MO's TRIP TO CUBA

The Hotel was originally the home of Claudio Martinez de Pinillo (1789-1853). The Count of Villanueva, a gentleman of great importance and influence in the 18th Century. His influence spread to the railroads, cigars, science and literature ... and of course he was a Havana cigar aficionado. 

The hotel has only 9 bedrooms which are well appointed and feature very high beamed ceilings. Arranged around a beautiful central floral courtyard with peacocks walking around! .... This is not your typical hotel! The hotel is designed for Havana cigar smokers and is located in the heart of old Havana close to Cathedral Square and the book market. 

Villaneuva also boasts an excellent Casa del Habanos, professionally managed by the knowledgeable and courteous Alberto who not only speaks good English but has many years experience in the business. 

Dinner on the first evening was at the famous El Ajibe renowned for its fried chicken as well as other dishes. Cuba really is no gastronomic delight but this restaurant is a welcome exception. I bumped into a group of friends I know well from Cigar Family and Cigar Aficionado bulletin boards which made the evening all the more enjoyable. Dinner was accompanied with Havana Club 7 and Cohiba Siglo V's.... a perfect evening! 

Now down to the serious business of cigar 'hunting'! Early start and first stop was the Hotel Nacional cigar shop, rapidly on to the Partagas Factory Casa del Habanos for a coffee with the Manager Abel Exposito, then over to the La Corona factory shop, 5th Avenue shop in Miramar and finally Casa Amistas. Phew!.... exhausting :-) What a day. Smoking Salamones, meeting up with many friends 
and drinking Cubita... tough life but I think I handled it well! 

Of course C.GARS Ltd have private lockers at Casa del Habanos in 5th Avenue as well as Villanueva and I took the opportunity of doing a touch of restocking including the following cigars. Cohiba Siglo I's (1995) El Rey Chiox Supreme (1996), Festival del Habanos 2000 Maervas, Saint Luis Rey Serie A (1997), Montecristo Robusto Maduro, Partagas No. 2 maduro, Partagas Serie D No. 3 (1997), Partagas Serie D No. 1 (1998) and ..... a few others:-) 

The situation was more or less the same in all of the cigar shops. Very full stocks but very young and basically unsmokeable cigars. Excellent selection of robustos and piramides and fair stock of the limited edition maduros Montecristo Robusto and Partagas No. 2 though I would guess these will not be available for much longer as I noted customers buying up dozens of boxes. 

Before I get 100's of emails..... There were absolutely no Romeo Exhibition No. 2 Maduros and NO Hoyo Particulares Maduros. There may be more made later this year but I'm not sure that I would count on it. Those of you who got your hands on some of these excellent cigars were very lucky. I think the Hoyos may become a collectors item. 

C.GARS Ltd still have limited stocks of the Montecristo and Partagas Maduros but the Romeo Exhibition No. 2's are only available in our sampler pack which can be ordered secure online - http://www.cgarsltd.co.uk - or via email. The sampler consists of 6 cigars and has been our most popular sampler so far this year. 

Again..... before I receive 100's of emails... there are no millennium 2000 Cuaba Distinguido Jars available anywhere in Havana. The are very few Montecristo jars but a decent supply of Cohiba piramides. 

C.GARS Ltd still have all of the Millennium cigars available in singles, samplers and full jars.... We even sell the empty attractive and very functional humijars for £150 each. 

Back in rainy London, I smoke around 4-5 Havanas a day of various brands and vitolas (sizes) but in Havana. I reckon that goes up to around 8 a day! So many excellent rollers and I'm not if it's the climate or the atmosphere but.... They just seem to taste 'better' (probably the rum. I hear you say!) 

Carlos Valdes, the master roller who kindly did cigar rolling demonstration live on our webcam recently, was rolling cigars at Casa Amistas in Vedado and I enjoyed some excellent Salamones and Diademas that he rolled for me, with my preference of a medium/strong blend... true perfection from a master of his craft. 

Would you like to try a Valdes cigar free? .... Order any 25 cigars (Havana) within 48 hours of receiving my newsletter and I'll glady send you one with my compliments and best wishes... whilst stocks last! So please order early to avoid disappointment. 

My friends and I enjoyed a seafood dinner at at Don Cangrejo followed by Salsa Music with a most excellent live Salsa band at 'Macumba' nightclub till the wee small hours. The funny part was that at the entrance the sign said $15 dollars entry but everyone was being charged $25! When we challenged their charging methods ..... frankly they didn't give a damn! After all this is Cuba! Nevertheless the mojitos were fabulous as were the 5 year old Quai d'Orsay Imperiales we smoked. 

I have some Quai d'Orsay Imperiales aged from 1997 available in singles (over email only please) at £14/cigar. Possibly the finest daytime Churchill sized cigar with excellent construction and characteristic mild to medium flavour and strength. 

This is not the tourist peak season in Havana, possibly because it can be a little too hot (around 80°F and humid) but old Havana is always a hive of activity. 

I spent days scouring the bookmarkets as I'm always trying to expand my reference library on aged and rare cigars. I was lucky enough to find a Cuba Tobacco catalogue from 1962, which made my whole trip all the more worthwhile. 

Holding court as usual at 'La Mina' (a well known restaurant in the heart of Old Havana) listening to live bands throughout the day whilst sipping Cubita, I met with may of the local antique and book dealers who I have known for many years. My collection of antique cigar cabinets (from the 40's, 50's and 60's) has grown dramatically over the years and I'm happy to make some of these beautiful cabinets available to you. They are all solid cedar lined and of course make for a perfect humidor as well as an excellent conversation piece. After all they are rare and indeed a piece of Havana Cigar history from bygone days. - http://www.cgarsltd.co.uk 

I'm also making available various other historic Havana cigar related ephemera such as magazines, postcards, first day covers, photographs, vitofilia etc.... check them out at http://www.cgarsltd.co.uk - don't delay these are rare one off items! 

Oh No Baseball Bats!!!!.... again! 

Aged Havanas 

M. Orchant