Ivan Maximo Perez Macedo, known to everyone as Maximo or "El Gallego", isn't just one of the best tobacco producers in Cuba, he's also the writer of manuals regarding the topic. He is a foremost expert on tobacco and very knowledgeable on methods of cultivation and the different varieties available....Habanos goes to him for information and advice. Maximo spends some of his time at the Research Institute of the Experimental Station of Tobacco in his municipality. He's been nominated twice for the coveted Habano's Man of the Year award (never winning) but doesn't put much stock in it. He believes that your time and effort to produce the best product possible and being successful at that is a satisfying reward in itself. For a man of his age (born: Nov. 9, 1969), he's old school passionate about tobacco and has been forever trying new ways to cultivate different strains in order to maximize quantity and quality. He alone decides which type of tobacco to grow on any given year, always trying to improve his yield. He has reduced the size of his plantings considerably, allowing him to concentrated on doing a better job on a smaller plot. He believes that quality is better than quantity and is constantly working hard to produce the best product possible. He says that 2018 was a good year for tobacco but claims that in recent years, 2012 has been the best. He tells me that this past harvest wasn't a very good one for him, he lost a part of his plantings due to bad weather. As far as the quality goes, we have yet to see how things will turn out. This year's harvest wasn't a total bust, at least I couldn't tell when I visited his barns. As always, our stay was too short, that's what happens when you have a list of people to visit. Until next time.
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