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Tip of the Week
Q: Our son has moved to Nicaragua. We are planning to visit him soon, and as part of our stay we would like to visit and purchase some of the cigars you mention in a 2009 issue of Cigar Aficionado. Can you recommend a place?
A: Augusto C. Sandino International Airport (formerly called the Managua International Airport) is the country’s main airline hub.
It’s also a surprisingly fine place to purchase great cigars.
Three of Nicaragua’s cigar producers have shops or kiosks there, and the largest even has a local cigar roller making cigars by hand. It’s a relatively small airport, and these shops are within a one-minute stroll of each other, so it’s quite easy to visit all the shops before (or after) a flight.
There’s a kiosk owned by the Padrón family that sells all of its cigars, including the rarities. (See photo). Kiki Berger of Cuban Crafters has a kiosk as well.
Joya de Nicaragua has the biggest presence. Alejandro Martinez-Cuenca, who owns the brand, is also one of the owners of DURFY, one of the largest duty-free operations in Central America and a unit of the Swiss operation of the same name. The DURFY store in the airport has a large selection of liquor and various other selections, as well as a walk-in humidor stocked with Joya de Nicaragua cigars, as well as a few others. The roller (see photo) sits at a table at the store’s entrance.
Avoid the smaller places that focus on tourist trinkets and the occasional cigar—they tend to be counterfeits.
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