Knowledgeable smokers claim Licenciados is the true son of the Havana cigar.
Cigar Aficionado, in its June ’94 issue, awarded Licenciados a spectacular 93 rating! Most present-day Cubans don’t even come close. In point of fact, it’s the highest rating ever achieved by a non-Cuban cigar. How did this Havana, by way of the Dominican Republic, manage to achieve its 93 rating?
For the answer to that, you need to know something of the dedication of Manuel Quesada, the guiding force behind Licenciados. It has been his single-minded passion to reproduce the famous taste of the Cubans of 40 years ago. Of course, this could be said of many of the old guard expatriate families since Castro. But none have succeeded on a par to match Quesada.
