Interviews

Growing tobacco is the passion that defines Jose Antonio Rodriguez Marin’s life. El Valle farm, nestled in the San Juan y Martinez municipality, in Pinar del Rio, is not only the most evident proof of his connection to the production of the finest cigars on the face of earth, but also the undeniable verification of a decades-long family legacy.

The words of praise that rained over Walter Saens from Brazil as the jury recognized the high level of expertise and knowledge on Cuban cigars and the best ways to pair them with drinks, as well as the easygoing and impeccable service he delivered to his customers in the situation presented to him during the grand finale of the Habanosommelier Contest, spoke volumes of how much he trained for his challenge.

“Cuba is a paradisiacal place, home to a vast culture and to the world’s best tobacco,” says Dr. Peter Rudolf Scholz, ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Cuba

Interview with Jorge Luis Fernandez Maique and Javier Terrés, vice presidents for Marketing and Development, respectively, with Habanos S.A. 

That’s what the president of Souza Cruz, Brazil’s largest producer and seller of cigarettes –and partner of Brascuba Cigarrillos S.A.- had to say about the recently-concluded festival

Souza Cruz President Andrea Martini told the Habanos Newsletter that this 16^th edition of the Habano Festival –his first in attendance- went his expectations one better.

That’s how Brascuba S.A. Co-president Alexandre Carpenter labels the 16^th edition of the Habano Festival

“The habano festival is always beautiful and touching,” says Alexandre Carpenter, co-president of BRASCUBA S.A., during a brief break with Habanos Newsletter during the closing gala night.

The counselor-delegate of the Imperial Tobacco Group gives her thoughts on the recently-concluded Habano Festival

Passion and fondness of those whose jobs are related to the realm of habanos is what awes this woman the most each year. She’s Alison Cooper, counselor-delegate of the Imperial Tobacco Group, one of the world’s major tobacco companies.

Juan Formell & Habanos

“My cultural ties with the habano are basically cultural. Even though I quit smoking over fifteen years ago, and I mostly smoked cigarettes, every once in a while I used to accept a habano, usually after a meal or as a gift, but I wasn’t a regular habano smoker.” 

Former German tennis star Boris Becker fesses up his preference for all premium Habano brands

About to turn 83 and associated to the tobacco industry since 1952, Arnaldo Bichot is the master blender in charge of the Partagas Lusitanias Gran Reserva 2007 vitola.