Archive by Author

Re-visiting “Papito” Valladares And Barber’s Alley In Havana

3 Jun

One of the things I look forward most when arriving in Havana is a visit to Barber’s alley for a haircut and a relaxing few hours in this tranquil oasis in old Havana. I was fortunate once again in meeting “Papito” and him giving me a haircut-cum-long-conversation on the progress of his project, always happy Read more…

Havana May 2017 – Visiting The Factories

1 Jun

I was happy to show my friends around two important factories in Havana for them to appreciate the hard work, passion and care involved in rolling the best cigars. Both visits were a tremendous experience, especially combined with a later visit to the tobacco plantations in the Vuelta Abajo area of Pinar del Rio. From Read more…

The Cohiba No-Atmosphere Lounge At The New Kempinski Manzana Hotel In Havana

29 May

Having read about the upcoming opening of Havana’s newest luxury hotel, the Kempinski Gran Manzana, located in Cuba’s former first shopping arcade, the Manzana de Gomez in the Parque Central area, I was curious to check out the new shopping area and the Cohiba Atmosphere cigar lounge inside that are. Most of what I had Read more…

Havana, Cuba May 2017 – Anthony’s Picture Gallery

28 May

Anthony and Meagan shared 5 days of my trip and some of the best experiences and cigars in Havana and the Vuelta Abajo. Here is a gallery of pictures that Anthony took and kindly sent me for posting. Enjoy ! Nino

Havana, Cuba May 2017 – Picture Gallery Two

27 May

A few weeks in Havana again to meet old friends and make new friends, smoke good cigars, have good fun and enjoy being in the island again. Here is the second gallery of pictures from my trip. More detailed posts of the experiences will come in the next days, like visiting La Corona and El Read more…

Havana, Cuba May 2017 – Picture Gallery One

26 May

A few weeks in Havana again to meet old friends and make new friends, smoke good cigars, have good fun and enjoy being in the island again. Here is a first gallery of pictures from my trip. More detailed posts of the experiences will come in the next days, like visiting La Corona and El Read more…

John Bongo on Humidores Habana

29 Mar

Having seen pictures of what I can only describe as works of art, that are used to house cigars, I was really looking forward to our trip to the Humidores Habana workshops. Going by the quality of work I had seen before arriving, I was expecting a reasonably modern building with some fairly tricky pieces Read more…