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The Habanos World Challenge competition was held in Spain for the first time this year by Club Pasión Habanos. The competition, whose aim is to choose the pair of aficionados who know the most about the world of cigars in our country, officially kicked off on 2 October and was organised in several elimination phases through which the two finalist teams were chosen.
Yesterday, 29 November, the long-awaited final of the Habanos World Challenge Spain was held in a reserved room in Madrid’s Cívitas Metropolitano stadium. The two finalist pairs, Pedro Merino and François Colombo on the one hand, and Antonio León and José Pedro Caballero on the other, competed against each other in a live, real-time competition in which they faced a series of different tests with the aim of achieving the highest final score and thus becoming champions.
In front of them, a jury of five experts in the world of cigars (Sergio Sauca, Manuela Romeralo, Ángel García Muñoz, Armando Díaz and José Andrés Colmena) ensured total transparency and professionalism in their assessments of the contestant teams’ performance in each of the tests.
And enjoying the show, presented with rhythm, sympathy and professionalism by the journalist and gastronomic expert David Fernández-Prada, an audience of over a hundred members, who were also able to actively participate in the same challenges as the finalists through a mobile application, in order to check their own level of knowledge.
The grand final took place over the course of the evening in three different tests. The first was a knowledge test, in which each team answered ten different questions of the same type of difficulty and with the same characteristics. A test with a lot of nerves and a lot of concentration, which captivated everyone until the end. The second was a demonstration of cutting and lighting a cigar without a ring, in which the two couples had to show the jury their technical skills and their ability to communicate.
Finally, the third and last test was a blind tasting in which each team, and the audience as well, had to taste and identify a Havana cigar and a distillate without knowing any previous information about either of them. Surely the most difficult challenge of the night, in which not only the contestants, but also many of the audience, were surprised to discover that the cigar was the Partagás Mille Fleurs and the drink was the Brandy de Jerez 1866 de Osborne. During the tasting, the members of the jury took to the stage for a relaxed interview guided by the presenter, where they shared some of their anecdotes and stories about the world of cigars.
Throughout the tests, the contestants, as well as the public, were scoring points, under the watchful eye and strict control of the jury, too. And then came the long-awaited moment to announce the winners. First, prizes were awarded to the three best participants from the public. And finally, the big moment, in which the couple composed of Pedro Merino and François Colombo, after obtaining the highest total score, was proclaimed champion of the Habanos World Challenge Spain final, thus obtaining the pass to represent Spain in the international competition that will hold its next edition in Havana during the forthcoming 24th Habano Festival from 26 February to 1 March 2024. Amidst applause and congratulations, the winners went on stage to collect their diplomas and two exclusive Montecristo Carmen books from the hands of the jury, which were also given to the runner-up couple along with two Juan López Selección No. 2 gift boxes.
At the end of the competition and after the appropriate celebration, all the attendees were honoured with a Partagás Serie D No. 4 and were able to enjoy a “picoteo” to relax and comment on the final, in a pleasant atmosphere overlooking the stadium’s lawn. Without a doubt, it was a great night of strong emotions and a lot of enjoyment.