Farewell Festival Habanos

So back to the real world, having left Havana Saturday and I miss it already! A fantastic final Gala dinner, where we celebrated the H. Upmann brand, so that is all we smoked, including the new 2014 Reservas which were fabulous. H. Upmann for me has been a neglected brand over recent years and this year was Habanos' most recognizable attempt at them trying to revive it. I am happy to hear it, as it really is a fascinating and intriguing cigar brand that takes a bit of time to get used to but once you are in, it is just such a joy. The annual auction of a few special one-off items was agai a great success for Cuba, raising 1.2m Euros for the Cuban healthcare system. Buyers ranged from Germany (wanting to get their hands on the H. Upmann humidor) and the new monied Asians and Arabs. Not really my thing if I am honest but for a good cause it is fine by me. So a fond farewell to the lovely people I met there and hope to see you all very soon, wherever you are in the world. Happy smoking! David