David Savona's Blog Archives

March 2008

Smoking in Paradise—St. Barth's

Posted: 12:16 PM ET, March 26, 2008

I spent last week on the island of Saint Barth’s, which is also known as Saint Bart’s and officially called Saint Barthélemy. Whatever name you use, it’s a gorgeous, hilly eight-square mile island in the French West Indies with superb beaches, wonderful cuisine, balmy weather and Cuban cigars. Read more

DR Cigar Fest--The Wrapup

Posted: 11:31 AM ET, March 11, 2008

The first ProCigar Festival is in the books, and it went pretty well. About 120 people had a chance to spend time with cigarmakers in their factories and fields, they smoked up a storm and they got a nice taste of Dominican culture. A few even did the extended stay and spent this weekend in La Romana, home to Tabacalera de Garcia, and played in a golf tournament. Read more

DR Cigar Fest—The Parties

Posted: 12:45 PM ET, March 10, 2008

Every night of the ProCigar Festival ended with a party. And they were pretty darn good ones, too.

I’ve been to the Dominican Republic dozens of times since joining Cigar Aficionado magazine in 1995, but I rarely see any more of the city than tobacco fields, cigar factories or restaurants. Read more

DR Cigar Fest—Into the Fields

Posted: 05:18 PM ET, March 07, 2008

Yesterday I headed out with the tour group to embark on ProCigar’s version of Cigar 101—trips to cigar factories and tobacco fields where the tour guides are some of the leading men in the cigar world. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and people were in a fine mood. Read more

DR Cigar Festival—Opening Night

Posted: 02:33 PM ET, March 06, 2008

I walked into the lobby at the Gran Almirante last night and ran smack into Avo Uvezian, creator of the Avo brand. He was holding court, surrounded by six cigar fans that were tapping his brain about making cigars. I said hello to Avo and smiled.

This is why people had come to Santiago this week, for the first annual ProCigar festival: to get close to a big name in cigars. Read more

The Dominican Cigar Festival—The Beginning

Posted: 04:13 PM ET, March 05, 2008

I’ve just arrived in Santiago for the first annual ProCigar Festival. This has been a long time coming, and I’m happy to be here. Cuba has had its cigar festival for more than a decade now, so why not a similar one in the Dominican Republic?

ProCigar is an association of leading Dominican cigarmakers. Read more

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