Music, Glamour and the Most Exclusive Montecristo Star in the Closing of 19th Habano Festival

• The event included the presentation of the Línea 1935. Ara Malikian provided the music and artistic virtuosity during the Gala Evening
• A total of 1.265.000 euros were raised at the traditional Humidores Auction

The biggest international event of the Habano tobacco culture comes to a close. The Gala Evening provided a fitting end that saw the presentation of the new Línea 1935, the brand’s most premium offer. Guests at the evening celebration could taste the three vitolas of the novel Línea 1935: Maltés (53 x 153 mm) and Dumas (49 x 130 mm), while Leyenda (55 x 165 mmm) takes the form of the Montecristo 80 Aniversario.

The Habanos in this new line have been made Totalmente a mano con Tripa Larga (Totally by Hand with Long Filler) following a selection of exquisite filler, binder and wrapper leaves from the grassy plains of Vuelta Abajo* (Pinar del Río*). Línea 1935 comes with a full strength flavour blend for the first time in the Montecristo brand.

The evening included performances from the Latin Grammy winner Haila, David Torrens, and the Ballet de Litz Alfonso, one of Cuba’s most international dance companies. The violinist Ara Malikian together with his musical ensemble closed proceedings.

The traditional Humidores Auction provided the finishing touches to the Festival. It was put up for auction an exquisite Bolivar-branded humidified cigar box. The auction of seven lots raised a total of €1.265.000, which will be donated in full to the Cuban Public Health System.

The 2016 Habano Awards prize giving ceremony was also held. Gordon Mott, journalist and freelance writer for the Cigar Aficionado magazine received the award in the Communication category. Edward Sahakian was awarded in the category of Business and Josefa Acosta Ramos was the winner in the Production category.

Puro Tabaco (Chile), with its representative Felipe Rojas, was unanimously voted the winner of the XVI Edition of the International Habanosommelier Contest. Slavomir Marek Bielicki (United Kingdom) and Krystian Hordejuk (United Arab Emirates) were the runners-up in second and third place respectively.

This yearly event celebrating the world’s finest tobacco has reached a milestone in its history, reuniting in its 19th edition more than 2,000 participants from over 50 countries.