**Note: I wrote this article in 2018, and for reasons unknown I saved the draft, but never published it. I hope you enjoy it! -MDG Before I ever started coming to Havana on a regular basis I was told of the man who would be king. Alejandro Gonzalez may not be the best cigar roller… Continue reading La Escogida: Home of the Master
Category: Cigar Rollers
Reynaldo the King!
One of the more difficult hotels to find in Old Havana, if you do not know exactly where to look, is the Conde de Villanueva. Located in the Calle de los Mercaderes, it is a true gem. Once you walk into the open-air foyer, you will know that it is worth the search. When some… Continue reading Reynaldo the King!
Calle 63: Alphonso’s Domain.
I have spent more time in Varadero than I have in Havana, so it only makes sense that I have a couple of stores that I enjoy in town. No trip to Varadero is complete without stopping in to see Alphonso at the LCDH at the corner of 1st Avenue and Calle 63. Alphonso has… Continue reading Calle 63: Alphonso’s Domain.
Hotel Nacional de Cuba: A paradisic patio
Al Capone. Winston Churchill. Meyer Lansky. Fidel Castro. Ernest Hemingway. Mitch Garvis. These are just a few of the famous, infamous, and unknown people from the past century who have sat on the patio of the Hotel Nacional, ordered a drink (mojito for some, whisky for others, a cerveza Cristal for me), and lit up… Continue reading Hotel Nacional de Cuba: A paradisic patio
La Grande Dame de Los Puros: Juanita
For years my friends who come to Havana often have spoken of the lovely Juanita, the in-house cigar roller at the Melià Cohiba hotel in Vedado, but I had never gotten down to meet her... until this trip. I walked into the LCDH at the Melià, only to find out she had been transferred. I… Continue reading La Grande Dame de Los Puros: Juanita
Passion For Cigars 