如果你的新年愿望是参观一个主要的烟叶产区，那么接下来的几个雪茄节，每一个都能满足你的愿望，包括了实地考察、参观工厂、欢庆晚宴。
雪茄节的季节从本月就开始了，尼加拉瓜雪茄节，又称为“Puro Sabor”（西班牙语指纯粹的口味），将从1月22日开幕，持续到1月27日。雪茄节从首都马那瓜开始，延续到尼加拉瓜的雪茄制造中心埃斯特利，在那里你才开始进入真正的沉浸式体验。在埃斯特利，你能够参观雪茄行业最热门的雪茄制造商的雪茄厂，包括帕德龙、奥利瓦、洛基帕特尔、A.J. 费尔南德斯、普拉森西亚、老爹、阿加诺萨、乔亚。
如果你对多米尼加雪茄感兴趣，那么可以参加ProCigar雪茄节，2月18日到23日在多米尼加共和国举办。活动安排在两个地区，第一部分在海边，第二部分在山区。第一部分的活动从多米尼加的东南部港口城市拉罗马纳开始，坎波之家度假村，这里有白色的沙滩，有可以抽茄的餐厅，有泳池。这部分的最后一个环节是参观加西亚雪茄厂，这家大型雪茄厂负责生产非古版本的蒙特、乌普曼、罗密欧与朱丽叶雪茄。
上图是普拉森西亚公司的内斯特·安德烈斯
第二部分是在圣地亚哥，这里出品了很多优质的多米尼加雪茄，包括刚刚获得2023年度最佳雪茄称号的富恩特巨著X城堡珍藏（Fuente Fuente OpusX Reserva d’Chateau）系列。在圣地亚哥，你可以参观多米尼加共和国的主要雪茄制造商的烟草农场和工厂，富恩特、美国阿塔迪斯烟草公司、EPC雪茄、拉奥罗拉公司、多米尼加之花、通用雪茄、奎萨达雪茄、大卫杜夫等。大多数雪茄制造商都会出席活动，你有机会可以看到你喜欢的那些雪茄品牌背后的人物。
多米尼加的ProCigar雪茄节结束不久，古巴哈伯纳斯雪茄节就登场了。一年中的大部分时间，哈伯纳斯公司都不会对外披露古巴雪茄行业的情况。一年一度的古巴雪茄节是哈伯纳斯公司向雪茄爱好者敞开大门的一周，时间是2月26日到3月1日。今年将展示著名的比那尔德里奥（Pinar del Río）地区的烟叶农场，并开放参观乌普曼雪茄厂、皇冠雪茄厂。哈瓦那雪茄节也会提前展示今年即将上市的最新款雪茄，提供试吸的样品。今年的古巴雪茄节是第24届。
上图是古巴的皇冠雪茄厂
不想离开美国？那么你可以参加南海岸美食红酒节，这是一个包罗美食、红酒和雪茄的庆祝活动。活动中， Cigar Aficionado杂志社将举办一场雪茄晚会，电视名人盖伊·菲埃里主持，他去年还出现在某一期的《雪茄爱好者》杂志封面上。美食红酒节是2月22日到25日举办，其中的雪茄晚会是2月23日（周五）举办，11点开始，在金普顿安格尔酒店（Kimpton Angler’s Hotel）的露台举办。
如果你是一个雄心勃勃的雪茄爱好者，你可以尝试一下个人记录，参加所有的雪茄节。没有比这更棒的度过冬天的方式了。
If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to visit a major tobacco-growing region in 2024, then there are a few cigar festivals coming up, each one full of field trips, factory tours and celebratory smoking dinners.
Cigar festival season starts this month with Puro Sabor, commonly referred to as the Nicaraguan Cigar Festival. It begins in the capital city of Managua but the true immersive experience doesn’t kick off until you arrive in Estelí, which is the country’s cigar-making epicenter. There, you’ll be able to visit the cigar factories and tobacco fields of some of the hottest producers in the industry, including Padrón, Oliva, Rocky Patel, A.J. Fernandez, Plasencia, My Father Cigars, Aganorsa Leaf and Joya de Nicaragua. Puro Sabor goes from January 22 to January 27.
Should you be curious about Dominican Cigars, the ProCigar Festival takes place February 18 to February 23 in the Dominican Republic. This cigar-centric excursion is divided into two parts, one coastal and one in the mountains. Part I begins in La Romana at the all-inclusive Casa de Campo resort, where you can go to the white-sand beaches or lounge at the cigar-friendly restaurants and pool. This portion concludes with a tour of Tabacalera de Garcia, the large factory responsible for brands such as Montecristo, H. Upmann and Romeo y Julieta. Part II brings you to Santiago, where most premium Dominican cigars are made (including our Cigar of the Year, the Fuente Fuente OpusX Reserva d’Chateau). From there, you’ll have the choice to visit the tobacco farms and factories of the country’s major cigarmakers: Arturo Fuente, Altadis U.S.A., EPC Cigar Co., La Aurora, La Flor Dominicana, General Cigar, Quesada Cigars, Davidoff and more. Most of the cigarmakers are in attendance giving you the chance to meet the men (and women) behind your favorite brands.
Shortly after ProCigar wraps up, Cuba’s Habanos Festival begins. Most of the year, Habanos keeps Cuba’s cigar industry closed off to the world. The annual festival, however, is the one week where Habanos opens its doors to cigar fans, showing off select farms in the famed Pinar del Río region, and offering walking tours of such factories as H. Upmann and La Corona. The Habanos Festival is also a showcase for the year’s upcoming products, offering sneak peaks and advanced samples of cigar brands and sizes that have yet to hit the market. Evening events and cigar banquets keep the party going well into the night. Now in its 24th year, the festival takes place from February 26 to March 1.
Don’t want to leave the country? You can always go to the South Beach Food & Wine Festival, which is an all-encompassing celebration of food, wine and even cigars. At the festival, Cigar Aficionado magazine is presenting a late-night cigar soiree hosted by television personality and cigar lover Guy Fieri, who appeared on our cover last year. Although the Festival goes from February 22 to 25, this intimate cigar event happens on Friday, February 23 on the rooftop of the Kimpton Angler’s Hotel. It starts at 11 pm.
If you’re an ambitious cigar fan and feel like festival hopping all season long, try going for a personal record and attend all of them. You might have to sacrifice a day of one festival in order to make the next, but it’s certainly possible to achieve. We’ve done it here at Cigar Aficionado and believe there’s no better way to spend the winter.
