Registration Opens for Cuba's 14th Annual Habanos Festival

David Savona
Posted: January 11, 2012

Registration is now open for the annual Festival del Habano, the world’s biggest cigar festival. The weeklong event, a celebration of all things related to the Cuban cigar, begins on February 27 and concludes March 2 with a gala dinner in Havana.

This is the 14th annual time the event (also known as the Habanos Festival) will take place. Retailers, distributors, journalists and lovers of Cuban cigars from all around the world will attend—participants from more than 60 different countries are expected this year by host Habanos S.A., the distributor of all of Cuba’s cigars.

Expect several new cigar releases to be unveiled at the show, as this is the traditional time for Cuba’s cigar industry to show off its latest products, which will come to market later in the year. At last year’s festival, the Cubans unveiled the Montecristo Gran Reserva, the Partágas Serie E No. 2 and Serie D No. 5, the H. Upmann Half Corona and Royal Robusto, the Cohiba 1966 Edición Limitada 2011 (which scored 94 points in Cigar Insider), and various other cigars.

This year’s festival is centered around two of Cuba’s biggest brands, Cohiba and Romeo y Julieta, so expect new versions of those brands. The festival will include trips to Cuban tobacco farms and cigar factories, seminars and contests, including a how-to on cigar rolling. The final dinner will include the traditional auction of large humidors, with the proceeds benefiting the Cuban public health system.

Cigar Aficionado will be in Cuba the entire week of the Festival, and you can follow our editors’ blogs at www.cigaraficionado.com

To register for the festival, visit www.habanos.com

For coverage of last year’s festival, click here.

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Comments 2 comment(s)

Arthur Pappas — MA, — January 13, 2012 3:38pm ET

Do travel restrictions to Cuba prevent U.S. citizens from attending this event?

myles tandy — February 14, 2012 5:36pm ET

Arthur, you can fly there legally...what is illegal is spending any money...it's considered "Trading with the enemy"....it's a pricey trip from the u.s, you're better off leaving from canada.

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