Innholdsfortegnelse for July/August 2022 i Cigar Aficionado

What an extraordinary issue of high scores. Having a cigar achieve Classic status in our regular tastings is rare, but this edition of CIGAR AFICIONADO turned up two instant Classics. Both are from Cuba and performed at a very high level—the Romeo y Julieta Churchill scored 95 points, while the H. Upmann No. 2 earned an astounding 96. 96 TOP FIGURADO H. UPMANN NO. 2 CUBA Young cigars without age seldom achieve such a high score, but the H. Upmann No. 2 was a true blockbuster. Layers of complex flavor poured out of this Classic Cuban pirámide, but remained in sublime balance the entire time. £30.81 (U.K.) 95 TOP CHURCHILL ROMEO Y JULIETA CHURCHILL CUBA Long known as one of Cuba’s benchmark Churchills, the Romeo y Julieta Churchill showed impressive…

Paris has its fair share of grande dames, but the Cheval Blanc, on the shore of the Seine at the foot of the Pont-Neuf between the Marais, Ile de la Cité and the Louvre, offers a breath of fresh air with its novel design and friendly approach to cigar smoking. Housed in the former La Samaritaine department store, it is part of LVMH’s seven-year, almost $1 billion restoration of the Art Deco and Art Nouveau landmark. The hotel is the first urban property in the company’s hotel Cheval Blanc portfolio. Cheval Blanc Paris channels the Art Deco spirit with clean, contemporary interiors envisioned by Peter Marino, who spent years working with master craftsmen, artists, decorators and architects for his first hotel project. Marino’s concept lavished attention on every decorative element…

When pairing with high-proof spirits, it’s almost imperative to have a cigar with heft. We chose the Padrón Serie 1926 No. 9, the 2007 Cigar of the Year, as much for its complexity as its boldness. The 5 1/4 by 56 ring gauge cigar rated 97 points when it was named No. 1, and it brings, leather, licorice, pepper, toasted nuts, coffee and fruit to the party. Angel’s Envy Cask Strength 2021 120.7 proof, $230 The current edition of Angel’s Envy Cask Strength is the tenth in a succession of whiskeys finished in Port barrels. The good news is they made 25 times as much as the first edition. The bad news is that, at less than 15,000 bottles, it’s still not enough. It opens like cherry hard candy, then…

A cigar of character and intensity, the My Father No. 4 Lancero scored a very impressive 94 points. It’s made in Nicaragua by the Garcia family and is a perfect showcase for the Ecuadoran wrapper and hearty Nicaraguan tobaccos inside. Notoriously difficult to roll, and not too popular among mainstream smokers, many cigarmakers shy away from this fickle size, but the Garcias produce the No. 4 Lancero with confidence and aptitude. Two cigars scored 92 points. The Herrera Esteli Habano Edicion Limitada Lancero is made by Drew Estate in Nicaragua and is released in limited quantities. The Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real goes in a completely different direction. It’s made in the Dominican Republic and is more medium bodied, yet shows that a cigar need not be strong to be…

About a year late to the market, the Partagás Legado, Cuba’s Edición Limitada for 2020, didn’t see any widespread distribution until earlier this year. It scored 92 points and is classified as an Edicíon Limitada on account of its unusual size and darker-than-normal wrapper. The Nicaraguan Viaje Circa ’45 No. 2 scored 91 points and is made at the Aganorsa Leaf factory for brand owner Andre Farkas, who says that this cigar pays homage to Cuba. Two cigars scored 90 points. Room101’s The Big Payback Maduro Toro is made in Honduras by General Cigar, which now owns this brand. (It acquired Room101 cigars in June.) The E.P. Carrillo Short Run Retro Maduro 2022 includes a component of Honduran leaf in the filler, something that the company rarely uses. 92 CUBA…

Nick Jonas POP STAR La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial No. 1 A sking Nick Jonas which cigars he likes to smoke makes for a long answer. Like many contemporary cigar lovers his tastes are broad: Cohibas from Cuba, La Aromas and L’Ateliers from Nicaragua, Fuentes from the Dominican Republic, Camacho Corojos from Honduras. For him, cigars are a preferred way to relax. “Sit down, let the world slow down a little bit,” he says, “and enjoy a delicious cigar.” The world has seldom been slow for 29-year-old Jonas, who grew up in the public eye. When he was only 11, an agent heard him sing at church in his hometown of Wykoff, New Jersey, and signed him. In 2005, he and his brothers formed the Jonas Brothers and sold millions…

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Through no fault of their own, the Cuban people have suffered. The bitter issues between the U.S. government and the Castro regime have done nothing except punish the people of Cuba. They are the true victims in this fight between nations, forced to live in a third-world economy devoid of the freedom and enjoyments that Americans take for granted. With all that’s going on around the world—war in the Ukraine, the pandemic, Russia, China, Iran, the Middle East—it makes no sense to continue such failed and fruitless policy. It’s time to end the embargo. Today. Now. The United States would do well to become the big brother of our southern neighbor, and support and participate in the island’s future prosperity. With prosperity, we believe, will come democracy. These are fundamental…

Alice B. Toklas brownies notwithstanding, the breakout social lubricant of choice for entertaining in the late 1960s was arguably the refreshing fruit and red wine punch known as sangria. It had been—sort of—introduced to America at the 1964 New York City World’s Fair at the Spanish Pavilion as a way to showcase the country’s wines and soon spread across this nation, where it was all but de rigueur at any summertime patio party worth its paper lanterns. Of course, sangria wasn’t new, it was simply enjoying its highwater mark. Red wine punches with gory names had been around for centuries. The word sangria comes from the Spanish and Portuguese for “bloodletting” and even before it became a regional favorite in Iberia there were red wine drinks in the Americas called…

Only a month after John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, in February 1961, the new president asked his Secretary of State for recommendations on instituting a “full embargo” against Cuba. In an effort to undermine Cuba’s revolutionary leader, Fidel Castro, Kennedy’s predecessor, Dwight D. Eisenhower, had already terminated U.S. exports to Cuba and cut imports of Cuban sugar. Now, Kennedy wanted to know if an embargo on all Cuban imports would “make things more difficult for Castro,” and “be in the public interest?” “The principal items still imported from Cuba are tobacco, molasses and fresh fruits and vegetables,” Secretary of State Dean Rusk responded in a secret report. But a full trade embargo would particularly affect Cuban cigars. “About five million dollars’ worth of high-quality cigars were imported from Cuba in 1960,”…

Playing the Old Course at St Andrews is the ultimate bucket-list destination for those enamored with the game who want to experience living history. It’s somewhat easier in the age of the Internet, and it all begins at www.standrews.com, the website of the St Andrews Links Trust. But there are stipulations, and not everyone can play. NO DUFFERS If you’re unable to play with a modest level of skill, this isn’t your place. All golfers must show a certificate with a maximum handicap index of 36. Male golfers once were limited to a 24 handicap, but it was raised to 36 in late 2019. BE FLEXIBLE Around half the tee times on the Old Course are traditionally allotted through The Ballot, a system of randomly drawn applications drawn 48 hours…

The Cuban Romeo y Julieta Churchill is not only a benchmark of its size, it is also one of the few Cuban Churchills still in production. In this tasting, the Romeo Churchill scored 95 points—an instant classic—and it dazzled us in its ability to deliver flavor in both broad strokes and in more precise detail. Luckily, the cigar is in regular production and relatively easy to find, available in a variety of packaging formats from three-packs to 10-packs all the way to full boxes of 25. Our advice is to buy a three-pack to smoke some now, and a full box to put away. These will age beautifully. The La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Churchill scored 92 points and is made by My Father Cigars in Nicaragua for Ashton…

Three petit coronas scored 92 points, all from different countries and with very different tobaccos. The Liga Privada No. 9 Short Panetela is made in Nicaragua by Drew Estate. It’s composed of fairly strong tobacco from four countries, most notably its Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, which is strikingly dark and oily. Since its creation in 2007, the brand has gained a cult following, as these cigars are made in very small production runs each year. From Cuba, the Montecristo No. 5 is one of the smallest sizes in this high-profile brand, but is quite big on flavor, as the smoke is dense, with a profound nuttiness that is focused and delicious. The Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Juniors start to approach cigarillo territory at 38 ring gauge, but these Honduran petits smoke…

TOP SCORES 96 H. Upmann No. 2 Cuba • £30.81 • Figurado • Medium 95 Romeo y Julieta Churchill Cuba • £36.96 • Churchill • Medium 94 My Father No. 4 Lancero Nicaragua • $11.10 • Panetela • Medium-Full 93 Trinidad Topes Cuba • £51.00 • Robusto • Medium-Full 92 Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Robusto Dominican Republic • $11.75 • Robusto • Medium-Full 92 El Rey del Mundo Choix Supreme Cuba • £22.42 • Robusto • Medium 92 Herrera Esteli Habano Edicion Limitada Lancero Nicaragua • $12.94 • Panetela • Medium-Full 92 La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Churchill Nicaragua • $9.25 • Churchill • Medium 92 Montecristo No. 5 Cuba • £14.51 • Petit Corona • Medium-Full 92 Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real Porto Real Dominican Republic • $8.87…

Rocky Patel, 61, has cemented his legacy as a winning cigarmaker. He began selling cigars in the most modest of ways back in 1995, in the middle of the 1990s cigar boom. Now, nearly 27 years later, his company ranks as one of the most successful in the handmade cigar industry. He sells nearly 30 million cigars a year, most in the United States, but also in some 90 countries. He operates five luxurious cigar lounges—Burn by Rocky Patel—and the line to shake his hand at Big Smokes always stretches far around the venue. Cigar smokers clearly love Rocky Patel and the cigars he makes. CIGAR AFICIONADO executive editor David Savona met with Patel in his Naples, Florida, headquarters over Rocky Patel Disciple cigars for a discussion about the state…

Dear Marvin, Finally, after years of donating my proceeds to casinos, Danny Sheridan explains all the mistakes I made. If only I had read this before I started gambling. Richard Johnson Bronxville, New York Dear Marvin, I picked up a recent copy of Cigar Aficionado at my newsstand. I have been gambling my whole life and I wish I had read these articles years ago. I’m a regular bettor on sports and dice and I learned a lot from these articles. Now, maybe I will be able to afford to smoke more cigars! Thanks for providing me with an article that was very useful and informative. Robert Rubey MD Pensacola, Florida Dear Marvin, Now I know what I’ve been doing wrong at the craps table—everything. Thank you, Danny Sheridan, for…

While women’s bathing suits seem to work on the principle of the mood ring—changing every season at the whim of some designer who never has to wear them—men’s swimwear hasn’t had a sea change since full-bodied tank suits that covered the elbows and knees went out of style. Sure, there have been minor fashion breakouts along the way: the misguided banana hammock vogue was something to be avoided unless you were Michael Phelps; below-the-knee board shorts, or jams, which made sense if you were a surfer, but looked silly on grownups. But for the most part men didn’t so much follow swimsuit fashion as buy new ones only because the waist band gave out and the suit came off while doing a jackknife off the high board. If it’s replacement…

When you stroll through your favorite high-end liquor store, admiring the brown bottles of Bourbon that stretch from one end of the shelf to the other, you might find yourself searching for something a bit unusual. One element you should consider is the one that is the most basic of all: alcohol content. By seeking out a Bourbon that goes into the bottle with little in the way of additional water, you’re sampling the spirit as it tastes straight from the cask. More than a few whiskey connoisseurs will argue that such boosted alcohol concentrations are how God intended Bourbon to be enjoyed. Bourbons often labeled with such terms as “cask strength,” “barrel proof” and “full proof” have captured discerning palates. The allure is not that they pack a punch,…

Classic scores of 95 points and higher are normally reserved for cigars with age and maturity, but the Cuban H. Upmann No. 2 truly astounded us with a score of 96 points—the highest of the issue. It’s made in the same pirámides format as the more popular Montecristo No. 2, only these H. Upmanns aren’t quite as easy to find. Nevertheless, you should seek them out. They are understated in power but richly layered with complexity, elegance and sophistication. If you’ve skipped over these H. Upmann No. 2s in favor of other cigars, it’s time to give them a chance. You’ll be happy you did. At 91 points, the Nicaraguan Serino Elenor Rose The Eagle comes from a father-and-son team who created this brand as an homage to the Beatles.…

Once a limited-edition cigar, the Cuban Trinidad Topes went into regular production in 2019 and scored 93 points in this tasting for its structured smoke—elegant tones of nuts and vanilla atop a sturdy backbone of earth and spice. If it seems expensive, it’s because Trinidad prices were recently raised to match the Hong Kong market for global conformity. Three cigars scored 92 points, and are more soberly priced. The Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Robusto from the Dominican Republic is a splendid combination of Dominican and Cameroon tobaccos while the San Cristobal Clasico consists solely of Nicaraguan leaf. It’s made by My Father Cigars for Ashton Distributors. El Rey del Mundo might not be the most well-known Cuban brand, but the value it delivers is without question. 93 CUBA RING GAUGE:…