Factories first. Parties later.

Vacation mode is officially over, and it is time for me to get to work*.

*I mean, is it really work?

Tuesday is where Pro Cigar stops being a ‘coming soon’ on a social calendar and starts being a ‘here and now’.

Off into the city

My first stop in the morning was to visit Hostos at Tabacalera La Isla.

I have known Hostos for a long time, and watching him build a factory from scratch has been amazing.

You walk in, and the smell hits you immediately. Leaf. Earth. Heat. This is not marketing. This is manufacturing.

The floor is focused. Rollers in rhythm. Supervisors watching consistency like auditors. Conversations shift quickly from industry news, projects on the horizon, new challenges as the factory gets more and more in demand. You learn fast that romance sells cigars, but logistics sustains brands.

After that, I grab some lunch and then head over to visit Tony Gomez at La Flor Dominicana.

I will save the ‘factory’ insights for Thursday when I return. Today is really just about catching up with friends and smoking cigars.

Back the hotel to register for the event, pick up the initial swag bag, and get ready for the madness.

The Pro Cigar Welcome Reception

The Welcome Reception kicks off on Tuesday night, and the room fills fast. Old and new friends. Lots of energy.

Retailers, media, brand owners, everyone in one place. The conversations start light and turn important without warning. You can feel the week accelerating.

For the second year in a row, the event is held in an open-air area on the 11th floor of the hotel. The welcome reception has always been a great place to see who was in town and kick off the week.

Then SAGA.

SAGA is not just dinner. It is the unofficial launch for the week.

If you are fortunate enough to get a reservation (or invited to sit with someone who has one), you are in…and if you have never been there, you will see what all the fuss is about.

The room is alive. The volume rises. Plates come out fast. Bottles move faster. Stories grow slightly with each refill.

This is a place that could have phoned in the menu and still been popular. Luckily for us, the food is amazing. You can check out a behind-the-scenes episode I shot at cigarpress.com.

Most SAGA meals start out with a negotiation.

The negotiation is about how many Tomahawks to order. Choose too few and people want more. Choose too many, and you are walking away with meat sweats because you had something to prove.

I have been in both situations, so my pick is typically right on at this point, but that takes years of practice. Call it a superpower.

By the end of the night, you realize you didn’t take enough pictures. That usually means it was a great day.

Cigar Count: Average
Hydration Level: Level
Momentum: Building Fast

Tuesday reminds you why you came. This is an industry built by hands, not hashtags.