Cigar Buyer section International Focus
Festival time
The Caribbean island celebrates its most iconic export
Passion, colour, music, the warmth of old friends and above all sharing some of the best cigars in the world pretty much sums up the ethos of the ninth Habanos Festival held earlier this year. Several special cigars were launched at the festival. Top quality tobacco, which has been laid down to age...
By Rob Allanson from Issue 11 published on 11/05/2007
Plumbing 'the Depths'
James Leavey goes in search of the finest cigars from Honduras
Once upon a time when you asked for a Honduran cigar in Britain you meant Don Tomas as that was all there was available. But in recent years the quality of Honduran cigars has reached even greater heights and a wider choice of luxury brands, especially those produced by Rocky Patel, General Cigars,...
By James Leavey from Issue 9 published on 18/09/2006
Land fire, ash and fine tobacco
Ecuador is a stunning country and because of its volcanic history, perfectly suited to tobacco production. James Leavey reports
Many premium cigars today use wrappers grown in Ecuador, where the volcanic soil is among the most fertile substances in the world and ideal for growing consistently good wrapper leaf. That’s why you’ll often see the wrapper type listed as ‘Ecuadorian Connecticut’, ‘Ecuadorian Sumatra’ or ‘Ecuadori...
By James Leavey from Issue 7 published on 10/02/2006
Cubans still on top
James Leavey interviews Manuel Garcia, Habanos SA’s commercial vice-president
Manuel Garcia Morejon, the commercial vice-president of Habanos SA. Based in Havana, 47-year-old Garcia has been working in the Cuban cigar industry since 1989 when he joined Cubatabaco (now Habanos SA) from the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Trade. He spent sixyears as managing director of 5th Avenue Pr...
By James Leavey from Issue 6 published on 11/11/2005
The United Nations of cigar retailers
Earlier this year, 29 of the world’s leading cigar retailers were invited to the Dominican Republic for a series of masterclasses, factory visits and field trips organised by Davidoff. They were joined by James Leavey
When Davidoff’s United Kingdom sales director, Ron Baldwinson, asked if I’d care to join him on a five-day tour of his company’s cigar factory and farms in the Dominican Republic last February, I had to restrain myself from biting his arm off. Over the past decade I’ve followed the premium cigar tr...
By James Leavey from Issue 5 published on 15/09/2005
