Excelencias from the Caribbean & the Americas
Two Decades of Harmony
Thanks to Habanos S.A.'S preference, Excelencias has played a happy starring role from the very onset, always next to the evergrowing development of this world-class event dedicated to the exclusive universe of premium cigars.
The Habano Festivals have been the moment of choice for the Excelencias Group to deploy all of its publications and provide extensive coverage of the gathering, coupled with creative promotional actions aimed at putting on a good show every year.
The publication of ten special editions of the Excelencias magazine –it stands out for its thorough design and top-notch photography- lays bare our effort to honor the commitment to a one-and-only product worldwide, a genuine masterpiece that comes out of the hands of nature-gifted men and women, out of this neck of the woods the Great Admiral once called “the most beautiful land human eyes ever beheld.”
During the weeklong event, the Festival in the Cuban capital gathers over a thousand personalities from 80 countries. Celebrities from the big screen, sports, culture and gastronomy, the realm of luxury tourism and collectors, as well as businesspeople and entrepreneurs related to the tobacco industry, distributors and retailers, read in the pages of the Excelencias magazine the most detailed information on the Festival's program and the new Habano launches.
What's more, the pages of the Festival Daily –an informative and promotional supplement issued by Excelencias- makes a day-by-day account of the event through a hand-to-hand distribution among attendees, who eventually get a chance to express their views and opinions on the event. In the same breath, it provides a unique opportunity for participating companies at the tradeshow to present and promote their offers, thus making one-on-one and immediate contact with their would-be customers.
In the course of these twenty years, renowned Excelencias columnists and contributing writers have produced indispensable texts on the relationship among the universe of wines and liquors, gourmet cuisine and Habanos.
Continuing, accurate, firsthand and fully-detailed news coverage makes the Excelencias Group's publications –mainly the special issues devoted
THIS YEAR’S 20TH EDITION OF THE HABANO FESTIVAL IS A MOMENT OF JOY FOR THE EXCELENCIAS MAGAZINE AS THE COMPANY WRAPS UP ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY
The list of new products included Hoyo de Monterrey: Short Hoyo Pirámides, factory size Forum, ring gauge 46 x 135mm; and Ramón Allones, Allones Extra, factory size Franciscos, ring gauge 44 x 143mm.
Romeo y Julieta's first Reserva brought the 14th Habano Festival to a spectacular close in 2012. Two new products were unveiled and smoked during the event: Romeo y Julieta Churchills Reserva 2008, the brand's first reserve, and Romeo y Julieta Petit Churchills, with a sought-after Petit Robusto size.
The 15th Habano Festival in 2013 was dedicated to Partagás brand with its Lusitanias Gran Reserva Cosecha 2007, made with long filler, a result of Master Blender Arnaldo Bichot's meticulous selection, who handpicked leaves from the 2007 Harvest. Those leaves had gone through a five-year aging process in Vuelta Abajo, San Juan y Martínez and San Luis tobacco growing districts, all of them in Pinar del Rio.
The 16th Festival ushered in new products. H. Upmann's first Reserva was put on the map, made with leaves from Vuelta Abajo's 2010 Harvest, aged for three years and used to roll H. Upmann No. 2 Reserva Cosecha 2010 (ring gauge 52 x 156 mm long).
A year later, during the 17th edition of the Habano Festival (2015), the public eyed products from Montecristo and Romeo y Julieta, two of the most prestigious and renowned brands that basked in the limelight during the event. It was also a perfect moment to launch Montecristo's 80 Aniversario special vitola.
A year later, the 18th edition of the Habano Festival in 2016 paid tribute to Cohiba's 50th anniversary with the exclusive tasting of its new products: Hoyo de Monterrey's Reserva Cosecha 2012, with its famous Epicure No. 2 vitola; H. Upmann's Magnum 54, which joined the regular portfolio within the successful Línea Magnum, and a special commemorative edition called Cuaba 20 Aniversario.
Another newcomer was Cohiba Medio Siglo, a vitola that joined Línea 1492 and was born to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Cohiba brand.
Along with this launch in the regular portfolio, Cohiba presents another two outstanding editions. A vintagestyle humidor was also put out, with a limited production of 1,966 numbered boxes that store the exclusive Cohiba Majestuosos 1966 vitola, characterized by an unprecedented format (ring gauge 58 x 150 mm).
Humidor cabinet “Cohiba 50 Aniversario” was another exclusive element in the Festival. This piece is a true work of art that covers with authentic Cuban tobacco leaves plated in 24-karat gold. This is a 50-unit humidor series which has been numbered and customized with the owner's name.
Each Humidor harbors 50 Habanos of the like-name vitola, the first one in the history of Habanos to feature a ring gauge 60 (178 mm long).
In the Habano Festival's 19th edition in 2017, H. Upmann, Montecristo and Quai D'orsay brands took center stage with important launches for their regular portfolio.
H. Upmann's vitolas were exclusively tasted, such as its first Gran Reserva Cosecha 2011, as well as Montecristo, which introduced a full line of exclusive products. Quai D'orsay brand also entered into a promising stage by showing a new design and two new vitolas.
Today, Habanos S.A. presently distributes a range of products made up of over 300 references in 34 brands, such as Cohiba, Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, Partagás, Hoyo de Monterrey, Quintero, H.upmann, Punch, San Cristóbal de la Habana, Trinidad and Cuaba, among others.
The H. Upmann Mágnum 50 was one of the star launches at the 10th Habano Festival in 2008