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Cigarticles

Cigarticles

New La Casa del Habano in Cozumel

by Mike Stout (Mike S)
July 23, 2010
 
There is a new La Casa del Habano! I just flew in to Cozumel today, and the new LCDH is the first place I went looking to find. You can't miss the location on the Malecón, right across from the ferry pier and above Fat Tuesday’s. It is a mere two blocks from my house. Well, actually you can miss it, because they don't have a big LCDH sign hung yet. You walk up a set of stairs, and then enter cigar nirvana.
 
 
 
The main smoking room features nice modern (and comfortable) leather furniture, wood floors and a totally glass-enclosed 10x10 foot humidor, complete with lockers. Off of the main smoking room, there is a small bar. And towards the ocean is the VIP smoking lounge, which offers a few huge leather couches, red leather chairs, flat screen television and a great view of the Caribbean Sea, replete with ships coming and going. Oh yeah... The air conditioning was kicking, as were overhead fans and the smoke ventilators.
 
 


In the humidor, the stock on the shelves had the usual suspects, even with some of the newer sticks from Cohiba. It was KIND of  a let down, considering I have a very well stocked, similarly sized walk-in humidor at home. But hey, beggars can't be choosers. Right? I met one of the general managers, a gentleman named Alex, who is knowledgeable and could steer a new Habanos smoker in the right direction. He is also a courteous and an all around pleasant guy to talk to. Mike, the other manager, works the morning shift, but Alex seemed to think he was more well versed in 'our world'.
 


The mojitos were great, of course, not to mention the bar staff. Anna was on top of things and very attentive, as was Miguel and the manager, who I shot the bull with through most of the Siglo IV that I bought in house. Maybe a cigar locker is in this smoker’s future. If you buy the Havana Club bottles (albeit for a bit of inflated price) in-house, you can store them there, and the staff provides setups free of charge, including all of the mojito fixins’. In the long run, with the amount of time I plan on spending there, this is a good option for me. After all, the LCdH is only 2 blocks from my house here - muahahhahahahahaa.
 
 
There are a ton of shady places in town selling cigars - a major reason why I would always bring my own. And Havana Club has never been the same since the old owners sold it. Now that the new La Casa del Habano is open here, however, there is no need to go anywhere else for your cigars, unless you happen to like “barber pole Cubans or glass-top boxes” (the well-known presentation of counterfeit Cuban cigars, ubiquitous at ports-of-call, to take in American tourists, Ed.)

I’ve got a feeling that this place is gonna' take off just like the old Havana Club and LCdH did. All you gotta' do is look at how nice it is, knowing the stock you are getting is the real deal. I just got in from enjoying a Partagás Serie D #4 from a 2008 box they opened for me. The rest are now in my locker.
 
 

I can comment on the Partagás Serie D #4. It’s about $10 a cigar. I have not really looked at other prices in the walk-in humidor yet, as I have brought down a ton of my own smokes (I always do.) However, the Partagas DeLux  tubos sell for $6. Hopefully, the managers will set up a CW  membership account soon so that they can answer questions and take requests from those of us coming down for vacation. I do happen to know that a Facebook page is in the works, too.

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Mike Stout (mike s) is an Art Educator from Round Rock,Texas, where he is happily married to his high school sweetheart Michelle. For the past 10 years, he has been enjoying fine cigars, traveling to exotic locations and making lifelong friends through various cigar boards. He calls Cozumel, Mexico, where he has been traveling since 1994, his second home, and lives there several months out of the year.