The Cigar Diaries – My Unforgettable Adventure in Mexico – by Chris Hansen
Last September I was invited to attend the 1st Festival del Puro Mexicano, the inaugural premium Mexican Cigar Festival.
A lot of people are surprised to hear that Mexico makes cigars, and even more surprised to hear that some of them are great!
Five store owners from Canada were invited. We arrived in Veracruz in the morning of a beautiful day. The afternoon we spent walking around the area close to our hotel and had a great lunch at an open air restaurant.
The unofficial start of the festival was that night with a cocktail reception. Unlimited cigars and drinks. We were all very happy that the next morning we only had a bus ride to deal with. And what a bus ride. From Veracruz we travelled for a few hours to the San Andres valley, home to much of Mexico’s tobacco industry.
We spent the next two days in this beautiful area (think tropical forest complete with monkeys) visiting factories and the most extensive plantation tour I’ve ever been on. It was highly memorable.
Throughout our stay everyone we dealt with was extremely friendly and hospitable. The cigars were unending and the beverages ready at hand. One cigar – the Casa Turrent Maduro really stood out. It was a great trip!
So great in fact that Burlington has decided, with Brigham, the Canadian distributor of Casa Turrent cigars, to send two lucky people to the 2nd festival, October 21 – 26, 2014. Actually three people. One of our assistant managers – Cody Porter will be going along with the winners of our in store contest, draw for which will be on August 31. Virtually all expenses will be covered.
Try the cigar – The Casa Turrent, now available at Burlington on Whyte. I can also recommend a great sipping Tequila to go with it – the Don Julio Reposada. Best of luck to all for the draw.
Smoke and Enjoy!
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