Havana Diaries Day Three: Ël Pres returns

[El Presidente]

What a hoot we had in New York! I cannot thank you guys´s enough for the hospitality shown. Jimmy, Lawrence, Rob, Norman, Angel etc etc etc..... I was blown away.

I also froze my nuts off

I will write more about my time in NY when I return as the internet is a dodgy commodity here in Cuba. We often write for an hour only to see the system go down and us lose our work....that may explain some of the dribble Ken has been posting :-D

So what´s new.

Ken has covered the feel in the country quite well. More disatisfaction on the streets. Things are changing. I walked from the The Revolutionary Museum to The Florida Hotel (2 kilometers) and not once did a tout come up asking ¨Cohiba...Montecristo...Partagas?¨.....unheard of in the past.

In the cigar world, Romeo y Julieta Factory is now being used exclusively as a training venue. The factory is to be refurbished over the next 12 months. All workers are now at a refurbished factory on the outskirts of Havana. While the factory was in dire need of refurbishment, it will be interesting to see if the location ever again becomes the production force it once was.

Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill is released Monday at the opening dinner. Cohiba LE 40th Anni humidors are being released later next week.

Stocks are down at R&J factory store but adequate everywhere else. Scored some 01 boxes of H Upmann Super Corona :-P and the PL Montecarlo is in all the stores but not the Petite Corona. Prices are even more expensive than last year with a 11% surcharge for credit Card Useage troughout the country. Tourist numbers are down, palladars are being forced to shut by the Government, basic goods are harder to get. This is without doubt the worst state in which I have seen the country.

Had a meeting with Habanos s.a and we will have a few more. They re-emphasised the constant battle between their emphasis on quality and the factory process which leads to setbacks. They have an ambitious scheme to link brands to regions ala wine. Great idea but don´t get too excited anytime soon. There are some excellent people in Habanos s.a rising through the chain. A few hardheads need to fall over.

The more things change the more they stay the same.....ken fell in love on day three

Seriously, Disney should roll out a ¨Ken goes to Cuba¨ movie starring Goofey. He is smelling roses.... picking petals off flowers....skipping down along the Mallecon. The object of his affection is a shortsighted singer dancer from La Maison. Her wish is to be a Psychiatric doctor and I have my suspicion she is doing her PHD on Ken. I asked her to join us after a show we attended last evening at which she performed ....and the rest is history. I expect no thanks ;-)

Message to¨Lisa:

1- Send Money!!!!!!!!

2- Fax to Hotel Fishing Contact e-mail (my computer: e-mail from Jose).

3. Fax my e-mail login details.

4. Send Money!!!!!!!

Miss you Lise. I am working as hard as I can.....burning the midnight oil....leaving no page unturned ;-)

[stogies&hoagies]

»

While sad to hear about deteriorating conditions, it's exciting to hear of Habanos SA future ambitions.

Thanks and keep 'em coming.

[Tampa1257]

I too am sorry to hear about the current conditions found there. Hopefully soon the status will change and things become better.

Love that El Prez sends a note to Lise to Send Money!!!! sounds like a kid in college asking Mom & Dad for an allowance increase because all the beer money has already been spent!

Keep the reports coming Rob it really is great to hear daily reports and updates, it helps us all feel like we are there with you, so in fact you really are working hard for all of us!:-D

[idesign]

Good stuff, not up to par with Ken's writing, but good.....

I don't care for the regional release idea, and I don't understand the reasoning now. Wine is actually from different regions of the world. Cigars are too, but Cuban Cigars are from Cuban, not Switzerland etc...

Am I missing something here?

[cigardawg]

Thanks for the updates. Love hearing about your "adventures" in a quasi-realtime format. Excited about the new cigars as well. Can't wait to hear more.

[Jimmy2]

Have fun and save me some H.U. SC please ..:-D

[Wiley]

I would love to be some place tropical right now...

[Mel]

Lisa, send me some money too. What a hard working bloke this Rob is, sitting at a cafe smoking fresh cigars, drinking god knows what tropical drink and typing on the puter.

This new gal of Kens must have snubbed El Prez. make some more fun of the poor bastard will you. With pictures of him like there is circulating on the net he is lucky to have anything with a puss take note of him.

As to the state of Cuba. How can an island paradise growing leaf like they do appear so much like hell.

[Ginseng]

» As to the state of Cuba. How can an island paradise growing leaf like they

» do appear so much like hell.

That is indeed a sad state, Mel. They could be like Bordeaux or Napa...but instead. It seems like the people are survivors though. Hopefully the new blokes at Habanos will help raise things up a bit.

Wilkey

[CIGARHead]

Sad to hear the current state. Im sure you and Ken can single handedly turns things around 'O Faithful Leader.

Glad you are having a good time!

[Van55]

Thanks for a great report. Keep them coming so long as the Cuban gerbils keep the electricty flowing.

[Colt45]

» The object of his affection is a shortsighted singer dancer from La Maison.

:lol2:

Thanks for the reports!

Hopefully things there will get better sooner, rather than later.

[Fatshotbud]

» Sad to hear the current state. Im sure you and Ken can single handedly

» turns things around 'O Faithful Leader.

»

» Glad you are having a good time!

Enjoyed the update Rob -- keep up the good work ;-)

[Well Armed]

Yeah quit hogging all the Upmann SC's! Bring some back for us. Be your best friend!

[Colt45]

» This new gal of Kens must have snubbed El Prez.

But is Rob upset because a woman has eyes for Ken............

Or that Ken has eyes for a woman..............

[SuperT]

Great post, thanks! Very sad to hear the state of the Country. :-(

» They have an ambitious scheme

to link brands to regions ala wine. Great idea but don´t get too excited

» anytime soon.

I think that is an amazing idea, just wonder how they'll pull it off. Do they not need leaves from different areas of the country for blends? Will this change the blends as we know them? Oh the horror if my beloved BPCs change!!

[idesign]

» Great post, thanks! Very sad to hear the state of the Country. :-(

»

» » They have an ambitious scheme

» to link brands to regions ala wine. Great idea but don´t get too

» excited

» » anytime soon.

»

» I think that is an amazing idea, just wonder how they'll pull it off. Do

» they not need leaves from different areas of the country for blends? Will

» this change the blends as we know them? Oh the horror if my beloved BPCs

» change!!

I took that to mean the regional release schemes for some reason.....LOL, I'm a little slow sometimes, not real sure what I was thinking earlier. :-D

[SuperT]

» I took that to mean the regional release schemes for some reason.....LOL,

» I'm a little slow sometimes, not real sure what I was thinking earlier.

» :-D

Now I'm even more confused. I wonder what the hell he meant. Obviously most of the tobacco comes from Pinar del Rio. There are differnt areas of that, but lets say the San Luis area of the Vuelta Abajo region is to be linked to Vegas Robaina. And each brand would be linked to a different region.

I guess my take is this: think about wine (like was mentioned). We'll go with California Cabernet. You have Rutherford Vally, St. Helena, Napa (within Napa County), Santa Rosa, Sonoma (within Sonoma), Russian River, Dry Creek Valley, Healdsburg, etc. I'm sure it's the same within Pinar del Rio. Different areas and valleys. Next thing we'll be talking about which area had a better year and those cigars will be the hot item. You know, those 08 ______ Valley Boli PCs are great, but stay away from 07s! Now the '07 ______ Valley Creek Cohiba Siglo IIIs are off the hook!

Now that I think about it, the idea SUCKS! Just gonna make things more confusing!

[Loki]

keep up the informative reports.

Too bad about the conditions in Cuba and the plight of the Cuban people not everyone has it as good as we do . It really makes one grateful to live in a free country.

[Ken Gargett]

» » I took that to mean the regional release schemes for some

» reason.....LOL,

» » I'm a little slow sometimes, not real sure what I was thinking earlier.

» » :-D

»

» Now I'm even more confused. I wonder what the hell he meant. Obviously

don´t worry - i´m here and i don´t know what he means.

if i amy add a little aside from the ´real havana diaries´, those of you who know rob will know how hard it is to get him to shower - well the idea of lunch wiht these girls has him preening like a peacock.

and they took one look at macho and declared ´mafioso´.

[jay8354]

Interesting read, keep them coming.

Though I have to admit that since El Prez is not a professional writer, his writings are not as interesting.

Although Ken falling in love, now that is news!!

After reading what Ken said, I want a 3rd opinion of what really happened.

On another note, from the silence of TFL, she is working hard. Or decided that this is a good time to let El Prez stew fro a little while before asking for a raise to send money. :wink:

[First Lady]

» Message to¨Lisa:

»

» 1- Send Money!!!!!!!! All sorted out - you owe me babe ;-)

»

» 2- Fax to Hotel Fishing Contact e-mail (my computer: e-mail from Jose). Being faxed this morning - expect it next week knowing Cuba

» » 3. Fax my e-mail login details. knuckle head - I knew you would forget the info »

» 4. Send Money!!!!!!! Coming with Michael...... use some to get me another painting like Isabella (you know what I mean)»

» Miss you Lise. I am working as hard as I can.....burning the midnight

» oil....leaving no page unturned ;-)

Working hard as per usual.........Smithy hates me :wink: Too much work for him and no one to sneak off to have a cigar with.

TFL

[dysfunctional]

Keep the reports coming.....

man I love the SC's...wonder if you can get some more boxes ??

[TR]

great report Rob.....now how about them tubos??? :-D :-D :-D

[argon345]

Hey Rob, thanks for the reports. Sorry I couldn't make it to the city while you were in town, but i had my last big presentation (before my thesis) on Tuesday and I was no where near ready for it :-| . I guess I will have to visit the Czar crew after i finish my Ph. D....