Aitor Zapata at the Dutch Big Smoke. A few weeks ago, Ministry of Cigars brought the news that the new brand ambassador for Condega, Agustin Misson, would be at the Dutch Big Smoke. But in an email to us, Aitor Zapata confirmed that he will be traveling to Amsterdam, Alblasserdam, and Rotterdam as well. He will be representing his family for the occasion.

La Casa del Tabaco owns the rights to the Condega brand in international markets. And La Casa del Tabaco is part of by Gesinta. And that company is owned and run by the Zapata family. Gesinta is a distributor of tobacco products for the mass markets. The premium handmade division is La Casa del Tabaco. And besides the brands that the family owns, like Condega, Kraken, Don Jose, and Umnum. But the company also distributes other brands. Recently they added My Father Cigars and J.C. Newman to their portfolio. And they already carried Perdomo, Oliva, Cibao, and Patoro amongst others. Not only the premium cigars are under the La Casa del Tabaco umbrella. They also represent accessories such as Boveda, Lotus, Clipper, and S.T. Dupont.

Dutch Big Smoke

The annual Dutch Big Smoke used to be the biggest event in the country. Up to 500 cigar smokers in one location. Ten cigars introduced to The Netherlands at the same time. And with high profile names from the industry as guests. But then the government shut the event down. It was considered ‘promotion of smoking’.

After a year hiatus, the event returned in a different form. A year later, some changes were made. But this year, it will return to a better version of the original event. All within the current legislation. Half the size, but with potential to grow. And with a pre-party and after-party.

The pre-party is on Saturday, September 14 at Cigaragua. From noon till 9 PM. If you don’t have tickets for this event, tough luck. The pre-party is sold out. The afterparty is at Jacks’ Cigar Bar in Rotterdam. 40 tickets went on sale, at the time of writing, it is unclear how many tickets are left. The main event is at Restaurant Le Barrage in Alblasserdam. 200 tickets were available, but it’s almost sold out. Tickets are for sale at Cigaragua.nl

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