Those who know a thing or two about Cuban cigars will tell you there’s an art to indulging. It starts with choosing the perfect smoke, a process that uses all five of your senses. It ends with allowing the cigar to “die with dignity”. No crushed pulp in an ashtray for Cubans; they should be placed in an ashtray until they go out by themselves.
Luckily there’s a trained tobacconist — Manu Mansharamani — who can guide you in choosing the perfect cigar. He’ll tell you how to cut, light and smoke it during a visit to Rose Hall Cigar Club. In addition to the Cubans on offer at the certified habanos point, there’s also a wide range of Jamaican cigars.
You could spend an entire afternoon exploring the rows and rows of fine cigars in the 13-year-old store, but be sure to leave some time to check out its impressive stock of high-end locally and internationally manufactured liquor. They’re perfect for travellers looking for gifts to take back home.
“We offer Jamaican liquor like the Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum, Sangster’s Jamaican Rum Cream and some imported ones. So people do come to look for the rum creams and liquor – and we have a very good selection,” says Mansharamani.
Acknowledging that some international customers may not know the different brands in store, he offers free samples before each purchase of a bottle.
This, he says, makes for a very good experience as it leaves no room for disappointment.
“This way, they are very comfortable when they’re buying something and there’s no disappointment when they go back home,” he says.
“They try two or three different products to see what they actually like and then they take it from there,” Mansharamani adds.
Rose Hall Cigar Club is one of the original venues that make up well known shoppers paradise, Main Street Jamaica. Mansharamani, an Indian national who made Jamaica his home in 1993, fell in love with the luxury shopping mall when it first opened in 2008.
“It is an excellent location! I have been here since day one when it was called Shoppes at Rose Hall and I’ve been enjoying it from then,” says Mansharamani. “It is one of the best shopping malls in Montego Bay, with a wide variety of duty-free goods at excellent prices.”
He gets immense joy from interacting daily with curious visitors looking to buy some of his popular and rare cigars tucked away in a humidor to ensure quality.
“At the Rose Hall Cigar Club, people come here for two reasons – we carry the widest selection of Cuban cigars in the island and they are guaranteed 100 per cent authentic, and we are also the dealer for the island,” he adds with a proud smile.
