Innholdsfortegnelse for November/December 2021 i Cigar Aficionado

95 NICARAGUA TOP CHURCHILL OLIVA SERIE V MELANIO MADURO CHURCHILL The Oliva Cigar Co. just can’t go wrong with the Serie V. The core line consistently scores well, the Melanio has been named Cigar of the Year, and now the Melanio Maduro Churchill is an instant classic, leading the Churchill category. 95 NICARAGUA TOP GRANDE PADRÓN SERIE 1926 NO. 48 MADURO What was once a cigar made only for retail members of the Tobacconists’ Association of America is now a regular-production smoke. The No. 48 is also the biggest size in Padrón’s entire Serie 1926 brand, and it’s a blockbuster. 95 NICARAGUA TOP ROBUSTO PADRÓN FAMILY RESERVE NO. 50 Released to mark the 50th anniversary of Padrón’s time in the cigar business, the Family Reserve No. 50 keeps the celebration…

In America, turkey may be the national holiday dish, but once you’re through stuffing your gullet with Thanksgiving fowl, it’s a welcome respite to look to that other feast meat—beef—come December’s holidays. And, whether you plan to feed an army with a standing rib roast or broil individual steaks for a smaller gathering, the way to take read meat to the concierge level is with Béarnaise sauce. It mightn’t be one of France’s five “mother sauces,” but this herb-laced take on Hollandaise is about the best favor you can do to a ribeye, or just about any, steak. Born in Paris (not the province of Béarn, as the name would suggest) in the 1830s, it’s a relative latecomer to the world of haute cuisine. It atones for being tardy with…

When the Netflix movie Roma won the Academy Award as 2018’s best foreign film—after the streaming giant unleashed a multimilliondollar advertising campaign lobbying for the same film to win the Oscar for best picture—legendary director Steven Spielberg spoke out against streaming as anathema to the movie industry, a movement that would spell the death knell for theatrical distribution of movies. “I love television,” the director said at the time. “But there’s nothing like going to a big dark theater with people you’ve never met before and having the experience wash over you. That’s something we all truly believe in.” Spielberg even suggested Netflix films shouldn’t qualify for Academy Award consideration because of their minimal theatrical releases. Fast-forward to this September, when the long-delayed Academy Museum of Motion Pictures finally opened…

For many years, a Cuban Cohiba in a torpedo shape came around only every once in awhile as a limited edition. Habanos S.A. changed that in 2012 when it added the Pirámides Extra to Cohiba’s permanent range. It scored 93 points and the “extra” in its name is because it’s a little longer and thicker than standard Cuban pirámides such as the Partagás Serie P No. 2, which scored 92 points. Also scoring 92 was the Montecristo Petit No. 2., a tasty belicoso that provides a quicker alternative to its taller, iconic sibling, the Montecristo No. 2. At 60 ring gauge, the Joya de Nicaragua Antaño 1970 Gran Consul looks more like anti-aircraft ammunition than a cigar. Nevertheless, it’s a big, bold, 92-point smoke and part of the flagship brand…

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TOP SCORES 95 Oliva Serie V Melanio Maduro Churchill Nicaragua • $14.40 • Churchill • Medium 95 Padrón Serie 1926 No. 48 Maduro Nicaragua • $21.15 • Grande • Medium-Full 95 Padrón Family Reserve No. 50 Nicaragua • $26.60 • Robusto • Medium-Full 94 Casa Cuba Doble Cuatro Dominican Republic • $10.85 • Robusto • Medium 94 Illusione Cruzado Robusto Nicaragua • $9.80 • Robusto • Medium-Full 93 Cohiba Pirámides Extra Cuba • £53.10 • Figurado • Medium 93 Cohiba Behike BHK 52 Cuba • £63.20 • Robusto • Medium-Full 93 Días de Gloria Short Churchill Nicaragua • $9.00 • Toro • Medium-Full 93 Diplomaticos Reserva Exclusiva Exclusivo Caribe Cuba • $22.00 St. Barths • Toro • Medium 93 Pichardo Clasico Natural Toro Nicaragua • $9.50 • Toro • Medium…

You know him best as Ari Gold, the tireless, irreverent and bombastic super agent from the hit HBO series “Entourage,” but in real life, actor Jeremy Piven is far more chill and relaxed. He enjoys a cigar “almost every day,” sometimes on the golf course, sometimes with a coffee, a whisky or a mezcal. “They’re so fun to smoke,” he says. “You feel like at the end of the day, you’ve earned it.” Piven maintains a host of go-to smokes. He likes Davidoffs and Cubans. When he’s looking for a great deal, it’s the Padrón 7000. It was, however, Illusione that caused the actor to finally channel his inner Ari Gold off-screen. A love for the Illusiones, particularly the robusto format, prodded Piven to become a dealmaker. So he has…

Moe knows smoke. “Beef short ribs are my favorite to smoke,” explains Moe Cason, 54 years old, winner of numerous BBQ competitions and star of TV’s “BBQ Pitmasters.” Cason now has his own line of rubs, sauces and knives, and a 1,000-gallon smoker named “Big Booty Judy.” He also loves cigars. “My go-to is the Liga Privada No. 9 Corona Doble,” he says. “The spiciness is what I like.” Cason also enjoys Cubans. “Love Montecristos, Partagás and Cohibas. I love cigars that have depth, but not too heavy.” Cason served four years in the Navy and learned more about cigars from his ship’s captain, who “always had a big cigar. He was just cool.” After his service, he spent 24 years at Des Moines’ water treatment facility, leaving in 2017…

In 1908, Japanese biochemist Kikunae Ikeda attempted to reproduce the savory taste found in seaweed and thus formulated an additive called monosodium glutamate. It’s used today to not only add flavor to foods, but to also enhance the perception of the ingredients in any given dish. In the cigar world, there’s a tobacco that does the same thing. Unlike MSG, this particular tobacco can’t be mass-produced in a lab, nor can it be grown in large quantities. The leaf in question is called medio tiempo, and it’s appearing in more and more cigars, promising an enhanced experience and an added wow factor to your smoke. Medio tiempo functions in much the same way MSG does—to bring your other tobaccos together while adding a gustatory giddyup. Lately, cigarmakers are openly acknowledging…

This issue begins with a story about one of our favorite actors, a man who stars in one of our favorite shows. Brian Cox can play just about any part: he’s the cool and calculating villain in the Bourne movies, the world’s most famous cigar smoker in Churchill, the learned uncle in Braveheart and the delightfully outmatched headmaster in Rushmore. Now he stars in “Succession,” the acclaimed HBO show about a business in which the family in charge plays for keeps. It returned for its third season on October 17. If you haven’t watched it yet, do it now. You won’t be disappointed. How one watches a show like “Succession” is far different than ever before, as the entertainment world has been utterly reshaped by the advent of digital streaming.…

When the American explorer and photographer Cory Richards made his third ascent of Mount Everest in 2019, he wore a special Overseas watch from Vacheron Constantin. The titanium-and-steel prototype, equipped with a dual-time function, served as the model for two new special “Everest” editions available to those with a taste for adventure—real or virtual. Both movements’ oscillating rotors stand out in high-contrast pink gold, engraved with a scene of Everest photographed by Richards during one of his expeditions. Overseas is Vacheron’s sportiest collection, easily identifiable by its notched six-sided bezel evoking the brand’s Maltese Cross emblem. The Everest pieces add a more casual and modern aesthetic to the line with the case, bezel, pushers and pusher guards in lightweight, robust titanium, bezel ring in steel, and a dark blue/gray matte…

The classic connection between the lord of the manor and man’s best friend is the ritual of a dog dutifully fetching his master’s slippers (and possibly pipe) to the easy chair at the end of a long, hard day. It’s a sweet gesture that may stretch back centuries. Dogs were first domesticated some 15,000 years ago. Chairs existed from the time of the Ancient Egyptians. But slippers didn’t appear until the 12th century. Come on, Fido! We may think of slippers as simply a way to keep feet warm while padding from the bed to the bathroom, but throughout history they have fulfilled a variety of functions and come in elaborate designs. Of course, with their easy fit, typically generous cushioning and ability to be slipped on, they are a…

Logan Roy looks up from his desk at his youngest son. “What are you waiting for? A kiss?” Logan says to the 30-something-year-old, his disdain for his offspring ever so evident in his dismissive eyes and furrowed brow. “Fuck off.” Such are the family values for “Succession,” a show that should make just about anyone feel better about even their worst Thanksgiving dinner. The Roy family wars openly, regularly and enthusiastically with one another. Brothers battle with brothers, the daughter fights with her stepmother, and the father who runs everything takes aim at virtually everyone. This is a remarkably flawed collection of the über rich, relatives who stab one another in the back, front and sides as each tries to become the next commander of the fabulously valuable entertainment business…

For Xander Schauffele, the taste of victory in the Ryder Cup turned out to be a cigar. The American star posted three points in his matches as he and his team dominated the European squad in Wisconsin at Whistling Straits in September. Team USA posted a 19-9 win—the most scored by any Ryder Cup team since 1975—and while Schauffele didn’t win his Sunday singles match against Rory McIlroy, he and his partners won all three of the team matches he played on Friday and Saturday. And there he was late Sunday, puffing away on a victory cigar on the course after his round, a smoke he continued puffing later at the media conference. How sweet it was. It wasn’t part of the plan, and Schauffele didn’t come to the course…

When you think of the lands that produce your dram of fine Scotch, your mind’s eye might create a vision of windswept, craggy Highlands or sea-battered islands, or kilt-swathed Caledonian clansmen with tall fur hats guarding the ancient stills of this northern land. But there’s an unsung and picturesque region of the nation called the Lowland that’s quite unlike most of the Scotch-making world, and it’s home to a growing number of sublime spirits that pair beautifully with milder cigars. Located in the southernmost expanse of the country, with England to the south and the Highland north and west, the Lowland includes such well-known cities as Edinburgh and Glasgow. It is relatively flat (although not always low) with an interesting mix of quaint, pastoral countryside interspersed with urban areas, more…

The original Land Rover Series I, the first incarnation of what would become the Defender, arose from a sketch made in the sand by the company’s chief engineer. The spartan vehicle would morph over the years, adding tech and creature comforts, most recently using the latest CAD/CAM technology in place of a beach rendering. This timeline details key points along its evolution: 1948 Based loosely on a World War II-era Willys Jeep, the original Land Rover Series I debuts at the Amsterdam Motor Show. 1958 The Series II model receives such niceties as side-view mirrors and adopts the distinctive look that will define every Defender until the current model. 1971 The Series III retains the same basic design but introduces a series of updates including a more modern transmission, a…

If you are both a Padrón fan and an ardent believer that bigger is always better, than the Padrón Serie 1926 No. 48 was tailor-made for smokers like you. The blocky Nicaraguan scored a classic 95 points and astounded our tasting panel with its unrelenting richness. The large No. 48 started out as a limited edition in 2016 made only for retail members of the Tobacconists’ Association of America. It proved so popular as a TAA exclusive, that Padrón decided to make the No. 48 part of the official line. What’s most remarkable is how well Padrón was able to scale up the blend. Even at a 60 ring gauge, all the power and character of the Serie 1926 brand has been faithfully conveyed. With the popularity of huge cigars,…

What a tremendous tasting of robustos. Most are 90 points or higher but the pinnacle of the category is found with the Padrón Family Reserve No. 50—an instant classic at 95 points. The Nicaraguan smoke was released in 2014 to commemorate the company’s 50th anniversary and, according to Padrón, the tobacco has been aged for 10 years. Two robustos scored 94 points, and, stylistically, couldn’t be more different. While the Illusione Cruzado is made in Nicaragua of all Nicaraguan tobacco, Casa Cuba is made by the Fuentes in the Dominican Republic and was blended by the late Carlos Fuente Sr. to stress balance over power. At 93 points, the Cuban Cohiba Behike BHK 52 is a former cigar of the year and has performed beautifully in every blind tasting we’ve…

John Gotti Jr. wants you to know something: he’s out of the family business. His days in organized crime are far behind him, but there’s one habit from the old times that he never quit, and that’s cigars. Unlike his father, he doesn’t spend time puffing away in the smoke-filled rooms of Italian-American social clubs. These days, when the weather permits, he sits out on his sprawling property in a leafy suburb on the North Shore of Long Island and lights up in peace—far away from the wise guys and “knockaround fellas” of his past. He finds time to do this a few times a week and his cigar of choice is the Gurkha Grand Reserve. Most of his days are spent in property management, movie making and looking after…

Taylor Kinney may play Lieutenant Kelly Severide in the NBC series “Chicago Fire,” but a recurring fixture on the show has him starting blazes rather than dousing them. He isn’t a closet arsonist, but a cigar enthusiast. Throughout the series, now entering its 10th season, he and Captain Matthew Casey (played by Jesse Spencer) regularly escape the firehouse to have “cigar chats.” “There’s a reason they write the scenes with the cigars. It seems to be a reprieve from the storm that is outside,” says Kinney. “These are two headstrong, alpha males and they use the cigar as an excuse to talk about their feelings.” The scenes, which he says burn up about 10 cigars to shoot, typically start with one character inviting the other by wagging a cigar. Work…

Dear Marvin, On behalf of the Cuban American Community of this country I want to congratulate you for the Editors’ Note of this edition [“Freedom of Speech,” September/October 2021]. As a Cuban immigrant with more than 20 years living in Kentucky I can say that freedom of speech was the most privileged gift I got/learned from this nation, something that I never had in my original country. Thank you for this blessing! We really appreciate your wishes for having a free and democratic Cuba soon. My best regards with a lot of gratitude, Luis David Fuentes Louisville, Kentucky Dear Marvin, I’ve been an avid reader of CIGAR AFICIONADO for 25 years and a subscriber for the past 20. I first heard of your magazine while listening to the late, great…

The whisky arrives at the table in a velvet pouch with a woven ribbon. Inside is a small vial with half an ounce of the precious amber liquid, the most that can be spared to non-paying spirits mavens. Poured into a tulip glass, the bouquet of sweet sandalwood merely hints at what’s to come. On the lips, the flower blooms into a parade of fruit, comprising apple, cherry and sloe plums and mangos. Then comes cinnamon, tangerine, maple candy, toasted wood and marzipan. A half an hour later you are still sensing its vestiges and wondering if what you just drank could have been extremely old Cognac, or perhaps an ancient Armagnac? No, it was a single malt that managed all of that flavor. Namely, Yamazaki 55, a Japanese whisky…

The first instinct with lighter whiskies is to mate them with milder cigars. And with Lowland malts, that strategy is a sound one. We picked two easygoing lonsdales that scored 90 points in our October issue and paired them with six Scotches from the Lowlands. The Ashton 8-9-8 (6 ½ inches long by 44 ring gauge, $10.50) is dry and toasty and smacks of orange, raisin, nutmeg and sweet tea. The Don Diego Lonsdale (6 ⅝ by 44, $5.74) has a cereal quality with cream, baking spices, coffee and a sugary finish. We were quite pleased with the pairings. Auchentoshan 12 80 proof, $59 Distilled less than a half hour outside Scotland’s biggest city, Auchentoshan is nicknamed “Glasgow’s malt.” Its proximity also makes for a convenient touring destination. Bourbon and…

It was a brilliant enough creation when Oliva released the Serie V Melanio back in 2014, but when Oliva switched out the Sumatra wrapper for a leaf of Mexican San Andrés, the Melanio went from an extraordinary smoke to a classic blockbuster. The Serie V Melanio Maduro Churchill scored a jaw-dropping 95 points—classic on our 100-point scale. Powered by the rich blend of Nicaraguan tobacco and enhanced by the Mexican wrapper, the Churchill is a complete work of balance, polish and precision. It’s made in Nicaragua, as is the Undercrown 10 Churchill from Drew Estate, which scored 91 points. Ten years ago, Undercrown came to market as a less expensive replacement for retailers who couldn’t get the Liga Privada. Today, it’s less of a second label (to borrow a term…

Once a commercially unavailable brand, Cuban Trinidad Fundadores were given only as gifts to foreign diplomats. In 1998, they finally went on sale, albeit in limited quantities, and today, they are still difficult to find. They are worth the search, as the Fundadores scored 92 points in this tasting. This long, thin cigar lives up to its mystique. Even though they’ve been a regular-production cigar for quite some time, Fundadores remain elusive, and quite expensive. Many thicker formats in the Trinidad line have since come out, but the Fundadores are the original size and emblematic of the brand. Considerably easier to find, and less expensive, the Espinosa Habano Lancero from Nicaragua is the newest addition to the Espinosa line. It also scored 92 points. It gets its name from the…

In this fantastic selection of toros, four cigars here scored 93 points. From Curivari, the Nicaraguan Buenaventura Cremas is a lighter version of the core Buenaventura line, the primary difference being the Ecuador Connecticut wrapper. Cigarmaker A.J. Fernandez culled tobacco from his four oldest farms in Estelí, Nicaragua to compose Días de Gloria, a blend that he says is an homage to the glory days of Cuba’s cigar industry before Castro. But great Cuban cigars are not a thing of the past, as the Diplomaticos Reserva Exclusiva is a wonderfully complex smoke made exclusively for the Caribbean and Central American regions. Also from Nicaragua, Tabacalera Pichardo is turning out some impressive cigars, especially the Clasico Natural, a variation on the core Clasico line that exchanges a Sumatra-seed wrapper for Ecuador…

Jon Cooper understands playoff hockey. “The two most important positions in sports are the goalie in hockey and the quarterback in football,” he says. His netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed just eight goals in a five-game dusting of Montreal as Cooper coached the Tampa Bay Lightning to its second consecutive Stanley Cup victory in July. Cooper took up cigars several years ago. “Not until we began winning championships,” he explains. “I equated cigars to winning and I haven’t stopped.” After practices he and his staff head to the Nicahabana cigar lounge in Tampa. “I love the robustos the most so far. I like the size, the taste.” He compares the two titles. “The first year we won, the pandemic was going on. We didn’t get our day with the cup or…

“Tobacco is the greatest movie prop of all. Actors love it. It can convey impatience, languor, anything.” Eddie Muller, host of “Noir Alley” on Turner Classic Movies, is waxing eloquent on his area of expertise: film noir, those gritty flicks peopled with desperate characters, hard guys and femme fatales. The ultimate noir, Double Indemnity, has a smoking theme throughout, he says. Edward G. Robinson is forever asking Fred MacMurray for his cigarette lighter to light a cigar. The point? “The mentor smokes the cigar, the student smokes the cigarette.” Muller says that on-screen smokers weren’t always ominous. “Today, nine times out of 10, it’s the villain that’s smoking one.” His choice of cigar—the mild Macanudo Café Duke of York—comes from his father, a renowned San Francisco boxing writer also named…