Havana Travel Diaries.....The blind tasting at Santy

[El Presidente]

I will write my travel diaries in no order. Just those moments that come to mind as I have my morning cigar and coffee 

For those with other photo's of the Santy event....please post them here on this thread. 

 

Tuesday was our FOH blind tasting at Santy. 

I was introduced to Santy about 5 years ago. It is a sushi/sashimi paladar set on the water about 15 minutes from the Nacional in the township/suburb of Jaimanitas. It is near impossible to find and you will need a driver/taxi who knows of the place before you head out....or you will be pulling your hair out wondering where the hell it is. 

At the same time the Amicigar crew were doing their traditional vintage cigar tasting. I know some of our members went to that tasting so please, start a new thread and post a report on that tasting for us 

So back to the Santy blind tasting. 

36 FOH'ers were in attendance at the lunch commencing at 1pm. 

Jose Candia, Armando  and I ventured out early that morning to pick up the cigars we had selected. I could have brought cigars from Oz but I didn't want the tasting affected by any cigar travel sickness issues. 

When in Havana my preferred cigar shop is at the the Palacio De la Artesania which is tucked away in the outskirts of Old Havana. It is no secret by any means but often missed. 

 

 

We had already had our first cigar chosen and set aside a few months ago. it was a Robusto.  Our second cigar was to be a Corona Extra and i wanted to choose a good example with the same box code as the Robusto. We did so and then jumped into Amando's Lada and headed off to assist with setting up Santy for the afternoon. 

It is hard not to love Santy's creek side setting. The only thing better is their food which is some of the finest in Havana and procured from what has been caught in the prior 36 hours. 

 

 

 

The long table setting was perfect for the event and the crowd rolled in and lit the first cigar of the tasting....the Robusto. You can see keith on his phone.....no doubt checking out Cuban Cigar Website 

 

The ability to talk crap has never been a personal shortcoming and so I gave a briefing as to the Robusto and implored the table to simply think about the marque....to forget about the specific cigar but rather to tease out the flavours and go with their heart as to whether it was Cohiba or Partagas or whatever. The winner would be the person who could pick the marque. 

People, smoked, caught up with old and new friends, compared notes and milked me for as much information as they could. 

Here is Nate, Ryan and Stan. They first met on the last trip and are without doubt the "Rat Pack". 

 

And so I started the unveiling of the cigar using the tried and true Geoffrey Robertson method of stand up all....and progressive sitting down until the winner is revealed. 

The Robusto was a cracker that was almost universally enjoyed. There was no clear favourite from the group....Hoyo, Juan Lopez, Partagas, Bolivar, Vegas Robaina all had their supporters. The only consensus was that it could not be a Cohiba as i am too tight a bastard to put that on.....pricks 

The cigar was finally revealed... the Diplomaticos Excelencia 2015 Regional Release Cuba 

The crowd was a little stunned but now they recalled that I said to focus upon marca and not specific Robusto's.  

Apparently I had thrown a malicious curve ball ......but now they would be ready for the second cigar!!!!

The Corona Extra was started

The brilliant food kept coming out plate after plate. Octopus, Black Fin tuna, Swordfish

Rabid discussion was taking place. The tables (excuse the pun) would be turned on the host. 

 

So the unveiling of the second cigar commenced using the same format. 

I asked for a hands up as to who enjoyed the second cigar?  near 100% did.

I asked for a showing of hands as to who preferred the second cigar? Interestingly...88% of people preferred the Corona Extra. the general commentary was that it was "Rich, almost decadent"

And so we started the game of the seven veils. This time the FOH'ers were ready. LE's were put forward, maybe a Regional. Whatever it was ....it was going to be something special, maybe something a little exotic. 

One by one the contestants whittled away. People were scratching their heads. But this time we had two winners  

And what was this cigar that beat one of the most sought after regionals of 2015/16?

A cabinet of March 15 

 

 

You could hear a pin drop. 

My good mate and serious collector Justin pulled me aside and said......."nice work dick....you just single handedly destroyed the the marketing myth of HSA" 

Now, that was not my intent.....really 

It was a great afternoon and much talked about over the rest of the week. 

For those with other photo's of the Santy event....please post them here on this thread. 

Thank you for a brilliant day!

Rob

 

[ChanceSchmerr]

I'm still kicking myself for picking the Dip Excelencia initially and then changing my mind because "it couldn't possible be that" LOL

 

All said - it was a brilliant venue and a very well run blind tasting.  Much more enjoyable than I'm sure the Vintage tasting was

[Cohiba007]

Fantastic day, great new friends, and the freshest sushi a man can get

[zeedubbya]

3 hours ago, El Presidente said:

I could have brought cigars from Oz but I didn't want the tasting affected by any cigar travel sickness issues. 

So you're saying there's Exelencia's in Oz you didn't take with you? Dibs on a box!***

Awesome-thanks for sharing!  Everyone smiling so much--very very cool a passion for cigars can bring people from all around the world together like this. 

 

***This is joking in the manner of a frothing, gnashing cigar hoarder.  Please don't email.  I kid I kid.  

[Bartolomeo]

Good times, never expected the Dip RE as it tasted different than previous ones I have had, well played Rob, well played

[Homer]

Do you remember the box code of the punch cab? Xxx mar 15.

[Ethernut]

Santy was absolutely a highlight of the week! Thanks again Rob for the great pick, it appealed to my inner foodie splendidly.

[madandana]

A great day indeed. Great job by our host. We enjoyed meeting new friends and catching up with old.

[clutch5150]

The Black Fin Tuna is a real treat at the Santy!  That Rum tasting joint is right around the corner of the hotel I stay at...and you just had to mention my favorite "secret" cigar shop!!  Damn, you all had better of left some smokes for me.  From what I heard the Chinese tourists have been cleaning out the shelves as of late.

[Ethernut]

44 minutes ago, clutch5150 said:

The Black Fin Tuna is a real treat at the Santy!  That Rum tasting joint is right around the corner of the hotel I stay at...and you just had to mention my favorite "secret" cigar shop!!  Damn, you all had better of left some smokes for me.  From what I heard the Chinese tourists have been cleaning out the shelves as of late.

Every LCDH I visited had plenty of stock. So, no "cleaned out" scenarios. Light on the difficult to find stuff but still a great selection.

[Habana Mike]

Rob holding court...lotsa bottles of Kristal were consumed on this day......what was the prize again?

[Habana Mike]

 

Oops, that's La Terazza......still a great lunch!

Edited November 25, 2016 by Habana Mike
Wrong place

[Mr.T]

What a great backdrop to have the blind tasting event! And the food looks incredible. Thanks for sharing


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