Innholdsfortegnelse for November/December 2025 i Cigar Aficionado

The fishhook-shaped archipelago of Bermuda, about 650 miles east of the Carolinas, recently added another reason to make the short hop east (less than two hours from New York): the Azura resort. Built into the cliffs along South Shore Beach on the main island, Azura showcases the Atlantic Ocean. Many of its rooms offer stunning ocean views, staggered to give the illusion of distance from other guests. If the surf doesn’t lull you to sleep, listen to the soothing nighttime song of the tiny Bermuda tree frogs, all-but-impossible to see during the day, but at night they chirp in an intoxicating rhythm. Azura first welcomed guests in 2020 and last year it expanded to 60 rooms. A third and final expansion with 20 more rooms will be complete next year,…

Michael Jordan GOAT Partagás Lusitania He goes by many nicknames, including “His Airness,” “MJ” and, of course, “Air Jordan,” but the most apt moniker for Michael Jordan is the GOAT. He redefined greatness on the basketball court during his time in the NBA, winning six championships (two three-peats) with the Chicago Bulls, while leading the league in scoring 10 times and delivering clutch baskets like it was second nature. “I smoked my first cigar in 1991, when we won the championship,” Jordan told Marvin R. Shanken during his first Cigar Aficionado interview. It became a part of his pregame ritual. “We had to be to the stadium at 6 o’clock for home games, and traffic was so bad it would take us an hour and 15 or an hour and…

Byron’s 21st Century Honorobles made an impression on our tasters, tying with the Rocky Patel A.L.R. Second Edition Sixty for top grande at 92 points. The Byron is made in Costa Rica, and according to the company, Selected Tobacco, these cigars are then sent to Spain to age for five years before they’re released to the market. While Rocky Patel doesn’t send his Nicaraguan A.L.R. cigars out of the country for aging, he says he does rest them for two years after rolling. A.L.R. stands for Aged, Limited and Rare. The Nicaraguan tobacco in the A.L.R. Second Edition Sixty comes from Patel’s farms in Estelí and Condega. Also from Nicaragua, the Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Edición Diamante Grande scored 91 points and is made by A.J. Fernandez for tobacco giant Altadis…

Two Nicaraguan cigars gave exceptional performances in our blind tastings, both scoring 94 points. Illusione’s OneOff Black & Tan is an offshoot of the core OneOff line. It debuted last year in only one size, a Robusto, which was good enough to make our Top 25 Cigars of 2024. The Toro in this tasting was released earlier this year and mirrors the Robusto’s complexity and balance. The Rocky Patel Gold Label Robusto is a strong cigar, but it’s not powerful just for power’s sake. The strength is a vehicle to deliver flavor and it builds in intensity, becoming more complex with each puff. Two cigars tied at 92 points: the Liga Privada T52 Corona Viva (which is rolled in a Connecticut Habano wrapper) from Drew Estate and the New World…

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Take the Artura Spider up to speed and the air wraps around the body like a leaded blanket and presses it deep into the pavement. Just like with a race car, increased velocity only makes the Artura more secure and stable. The midengine balance, the supple yet razor-sharp ride and the impossibly low center of gravity make every drive a circuit lap. Sure, it’s fetchingly beautiful with its sleek lines, flaring vents and butterfly doors, but those looks are the product of cold engineering, not a stylist’s dream. Each cutout, intake and curve are calculated for the ideal mix of downforce, cooling and drag. Precision is what separates a purpose-built supercar like the Artura Spider from an upgraded sports car. McLaren’s singular mission means no baser trims to appease a…

Satirist Jonathan Swift once quipped that the man who first tried an oyster was a brave soul. But what of those who dared to bite into a mold-covered, salt-cured piece of meat that had sat around for weeks or months? Sausage was born as a way to preserve food. But centuries of culinary progress have rendered a delicious pursuit: the French call it charcuterie and the Italians salumi. If your sausage experience is limited to the curled pepperoni pieces that top pizzas or bologna sandwiches, prepare yourself for a bite of a well-cured salami that will thrill with gentle fats melting on the palate, savory flavors and a profound finish. And it’s a treat that will please a crowd with ease. Both methodologies use whole chunks of meat such as…

José Andrés is digging through one of his cabinet humidors in his home in Bethesda, Maryland, stacking box after box of cigars atop a wobbly base as if he were playing a version of cigar Jenga. Out they come, Cubans and non-Cubans, Montecristos and Cohibas, Fuentes, Plasencias and Davidoffs. The tower grows ever higher, appearing destined to topple, but it holds just long enough. “Here,” he says, directing a visitor to grab half the pile and take them out back, his booming, accented baritone a voice of command. He has a snow-white, perfectly trimmed beard and intense blue eyes and moves around his home with his feet bared and his shirt untucked. He has the build of a man who has been around food all of his life, ample of…

Caviar and Krug. Suites rather than seats. Cuisine created by Michelin-starred chefs, bespoke whiskies, butler service and lounges with free-flowing Cuban cigars. These are but a taste of some of the finest amenities being offered today in first-class travel, which has brought luxury to the skies like never before. First class is back with a vengeance. While airlines have cut quality for most passengers flying today, making coach an increasingly bus-like experience, things have never been better in the rarefied air at the front (or upper level) of the plane—if you fly the right carriers. People speak fondly of the “Golden Age of Air Travel,” from the 1950s to the 1970s, when airlines were newcomers to international transportation, competing against luxury ocean liners. Flight attendants pushed silver trolleys of chateaubriand…

The Fuente Fuente OpusX is defined by its strong blend and dark, oily Dominican wrapper. Angel’s Share is a lighter version of the core brand, and the Reserva d’Chateau scored 93 points. The wrappers were culled from the middle of the tobacco plant, rather than the top, resulting in a leaf that isn’t as strong or dark due to less light exposure. Like the Angel’s Share, the Blackened “S84 Shade To Black” By Drew Estate is also a lighter version of a more full-bodied predecessor. Covered in Connecticut-seed Ecuadoran wrapper, the Corona Doble scored 92 points and is milder than the darker core maduro line. It’s made in Nicaragua, as is Oliva’s Serie V line. The Churchill Extra scored 92 points as well, and consists predominantly of hearty Nicaraguan tobacco…

Due to decreased popularity, we don’t see many new lonsdales from cigar companies, but the market mainstays can still hold their own. This category of elongated coronas produced some high scores. Take the Arturo Fuente Selección Privada No. 1 Maduro, for example. The slender smoke scored 93 points and is a balanced blend of Connecticut broadleaf wrapped around Dominican tobacco. At less than $10, it’s also quite a bargain. Cuba’s Montecristo No. 1 debuted in 1935 and is one of the brand’s original sizes. This slim cigar scored 93 points as well and seems as relevant today as it was 90 years ago. Two cigars scored 91 points: the A. Flores Connecticut River Valley Rojo Lancero and the Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series Superior. Slim cigars can have a lot to…

What do George Foreman, John Travolta and IM Corona lighters have in common? All three have had spectacular career comebacks. IM Corona lighters, specifically the Double Corona models, were beloved by cigar smokers for their contradictory combination of rugged construction and elegant finishes. The patterns were understated and the performance was nearly flawless. Then, sometime in the twenty-teens, the lighters disappeared. If you wanted one you had to find it used on eBay. With that absence, the IM Corona would rise to cult status. Now, thanks to Arango Cigar Co., the lighters are back and, while the designs are new, they feel every bit as substantial and responsive as their predecessors. We approached the news of IM Corona’s comeback with some skepticism, worried that the new versions might not be…

There’s probably not a golfer alive who hasn’t heard of Pebble Beach. With a century-long history of professional tournaments, seven major championships and a course that is widely beloved, it’s part of a pantheon of the bestknown, big-name destination golf resorts in America. Other well-known examples include Kohler, Kiawah Island, Pinehurst and PGA National, names that even casual golfers will recognize immediately. Each of these high-profile resorts are worth a trip, but they command dear prices and have scarce availability, with tee-times and hotel rooms that are hard, if not impossible, to land without planning far in advance. But there is another small group of marquee golf resorts that are not as well known, places with standout courses and other impressive amenities that remain largely out of the public eye,…

Before Cohiba, there was Montecristo. Before the name Fidel Castro was known around the world, before the creation of Habanos S.A. and before Cohiba was thrust into the spotlight as a global signifier of luxury goods, Montecristo was the brand regarded as the Rolls-Royce of cigars. The iconic line, with its bright yellow box and interlocking rapiers, turned 90 this year, and since its launch in 1935 it has become a force of nature in the cigar world, beloved by five generations of smokers on the sheer power of its reputation. Montecristo has been Cuba’s bestselling brand by volume for decades. The world’s appetite for Montecristo continues to be insatiable, and Cuba, handicapped by tobacco shortages and infrastructure issues, struggles to keep up with demand. Even under normal circumstances, it…

Davidoff’s Millennium Blend Series started as a limited edition but became a regular-production cigar nearly 25 years ago. The Dominican brand still impresses, as the Piramides scored 94 points. Millennium Blend cigars are stronger than typical Davidoffs, and are made with dark Ecuador wrappers, a hybrid the company calls “151.” The Piramides tied with the Cuban Vegas Robaina Unico. This brand is named after famed Cuban tobacco grower Alejandro Robaina, though the Robaina family has no ownership of the series. Compare the prices of the Davidoff and Vegas Robaina to that of the Cuesta-Rey Centro Fino Sungrown Pyramid No. 9, which scored 93 points. The Dominican cigar is made by the Fuente family and retails for a fraction of the cost, making it a standout bargain.…

La Aurora’s new Fuerte Sol is the first release within a larger series called Family Creed, and the Robusto was the top cigar of this section, scoring 93 points. The goal was to balance tradition with modernity. The traditional aspect is present in the Dominican Corojo of the blend, as La Aurora is the Dominican Republic’s oldest producer of premium cigars, and Dominican tobacco has always been the company’s cornerstone. The modern twist comes from the blend’s power. Karatoba from OZ Family Cigars is made in Nicaragua and the Robusto scored 92 points. Launched this year, the brand is owned by Tim Ozgener who says that Karatoba is a portmanteau of the word kara (Turkish for “dark”) and Lake Toba, a dormant super volcano. It tied with the Cuban Vegas…

96 MONTECRISTO NO. 4 (1959) If you look on the bottom of this box, it doesn’t say “Habanos S.A.” or even “Cubatabaco.” Instead, it reads “Menéndez, García y Cía., Ltd.”—the original owner and maker of Montecristo before Cuba’s cigar industry was nationalized. We know that these cigars are from 1959 because it says so on the pink tax tag under the Montecristo band. The amount of oil still left on these wrappers is astounding, which shouldn’t be a surprise, as these are Cuba’s famed Corojo-seed wrappers, now long retired. At first, the cigar shows its age a bit, dusty and herbal. But then, the magic happens, and the nutty layers of almond, marzipan and roasted chestnut appear, as does a lovely hint of vanilla bean. A great smoke that’s lasted generations.…