Cigar Aficionados Revel in Havana Festival Attended by Winston Churchill’s Granddaughter

Scores of cigar lovers from around the world are having a ball at Havana’s Sixth International Cigar Festival that peaked with a gala dinner Thursday at the National Hotel to host Jenny Reppard, granddaughter of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, a celebrated habanos aficionado.

In an effort to highlight the classy style of the Festival, the moviemaking industry is giving a touch of its own to this year’s weeklong celebration of the good smoke that’s gathering cigar aficionados, experts, dealers, journalists and artists from all around the globe.

The gala dinner attended by Mrs. Reppard reenacted his grandfather’s visit to Cuba in 1947 when the former British PM coined a cigar brand with his own name.

This time around, Mark Hix, the well-known chef of London restaurant The Ivy, showed up in Havana to lead a whiskey tasting of Pol Rogers Churchill, Mr. Churchill’s favorite.

Miguel Campoy, deputy marketing director of Habanos S.A., told Caribbean News Digital that the closing gala dinner is marked by a cinema-like atmosphere that will deck out the gardens of El Laguito, a magnificent hall in the outskirts of Havana reserved for state dinners and ceremonies.

The night will be capped by the presentation of the Cigar Man of the Year Award and similar prizes in the categories of Communications, Dealership, Retailing and Manufacturing.

The closing show will be directed by Steve Brown, a man who’s led the performances of such top entertainers as Elton John and George Michael in the past. One of the night’s highlights will be the raffle of one of Kirsty McColl’s guitars, the late British pop singer who died in a car crash and who was closely related to Cuba. The collected money will be funneled into the island nation’s education system.

And just to keep such a glamorous night going, the gala dinner will also feature an auction of humidors and an artistic tour around the art of cigar smoking as portrayed on the big screen through an array of 150 movies of all time.

Its four different brands with rings matching the names of the city fortresses –El Morro, La Fuerza, La Punta and El Principe- were smoked during the traditional opening ceremony.

As part of the festival, attendants will have the chance of enjoying a tradeshow and the Third International Cigar Sommelier Contest featuring award-winning participants from both local and international tournaments.

Expectations are high for the Whiskey and Cigar Challenge and for the International Seminar with analyses about literature, cinema and cigars. Attendants will also receive a practical class on the art of hand-rolling Robusto-brand cigars.

There’ll also be tours to the tobacco plantations of Pinar del Rio, a visit to the Partagas factory and a gala dinner with some 800 patrons hailing from the five continents.