A Season Of Cigar Festivals
If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to visit a major tobacco-growing region in 2024, then there are a few cigar festivals coming up, each one full of field trips, factory tours and celebratory smoking dinners.
Cigar festival season starts this month with Puro Sabor, commonly referred to as the Nicaraguan Cigar Festival. It begins in the capital city of Managua but the true immersive experience doesn’t kick off until you arrive in Estelí, which is the country’s cigar-making epicenter. There, you’ll be able to visit the cigar factories and tobacco fields of some of the hottest producers in the industry, including Padrón, Oliva, Rocky Patel, A.J. Fernandez, Plasencia, My Father Cigars, Aganorsa Leaf and Joya de Nicaragua. Puro Sabor goes from January 22 to January 27.
Should you be curious about Dominican Cigars, the ProCigar Festival takes place February 18 to February 23 in the Dominican Republic. This cigar-centric excursion is divided into two parts, one coastal and one in the mountains. Part I begins in La Romana at the all-inclusive Casa de Campo resort, where you can go to the white-sand beaches or lounge at the cigar-friendly restaurants and pool. This portion concludes with a tour of Tabacalera de Garcia, the large factory responsible for brands such as Montecristo, H. Upmann and Romeo y Julieta. Part II brings you to Santiago, where most premium Dominican cigars are made (including our Cigar of the Year, the Fuente Fuente OpusX Reserva d’Chateau). From there, you’ll have the choice to visit the tobacco farms and factories of the country’s major cigarmakers: Arturo Fuente, Altadis U.S.A., EPC Cigar Co., La Aurora, La Flor Dominicana, General Cigar, Quesada Cigars, Davidoff and more. Most of the cigarmakers are in attendance giving you the chance to meet the men (and women) behind your favorite brands.
Shortly after ProCigar wraps up, Cuba’s Habanos Festival begins. Most of the year, Habanos keeps Cuba’s cigar industry closed off to the world. The annual festival, however, is the one week where Habanos opens its doors to cigar fans, showing off select farms in the famed Pinar del Río region, and offering walking tours of such factories as H. Upmann and La Corona. The Habanos Festival is also a showcase for the year’s upcoming products, offering sneak peaks and advanced samples of cigar brands and sizes that have yet to hit the market. Evening events and cigar banquets keep the party going well into the night. Now in its 24th year, the festival takes place from February 26 to March 1.
Don’t want to leave the country? You can always go to the South Beach Food & Wine Festival, which is an all-encompassing celebration of food, wine and even cigars. At the festival, Cigar Aficionado magazine is presenting a late-night cigar soiree hosted by television personality and cigar lover Guy Fieri, who appeared on our cover last year. Although the Festival goes from February 22 to 25, this intimate cigar event happens on Friday, February 23 on the rooftop of the Kimpton Angler’s Hotel. It starts at 11 pm.
If you’re an ambitious cigar fan and feel like festival hopping all season long, try going for a personal record and attend all of them. You might have to sacrifice a day of one festival in order to make the next, but it’s certainly possible to achieve. We’ve done it here at Cigar Aficionado and believe there’s no better way to spend the winter.
