WHILE La Casa del Habano may have launched a High Tea and a happy hour promo called “Indulge Twice” on Jan. 22, let’s be honest: the focus on the Ayala Triangle Gardens cigar lounge is the long and fat Cubans (cigars, that is).
Cuban cigars — so scarce and precious that rumor has it Winston Churchill had them snuck into diplomatic bags so he could enjoy them during World War II — are the trade of La Casa del Habano. One of its partners, Javier Toledo (who is not yet 30 years old) told us that this Makati branch, which opened late in 2023, is one of about 155 branches around the world — not one of them in the United States, because of trade embargoes set against Cuba during the Cold War.
According to him, one of their partners has the sole proprietorship of the distribution of Cuban cigars in Manila, hence, “We are able to provide these cigars at a more affordable price than they normally would if you were to order them abroad,” said Mr. Toledo.
After sitting down to tea and sandwiches — their tea promo is available from 2 to 5 p.m. daily; General Manager Joy Oyson said, “Between two to five in the afternoon, no one smokes,” hence the need for the promo to fill the 200-square-meter space in these hours — Mr. Toledo gave us a short lecture about Cubans.
Are they really better, or are they really just rare? “It’s had a long-standing history for being that mild and very flavorful,” he said. “The taste that you get out of the tobacco in Cuba is mild; quite nutty in its flavor profile.”
“In Cuba, the climate that it has, for some reason… other regions around the world cannot seem to produce the same taste,” he said, citing Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and the Philippines’ own tobacco crop. He did say, however, that some tobacco in the Philippines came from Cuban seed.
There’s a proper way of handling the cigar – and at P1,000 to P50,000 a pop, you better do it right.
“You’d always want to hold it [nearer] the butt [end] of the cigar,” he said. “You might deconstruct the cigar by accident,” he said, if you hold it the wrong way.
He fiddled with a faulty lighter at first, before getting a new one, a more powerful torch. Before this, he was talking about humidity (the ideal is 69% humidity, otherwise, the cigars will be too dry and will crack; or be too wet and you end up with soggy smokes). With a special clipper that leaves a diamond-shaped cut, he clipped the end, then began to light.
“You never want to burn a cigar,” he said, calling the ritual “toasting.” “You want to heat it enough to a point that the end of the cigar is red.”
As most cigar smokers know, one never inhales: “The cigar is like coffee — it’s the taste that you get out of it,” he says.
A highlight of the cigar lounge is the walk-in humidor, where members can store their Cubans (the only cigars allowed inside). This also serves as the (consumable) annual membership fee: P150,000 for the lowest tier, where one shares space with others; P300,000 for the premium tier (solo), and a bigger VIP one at a cool half-million.
“Back when I was 18, I dreamt of owning a lounge like this,” he said (and he got his dream, being a co-owner out of 11). “When I first smelled a Cuban cigar from my dad, I was just so attracted to that smell. It always made me wonder what it was like.” He asked his father when he could smoke one. His father answered, “When you can afford it.”
La Casa Del Habano Manila is located at the Shops at Ayala Triangle Gardens, Makati. High Tea is priced at P3,199 for two persons, and is available from 2 to 5 p.m. — Joseph L. Garcia