How to Read a RoomLa Casa del Habano — what the network means, and how to use it.
How to Read a Room
The most counterfeited product in premium tobacco deserves a reliable point of purchase. Habanos S.A. built one. Here is what to do with it.
The first La Casa del Habano opened in November 1990, in the hotel zone of Cancún, Mexico, founded by a group of Mexican businessmen who understood something that the cigar world had not yet formalised: that the experience of buying a serious cigar deserved an environment that matched the seriousness of the object.
The concept was Habanos S.A.’s — the Cuban entity that controls the commercial distribution of all Havana cigars worldwide — and the logic was straightforward. Cuban cigars are the most counterfeited product in the premium tobacco market. A network of franchised specialists, supplied directly through official Habanos channels, with walk-in humidors maintained at correct temperature and humidity, staffed by people who actually know what they are selling, would give the serious smoker a reliable point of purchase wherever he happened to be in the world.
That network now comprises more than 155 stores across sixty countries. Geneva, Hong Kong, London, São Paulo, Dubai, Bogotá. Each store is independently owned but bound by the franchise standards of Habanos S.A., which means the product is genuine, the storage conditions are controlled, and certain releases — the Colección Habanos editions, specific limited vitolas — are available exclusively through the network before reaching any other retailer.
“A good LCDH tells him something about the city. The quality of the smoking salon is a legible signal about how seriously a place takes the culture it is operating in.”
The man who knows how to use this network travels differently. In a city he knows well, he already has a LCDH he trusts. In a city he does not know, finding the nearest franchise is one of the first acts of orientation — not because he necessarily intends to buy, but because a good LCDH tells him something about the city. The quality of the smoking salon, the depth of the humidor, the knowledge of the staff, the condition in which the cigars have been kept — these are legible signals about how seriously a place takes the culture it is operating in.
The distinction worth understanding is between a La Casa del Habano and a shop that calls itself one. The franchise uses a registered mark. A legitimate LCDH appears on the Habanos S.A. official locator and carries the franchise signage without variation. Counterfeit product is less of a concern inside a genuine franchise — this is precisely what the network was built to address — but the quality of any given location varies considerably depending on ownership, staffing, and the seriousness with which the local franchisee approaches his obligations.
What La Casa del Habano offers the travelled smoker, at its best, is continuity. The same standard of product, stored to the same conditions, available by the same means, in Geneva or Kuala Lumpur or the Canary Islands. For a man who moves through the world with a specific idea of how an afternoon should be spent, that continuity is worth more than the walk-in humidor alone.
For the Man Who Takes
His Cellar Seriously
Cigar notes, blind panel dispatches, and cellar guidance for the serious collector. Inside MGA Premium.
Enter The CellarNetwork data sourced from Habanos S.A. official communications and Cigar Journal worldwide overview (2019). Store count current as of 2025 per Habanos S.A. press releases. MGA has no commercial affiliation with Habanos S.A. or the La Casa del Habano franchise network. Images used for editorial commentary purposes; credits as captioned.