CigarsLover Magazine I 2023

sors, Montecristo Eagle or Montecristo Master, builds a
bridge to golf. In the evening, visitors could also try their
hand on a putting green.
A big question at the Festival was how the current harvest
is doing. In Pinar del Rio, damage from Hurricane
Mitch is still visible. Curing barns are being rebuilt everywhere.
In fact, the farmers are in a race against time. The
storm came at a time when sowing was imminent. 1750
curing barns were lost; these are central to the further
processing of the harvest. Normally, the tobacco seedlings
must be in the ground by January 15 at the latest.
Many farmers were a little late this year. The tobacco
plant takes 70 to 90 days to be ready for harvest, so the
curing barns must be ready for use by then at the latest.
On the Wednesday of the festival, the people in charge of
Habanos SA presented the Bolívar New Gold Medal cigar,
which will be exclusively available in La Casa del Habano
shops and on the El Laguito site. The original Bolívar
Gold Medal was made well into the 1990s. This was followed
by a relaunch as a La Casa Del Habano exclusive.
The New Gold Medal is the same length as its predecessor
(165 millimeters) but slightly thicker with a 48-ring
gauge. After a successful show in the pool, the moderator
announced that you could buy the Bolívar New Gold
Medal yourself that evening. A premiere - and a disaster
for the event that ran with it. A long line formed immediately
that didn't break up for hours. Each guest could
buy two boxes. There was only a single card machine to
payment. The organization of the sales was as bad as the
crowd was big. Nobody took any notice of the band playing
or the food. At times there were tumultuous scenes.
There were other cigar innovations to admire at the fair,
held during the week of the festival at the Palacio de
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