become known for over the past five decades, all rolled completely by hand with long fillers at the El Laguito Factory in Havana.

The humidor, meanwhile, is made from a variety of precious woods, such as Macasar ebony, sycamore and pink cedar from the guarea cedrata family.

It was produced by the firm Elie Bleu, based on a design by Jean-Philippe Martin. The leaves used in the new Cohiba were meticulously handpicked from the best tobacco plantations in San Juan y Martínez and San Luis, in the region of Vuelta Abajo, Pinar del Río.

While Cohiba featured center stage during the close of the festival, the Hoyo de Monterrey Reserva Cosecha 2012 did the same during the Welcome Evening held at the beautiful Antiguo Almacén del Tabaco y la Madera, in the San José warehouse district on Havana’s Avenida del Puerto.

This is the first Reserva line from Hoyo de Monterrey, in the form of its iconic Epicure No.2 vitola (ring gauge 50 x 124mm). All of the leaves used in this Habano (wrapper, filler and binder) were subject to a three year process of careful ageing, resulting in a unique and exclusive production of just 5,000 numbered boxes, representing the absolute excellence of the brand. Undoubtedly, they will be a sensation among Habano enthusiasts.

Hoyo de Monterrey is one of the oldest and most prestigious Habanos brands. The brand name dates back to 1865, and owes its origin to the plantation of the same name, also located in San Juan y Martínez, in the heart of the Vuelta Abajo region. This new Reserva cigar is true to the unique character of Habanos, recognized for their Protected Denomination of Origin status.

Other new products presented during the event included the Cuaba 20 Aniversario vitola, the H. Upmann Magnum 54, as well as the 2016 limited edition lines: Montecristo Dantés and Romeo y Julieta Capuletos; and the Trinidad Topes from the Habanos Añejados range.

Enjoying these exclusive Habanos in this rebellious yet hospitable land is, without a doubt, to discover the roots and secrets of a centuries-long tradition of tobacco in Cuba, dating back to the island’s indigenous population.

AN INTENSE PROGRAM

National and international delegates and guests enjoyed a series of special moments during the Festival, which ranged from the traditional visit to tobacco farms in the Vuelta Abajo region of the province of Pinar del Río, to tours of the El Laguito factory, the headquarters of the Cohiba brand and the Trade Fair, as well as the International Seminar with master classes and talks by recognized Habano experts. The program also included tastings and pairings with exclusive products such as Chianti wines, Royal Salute 21 Year Old whiskey from the Pernod Ricard company, Bodegas Torres white wine, the Tributo and Unión rums from Havana Club, and the Caney and Isla del Tesoro rums from the CIMEX corporation and Cubaron company, respectively.

PARTICIPANTS HAVE THEIR SAY

According to Javier Terréz de Ercilla, vice president of Development at Habanos. S.A., the Habano Festival is the biggest premium tobacco public relations event in the world.

“There is no event like this in any other country, in which over 2,000 people, from more than 60 countries come together over one week to surround themselves with the Habano culture. It is a unique showcase to launch new products, introduce our own products and exchange with consumers.

“I’ve been working in Cuba since 2000 and increasing numbers of enthusiasts of the cigars made on this island come, which makes us strive each year to offer the very best to our customers,” Terréz de Ercilla, from Madrid, explains.

When asked what the company means to him personally, he confesses: “I think that anyone working in Habanos S.A. has to be aware that it is a privilege, as you are in contact with a unique product, a leader in the world market; a product that represents Cuba in every sense.”

Meanwhile, Australian-Canadian Dwight Mullally-Zakus, a retired university professor aged 65, attending the Habano Festival for the first time, stated that he thought it was a great and truly unique event.

After explaining that this was his third trip to Cuba, he revealed, with a clear twinkle in his eyes, his love “for Habanos, for Cuba and her people.” He continued, “I would like to move to this country and live here with my wife.”

REALITIES AND CHALLENGES

Habanos S.A. exclusively sells 27 brands of Habanos across the world, and saw sales amounting to $428 million dollars in 2015, representing 4% growth in constant currency terms in relation to the previous year. This result was considered positive by Luis Sánchez-Harguindey, co-president of the joint venture.

Supported by its exclusivity and appreciated by smokers of premium cigars worldwide, the Habano has become an absolute world leader in the sector. The cigars are sold in 165 countries worldwide, with the exception of the U.S., due to the blockade against Cuba.

This 18th Habano Festival offered the perfect context in which to enjoy the passion that surrounds the Habano.

(Granma)