Habanos Announces 2019 Festival Highlights
The Festival del Habano, the annual gathering of cigar professionals and lovers from around the world, will feature the San Cristobal de la Habana brand, according to Cuba’s tobacco monopoly, Habanos S.A. The brand will celebrate its 20th anniversary. The 2019 festival, to be held from February 18 to February 22 in Havana, Cuba, will commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Havana’s founding. Two other cigar brands will also lead the program: Hoyo de Monterrey and Trinidad.
The Festival will hold a number of other activities, including visits to tobacco farms in Pinar del Río, tour of Havana’s cigar factories and a series of seminars about cigars and tobacco. This year, however, the cigar sommelier contest will not be held. Instead, the popular Habanos World Challenge, a game-like format that tests cigar and tobacco knowledge, will take place with two-person teams competing for the top prize.
In recent years, the Festival’s featured cigar has included Cohiba (celebrating its 50th anniversary), Montecristo and Partagás. The featured cigar is usually highlighted with new, special releases and is the focus of the festival.
The 2019 edition of the Festival will be the 21st time it has been held. The festival’s final dinner is a gala affair with a live auction of custom-made humidors, and a performance by a well-known musical act. The Festival organizers have not released any details about this year’s performer.
