1月底，尼加拉瓜的雪茄制造业名城埃斯特利（Estelí）的宾馆酒店达到了接待的饱和量。尼加拉瓜的第11届雪茄节在这里举办，名为Puro Sabor（西班牙语，纯粹的味道），会期五天，来自世界各地的游客涌入这个多山且土地肥沃的烟叶产地，一起欣赏该国最具有吸引力的产品：雪茄。
对于雪茄爱好者来说，参加雪茄节是与他最喜欢的烟草品牌建立联系的方式。Puro Sabor雪茄节为你安排了参观郁郁葱葱的烟草农场，以及雪茄厂的卷茄车间，雪茄制造商都会派出雪茄品牌背后的人出席雪茄节。
2024年的尼加拉瓜雪茄节吸引了200多名参会者。参加雪茄节的既有雪茄零售店店主，也有雪茄爱好者和消费者，还有一些国际经销商。雪茄节遵循了一种标准的行程：白天参观烟叶农场和雪茄厂，晚上举办晚宴，每个参会者都可以享受到欢聚在一起的雪茄晚餐、现场音乐演奏、舞蹈和志同道合者的友谊。
尼加拉瓜的主要雪茄制造商基本都参加了雪茄节，并慨然为雪茄节活动开放了自己的工作设施。安排的餐馆既有休闲性，又有一定的普及教育意义。参会的雪茄制造商有阿加诺萨烟草公司（Aganorsa Leaf）、A.J. 费尔南德斯、德鲁庄园（Drew Estate）、尼加拉瓜乔亚雪茄（Joya de Nicaragua）、老爹雪茄、奥利瓦雪茄、帕德龙雪茄（Padrón）、J.C. 纽曼公司、皮尔多莫雪茄（Perdomo）、普拉森西亚雪茄、洛基·帕特尔雪茄（Rocky Patel）、STG（Scandinavian Tobacco Group）、威力格雪茄（Villiger）、罗马工艺（Roma Craft）。
还有一些鲜为人知的雪茄制造商也参加了雪茄节，巴雷达雪茄（Barreda）、TRC雪茄、维克多·卡尔沃（Victor Calvo）为雪茄爱好者们提供了一个他们可能忽视的品牌的机会。尼加拉瓜美洲雪茄（Nicaraguan American Cigars S.A.）以代工生产雪茄而闻名，雪茄节安排了去参观他们公司的行程。A.S.P.（ A.S.P. Enterprises Inc.）、普罗西尼萨（Prosenicsa）则是尼加拉瓜的比较大型的烟草种植商。
雪茄节上，关于烟草种植和雪茄生产的知识，总是有更多的东西需要学习。在埃斯特利，你可以充分探索从烟草种植、收割、发酵到雪茄卷制、陈化等各方面的知识。
目前，尼加拉瓜是美国进口优质手工雪茄数量最多的国家。美国消费者对尼加拉瓜雪茄的兴趣空前高涨。只是当前尼加拉瓜的大规模移民使得农场和工厂的劳动力短缺，大多数雪茄制造商都对尼加拉瓜的劳动力不足表达了失望和担心。
在雪茄节的第三个晚上的宴会上，J.C.纽曼公司的埃里克·纽曼（Eric Newman）获得了尼加拉瓜烟草商会（CNT）颁发的终身成就奖。埃里克也是雪茄爱好者杂志名人堂的最新入选者之一，负责Brick House（砖房）、El Baton（巴顿）和Perla Del Mar（海珍珠）等在尼加拉瓜生产的雪茄品牌。
参会者在办理入住、参观、午餐和晚餐前都可以抽到免费派送的雪茄，如果你今年没有来，准备参加2025年度的雪茄节，我们建议你要携带一个超级大的行李箱，里面别装太多东西，你需要一个很大的空间来装要带回家的雪茄。
The hotels of Estelí, Nicaragua, were at maximum capacity last week when the city had its annual influx of visitors from all over the world. They had all come to this fertile, mountainous tobacco region for one reason: Puro Sabor. Casually known as the Nicaraguan Cigar Festival, Puro Sabor is a five-day celebration of the country’s most alluring product—cigars.
There is perhaps no better way for a cigar enthusiast to elementally connect with his or her favorite smokes than attending a cigar festival. Tours visit everywhere from the lush tobacco fields to the rolling galleries of the most prolific cigar factories. The presence of principals from the manufacturers provide the opportunity to meet the people behind the brands. Puro Sabor was no exception.
This year’s 11th annual festival attracted 200 international guests, a sold-out crowd. The guest list included shop owners, consumers and international distributors looking to expand their portfolio of New World Cigars. The festival adhered to a standard format: field and factory tours by day, galas every night with everyone converging for jubilant cigar dinners, live music, dancing and general camaraderie.
Every major cigar producer in Nicaragua participated, opening up their facilities for smoke-friendly tours that were educational while remaining casual. Most of Nicaragua’s well-known cigars were represented, with participants comprising Aganorsa Leaf, A.J. Fernandez, Drew Estate, Joya de Nicaragua, My Father Cigars, Oliva Cigar Co., Nica Sueño (Roma Craft), Padrón Cigars Inc., PENSA (J.C. Newman), Perdomo Cigars, Plasencia Cigars, Rocky Patel, Scandinavian Tobacco Group and Villiger.
A few lesser-known producers were also part of the tour. Companies like Barreda Cigars, TRC Cigars and Victor Calvo gave enthusiasts the opportunity to try a brand they might have otherwise overlooked. The NACSA factory (Nicaraguan American Cigars S.A.), better known for making third-party cigar brands, was also part of Puro Sabor’s itinerary, as were tobacco companies such as A.S.P. Enterprises Inc. and Prosenicsa, both large growers of leaf in Nicaragua.
No matter your level of knowledge, there is always something more to learn about the cultivation of tobacco and production of cigars at a festival. And all aspects from tobacco harvesting and fermentation to cigar rolling and aging were fully explored in Estelí.
With Nicaragua being the largest exporter of premium, handmade cigars to the United States, interest in Nicaraguan cigars is at an all-time high. However, massive migration out of Nicaragua has caused a bit of a labor shortage both in the fields and in factories. Most of the manufacturers that Cigar Aficionado spoke to during the festival expressed frustration over the dwindling work force.
The mood, however, was generally upbeat, especially at the gala dinner on Puro Sabor’s third night. In a surprise moment, Eric Newman of J.C. Newman Cigar Co. was presented with a lifetime achievement award from the Nicaraguan Chamber of Tobacco (known as CNT). Newman was also one of the most recent inductees to the Cigar Aficionado Hall of Fame and is responsible for such Nicaraguan brands as Brick House, El Baton and Perla Del Mar.
Of course, cigars remained at the forefront of every moment of the festival. Guests were given cigars at registration, on the tours, during lunch and before dinner. If you didn’t make it this year and are considering going to Puro Sabor in 2025, our advice is to bring an extra-large suitcase, but pack it light. You’ll need the room for the all the smokes you’ll be taking home.
