See Also: My Blog Archives: February 2009Posted: 01:34 PM ET, February 27, 2009I had the chance to unofficially smoke the Cohiba Gran Reserva last night during a private dinner at La Guarida restaurant in Centro Havana, and I almost fell out of my chair. I was really blown away by the richness and power of the smoke. It had such great length with coffee, tobacco and dark chocolate character that filled the mouth. Read more
Posted: 03:53 PM ET, February 26, 2009I might have found my new cigar for this year: Trinidad Robusto T. What an awesome smoke. I love the rich and spicy character with a fresh, clean and floral undertone. It has all the Trinidad style that I like and more. I think it’s a 93-point smoke, non blind. Read more
Posted: 04:51 PM ET, February 25, 2009I am not sure what people learned yesterday in a cigar tasting of new production 8-9-8 Partagas versus 8-9-8 Partagas from 1998. The 10-year-old cigar was smoked first during the tasting in a back room of the Partagas Factory in downtown Havana, across from the capital building that is a twin to our own in Washington D. Read more
Posted: 11:47 AM ET, February 24, 2009It was sort of surreal last night sitting in the Karl Marx Theater in Havana and watching a presentation for the line extension of Montecristo –Open– during the XI Festival Habano. Images of pristine golf courses, sleek yachts and powerful motor racing machines were mixed with polo tournaments, tennis matches, international regattas, and Grand Prix races to the background music of Coldplay and a number of other popular rock bands. Read more
Posted: 04:56 PM ET, February 23, 2009I just finished lunch at El Aljibe restaurant in Havana, and I noticed a table of a dozen or so dudes wearing various U.S. baseball uniforms, from the Dodgers to the White Sox. They looked like they were having a great time. They had smiles from ear to ear and a number of them were smoking cigars. Read more
Posted: 06:32 PM ET, February 22, 2009I went over to the Nacional Hotel this morning to pick up my registration for the XI Festival del Habano. José Antonio Candida from Habanos S.A., the organizer of the event and the global distribution and marketing company for Cuban cigars, had my package in hand with a Bolivar Royal Corona in tubo. Read more
Posted: 02:23 PM ET, February 20, 2009A friend just about had a heart attack this morning. He had what he called a “global conference call” connected to “eight countries” for a “huge business deal,” but, unfortunately, his mobile phone from Cubacell ran out of credit halfway through the conversation. Read more
Posted: 01:00 PM ET, February 19, 2009I was in Aljibe, the famous chicken, rice and bean joint in Havana last night, and ran into a couple of Americans who were on a fact-finding mission. I am not sure what they were looking for, but it was a little of the ugly American and it wasn’t pretty. Read more
Posted: 02:02 PM ET, February 18, 2009My back is still in pain. If I move the wrong way, I have a sharp pain spike through my lower back. Maybe I should try some Santiago 11-year-old rum? The Bolivar Belicoso did not remedy the situation, but it sure was a lovely smoke.
Another friend is considering organizing a santero to get rid of the pain and evil spirits. Read more
Posted: 04:22 PM ET, February 17, 2009I have been hanging tight in my friend’s apartment in La Habana thanks to a pinched nerve in my lower back. It happened on Sunday night. I will not go into the details. But it hurts “como un desesperante. Read more
Posted: 09:17 AM ET, February 17, 2009A lot of important people are talking about changes in travel restrictions between the United States and Cuba. I have even heard that some representatives from the states were here in Havana last week discussing the ramifications of Americans legally visiting the island with the Cuban government. Read more
Posted: 04:09 PM ET, February 13, 2009I went to a Chucho Valdez concert last night with my son Jack, who is taking lessons with a jazz pianist who plays for Buena Vista Social Club. Jack is really enjoying it and digging on the whole music scene here in Cuba. It is a long way from classical piano in the depths of Northern England. Read more
Posted: 09:09 AM ET, February 12, 2009I ran into a fan in the Iberostar Hotel lobby as I was waiting to get picked up by a friend to go out for the day in a boat around Varadero. I think he was Canadian, if I properly picked up his accent.
“Hi,” he said. “I just wanted to tell you that I love your work. Read more
Posted: 09:03 AM ET, February 11, 2009I just got back from Varadero yesterday afternoon after spending a couple of nights there with my 14-year-old son Jack. We drove to the beach in my friend’s old Toyota, and despite the bad road from Havana, we made it there and back. It’s about a two-hour drive. Read more
Posted: 09:23 AM ET, February 09, 2009I went to a wine dinner on Saturday night at Club Havana for the introduction of wines from Tuscany’s Castello Banfi to the Cuban market. The multi-course meal was full of Havana’s sommeliers as well as diplomats, actors and other celebrities from the island. Read more
Posted: 12:28 PM ET, February 06, 2009President Obama seems to be one of the most popular subjects of the conversations I’m having in Cuba. The general impression is very, very positive with the average man and woman on the street, from taxi driver to politician, and all of them have high hopes for our new president. Read more
Posted: 04:22 PM ET, February 05, 2009I have been smoking a number of Edición Limitadas since arriving in Cuba more than a week ago. I am a big fan of the cigars. I can’t say that I have collected, or bought, every edition, but I have most likely smoked them all one time or another in my career. Read more
Posted: 12:08 PM ET, February 04, 2009Habanos S.A., the global distribution and marketing company for Cuban cigars, has been trying to keep a large number of new cigar releases under wraps for this month’s Habanos Festival, including a line extension for the Montecristo brand and a new size for Trinidad. Read more
Posted: 02:52 PM ET, February 03, 2009I drove out to Pinar del Río yesterday with a couple of Cuban friends, including the great ballet dancer Carlos Acosta. We drove an old and battered Kia four-wheel drive down the main autopista from Havana to the town of Pinar del Río and then to near the village of San Luis. Read more
Posted: 09:55 AM ET, February 02, 2009We smoke a lot more Cuban cigars than you think we do. For years, I have been telling people – including CNN and other news organizations in interviews– that Americans illegally buy about 8 million to 10 million Cuban sticks a year. But I am way off. Read more
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