Cigar Travel
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Cigars at Turmeaus & Puffin Rooms Liverpool with the Irish Guard Veterans Cigar Club
I love herfing with different cigar communities across the UK. This week I was invited to the Irish Guards Veterans Cigar Club — “Bearskins & Burners” — for their second cigar event (the first being in 2024) at Puffin Rooms in Liverpool, hosted by Mitchell Orchant of CGars Ltd. I’d heard a lot about this…
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My visit to ProCigar Festival 2026 – Dominican Republic – Reflections
Oh wow — where do I even begin? I recently returned from an incredible week at the ProCigar Festival in the Dominican Republic, and I’m still processing it! 🤯😁 Seven unforgettable days in what many call “Cigar Country,” including four full days packed with festival adventures. Before the trip, throughout the festival, and after returning…
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A visit to La Aurora Field & Factory
The ProCigar Festival is the Dominican Republic’s annual premium cigar event, held each February in Santiago de los Caballeros, opening the industry’s fields and factories during harvest season. I visited three factories during the festival. The third and final one was La Aurora – its said to be the oldest cigar factory in the Dominican…
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A visit to the La Flor Dominicana (LFD) Factory
Every February, Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic comes alive for the ProCigar Festival, a celebration of premium cigars. This year, I had the privilege of visiting La Flor Dominicana (LFD), the second factory visit of this festival — here’s how it went down👇. Walking into the LFD factory with Litto Gomez as…
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A visit to the Davidoff Tobacco Fields & Factory – From Seed to Shop
The ProCigar Festival is the Dominican Republic’s annual celebration of premium cigars, held each February in Santiago de los Caballeros and the surrounding tobacco-growing regions. Timed deliberately with harvest season, it is the time of year when the industry opens its doors — granting access to tobacco fields, curing barns, fermentation rooms, and factory floors. I…
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A visit to the Arturo Fuente Cigar Club, Santiago, Dominican Republic
I’m in the Dominican Republic for the annual ProCigar Festival, and my first stop for a cigar had to be the Arturo Fuente Cigar Club in Santiago de los Caballeros. The shop and lounge are located inside Hotel Santiago, Curio Collection by Hilton, a stylish four-star property that blends contemporary design with Dominican character. The cigar shop and club…
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ProCigar Festival 2026: Live Reporting
The ProCigar Festival 2026 takes place 17–20 February in the Dominican Republic, bringing cigar lovers together in Santiago for factory tours, tobacco field visits, exclusive releases and gala dinners. Hosted by ProCigar the Association of Dominican Cigar Manufacturers, it’s a full-on celebration of Dominican craftsmanship at the height of harvest season. I arrived on Saturday 14 February.…
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Attending my first international cigar festival: ProCigar Festival 2026 🇩🇴
This is mad — I’ve just arrived in the Dominican Republic after the long haul from London (via Madrid!) and I’m here for my very first international cigar festival: ProCigar Festival 2026 (17–20 February). Even writing that feels surreal. What started as simply reviewing cigars and visiting shops because I love the hobby has somehow led me…
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Exploring La Casa del Habano in Switzerland: A mini tour of Mendrisio & Lugano
Over the past year, I’ve visited more La Casa del Habano locations than ever before. You might remember my La Casa UK Tour, which included visiting newly opened locations in Sheffield and Long Eaton (Nottingham), followed by overseas visits to La Casa del Habano in Gran Canaria and Cyprus. So, when Massimo de Munari—whom I…
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Where to smoke cigars in Milan, Italy
As someone who regularly writes about cigar shops, sampling lounges, and cigar-friendly spaces, I get a steady stream of messages across email, social media, and WhatsApp. They usually follow the same pattern: “I’m in [this city] — where can I enjoy a good cigar? Any recommendations?”. That question came up recently in relation to Milan.…
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DeART Italy: Inside the factory where the world’s finest cigar humidors are made
Over the past few years, I’ve set myself a personal mission: to visit every single cigar shop, sampling lounge, and cigar-dedicated terrace in London. So far, I’ve explored and reviewed around 44 establishments across the capital – most people are surprised at how many there are in one city. Along the way, one pattern has…
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Corita Cigars ‘Expairing’: Experience Meets Pairing
The more time I spend traveling and dipping my toe into the global cigar scene, the clearer it becomes how different the UK market is from what’s available elsewhere. Ultimately, what fills our humidors is largely influenced by importers and distributors, and with limited shelf space dominated by long-established legacy brands, it must be super…
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A visit to La Casa Del Habano – Gran Canaria
Continuing my recent theme of La Casa Del Habano visits, last week I found myself in Gran Canaria, one of Spain’s Canary Islands. Definitely a step up from Sheffield and Nottingham weather-wise 😎. This visit promised both sunshine and cheaper cigars than the UK — a combination that’s hard to beat, right? Background La Casa Del Habano Gran…
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The Summertime Smoke 2025: A review of the UK’s first cigar festival
It’s been an exciting summer for the UK cigar scene, and this past weekend marked a historic moment: the country’s first-ever cigar festival — The Summertime Smoke — hosted by Bright Leaf Distriubtion & Havana House at the renowned E.J. Churchill Shooting Ground in Buckinghamshire. A real first for the UK — this wasn’t just…
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Meet the Makers 2025: The ultimate cigar & whisky experience at Carlowrie Castle, Scotland
Wow, wow, wow—what a weekend. I’ve recently returned from Edinburgh, Scotland, still buzzing from one of THE cigar events of the year—and still recovering! Meet the Makers, held Saturday, 26th July 2025, was a rare opportunity: where we got to spend the entire day in a Scottish castle, sipping world-class whisky, smoking some of the…