Liana Fuente
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Author: Liana Fuente

Tobacco Business Magazine held its second annual Tobacco Business Awards at an exclusive invite-only ceremony held in Las Vegas on Feb. 11, 2019. This year’s event took place at The Sayers Club within the SLS Las Vegas Hotel & Casino and had close to 270 premium tobacco retailers, manufacturers and media in attendance. Held in conjunction with the Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE), the Tobacco Business Awards was designed to honor and recognize exceptional businesses, professionals, and products of the tobacco, vapor and alternative industries. This year’s ceremony was a full-on featuring of who’s who within these industries as the magazine announced the winners of the 2019 awards. This year’s awards expanded to 12 categories that could be voted on by the magazine’s print and digital readers and one non-publicized award given to an industry icon that was announced and revealed for the first time during the ceremony. New categories introduced at the 2019 awards included Nicaraguan Cigar of the Year, Dominican Cigar of the Year, Boutique Cigar of the Year, Accessory Manufacturer of the Year, Tobacconist of the Year and Woman of the Year. This year’s awards had close to 8,000 votes, nearly four times the votes of the 2018 awards. Read More WOMAN...

Thirty-two-year-old Liana Fuente had been sneaking puffs of cigars for as long as she could remember. Being born into the world famous Fuente Cigar family meant that cigars were never hard to come by. Liana's childhood memories of her grandfather, Carlos Fuente, and father, Carlito, always seemed to included a dangling cigar from their mouths. Sometimes, when they were not looking, she said she would sneak into one of their offices, steal a puff or two, as most children would do as an act of curiosity. But it wasn't until she was older did she have the opportunity to smoke one from start to finish. At a young age, Liana Fuente was in New Orleans with her father for the first time attending major cigar convention. While on their way out to dinner, her father and a group of his friends lit up cigars. She prodded her father for one so she could join in on the festivities. He agreed to provide her with a cigar, an Opus X Lancero. This is one of Fuente's most sought out cigar and one of the most beloved in the entire industry, but it was a lot larger and stronger than she desired for...

NOVEMBER 16, 2016 | By Jack Bettridge Cigar Aficionado "The Next Generation" seminar, from left: editor Gregory Mottola, Raquel Quesada of Quesada Cigars, Liana Fuente of Arturo Fuente, Tony Gomez of La Flor Dominicana and editor Andrew Nagy. As in life, the one certainty of the cigar business is change. Tastes change, styles change, seed varietals change and, inevitably, so do the people who run the industry. If "The Next Generation" seminar held on Saturday at the Big Smoke Las Vegas is any indication, the cigar world is in good shape as it prepares for the changing of the guard. Three scions, each heir to family cigar businesses, discussed what it was like to grow up under large presences in the industry with an eye towards replacing them in the future. Panelists included: Liana Fuente, creative marketing director at Arturo Fuente, the daughter to Carlos Fuente Jr.; Tony Gomez, vice president of La Flor Dominicana and son of Litto Gomez; and Raquel Quesada of Quesada Cigars, daughter of Manolo Quesada. Moderating were two members of Cigar Aficionado's own next generation: senior editor Gregory Mottola and associate editor and website manager Andrew Nagy. All the panelists related the hard work and weighty responsibility that goes with their positions. "I...