Puro Sabor 2024: Day 0 & 1

What promises to be a very busy first quarter for the premium cigar industry kicked off in Managua, Nicaragua this weekend, as the 2024 Puro Sabor Festival—the Nicaraguan cigar festival—got underway with attendees from around the world flying in for a week of visiting cigar factories, tobacco fields, nightly dinners and to enjoy a shared love of cigars.

As for me, I’m back to cover the festival and will be bringing you as many updates as possible, so be sure to keep an eye on halfwheel’s Instagram account as well as mine to see what’s happening throughout the week. For those interested, my trip to Nicaragua began late Saturday night in Phoenix, with a red eye to Charlotte and then an early morning flight to Miami less than an hour after landing.

From there, I had about a three-hour wait in the Miami airport so I hit up Cafe Versailles for one of their Cuban espressos, then I found a place to catch a nap in one of the American Airlines lounges as my plan to sleep on the plane did not go as intended. Then it was time to head to Nicaragua, with a pretty quick and uneventful flight to Managua, landing on Sunday just after 1 p.m.

To catch you up on what’s happened so far, a good number of attendees arrived on Sunday, with most staying across the street from Managua’s airport at the Best Western Las Mercedes, while others stayed at the Intercontinental, which is closer to the central part of the city. I was at the Best Western with a number of new and familiar faces, and after far too long of a wait to get through customs—though made easier by access to a lounge with a bar and air conditioning—the idea of an early dinner, post-dinner cigar and a fairly early bedtime seemed in order. There were some great conversations with people in the industry whom I have known for years, as well as with a trio of consumers who are all here on their first visit to both Nicaragua and a cigar festival such as this. Hearing their questions, talking about what they like when it comes to cigars, and then seeing their excitement as they looked ahead to the coming week and thinking about all the fun things they will get to experience and the wonderful people they will get to meet was quite enjoyable and just what I needed to be energized for the week.

Monday started off with more arrivals, while those who stayed elsewhere met up at the Best Western as two large tour buses would take everyone to Estelí, which is the hub of the week’s activities. We hit the road around 9:30 a.m., with about a three-hour drive to the north in store, and which will also bring about some slightly cooler temperatures as it was in the mid-80s in Managua. In fact, I’m writing the bulk of this post from one of those tour buses, which has both wifi and a cooler with some Toña beer and water.

In total, there are 120 registered attendees this year, coming from all around the world and just thus far, I’ve met people from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Germany, the Netherlands, Brazil, Colombia, Portugal, Chile and Australia, as well as across the United States. It certainly shows how far the influence of Nicaraguan tobacco and cigars on a global level.

Once we arrived in Estelí, we proceeded with a police escort to A.J. Fernandez’s San Ramon farm for lunch and cigars—the Días de Glorias was the selection—while the food consisted of roasted pig, a beef tenderloin, two salads, potatoes and then a pair of very enjoyable deserts, one a guava mousse that was quite memorable. After about two hours for lunch, it was off to the hotels for a bit of rest, unpacking and other free time before a welcome dinner hosted by Drew Estate.

While I’m not 100 percent certain, I believe the police escort is new for this year, making it just a bit easier to navigate Estelí’s increasing traffic. (Editor’s Note: It’s not new. — Charlie Minato)

In keeping with tradition, the welcome dinner was on the subdued side, though there was a local rock cover band and a DJ that got some people up and dancing after dinner. Drew Estate also had a reveal in store for attendees: a newly painted mural on the outside of its main buildings. Attendees of Cigar Safari will recognize the wall as it is the one that overlooks the guest rooms and is right next to the Subculture Studios space. Bonus points if you can spot the typo. I’m told it will be corrected soon.

Beyond that, Manuel Rubio, who is both the general manager of Drew Estate as well as the president of the Camara Nicaraguense de Tabacaleros (CNT)—the organizer of Puro Sabor—offered some opening remarks before the mural was unveiled, while Pedro Gomez, Drew Estate’s brand ambassador, offered some remarks during dinner encouraging people to see and appreciate the work of the thousands of men and women in the cigar industry in Nicaragua.

From my perspective, the welcome dinner was a chance for many festival goers to have conversations with cigar makers and other attendees, and I found myself in a number of those conversations ranging from new product releases and retail strategies to Top 25 lists and cigar ratings on the whole.

Tuesday will kick off with a new addition to the schedule, as the entire group will be heading to Condega for a field day, getting to see that growing region, which is about an hour north from Estelí. This is the trip I am most excited for since I haven’t yet had the opportunity to visit Nicaragua’s other growing regions, let alone much of the country besides Managua, Granada and Estelí. Plus, as a city dweller who doesn’t get nearly enough time out in nature, this should be just the hit of the outdoors I’ve been looking to enjoy for a while. The only downside is that we have to be ready to go at 7:45 a.m. for an 8:00 a.m. departure, which has me eyeing my bed as I finish up this post.

This also brings up the opportunity to point out one of the big differences between this year’s festival and those of previous years, which is that we’re not in Granada. That is because Casa Favilli, the previous home of Mombacho Cigars S.A. and Favilli Cigars, is now mainly a tourist destination and no longer a factory in the sense of what it had previously been, thus there’s not the same kind of experience to be had there. I always enjoyed Granada as the colonial architecture and very walkable streets provided plenty to explore, but it will be nice to see Condega in its place. I do hear Granada is packed with tourists at the moment, for whatever that might be worth.

As for what’s coming up this week, my group will be visiting Oliva, Villiger de Nicaragua and Fábrica de Tabacos Nica Sueño on Wednesday, Rocky Patel’s TAVICUSA factory and Victor Calvo on Thursday, and Plasencia Cigars S.A. on Friday, according to the current schedule. There are a total of eight groups, each one with a set itinerary of where they will visit, a difference in how this festival is organized compared to Procigar in the Dominican, where attendees pick which factories or facilities they wish to visit on a day-to-day basis.

That said, you do see more facilities in Nicaragua given that the area is a bit more densely packed, and you’re doing a visit before lunch and another after as opposed to spending the day with one company in the D.R.  I’ve gone back and forth on which one I like better, and have come to the conclusion that both have their plusses and minuses, and both are enjoyable and informative.

If anything, I consistently hear how much people like the big group lunches, which are held on or adjacent to tobacco farms, sometimes in curing barns, other times in facilities right next to the fields. Not only are they gorgeous environments, but they provide more opportunities to meet and talk with people in the industry.

As far as what I’m looking forward to this week, the Condega trip ranks pretty highly, and while most of my visits are repeats to places I have been before, it has been several years since, so I’m intrigued to see what all is new. This will also be my first trip to Plasencia Cigars S.A., which I am excited to finally check off my to-do list, and unless we are heading back to Victor Calvo’s farms, it will be my first time seeing one of the company’s other facilities, so that’s a bit of a wildcard, but having chatted with Victor at Monday’s dinner, I’m excited to see what he has in store for us.

If there are things you want to see, want to know about Nicaragua, or are just curious about the festival, leave a comment and I’ll do my best to either reply to the comment or address it in an upcoming post.