A documentary by specialist Kirby Allison reveals details and curiosities of “the Commander’s favorite tobacco”
14ymedio, Juan Izquierdo, Havana, 18 June 2024 — In 1994, Fidel Castro gave an interview to the American Marvin Shenken, editor of the prestigious Cigar Aficionado magazine. “We know that there is a cigar called Trinidad and that it is only obtained in Cuba as a gift,” he said bluntly. According to rumors, the brand had been secretly manufactured since 1969 without a band, but Castro had denied its existence several times. With a smile, his answer was: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
That year, during the so-called Dinner of the Century – a luxurious banquet of millionaires held in Paris while Cubans went hungry in the Special Period – several boxes of Trinidad with the signature of Castro were officially auctioned, which were served after the meal with a 1982 Château Mouton Rothschild wine.
Born to dethrone the Cohiba, the story of how the “Commander’s favorite cigar” began to be sold was revealed by David Savona, current director of the magazine, to the specialist Kirby Allison during a miniseries about the brand that has just been uploaded to YouTube. In 1991, Shenken made a trip to Cuba on the trail of the Trinidad. He was about to publish the first issue of Cigar Aficionado magazine, and no one wanted to give him information about the “best kept secret” of the Island
“We were all a family. We thought the same thing: we all wanted to make a cigar for Fidel.”
He had to settle for a small article, which was enough to whet the appetite of the millionaires. When the terrain was prepared and everyone wanted to smoke a Trinidad, Castro admitted that the cigars existed and that they were for sale.
Ultimately, the Trinidad failed to dethrone the Cohiba, which is still the best-selling cigar on the Island. But the state corporation Habanos S.A. does not give up: Allison’s series is