The year 2020 will be a busy one for cigar events. Many are open to consumers, while some are restricted to the trade. Not only will we see the return of Puro Sabor, the Nicaraguan cigar festival, there is also going to be a cigar event that’s the first of its kind, a combination of Big Smoke and WhiskyFest. Nicaragua has become the leader in producing handmade cigars for the U.S. market, and the Puro Sabor Festival allows guests to see the country’s cigarmakers on their home turf.
Turmoil in the country led to the cancelation of the 2019 show, but calmer times have returned to Nicaragua, and the festival returns in 2020. The three-city event includes time in Estelí, the cigarmaking capital of Nicaragua. Tobacco Plus Expo, January 29–31 (Industry Only) Las Vegas, Nevada The year’s first cigar trade show features a mix of products for sale, including cigars.
The handmade cigar industry is becoming a larger and larger presence here. ProCigar Festival, February 16–21 La Romana and Santiago, Dominican Republic The cigarmakers of the Dominican Republic throw a superb party, a weeklong event that begins in La Romana, home to Tabacalera de Garcia and the Casa de Campo Resort, then moves to Santiago, where most Dominican cigars are made. Every night features a dinner with free-flowing cigars, and the final evening has an auction for charity. Habanos Festival, February 24–28 Havana, Cuba This huge event brings together cigar distributors, retailers and smokers from all over the world.
This year there are evenings dedicated to Bolivar, Montecristo and Romeo y Julieta, the focus of the final evening. The festival concludes with a black-tie dinner, where large humidors containing cigars (some of them quite rare) are auctioned for charity.
Tobacconists’ Association of America Convention, March 22–26 (Industry Only) Los Cabos, Mexico This smaller trade show is open only to members of the TAA, and it brings together many handmade cigarmakers. Some of the cigars sold at this event will appear as exclusives sold only at the member shops. ig Smoke Meets WhiskyFest, April 3–4 Hollywood, Florida Cigar Aficionado magazine’s first Big Smoke of 2020 is going to make history, for it is being combined with WhiskyFest.
The two-night show is open to consumers and will feature some of the world’s finest cigars (smoking is allowed in the room) and some of the world’s finest Scotch, Bourbon, rye, Japanese whisky, Canadian whisky and more. There will also be whisky seminars during the evenings, and a cigar seminar on Saturday morning. The event takes place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, which has underwent a $1.5 billion expansion that includes the world’s first guitar-shaped hotel. Tickets are on sale now.
PCA Convention and Trade Show, July 10–14 (Industry Only) Las Vegas, Nevada Much of the cigar industry will gather in Las Vegas to write business and show off new products at this trade show, which is traditionally the largest of its kind in the cigar business. This will be year 88 for the show. InterTabac Trade Show, September 18–20 (Industry Only) Dortmund, Germany A show once dominated by Cuban cigars has received increasing interest from the non-Cuban world.
Las Vegas Big Smoke Weekend, November 20–22 Las Vegas, Nevada Cigar Aficionado’s Big Smoke returns to Las Vegas for the 25th anniversary of this event. It’s an entire weekend of cigar smoking, with two nights of Big Smokes, two days of cigar seminars and the biggest names in the premium cigar industry. Tickets for the seminars often sell out early.
