{"id":74697,"date":"2026-01-21T17:26:51","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T16:26:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cigarjournal.com\/?p=74697"},"modified":"2026-01-21T17:26:51","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T16:26:51","slug":"day-1-a-smooth-launch-to-puro-sabor-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cigarjournal.com\/de\/day-1-a-smooth-launch-to-puro-sabor-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 1: A Smooth Launch to Puro Sabor 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sunday, January 18, 2026 marked the official kick off day for Nicaragua\u2019s 13th annual Puro Sabor Cigar Festival.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, travel-weary festival goers were received by the welcome team in the capital of Managua before being ushered in a convoy of busses for an hour-plus trek to the town of Grenada. This year, thankfully, we\u2019re been able to drop anchor in Managua for the night before embarking to the lovely colonial town early tomorrow morning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Truthfully, I\u2019m very much looking forward to enjoying an eggs, fried plantains with rice and beans-heavy desayuno (breakfast) before the trip.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After landing, it\u2019s a mere three minute bus ride from Managua\u2019s Augusto C\u00e9sar Sandino airport to the elegant Camino Real Hotel, where festival goers are greeted by a smiling fleet of Puro Sabor welcome staff, who will also serve as our helpful guides in the coming days.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After stepping through the hotel doors, I say hello to fellow Cigar Journal writer Nick Hammond who is lighting his first cigar of the festival with PCA\u2019s Ricardo Carrioni. I\u2019m quickly registered and then handed a cold To\u00f1a beer, before receiving a cache of festival items including a handmade Ortez leather portfolio, Flor de Ca\u00f1a rum, ground Nicaraguan coffee, and the festival pi\u00e8ce de r\u00e9sistance, the official Puro Sabor boxed collection of cigars.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Like last year, I\u2019m instantly taken back by how dark-colored the cigars are. Yes, there\u2019s been a small peppering of Connecticut-wrappered cigars in there (including a nice Perdomo 10th Anniversary Champagne Series), but by and large, it swiftly paints a picture of the bold and spicy character of Nicaraguan cigars.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After registering, I\u2019m afforded a bit respite with a new Karen Berger Ixteli cigar by the pool, before polishing up and attending the welcome dinner at the Camino Real. Here, I\u2019m given a handful cigars by Rocky Patel and Villager, and choose to enjoy a Rocky Patel Gold Label while conversing with new and familiar friends who have travelled from the U.S., England, Belgium, and a squad of five Hungarian gentlemen who are doing they\u2019re utmost to rally after a 28-hour trip that started in Budapest, before passing through Amsterdam and Panama, prior to finally touching down in Nicaragua.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Given everyone\u2019s travels, the welcome dinner is relatively serene and calm, and is enjoyed in a lovely open air courtyard within the hotel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I say my goodbyes and manage to turn in at decent hour to hopefully be fresh-faced for tomorrow\u2019s journey to historic Grenada. All in all, it\u2019s been a smooth and first day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sunday, January 18, 2026 marked the official kick off day for Nicaragua\u2019s 13th annual Puro Sabor Cigar Festival.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":74698,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[53,49,2808,44,57],"tags":[9775],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cigarjournal.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74697"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cigarjournal.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cigarjournal.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cigarjournal.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cigarjournal.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74697"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cigarjournal.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74700,"href":"https:\/\/www.cigarjournal.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74697\/revisions\/74700"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cigarjournal.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cigarjournal.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cigarjournal.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cigarjournal.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}