Flying Cigar – A Cigar Travel Blog

  Here’s the second part of my 2015 Havana gallery. Another superb vintage tasting, this time at my Miramar neighbour’s John De Costa’s casa. We smoked 1930’s Partagas Bohemios that were still very much alive and kicking, spicy and impressive. This was also the venue for John’s Cigar Sanctum launch party – beautiful hand-made Partagas Read more…

  It’s been five days since I arrived back home from yet another Havana – Festival Del Habano trip and as always I’ve had to air my lungs and cure the usual stubborn cough and running nose souvenir – funny how everybody gets a cold in Havana …. Before I start posting in detail on Read more…

  The shock came the day before the joy of picking up the Ramon Allones Perfectos humidor – the Swiss Franc had become 20% more expensive. Which means also a shock to my friend Urs and his cigar business. From 1,65 CHF when shopping in Switzerland was still attractive to 1,20 CHF when it became Read more…

At this year’s Habano Festival the long overdue prize of Habano Man was awarded to Urs Portmann and he celebrated by the shore of Lake Constance with his family and a large group of friends and customers. In business now for well over 40 years and having stores in Kreuzlingen, St Gallen and Vaduz, the Read more…

  This time around I visited my friend and humidor artist Jose Ernesto Aguilera at his Humidores Habana workshop twice. Once with the Portmann group on Monday 24-th, the day the XVI Festival del Habano officially was inaugurated and again with my buddy Frank, who missed the first visit, on Wednesday 26-th February. I have Read more…

  A few things I didn’t know beforehand : First – My buddy Frank was supposed to be the Master of Cigar Ceremony at this tasting of a Partagas Lusitania Gran Reserva and relay a few comments to this gathering of friends from the Portmann Cigar group of which he was a part. Well, he Read more…

  We, Frank and I, were surprised to learn that it was not going to be the small, uncomplicated affair we expected, but a “Havana Portmann Group Reunion” dinner at a Michelin rated restaurant in St Gallen / Switzerland. Oh well, worse things can happen in life … Like the traffic jam we saw on Read more…