5th Habanos Festival
starts in Habana, Cuba

Reports are coming in from this year's Cigar festa in Cuba. Visitors to the Pinar del Rio say that most of the field barns, which were destroyed by two powerful hurricanes that struck the region last year, were rebuild. Comments made by a Habanos vice-president also indicate that sales in the world market stay stable with 86 Casa del Habanos operating around the world.

The nine finalists for the "Habano-Sommelier" contest are: Matthias Martens, Germany; Matthew Wilken, UK; Stephane Moesle, France; Leonel Marcelo, Cuba; Jorge Martinez, Cuba; Vitaly Lisenko, Russia; Ruimar de Olivera, Brasil; Christian Armann, Austria; Juan Carlos Valera, Spain

For more details on the finalist's cigar & liquor combinations, click here.

For more info on scheduled events like, Gala Dinner and auction, Habano Man of the Year and the "Habano-Sommelier" contest, click here.