13 Mar
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…
3 Apr
The best for last – this is the last post on the Cuba trip. The best paladar, my opinion, in Havana right now. Osmany, the owner/cook spent some long years cooking at the French embassy and renovated a beautiful, airy and elegant house in Vedado as the home of Starbien. The food is great and Read more…
3 Apr
A dinner thrown by Horst for Cuban friends at Paladar Doña Eutimia in Callejon del Chorro in Old Havana. We had the upstairs dining room all to ourselves and a very good dinner of Cuban cuisine that had some excellent appetizers like lobster and octopus in garlic. Attentive service and modestly priced. Our friend Read more…
2 Apr
After all the Festival events in the mad week, most participants left Havana and it was quiet again. Horst stayed on for a few days and we took a tour to Cojimar and the Hemingway memorial there in a private vintage taxi, having a beer at the touristy La Terraza restaurant and then continuing Read more…
31 Mar
The weather wasn’t on our side this time around. Other than that it was as fun as always and a good and relaxing way to meet all the people from the cigar industry that rarely get to enjoy the big events of the Festival. The rollers, their families, their friends. As usual, if I Read more…
29 Mar
A fitting post this Easter week-end. Every time I passed this immense cemetery during my earlier Havana trips I was intrigued and wanted to spend a few hours visiting it. It always looked to me more attractive, open-aired and less narrow and claustrophobic than the Recoleta cemetery in Buenos Aires that I have visited Read more…
29 Mar
Cuba – So you think everything Frank and I did there was highly and seriously educational, right ? Extremely serious stuff and seriously well prepared, right ? I mean, hey, we were there on the Festival run, behaving accordingly, right ? Wrong – We never stopped laughing, having fun, doing our thing, changing plans Read more…
