El Presidente Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 A Roller´s Journey to the Land of Vikings by Punch Joe On April the 2nd, the first Cuban night of 2011 took place at Kirja Club located in Helsinki, Finland. It was part of the activities to be held before mitt sommer fest. For this special purpose Habanos Nordic, invited Mr. Hamlet Jaime Paredes, aside form being an old true friend of mine, a well known cigar roller as well. One tip: Hamlet took off without giving me a good bye call. Not a problem, after all, I knew he would spend there 20 days and then return home. He is not exactly one for formalities! I know a few smoker´s clubs in the region since I had the opportunity to work with them on their several trips to the Island along these years. They are very enthusiastic and lovers of the leaf. Of course, they don´t leave the snus behind. I remember trying one tiny pack but that´s another story. It was the first time Hamlet would land in this country so I could foresee that he would be having new and exciting experiences. Members of the Kirja club held a gala night in its headquarters, and were planning a celebration to commemorate the fifth anniversary of this fellowship. The celebration was headed by President Mr. Timo Lillqvist, and other associates of the board of this prestigious and exclusive club, which has already reached two hundred members. Distinguished guests such as connoisseurs Mr. Olli Alho and Mr. Teppo Nattila, author of several essays on the Habanos culture, the Cuban Ambassador to Finland Mr. Sergio Gonzalez and Habanos Nordic AB executives, the Exclusive Distributor for Cuban cigars in all Scandinavian countries, were also present. By the end of the night, there was an auction of a Montecristo humidor including twenty five cigars specially rolled for this occasion and the brilliant work done by Hamlet Paredes, who wonderfully showed the art of rolling to members, was the highlight of the event. Kudos to Hamlet´s gifted hands. Hope nobody there asked him to roll a panetela larga (as we usually do to piss him off every now and then...Rob especially!) unless they want a hard look back at them. On April 18 th, 2011 the first Habanos Specialist shop in Scandinavia, was officially opened in Sweden. Having heard nothing from him I tried to send a message over yahoo but declined shortly after upon the conviction that my friend rarely opens Yahoo mail since he´s always busy during his travels. A week after I was told that two more Habanos Specialist shops were opened in Stockholm. As of today there are five Habanos Specialist in Sweden and the concept continues to roll out in the coming months in Denmark, Finland and Norway. Aware of the fact that my friend must have been part of these openings and celebrations, rushing from one city to another, working late at night, alone, probably having language issues…etc I decided to send him a text message to comfort him a bit. · 14:35 pm Eastern Time. Message sent to my friend: How U doing La Bestia! So good to know U R touring the best cities in Europe. Say hi to Kjael and take a walk around. Pictures please and enjoy! J · Message received from Hamlet: WTF? U want pics? It´s a f..... fridge up here every day. Can´t smoke. Nada! Can´t wait to come back. L Well I think that sums it up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laficion Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Great story José and some great events for Hamlet I really loved the last part Amistad. Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habanakane21 Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First Lady Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 God I love Hamlet LOLOL exactly what he is like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjellfrick Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Thanks for the story, Jose. I was made aware of Hamlets visit after the fact or I would have made my way to see him, bringing some good wine to warm his tropical heart! Snus is wicked stuff, lol. Remember this, Jose? Greetings from Kjell! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maverickdrinker Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 thanks for the story. I spent some time with Hamlet a couple of weeks ago in Havana and we spoke about his trip to Finland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cigarros Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Great story! Thanks for sharing! Looks cool, especially snus invitation=)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thechenman Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Great story...thanks for sharing. Love the pics...especially the ones posted by kjellfrick. Gotta love that snus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Presidente Posted June 7, 2011 Author Share Posted June 7, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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