Alex’s Substack

My personal Substack

By Alex M

· Launched 2 years ago

Twenty Years in Matelica. This One Feels Different.

The XX Encuentro Amigos de Partagás is the largest Cuban cigar festival outside Cuba. This year it carries a little more weight than usual.

Jun 15•Alex M | HabanoSommelier

Without the Veguero, There Is No Habano.

The person in the field at 6am, in Pinar del Río, growing the leaf that ends up between your fingers. This week I want to introduce you to someone new…

Jun 2•Alex M | HabanoSommelier

The Person Behind Every Habano You Have Ever Smoked. Ever!

While the world argues about Cuba, someone is still rolling our cigars. Exec orders, shipping issues, energy crises. While all of that unfolds, the…

May 25•Alex M | HabanoSommelier

The World’s Biggest Shipping Companies Just Stopped Sailing to Cuba.

CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd, two of the world’s largest shipping companies, have suspended all bookings to and from Cuba following a US Executive Order…

May 18•Alex M | HabanoSommelier

The War on Tobacco, Part II. The Plain Packaging Assault on Cigar Culture

The taste, passion, and what a cigar represents will never fit in an olive-brown box.

May 5•Alex M | HabanoSommelier

Legal, Taxed, and No Longer Welcome. The Global War on Tobacco

Generational tobacco bans, outdoor smoking restrictions, and €18 billion in annual taxes in EU alone, a cigar lover’s honest take on where this is all…

Apr 28

Why I Smoke The Classics, And Why I Always Will

With so many new Cuban cigar releases in 2026, is there still a case for smoking the classics? My answer is yes, here’s why.

Apr 20•Alex M | HabanoSommelier

What Habanos Has Been Releasing While Nobody Was Looking

While Havana navigated one of its most difficult seasons in recent memory, Habanos kept releasing cigars market by market. Seven releases worth knowing…

Apr 6•Alex M | HabanoSommelier