Arriving in Havana on 24 February for the 10th annual Habanos Cigar Festival, my visit coincided with Fidel Castro’s resignation and thus with the start of a debate: what will happen to Cuba and its 11 million citizens? Change was the decisive theme of the cigar festival, too. Over 1,000 delegates were there to draw on the smoothest smokes in the world, yet barely a monthearlier effective control of the global cigar business had moved from Spain to the UK when Imperial Tobacco completed its €16.2bn takeover of Altadis, which, in a joint venture with the Cuban government, controls and distributes Cuban cigars throughout the world.

Would Imperial’s acquisition mean changes for Cuba’s third most important export (after sugar and nickel) and, more to the point, would the festival unveil a vintage crop of new products for eager aficionados?

The answer to the second question was clear a few days later. This year will see the creation of 15 special ‘Regional’ Edition cigar for markets from Hong Kong to the Benelux – the idea is to tailor the cigars to local tastes – plus three new Limited Editions. Furthermore, the new Epicure and Magnum Lines will feature cigars that were previously launched as Limited Editions with double bands to emphasise their collective identity.

Distributors, retailers and aficionados enjoyed a spectacular but hectic week of events, often broadcast on Cuban TV, culminating in a gala dinner. This year, the auction, which brings the festival to a close, raised over €950,000 for Cuba’s health system. They had all gathered to pay their dues, and respect, to a country that has, against all odds, kept faith with its Revolution.

However, if one really wants to discover the culture and tradition of tobacco in Cuba one has to visit the Pinar del Río province, where towns such as San Juan y Martínez have grown the finest tobacco for over 160 years. I visited octogenarian Alejandro Robaina at his farm in the Vuelta Abajo. An icon in Cuba, Robaina is the only living person to whom a brand of cigars has been dedicated. He still retains a passionate interest in tobacco and, despite new innovations, is proud of his tradition of labour-intensive cultivation. The entire Robaina family lives for tobacco so when I asked if he was concerned by the upsurge in anti-smoking legislation he simply replied: “When you have the best in the world you need not fear.” He’s right: People will always celebrate life with the best that money can buy.

HOT STUFF

In contrast to the 18 Limited and Regional Edition cigars making their debuts this year, the new Epicure and Magnum Lines are milestones in the evolution of the Hoyo de Monterrey and H. Upmann brands. With distinctive double bands, the cigars can be appreciated straight from the box – a pleasant change from some previous limited edition cigars that needed ageing.