The 2014 edition of the Festival de Habano kicks off today in Havana with an opening dinner at Club Havana. With participants from more than 80 countries, according to a Habanos S.A. press release, the festival brings together official representatives of Cuban cigars from around the world, cigar lovers and members of the press.
The dinner tonight will honor two new cigars, a Hoyo de Monterrey Le Hoyo de San Juan and a Partagás Serie D No. 6. The Hoyo, which is a new addition to the Le Hoyo series, is 5 7/8 inches by 54 ring gauge, one of the thickest cigars ever produced in this line. The Partagás Serie D No. 6 is 3 1/2 inches long by 50 ring gauge, and represents a new addition to the popular Serie D line.
Habanos also announced that in 2013 the value of its export reached $447 million, an increase of eight percent over 2012. The results cover all 27 brands produced by hand in Cuba, according to the official press release.
The festival continues through Friday, with a series of seminars, visits to cigar factories and the tobacco fields of Pinar del Río, and several gala dinners.
A dinner Wednesday night at the Museo del Bellas Artes will honor the Trinidad brand with the release of a new thicker size, the Vigia at 4 3/8 inches by 54 ring gauge, and the new Cohiba Edición Limitada 2014.
The closing gala dinner on Friday night will highlight the first ever H. Upmann Reserve, the H. Upmann No. 2 Reserva Cosecha 2010, a vintage cigar using tobacco from the 2010 crop. The No. 2 is a pyramid shaped cigar.
