I recently had the opportunity to visit Habanos Point Cigar Room owned and operated by Orlando Limoneta Juantorena. Orlando is the exclusive importer and only authorized distributor of ALL cuban cigars in Colombia. I wanted to write a short article about Orlando’s business and my experience in his store and also present a special offer to Medellin Living readers at the bottom of this email so read on!

First of all, when I thought of cigars, I thought one thing… YUCK. However, wow, was I ever mistaken. I went with my boyfriend and some of his friends but I was adventurous to let Orlando recommend me a Romeo and Juliet which was small, easy to handle and smooth! I’ve never smoked Habanos in my life and I didn’t realize that you are NOT supposed to inhale, you just let some of the flavor enter your mouth and then exhale normally. This alone, totally changed my perspective on cigar smoking! Combine this with a fine cuban rum or red wine, a comfy sofa and some salsa music and this is what you get at Habanos Point.

Now let’s talk about Cuban cigars. I think we all know the Cuban cigars are some of the best in the world. Orlando tells me that from the careful cultivation of the tabaco leaf all the way to the meticulous preservation of climate controls and hand rolling process in downtown Havana, Cuba are all methods that have been perfected in Cuba over more than 100 years of experience! No doubt why Cubans are the some of the best.
Orlando’s story is a pretty good one. Like many visitors to Medellin he came to our city and fell in love, with the city and also a girl! While he’s been importing Cuban cigars to Colombia for 3 years, and he moved here 5 years ago when his daughter was born. Habano’s point however he just opened in September with a goal to showcase the finest Cuban cigars with the most authentic experience possible. The indoor/outdoor space, the Cuban coffee, the finest rums from Cuba and Colombia, and elegant and experienced service staff that aim to please his customers.

Now back to my experience. As a cigar rookie, I was afraid to even light the cigar, in fact I didn’t even know which end to put to fire or to my mouth! Orlando showed me how to cut only 1-2 millimeters (only!!!) from the closed end of the cigar depending on the brand and style and only with a very fine and very sharp stainless steel cutter (don’t put your fingers in). Sorry if that’s obvious to the Medellin Living readers but I had no idea! Then he showed me how to light it properly as well. You can use a gas torch to heat up the body of the cigar before you light the CUT end as it will start to release some of the flavors before you begin. If you want to get really fancy you can even dip the mouth end into a bit of rum while you’re smoking to add some flavor.

Orlando also explained to me how the very delicate layers inside each cigar (in Spanish called “capas”) are what make every cigar brand and style unique. The combination of certain types of shapes and colors of tobacco leaves will TOTALLY change the cigar smoking experience. Some are smooth and fast burning like the Cohiba Robusto (amazing!!) while others are stronger and slower burning like the Montecristos.

Now, we also know that the best Cuban cigars are NOT cheap. However the prices that Orlando sells at are more like DISTRIBUTOR prices versus Colombian RETAIL prices that you’ll pay anywhere else. So if you have a certain budget you can easily increase it and try something a little bigger or better than what you’re used to!

All in all, I had a wonderful experience at Habanos Point and I’m looking forward to returning. I told Orlando about Medellin Living and he offered a special offer for any Medellin Living reader who shows this article on their cell phone. You can get 5% off on your total purchase. I hope you enjoyed the article and happy smoking at Habanos Point with Orlando and his wonderful staff!

Direction: Calle 10a #36