Habanos S.A.

In December 2022, a U.S. trademark court ruled in favor of Cubatabaco, the Cuban cigar monopoly, over its near 30-year dispute with General Cigar Co. over who should own the U.S. trademark for Cohiba. Now, General is firing back with a new lawsuit.

This is the first time that Habanos S.A. has named a woman to the top leadership position. Sources tell halfwheel that Maritza Carrillo González will replace Inocente Núñez Blanco as one of the company’s two co-presidents.

The Rafael González Coronas de Lonsdales and the El Rey del Mundo Templários were previewed at an event in Portugal. It’s unclear when you will be able to purchase either cigar.

Pérez Martel was most recently the head of the LCDH program for Habanos S.A.

A new Montecristo cigar appeared as part of the launch of three new humidors.

This will only the second Edición Regional release made exclusively for the Southern Cone countries, which includes Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.

Cuba’s annual cigar festival is less than 40 days away.

The Siglo de Oro is also the first Cuban cigar to feature an NFC in the box.

The Diplomáticos PCC 30th Anniversary Edición Regional Asia-Pacifico (2022) celebrates the Asian distributor’s 30th anniversary. No word on pricing or when it will ship to stores.

One of the smallest Edición Regional releases gets a review in this year’s Holy Grail Week.

Two days late and a dollar short, it’s time to think about some big storylines for the cigar industry in 2023.