In 2000, Habanos S.A. released a limited cigar to commemorate the Festival del Habano II, which took place that year. The official name was the Festival del Habano Marevas, and it was a Petit Corona measuring 5 1/10 x 42. There were approx 1,500 boxes released, and each box had 25 cigars within.

The entire production was rolled in the H. Upmann factory, now the José Martí, and when they were released, they were priced fairly reasonably—about $250 a box, although you could get them cheaper in Cuba. Now, you would be lucky to find a box for less than about $1,000.

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  • Cigar Reviewed: Festival del Habanos Marevas
  • Country of Origin: Cuba
  • Factory: José Martí
  • Wrapper: Cuba
  • Binder: Cuba
  • Filler: Cuba
  • Length: 5 1/10 inches
  • Ring Gauge: 42
  • Vitola: Petit Corona
  • Est. Price: $10
  • Release Date: 2000
  • Number of Cigars Released: 1,500 Boxes of 25 Cigars (37,500 Total Cigars)
  • Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 1

The cigar itself is a chocolate brown wrapper that is fairly bumpy, great size, and I do love the band, very striking, with the red on black lettering. It is slightly spongy when squeezed, and the wrapper has a slight floral scent to it. It has a great triple cap, and it cuts very easily. The cold draw is full of a wonderful aged tobacco flavor, along with hints of spice and honey. Festival del Habanos Marevas 3.png It starts out with a surprising amount of pepper as soon as it is lit, hitting my tongue nicely. I noticed flavors of cedar and a bread like note that is very interesting. The burn is already starting to wander a bit, but nothing major. Festival del Habanos Marevas 4.png The pepper and spice from the beginning have disappeared almost totally, although there is a hint in the background. The flavors have changed to more of a creamy earthy note, with just a tad of that cedar still in place. The draw is excellent, but the burn is not doing so well. All in all, a great first third. Festival del Habanos Marevas 5.png As we start the second third, the flavors have not changed much, but I have to mention the smoke coming from this cigar, it has the most amazing floral scent to it, very fragrant, and is so creamy and dense it is coating the inside of my mouth, an extremely enjoyable aspect to this stick. Festival del Habanos Marevas 6.png We are just at about halfway through the cigar, and the flavors have shifted again. Now, I am tasting quite a bit more sweetness, like a caramel type flavor, it is actually quite intense. The burn has also evened out nicely, and is going along great for now. Festival del Habanos Marevas 7.png I am just about to the band now, a little less than a third left and the flavors have not changed much, still that great creamy sweetness, but it’s gotten just a bit less intense, a little more mellow if you will, still very good, a little more spice is rising to the surface as well, hopefully it will stick around. Also, just a note, the ash does not seem to want to stay on the stick, falling about every half inch or so. Festival del Habanos Marevas 8.png At the end now, and it is starting to burn a bit hot. The sweetness started evolving into a more creamy note, with a strong spice and cedar flavor dominating, but with a touch of cinnamon as well, not overpowering at all, quite enjoyable actually. A very nice ending. Festival del Habanos Marevas 9.png

91 Overall Score

Honestly, I did not want this cigar to end. The complexity and the intensity of the flavors was impressive, and I can say without a shadow of a doubt, this is one of the best of this size I have smoked in quite some time. It definitely kept me guessing as to what I would taste next, I just wish (as I often do) that there was just a bit more pepper consistently throughout the smoke to contrast the other flavors, Having said all of that, the burn was not that great, and it did detract a bit from the overall experience. I am sad I only had one, but I am glad I was able to smoke at least one.

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Brooks Whittington

I have been smoking cigars for over eight years. A documentary wedding photographer by trade, I spent seven years as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I started the cigar blog SmokingStogie in 2008 after realizing that there was a need for a cigar blog with better photographs and more in-depth information about each release. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars. I am a co-founder of halfwheel and now serve as an editor for halfwheel.