Cigar Snob Magazine July August 2020 by Cigar Snob Magazine

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Hear “The Man’s” Story www.arturofuente.com/theman

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editorials JULY / AUGUST 2020

SUMMER COCKTAILS 32 ZAFRA WARM AND SUNNY / OLIVA SERIE V MELANIO 33 HARRY’S EL ITALIANO / UNDERCROWN SHADE SUPREMA 34 ABERFELDY HERBED HONEY SMASH / DAVIDOFF NICARAGUA 36 ZYR METROPOLITAN MARTINI / ROMEO Y JULIETA CONNECTICUT NICARAGUA

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ROAD TRIPPIN’

THE AMERICANS

THE TOBACCONIST

We ditch the travel brochures and revisit some of our own North American sojourns, letting the past inform the present. We’re only going to stay inside for so long, so consider this a warning. We’ve got wheels and we’re gonna use them.

For 125 years, J.C. Newman Cigar has kept the future in sight, sticking with tobacco even as much of the world deemed it uncool. It’s cool again, and now the Tampa-based company has a new generation of leadership ready to lead.

Director Nikolaus Leytner talks about his film set in late 30s Austria. The film released this year in the U.S. weaves a tale of mentorship and romance, based in a Vienna tobacco shop and featuring Sigmund Freud’s prolific love of cigars.

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features JULY / AUGUST 2020

LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

FEEDBACK

WHAT’S BURNIN’

BRAND BREAKDOWN 26 THE OSCAR MADURO 28 LEAF BY OSCAR

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SMOKING HOT CIGAR SNOB

RATINGS

TWITTER SCOREBOARD

KNOT WORKING

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JULY / AUGUST 2020

VO L . 12 IS SU E 4 www.cigarsnobmag.com PUBLISHER & EDITOR Erik Calviño SENIOR EDITOR Steve Miller COPY EDITOR Michael LaRocca SALES & OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Oscar M. Calviño PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Ivan Ocampo ART DIRECTOR Andy Astencio ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Jamilet Calviño DIGITAL RETOUCHING SPECIALIST Ramón Santana DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGEMENT Gianni D’Alerta Natalia Marie García CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS David Benoliel Andy Astencio Cover Photography by David Benoliel www.davidbenolielphotography.com Cover Models Shannon McMullen Stephanie Peterson Cigar Snob is published bi-monthly by Lockstock Publications, Inc. 1421-1 SW 107th Ave., #253 Miami, FL 33174-2509 Tel: 1 (786) 423-1015 Cigar Snob is a registered trademark of Lockstock Publications, Inc., all rights reserved. Reproduction in part or full without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. Cigar Snob is printed in the U.S. Contents copyright 2006, Lockstock Publications, Inc. To subscribe, visit www.cigarsnobmag.com

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In the midst of this crazy time in the world, a time when everything seems to be going wrong, the premium cigar industry at large had something go right. On Wednesday, August 19th in the District Court of the District of Columbia, Judge Amit Mehta ruled in favor of the cigar industry in the Cigar Association of America et al. v. United States Food and Drug Administration et al. case. The ruling gives the premium cigar industry temporary but much needed relief from the premarket approval deadline that was looming for September 9th, 2020. What does this mean for you, the cigar consumer? The reality is that you won’t see much of a difference but in my view that’s a big victory. Our world is in a bizarre state. We’ve got many in the media pushing this idea of a “new normal” and people repeat that phrase as if it was a good thing. This “new normal” where we no longer shake hands, give hugs, socialize with friends or co-workers, and walk around wearing masks in a 6-foot bubble is NOT a good thing, let’s not act like it is. It’s a little like watching professional sports with no fans in the stands; it’s better than no sports but it isn’t exactly good. There’s no energy, no passion, no fanaticism, and even watching it on TV from hundreds or thousands of miles away, you can certainly feel the void. So yes, I feel that having our experience as a cigar consumer stay exactly the same in that regard is a good thing. Let’s hope that the cigar industry continues to get better at fighting this fight so that in the near future victories like this will have a little more staying power. This issue has a special place in my heart because it was the first issue of the pandemic where we were actually able to produce a photo shoot. We had to pull a few strings and change the process a bit to make it happen but hey, we did it and it’s beautiful, check out Knot Working starting on p. 56. Thank you to our photo shoot partner Altadis USA (altadisusa.com) for the great smokes and to our dear friend Tony Guerra for working with us to pull off a shoot at The Wharf Miami (wharfmiami.com). I personally can’t wait for The Wharf to be open to the public again. A huge thanks to our photo shoot crew who had to deal with temperature checks, masks, and even the anxiety of an incoming hurricane during the shoot. Their level of professionalism and talent in the face of adversity is the reason why photo shoot after photo shoot, we do everything possible to keep the team intact. This is also the issue where we welcome aboard the newest member of the Cigar Snob editorial team, our new senior editor Steve Miller! If you want to give him a proper welcome just read his work starting with the first proper travel story of the pandemic; Road Trippin’ on p. 39, followed by a profile of the Newman family in The Americans on p. 51, and finally a story about a movie you should watch titled The Tobacconist on p. 75. Steve has come in and hit the ground running and I can’t wait to send him and his questionable Spanish speaking skills to Nicaragua, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic.

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Something tells me he’ll get on just fine. Lastly I want to thank the four spirit companies who came into Cigar Snob HQ to show us how to make Summer Cocktails on p. 31. If you’re interested in making these cocktails but need a little more instruction, head over to our YouTube channel and subscribe! There’s a bunch more content coming soon that you won’t want to miss. I hope you all are staying safe, supporting your local brick and mortar cigar shop, and smoking excellent cigars. If this wild time has shown us anything, it’s that we need to be kind to one another and enjoy our time on this planet. So if you’re waiting for a particular moment to smoke that special cigar, smoke it now. There’s nothing more special than being alive and well.

Keep ‘em lit,

Erik Calviño ecalvino@cigarsnobmag.com

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PROPS FROM THE PERSIAN GULF Greetings from Kuwait! I trust each of you had a relaxing and fun Independence Day Weekend! I’m guessing that I am not the first nor only to comment and compliment on Podcast Episode 42. I started listening to this episode on my walk back to my room from the airfield (at about 0230 Arabian Standard Time (AST)) this morning. I must admit that I was really drawn (no pun intended) to Robert Holt and his story BEFORE he and Nick started discussing “Cigars for Warriors”. Robert and I have a lot in common in regards to our experience in the military (although I have never been a part of Air Assault) and wireless telecommunications (and I haven’t lost $20 Million on a telecom deal). The email attached doesn’t mention any Southern Draw Cigars. I’ve only had one Southern Draw thus far, and that was the Firethorn Robusto. Directly after sending this email, I will be ordering a box or two of Southern Draw, depending on availability, hopefully, the Kudzu, Jacob’s Ladder, Rose of Sharon, and/or the Firethorn Habano Rosado. I’ll only be able to pair them with water, tea, or coffee for now...tequilas, bourbons, and beer upon my return to the US. Mr. Holt said it best, “Celebrate that day”! Keep up the great work Nick, Erik, and Ivan! I now feel a lot closer to Southern Draw! Thanks again Robert for all of your hard work and efforts with “Cigars for Warriors”!

Jim L. via feedback@cigarsnobmag.com Kuwait

MODEL JOURNALISM Got the issue yesterday. The article on the experiences of the model shoots was one of the best I have read in a long while. Absolutely loved it! Keep up the good work and stay safe. Best to you from a dedicated subscriber.

Stephen F. via feedback@cigarsnobmag.com

“CLASSY, INTERESTING, BEAUTIFUL” – WE’LL TAKE IT Just received my first copy of your magazine and subsequently will not be renewing my other magazines. I could not honestly put it down finding one good article after another. Your presentation is extremely classy with interesting news on the cigar world and beautiful artwork. It’s my pleasure sitting outside reading this magazine while I smoke my cigar. Please keep working as hard as you do to keep both the magazine and the Podcast going.

James S. via feedback@cigarsnobmag.com

MUSCULAR PROSE Just wanted to share that I enjoyed your “Letter from the Publisher” in your latest JUN 2020 edition. Thank you and good luck as we all navigate these uncertain times.

Christian S. via feedback@cigarsnobmag.com

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INTRODUCING INSPIRADO GREEN TAKE YOUR SENSES TO UNSEEN TERRITORIES Introducing Macanudo Inspirado Green, the uniquely provocative new blend from the award-winning Inspirado line. Combining the intriguing flavors of Brazilian and Colombian tobaccos, Inspirado Green is rich, memorable, and sure to take your senses on a journey to unseen territories.

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PREMIUM CIGARS RECEIVE HISTORIC RELIEF FROM FDA REGULATIONS On August 13, 2020, a federal judge ruled that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration must review its procedures on how to regulate premium cigars, handing the industry a lifeline as it battles to distinguish itself from other tobacco products. The ruling from Judge Amit P. Mehta in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia undoes the FDA’s plan to classify premium cigars with cigarettes, flavored tobaccos and smokeless tobacco in terms of regulation that would include restrictions on sales, promotion and distribution. Instead, it requires the FDA to construct a plan to evaluate premium cigars for safety issues rather than lumping them in with other tobacco products. In 2016, Congress expanded the FDA’s authority to regulate all tobacco products, including premium cigars. In doing so, FDA decided that any cigar first sold after 2007 must be approved by FDA using the same, regulation laden process developed for cigarettes. In the latest ruling, Judge Mehta delays the FDA’s enforcement – specifically its premarket approval process – for premium cigars. “From the beginning, the premarket review process has never worked for premium cigars,” Drew Newman, general counsel for J.C. Newman Cigar in Tampa, said in a statement. “Just as sunlight, wind, and rain cause grapes used to make fine wine to vary from year to year, the same is true with premium cigar tobacco. Like wines, premium cigars also change and get better with age. It would have been impossible to demonstrate that a cigar rolled today is the same as one from 2007.” The judge also has struck down the September 9 deadline for cigar makers to file premarket review applications for premium cigars. The ruling applies to most cigars other than flavored and infused. The FDA’s projected review process was based on an assumption that the agency can scientifically compare a premium cigar rolled today with one made 13 years ago to determine if they are “substantially equivalent,” or have the same properties.

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The cigar industry’s lawsuit against the FDA is led by Cigar Association of America, Cigar Rights of America and the Premium Cigar Association. They insist that because premium cigars are handcrafted, rolled in small batches, and subject to inherent natural variation, the same, expensive process used for evaluating and regulating other tobacco products, most of which are made via automation, does not work for premium cigars.

DAVIDOFF INTRODUCES THE CAMACHO NICARAGUA Davidoff announces a new line in its Camacho brand, the Camacho Nicaragua, which it describes as “filled with spicy, earthy and oaky flavors” that portray the region’s soil. “This series was created to add depth to our Camacho Core portfolio to appeal to a widerrange of consumers’ tastes,” Lana Fraser, head of marketing for Davidoff Americas, said in a press release. “Camacho Nicaragua is for the cigar smoker who seeks distinctive Nicaragua flavor.” In addition to the Nicaraguan filler, the cigar uses leaves from Honduras and the Dominican Republic, a Honduran binder and a wrapper from Ecuador. It comes in a Robusto 5 x 52, a Toro 6 x 50 and a Churchill 7 x 56. It is priced from $8.60 to $9.50, with boxes of 20 from $172 to $190, and ships July 20.

NAT SHERMAN INTERNATIONAL TO CLOSE BY END OF SEPTEMBER Nat Sherman International is shutting down, the company announced, ten months after announcing it was for sale and three and a half years after it was sold by the Sherman family to tobacco giant Altria Group in early 2017. Nat Sherman International, the entity that controls the non-cigarette Nat Sherman brands, will shutter both the wholesale business and its Townhouse storefront in Manhattan by the end of September. Nat Sherman International’s cigar portfolio, made by the Plasencia and Quesada families, features three primary brands: Timeless, Epoca and Metropolitan. The Timeless cigar scored a 92 rating in Cigar Snob’s Top 25 of 2015 and all the brands have consistently scored 90 points or higher over the last several years.

“We delivered our early goals of reestablishing the legacy of Nat Sherman International’s premium cigar business,” Michael Herklots, vice president of Nat Sherman International, said in a statement. “Hopefully our cigars will live on in the humidors of our greatest fans…for many years to come.” Altria, previously known as Philip Morris Companies, blamed the COVID virus for the closure of Nat Sherman International. “We worked hard to successfully transition Nat Sherman International to a new home, [but] the COVID-19 pandemic created new challenges that were unfortunately too big to overcome,” Jessica Pierucki, managing director of Altria, said in a statement. But the brand has been on borrowed time since Altria purchased it from the Sherman family. At the time, Altria acknowledged it was making the deal in part to access Sherman’s premium cigarette holdings. In October, when announcing that Nat Sherman International was on the market, Pierucki said, “While we recognize the strength and value of the premium cigar business, it’s not core to Altria’s tobacco portfolio so we are exploring options for NSI.”

DIESEL PRESENTS “ESTELÍ PURO” Diesel’s latest collection is the Estelí Puro, a fulltime addition to the brand’s lineup that was created in collaboration with AJ Fernandez. Estelí Puro comes in a wrapper harvested from La Lilia, the binder from San José and the fillers from several plots including AJ’s San Lotano farm. “Estelí Puro represents the future of Diesel in that the story of the blend is told by the tobacco itself,” Senior Brand Manager Justin Andrews said in a statement. Diesel Estelí Puro will be available in three sizes: the Robusto (5.25 x 54), the Toro (6 x 54), and the Gigante (6 x 60) It comes in 20-count boxes and prices run from $8.99 to $9.99. Retail shipping begins September 1. The Diesel portfolio includes Delirium, which debuted earlier this year; last year’s Hair of the Dog; Whiskey Row, a Cigar Snob top pick for 2019; and Diesel Grind, which debuted in 2017.

NEW FONSECA RELEASE BY MY FATHER

to the My Father Cigars portfolio.

My Father’s updated Fonseca is expected to arrive in stores in September, the first release coming from the December purchase of the Fonseca brand from Quesada.

THE OLIVEROS RETURNS

The medium-bodied Nicaraguan tobaccos that make the Fonseca were grown by the Garcia family and are finished with a shade-grown Corojo rosado 99 wrapper. For the Cosacos size, each cigar is wrapped in white tissue paper, as has been the tradition for the Cuban Fonseca.

Altadis U.S.A. is relaunching Oliveros Gran Retorno, a small batch series of cigars featuring tobaccos that have been aged at three different stages of production over five years.

The Cosacos vitola is also offered in five-cigar tins. An additional vitola, Cedros (6 1/4 x 52), is individually wrapped in cedar.

The Oliveros Gran Retorno’s process calls for aging the tobaccos in traditional bales for 24 months. The cigars then remain in the factory Cedar Room for six months before being packed and aged for more than 33 months in their individual cedar boxes in the company’s Tampa humidor. “This unique three-stage aging process revealed different characteristics at every step of the way,” Rafael Nodal, head of product capability for Tabacalera USA, parent company of Altadis U.S.A., said in a statement.

The Fonseca brand was founded in 1892 when Don Francisco E. Fonseca established a factory and cigar brand bearing the family name in Havana. Fonseca has since become a recognizable brand, produced in Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. U.S. rights for the Fonseca brand are now owned by the Garcia family, and it is the newest addition

The cigars are presented in three vitolas named after different music genres – the Swing (50 x 6), the Banjo (52 x 4 ½), and the Fiddle (54 x 6). The cigars are packed in 20-count boxes and prices run from $7.70 to $8.13. They will come in three different wrappers: Connecticut, Habano and Maduro. The Oliveros Gran Retorno Connecticut will be

Boxes of 20 cigars come in the Belicosos (5 1/2 x 54), Cosacos (5 3/8 x 42), Petit Corona (4 1/4 x 40), Robusto (5 1/4 x 52), and Toro Gordo (6 x 55).

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released in late August, the Habano in October, and finishing off the line will be the Maduro in December. All blends are 100% Nicaraguan Tobacco from the Plasencia family’s private reserves, with the exception of the shade wrapper, which is a Connecticut seed grown in Honduras by Plasencia.

GURKHA CIGARS REVIVES THE SAN MIGUEL, A NICARAGUAN PURO Gurkha Cigars is bringing back the San Miguel as its latest premium cigar. The Florida-based cigar brand’s latest is the second revival of an older brand this year, following January’s reissue of the Castle Hall. Made with tobacco from the Aganorsa Leaf, the San Miguel is a Nicaraguan puro, including a double binder. It comes in boxes of 20 in three vitolas: a Petite Corona (4.25 x 42), a Robusto (5 x 52), and a Toro (6 x 54). They sell for less than $10 a cigar and will be in stores in a few weeks. Last year, Gurkha announced the Gurkha Nicaragua Series and Treinta also made by Aganorsa Leaf. Cigar Snob gave the Nicaragua Series a 92 rating and the Treinta a 90 rating.

TORO

THE OSCAR MADURO COUNTRY

Honduras

WRAPPER

Mexico

BINDER

Honduras

FILLER

Honduras & Nicaragua

PRICE FACTORY

$ 11.00 - $ 13.00 Oscar Valladares Tobacco Co.

Oscar Valladares

Owner of Oscar Valladares Tobacco Co. You’ve accomplished a lot in what seems like a short period of time in the cigar business, but in fact you’ve been involved in cigars for quite some time. Can you give us a brief history of how you went from driving a tour bus for cigar tourists to producing cigars that are enjoyed all over the world? I’ve been in the cigar business for almost 20 years. I’m from Honduras, the specific area where the cigars are made is Danlí, but I’m from the capital city (Tegucigalpa). And I was working for a tour company, nothing to do with cigars. But Rocky Patel started bringing groups to Honduras and he hired the company I worked for. So I was driving a bus, picking up the groups from the airport and taking them to the guesthouse in Danlí with Rocky. That was the first time I visited the cigar factories in Honduras. From there I started to get more and more involved every day helping Rocky with the tours of the farms, box factory, the fermentation rooms. He was bringing around one thousand people a year.

AVAILABLE IN 4 SIZES

TOP 3 SHOWN

SWEET

Robusto 5 x 50

Sixty 6 x 60

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I liked this concept. I had studied tourism in the university so I liked it, visiting the factory and seeing the whole process of cigar making. It’s amazing to see how

many people are involved in this process of growing, fermenting, making boxes, putting on the labels, all this stuff. But when I started I had never smoked a cigar and I didn’t drink, so all of this is Rocky’s fault! [chuckles] Soon I was smoking cigars every day, hosting the groups, making sure that everything was good in the house as far as food, drinks, everything. Rocky was bringing groups to Honduras seven months of the year and for the rest of the year I was doing non-cigar tours in other parts of the country, basically a tour guide. After two years Rocky offered me a fulltime job at the factory, running the tours during the season and working in the packaging department for the rest of the year. Initially I declined the offer because I really enjoyed traveling; experiencing other cultures, different foods; you know I like that kind of stuff. A year later I agreed to work for him but I told him before I start I want to go to Cuba and learn more about cigars. I wanted to learn more about the difference between cigars and tobacco in Honduras, Nicaragua, and Cuba. So I spent two months in Cuba and I visited Pinar del Rio, San Luis, and San Juan y Martinez. And I spent a couple of days with Alejandro Robaina, you know a lot of people would visit him. But one day I’m with him smoking cigars and drinking coffee and I was asking him a lot of questions. And he asked me why I was asking so many questions so I told him that I was going to start working for a cigar company and I wanted him to share his experience with me. He told me something I will never forget: “Tobacco needs love. If you give your love to the tobacco, it is too generous and it will give love back.” In that moment I was a little bit lost, I didn’t understand what he was talking about. He said, “Oscar, you need to go to the farm and touch the leaves, smell the leaves, talk to the leaves, if you give them love they will give it back.” I left Cuba and visited some friends who make cigars in Nicaragua and kept asking the same kinds of questions and I started to understand that this isn’t only a business, it’s a culture, it’s a passion, it’s love. It’s amazing.

Toro 6 x 52

CHOCOLATE

NUT

EARTH

CREAM

WOOD

COFFEE

SPICE

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LEAF BY OSCAR VALLADARES - CONNECTICUT

TORO COUNTRY

Honduras

WRAPPER

Ecuador

BINDER

Honduras

FILLER

Honduras

PRICE FACTORY

$ 8.90 - $ 10.50 Oscar Valladares Tobacco Co.

Oscar Valladares

Owner of Oscar Valladares Tobacco Co. You started your first company in the cigar business while working for Rocky. Can you tell us how that came about and how it impacted everything you did from that point forward?

AVAILABLE IN 3 SIZES

I had been working with Rocky doing the tours and working as a supervisor in the packaging department but I was very hungry to learn. So I started making blends. Actually I even brought a couple of leaves from Cuba and blended them with Honduran tobacco. I was just trying to gain experience. After working that way for two years I decided to open my first company. I spoke to Rocky and told him that I wanted to sell his cigars in Honduras. At first he thought I was crazy because there was no cigar smoking culture in Honduras but eventually he gave me the opportunity. Now I was running the tours, working in the factory, and on the weekends I would travel throughout Honduras selling cigars. There were no cigar shops in Honduras so I was visiting restaurants, clubs, souvenir stores, hotels and resorts but it was very complicated because they didn’t have humidors. That first year I lost a lot of money but I learned a lot. The following year I made 75 small humidors and when I visited the place I would say, “I’m going to put this humidor right here and I’ll come back in a month. Whatever you’ve sold, you pay me, and if you haven’t sold anything, don’t pay me.” I also started doing events in Honduras and promoting them through the newspapers, TV channels, and all that kind of stuff. That year I sold a lot of cigars, a lot.

When Rocky saw the numbers he saw that I was selling more cigars in Honduras than Rocky’s distributor for all of Latin America. By the end of our conversation he gave me the distribution for all of Latin America and the Caribbean. I went to work selling cigars; I hired a person to help me and I opened the market for Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Aruba, Saint Martin, Venezuela, Argentina, and a few other countries. We started selling more and more. Later I opened my first cigar store in Danlí. I was still working in the factory, doing the tours, and distributing cigars; I was busy. I always say that tobacco changed my life because I learned so much along every step in my life in the cigar business. By 2010 I had opened a second cigar store and it was now way too much work for me. I spoke to Rocky and told him my plan to focus more on the distribution and that maybe later I would launch my own brand. He was very supportive and offered to help in any way he could. So in 2011 I asked my brother Hector and one of my best friends, Bayron Duarte, who was working for another cigar company, to start a cigar factory with me. We rented a small space near the Central Park in Danlí and opened a third cigar store but also set up a small factory, one table with two people making cigars. The idea was that you could buy the cigar and see how it was made. You know that Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras have a rich Mayan culture and the Mayans said the world would end on December 21st in 2012. So I created a limited edition cigar called 2012. They came in a 20-count box, 19 of the cigars were packaged normally but the 20th cigar was a rustic looking cigar. I got the idea for the rustic cigar from a book that I purchased during my travels in Mexico. The book was about the history of cigars in Mexico and in it there was a picture of a Mayan tomb that had been excavated. When they opened the tomb they found a Mayan king with a cigar in his hand. The cigar looked very rustic but it was amazing to me and I thought it was a good way to commemorate the “end of the world.” That idea changed my life. That was the original LEAF; we made the 20th cigar in the box look rustic by wrapping it with a rustic looking tobacco leaf. Eventually that cigar became the LEAF by Oscar.

SWEET

Toro 6 x 52

Sixty 6 x 60

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Lancero 6 x 38

CHOCOLATE

NUT

EARTH

CREAM

WOOD

COFFEE

SPICE

NEVER, EVER RAT ON YOUR FRIENDS, JUST KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHU SHUT.

LIGA PRIVADA UNICO SERIE

YEAR OF THE RAT

WWW.DREWESTATE.COM | THE |REBIRTH OF CIGARS | JUL / AUG 2020

CIGAR SNOB

Summer Cocktails WITH RECORD-BREAKING HEAT BEARING DOWN ON YOU THIS SUMMER AND THE PANDEMIC KEEPING YOU FROM TAKING THAT SUMMER VACATION, YOU’LL BE SPENDING MORE WEEKENDS AT HOME BY THE POOL. NO SWEAT, WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED WITH A SET OF FRESH AND EASY TO MAKE COCKTAILS THAT PAIR PERFECTLY WITH CIGARS AND SUNNY DAYS. BY ERIK CALVIÑO

ZAFRA WARM & SUNNY

he Warm & Sunny is all about combining high quality products in a way that is refreshing but still manages to highlight the smooth, complex characteristic of the Zafra 21 Years. The cocktail was developed by Zafra’s owner Gardner Blandon and was inspired by the tropical vibes of the Caribbean. It is incredibly easy to make and is flexible enough to go well with a wide range of cigars.

The orange peel rim and garnish give the cocktail a wonderful citrus fragrance up front that balances well with the Zafra’s toffee, oak, and spice notes. The ginger ale makes for a perfect effervescent base that adds to the refreshing characteristic of the drink while the maraschino liqueur gives it the finishing touch of earthy, bitter cherry.

ZAFRA MASTER RESERVE 21 YEARS

Ingredients 1 1/2 oz Zafra Rum 21 Years 1 tsp Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur 5 oz Fever Tree Premium Ginger Ale Orange Peel

Tools Rocks glass Jigger Bar spoon

Steps Place a large ice cube into a rocks glass. Measure and pour the Zafra rum and maraschino liqueur over the ice cube. Pour the ginger ale in a circular motion. The carbonation in the ginger ale helps to bring the rum and liqueur to the top. Gently stir with a bar spoon. Zest the orange peel into the cocktail. Rim the glass with the peel and use as a garnish.

PANAMA 40% ALC. BY VOL. 750 ML ronzafra.com

CIGAR PAIRING

OLIVA SERIE V MELANIO This won’t be the first or last time that we find ourselves smoking an Oliva Serie V Melanio with Zafra 21. They are perfectly matched in body and intensity. Once mixed into the Warm & Sunny, the rum is joined by vibrant citrus and ginger notes that help bring out a rich creaminess in the smoke.

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HARRY BLU’S ITALIANO

lthough gin’s popularity exploded in England, its origins are Dutch. It even gets its name from the Dutch word for juniper, which is genever. The Dutch loved their gin back in the day. There were hundreds of distilleries in Amsterdam in the 1600s but it was the Brits who fell the hardest for gin before the US took the gin baton and powered the Roaring 20s. Gin’s popularity is alive and well in today’s era of craft cocktails and mixologists. Harry Blu’s Gin, a new gin distilled in Miami, is the result of founder Harry Blustein’s meticulous tinkering combined with his worldly experiences and tastes. The product honors the gins of the past then takes a hard turn towards the New World. The natural, organic, and kosher ingredients that go into this distillate result in a flavorful and highly aromatic gin that is flexible for mixing, but can easily be enjoyed neat or on the rocks.

Ingredients

HARRY BLU’S GIN

2 oz Harry Blu’s Gin 1/2 oz St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur 1/4 oz basil simple syrup 1 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice 1 fresh basil leaf 1 lemon peel

Tools Snifter Jigger Shaker Strainer

Steps Fill the shaker with ice. Measure and pour the Harry Blu’s gin, elderflower liqueur, basil simple syrup, and lemon juice into the shaker. Optional step:

Make homemade basil simple syrup by mixing equal parts sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Once the sugar is completely dissolved, take off of the heat and drop a couple of leaves of fresh basil and let steep. Once the syrup has cooled, remove basil leaves and store. If sealed and refrigerated, homemade simple syrup will keep for about a month.

Shake vigorously to a froth. Place a large ice cube in the glass. Pour the contents of the shaker through a strainer and into the glass. Activate a basil leaf (to activate simply place the leaf in the palm of your hand and slap it) and float in the cocktail.

MIAMI 41% ALC. BY VOL. 750 ML

Rim the glass with the lemon peel and use as a garnish.

CIGAR PAIRING

distillmiami.com

UNDERCROWN SHADE SUPREMA The Harry Blu’s Italiano delivers a complex blend of juniper, elderberry, and rose petals complemented by citrus and basil on the nose. The pairing of this flavorful and refreshing drink with the smooth pepper, sweet cedar, and subtle earth of the Undercrown Shade would make the Great Gatsby himself jealous.

JUL / AUG 2020 | CIGAR SNOB |

ABERFELDY HERBED HONEY SMASH

aving been introduced in 1999 makes the Aberfeldy 12 a relatively recent arrival to the single malt market. But don’t be mistaken; the distillery is in no way new to this game. Aberfeldy Distillery was opened by John Dewar & Sons, Ltd in 1898 and the whisky produced in Aberfeldy is the principal malt whisky component in the Dewar’s line of blended whiskies. The White Label from Dewar’s is the top-selling blended whisky in the U.S. To help protect the honeybee population and in turn the environment at large, the distillery created the Barrels and Bees program in 2018 to support local beekeepers and educate bartenders on the use of local honey in their cocktails. The

U.S. extension of that initiative, the Gardening Giveback Project, works with beekeepers in eight U.S. cities to foster community garden-style bee sanctuaries, growing flowers, herbs and vegetables in dual purpose: to foster a healthy environment for bees and cultivating ingredients that can be used in cocktails.

ABERFELDY 12 YEAR OLD SINGLE MALT SCOTCH

Ingredients 2 oz Aberfeldy 12 year old 1 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice 1 oz honey syrup 4 to 6 leaves of fresh mint

Tools Rocks glass Jigger Shaker Strainer

Steps Fill the shaker with ice. Measure and pour the Aberfeldy, lemon juice, and honey syrup into the shaker. Optional step:

Make homemade honey syrup by mixing 2 parts honey to 1 part warm water. Stir thoroughly until the honey is fully liquefied. Seal and store for no more than 3 days.

Shake vigorously to a froth. Fill a rocks glass with ice. Pour the contents of the shaker through a strainer and into the glass. Garnish with mint leaves.

CIGAR PAIRING

HIGHLANDS, SCOTLAND 40% ALC. BY VOL. 750 ML aberfeldy.com

DAVIDOFF NICARAGUA Released in 2013, the Davidoff Nicaragua quickly became a favorite among cigar lovers, even garnering the coveted Cigar of the Year spot in the Jan/Feb 2014 issue of this publication. The balanced combination of scotch, lemon and honey in the cocktail make for a perfect accompaniment to the cigar’s smooth, earth, nuts, and pepper.

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JUL / AUG 2020 | CIGAR SNOB |

ZYR METROPOLITAN MARTINI

ew Jersey-native David Katz, a self-described Russophile since childhood, took college courses in Russia to immerse himself in the language and came back with a new appreciation for Russian vodka and eventually an idea to bring his own Russian vodka to the U.S. market. He studied the vodka market in Russia, compared it to the U.S. vodka market, and found the sweet spot; beautifully packaged, ultra-premium vodka that is super smooth on the palate.

Zyr is produced using a proprietary 9-5-3 formula to ensure the cleanest, smoothest vodka. The water source is filtered 5 times before distillation and the mash is filtered 4 more times giving you 9. The fermented blend of Russian non-GMO winter wheat and rye is distilled 5 times for purity. The team at Zyr tastes the grain alcohol blend for flavor, the water for texture, and the final product for consistency compared to prior batches: 9 filtrations, 5 fermentations, and 3 tastings.

ZYR VODKA

Ingredients 2 oz Zyr Vodka 1 oz Chambord Raspberry Liqueur 1 oz fresh lemon juice Orange peel

Tools Martini glass Jigger Shaker Strainer

Steps Chill the martini glass. Fill the shaker with ice. Measure and pour the Zyr, Chambord, and lemon juice into the shaker. Shake vigorously. Pour the contents of the shaker through a strainer and into the glass.

RUSSIA ALC. BY VOL. 1L

Garnish with an orange twist.

- Cocktail recipe by David Ortiz

zyrvodka.com

CIGAR PAIRING

ROMEO Y JULIETA CONNECTICUT NICARAGUA The recently released Romeo y Julieta Connecticut Nicaragua meets the cocktailâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s raspberry and lemon tartness with a smooth, clean profile of subtle earth, vanilla cream, soft pepper, and toasted almond. This pairing is an ideal way to start your summer evening.

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OAD TRIPpin'

We’re still hung up with this ‘rona virus, and while it looks like it’s abating, the aftereffects are dogging us. Air travel is spotty, with entire routes cancelled. Hotels still haven’t reinstituted their perks for frequent guests, or even the complimentary breakfasts at the mid-tier level. We’re blessed that most cigar bars have kept the lights on and the humidors full. In fact, the spate of new cigar issues is encouraging, and keeps us going on particularly discouraging days. Having our wings clipped for a few months puts a dent in our quest to inform you of all things wonderful in cigars and other pleasures of the world. Like you, we’ve sat and waited this out with a mixture of patience and grace. At least, most of the time. We can say this time down, what with working at home and all, has been good for getting outside more often. Some of us are exercising more, while some are rediscovering that fresh air is a good thing. To fill in for lost travel time, we’ve outlined five outdoor places around the U.S. that you may be able to get to for some R & R, including where to get the finest smokes to make sure your relaxation is the fullest it can be. There isn’t much reason or rhyme to these places, they’re just locations we’ve been to over the years and they remain close to our hearts. Most don’t require logistical acrobatics. And in terms of making the best of things, these are places you may not normally go. But then, what’s normal anymore? There is no ‘new normal,’ that’s for sure. We loved the way things were. And they will come back. Until then…

by Steve Miller

Photo: Rudy Balasko / iStock

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JOSHUA TREE CALIFORNIA elighted by its inviting appearance, Mormon settlers coming into the Mojave Desert looked at a surreal cockeyed evergreen and recognized its likeness immediately. It was the prophet Joshua, raising his hands to the heavens. And the Joshua Tree was born. In this case, that prophet can grow to be 40 feet tall.

the landscape, while creosote bush scrubs, the world’s oldest living things at 11,500 years old, multiply. By the time you get to Twentynine Palms, a military town with every convenience and a few good eateries, you’re getting acquainted with the desert. The 200 miles of hiking trails inside the Joshua Tree National Park come in all flavors. Some, like Keys View, are paved, short trails that give a taste of the park, with sweeping red sandstone earth and granite boulders to each side. In the middle of the quarter-mile loop, an overlook

The mine went down 300 feet, and was sold for $1,000 shortly after the claim was discovered. Between 1893 and 1936, the mine yielded 10,000 ounces of gold – $20 million in today’s dollars. Someone got a good deal. After a day hiking in the park, a night at the Joshua Tree Inn is in order. Set on the main drag of Twentynine Palms Highway in Joshua Tree, it’s a one-story hacienda-style inn six miles outside the park. The 11 rooms are each different, laid out in a horseshoe around a courtyard and a large pool. Some of the rooms are themed – for example, there’s room 8, where singer Gram Parsons died in 1973. Next to that is the Emmylou Harris

The plant is a beacon to millions each year who come to California’s Joshua Tree National Park, a national monument since the 1930s and a park since 1994.

The Lost Horse Mine was among the 300 mines developed around the Joshua Tree region. While most produced little, Lost Horse was a prolific source of both gold and silver. The best way into that dream is to come in from Los Angeles, as the jam-packed highway sweeps upward from LAX, around the San Bernardino Mountains and into Yucca Valley. Before you head for the open spaces, maybe take a night to enjoy the leisure of Palm Springs and stock up. Pivat Cigar Lounge inside the Agua Caliente Resort & Casino and Fame Cigars and Wine are about 40 miles outside of Joshua Tree. Pivat offers a triple threat - a fully stocked humidor, a theatrically staged smoked Old Fashioned, and video poker. It’s an easy drive over to Joshua Tree from Palm Springs, and as you turn off the Interstate onto Highway 62 toward the park, Joshua Trees pock

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Photo: Ron and Patty Thomas / iStock

For many who come to the southwest desert, the allure is the weather, which features the bluest skies in the contiguous 48 along with air that envelops you in a warm, powdery cocoon. For others, it is the simple, gorgeous nothingness, a vast open space that encourages dreams and dreamers.

Dusk on the floor of Joshua Tree National Park brings wildlife out. It’s also a photographer’s golden hour. provides sweeping views of the Coachella Valley and you can see a good swath of the San Andreas Fault, the fabled ridge line that is said will someday shift much of California into the sea. For a pensive, lost-in-your-thoughts, more challenging hike, head to the Lost Horse Mine. It’s a 6- to 7-mile loop up and down a truly dusty trail to get in there. Blacktail jackrabbits jump out of the bushes once in a while, and keep looking for the desert tortoise, said to be endangered but easy to find if you keep an eye out. The Lost Horse Mine is a well-preserved relic. It’s jarring to see this aged wooden structure reaching into the sky in the back end of the desert, with thick, dark beams that have survived decades of elements, much heartier than our own species.

room, and there’s also the John Barrymore Suite. Hollywood, the music industry, and the desert all come together at the Joshua Tree Inn. Before leaving the area, stop at the Joshua Tree Park’s visitor center in Twentynine Palms. Inside as you enter the teeming center filled with souvenirs and trinkets is a mural. It is framed around Minerva Hamilton Hoyt. Shrouded in cacti and boulders, the South Pasadena socialite and conservationist was integral in launching protections for the desert, including the 800,000 acres of the Joshua Tree National Park. The desert, she said, is a “world of strange and inexpressible beauty, of mystery and singular aloofness which is yet so filled with peace…” It’s a place we can all use a touch of now.

love is for suckers - cigars are for lovers score more great sticks like sweet jane, crazy alice & fat bottom betty from your deadwood tobacco co. and drew estate. JUL / AUG 2020 | CIGAR SNOB |

NATCHEZ TRACE NATCHEZ, MISS. - NASHVILLE lthough the Natchez Trace Parkway was formally established in 1938, it is an antique. The fact is not so apparent as you drive the smoothas-marble road, but there are parts of this 444 miles, which extends from Natchez, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee, that take you back to the 1800s, when Congress authorized the establishment of a post road on Old Natchez Trace, a trail created in the 1500s by Native American settlers.

Today, the parkway is downright civilized, marked with fact-filled roadside stops, and long stretches of overhanging oaks and maples, with brief histories at any stop you want to make. Don’t get dizzy with the possibilities of so many miles. The maps will tell you that there is a historic stop every few miles and it’s true – but give yourself some existential room. Look out the window for a second, a minute or an hour. The road elicits dreams. Some folks are moving slow. Some are in a hurry to get to something they feel is important. And regardless of your tempo, at the end of the day, relax. Natchez, Mississippi, is set on the Mississippi River with more pre-Civil War homes than any other place in the U.S. Walking the streets is peaceful and serene, the smell of the river mixing with the perfumed air. It’s a place to feel history.

Photo: J Paul Moore / iStock

The parkway development cut through settlements of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations, creating an efficient, if controversial, wide spot in the road.

The Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge in Franklin, Tenn. history is near and dear, as the Parkway winds north and into Alabama, there is an historic beacon that beckons just off the beaten path, and it’s well worth it.

up the western part of the U.S., took place in a little cabin on the Natchez Trace trail. The cabin was part of an inn that Lewis was holed up in for the evening in October 1809.

Muscle Shoals Studio, in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, is a gray brick shed of a space at 3614 Jackson Highway in the middle of town.

Lewis died from two gunshot wounds. Some say suicide, some say murder. No one is sure and there are plausible arguments for each cause.

Bob Dylan recorded there in spring 1979, and loved it because he could go to the food court at the local mall and no one recognized him. Townies recall driving by the studio in 1975 and seeing Rod Stewart on the side porch, smoking.

Lewis is memorialized with a stone obelisk, and his remains are buried beneath. Across the lot is the cabin he was found in. To the right of that is a nice stretch of trail that burrows into the dense forest, an eight-foot wide opening that cuts through the thicket and is flanked by oaks, elms and cottonwoods.

By now Nashville and its happening cigar scene is in the headlights. One last stop, though: The weirdness of the death of Meriwether Lewis, part of the Lewis and Clark explorer duo that opened

Sixty miles later, crossing the double arch bridge that spans Birdsong Hollow, you enter Franklin, Tennessee, and Franklin Cigar, with a 3,000 fullystock humidor including a custom built Davidoff cabinet. Head north a few miles to Nashville Smoke and Ale, then dip into the downtown, a cigar sanctuary.

The 100-mile drive up the Parkway to Jackson, Mississippi, leads to Hops & Habanas, with 24 beers on tap and a selection of 553 craft beers and 527 cigar brands. A couple miles away is The Country Squire, in place since 1970 and calling itself the state’s oldest tobacconist.

Tupelo, Mississippi, is of course best known as the birthplace of Elvis Presley, and for $8, a walk through the modest white house is worth it. Because this is the South and because music

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Photo: Dee Browning / iStock

Fortified with some smokes and some time spent talking with our local hosts, we get back to the Parkway and about 20 miles north we pass over the Cypress Swamp, a place to get out and stretch on the clapboard walkway.

Explorer Meriwether Lewis met his end in a cabin at Grinder’s Stand, an inn located on the historic Natchez Trace. The official cause is listed as suicide, although some historians contend he was murdered.

End the trek with a stop at The Palm, part of the small chain of premier steak houses and a traditional hobnob heaven. The food is strictly A-grade, the crab cakes, beyond. The Cigar Lounge, where politicians and celebs used to congregate, enjoy a smoke, and cook up deals, is still there. High top tables and free flowing drinks are part of that scene. But like the Natchez Trace Parkway, it also carries a whiff of days past. The state banned indoor smoking in 2007.

THE MUSIC DANCES WITH THE CLASSIC MADURO IN YOUR HAND. THE WRAPPER, AGED 3 YEARS, INTENSIFIES THE SMOOTH AND CREAMY TOBACCO, DELIVERING RICH FLAVOR FROM THE FIRST DRAW.

JUL / AUG 2020 | CIGAR SNOB |

LAKE SUPERIOR MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, WISCONSIN, ONTARIO he American Integrity will race you. It has an advantage, though. The Integrity is a Great Lakes freighter, built in 1978, and on a late summer day, it heads from Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, to Silver Bay, Minnesota, cutting through the heart of Lake Superior. You, the landlubber, are going via the Lake Superior Circle, taking in 700 miles, two countries, a province and three states. Edge goes to the Integrity, which you can watch pass through the channel from Lake Huron into Superior at the Soo Locks, where massive ships pass through every day. Tours are offered but not necessary – just sitting and watching the boats pass is sufficient for any dreamer. The boat crew members sit on the deck and watch the watchers as the boat passes through. They’re also dreaming. The locks cut through two Sault Ste Maries, one in the U.S., the other in Canada, separated by a bridge.

Split Rock Lighthouse in Two Harbors, Minn. the north, a piney freshness that conjures thoughts of tents and coffee on the gas stove. But instead of gas stove java, hit a Tim Horton’s, which is a Canadian brand better than Starbucks. And don’t miss the apple fritter.

lakeside hotel room with a little deck and dig the pebbled inlets, walk the streets and talk to the tourists. It’s a place to flop in relative luxury. Most traffic through here comes during a three-month spate of sunshine and moderate temperatures.

Small lakes dot the landscape, as the route moves back and forth from the coastline. There are postcards around every corner and it occurs that Superior is, yes, Superior. It takes up 31,700 square miles and it reaches 1,332 feet at its deepest point.

Wrapping up the trek is Duluth, carved into a hillside with streets that all angle upwards.

The terrain is clean and remote. You feel the space. Seeing a mother moose and her calf cross in front of your car one morning seems normal. So does that bear cub you see at the side of the back road you took to have a nature smoke break. Relentlessly tall evergreens occasionally give way to a rise of birch trees that poke the air with no leaves. It’s the forest ecosystem at work in an area that few people go, where whipping winds from the north can strip a tree in seconds. Begin this trek at Austin’s Cigar Lounge, in Sault Ste Marie, on the U.S. side, with 30 bottles of premium whiskeys and over 70 boxes of premium cigars. It’s a haul around the world’s largest freshwater lake, so stock up. And cigar lounges aren’t allowed in Ontario. The first leg of the trip goes across the Canadian border and 260 miles up to Marathon. On the left, the sun glances off Superior while cliffs dip onto the frothy surf. On the right, small stops offer picnic spots, trails and more cliffs. When you get out to walk, the air smells just like

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Onward to Grand Marais, Minnesota, also means passing through the impressively named Thunder Bay, Ontario. While the downtown is beset by a large casino taking up a chunk of prime real estate, the view of the bay from just about any point is excellent. Also fine, although lacking in ambience, is the curry chicken at the Island Spice Jerk House, a downtown Jamaican food spot. Take it to go. Also to go, as we noted cigar bars are outlawed in the province, are some Cuban cigars from Rollies, about 10 minutes south of the island. Sticker shock alert: Cigar tax in Ontario is 56.6 percent. Grand Marais rolls it out for the visitors, so get a

The two-mile Bong Bridge connects Duluth to its sister city, Superior, Wisconsin. It spans the Saint Louis Bay, which empties into Lake Superior. These are towns that still have Friday fish fries and locals sell pastries at the Elks Lodge and anywhere else they can. Acting on a tip from a guy at a record store, I bought pasty (rhymes with nasty), a local favorite of seasoned beef and vegetables wrapped in a dough pocket, from a darkened dessert shop two blocks off the main drag of Superior. This one was well-seasoned, the mark of a solid pasty. Lake Superior and the towns around it have amazing power and tenacity. They withstand elements that make most of us cower, and rightfully so. In January 1996, the mercury dipped to 45 degrees below zero in Thunder Bay. Several times it has snowed for 10 straight days in Duluth. Sitting on a warm evening looking at the glassy water, it’s hard to believe that in six months these northern reaches will be unrecognizable. Cold winds, snow and skeleton trees will be the rule, and will last deep into May. But for now, that transformation seems a long way off. Warren Zevon’s parting advice, to “enjoy every sandwich,” makes perfect sense.

LIGHT UP THE NIGHT You deserve it.

RATED

Perfected over 154 years, yours to enjoy now. #LightUpYourSoul

PlasenciaCigars.com

JUL / AUG 2020 | CIGAR SNOB |

MT. RUSHMORE/BLACK HILLS SOUTH DAKOTA or pure, attraction-filled expanse, the Black Hills National Forest is among the richest you’ll find in the lower 48 of the U.S. Its 1,950 square miles span hills, mountains, valleys, prairies flanking rivers, ponds, pools, and waterfalls. It takes in parts of South Dakota and Wyoming, and mountain lions, bison, and bears call it home. There are also towns, villages, and memorials. They are spread wide, and you’ll spend some serious road time. So before you start, stock up your travel humidor. In Rapid City, the only city in these wide open spaces with a population of 75,000, head over to the Tinder Box Cigar Lounge, where you can sit down for a smoke and a drink. Maybe a few, as you’ll likely want to stay overnight in the town to use it as a base for your travels. Tinder Box carries the usual big brands, so you’ll be in good hands, and the bar has 11 mostly craft beers on tap as well as the cocktail and wine basics. Fortified and supplied, head out.

"You’re not supposed to drive here at 60 miles an hour. To do the scenery half justice, people should drive 20 or under; to do it full justice, they should get out and walk." ~ Peter Norbeck, former South Dakota governor Amazingly, you can drive from one side to the other, from Buckhorn, Wyoming on the west, to Rapid City, South Dakota, on the east, in 90 minutes. Not that you want to. South Dakota is the only state in the U.S. that did not shut down virtually everything when the COVID-19 virus was discovered. It took heat from almost everyone, and wherever you land on that issue politically, the state has been open for business the entire time. Sure, school systems shut, and national parks closed. But the former are up and running this fall and the latter have gradually allowed visitors to most spots starting in June. So, if you want to forget about this entirely regrettable virus debacle, South Dakota is enticing. To get a full flavor of what the park has to offer, take the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway. Named after a former South Dakota governor, it’s a 66-mile double loop, and be ready to take it slow. Bison roam the

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Mount Rushmore is named for a New York lawyer who visited the region in 1885 to inspect mining claims. It took 14 years to finish. George Washington’s head was the first to be finished. It took seven years. grounds as if they own it, because, well, they do. Every year, a few tourists get taken down by the wild bison, who predictably get pissed if you get too close to them or their calves. The road splits at some points to accommodate a tree that was too big to be taken out. It winds and twists, and rock spires erupt before you head into stone tunnels. To the north of the byway, there’s a road. You take it, winding north, through three stone tunnels. And there it is, Mt. Rushmore.

Benjamin Black Elk melted my camera at Mount Rushmore. I was already heady with the otherworldly, 60-foot faces of George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson carved in the side of a South Dakota mountain when I pulled up in the back seat of my parents’ car. Black Elk was a Sioux Indian dressed in traditional clothing, sitting atop a horse in the parking lot. He was an iconic figure at the park who was representing his tribe and the Indian heritage of the region. For years, he dutifully showed up astride his Appaloosa and talked with the tourists. Seeing him was like seeing a movie star, and it caused me to go all paparazzi. I grabbed my tiny plastic camera and snapped, unaware that there was a procedure in place for such a thing. For example, ask politely. “Your picture will not turn out,” Black Elk said to me, glaring down from his steed with a frown.

Whatever. I was 8 years old, so sue me. I stuck the camera in the car and my parents and I checked out the monument. What a fantastic thing to see in the middle of all this piney wilderness. The longer you look at this sculpture, completed by Idaho-born sculptor Gutzon Borglum in 1941, the odder it seems. Its magnificence is enhanced by thoughts of the logistics – Borglum and his crew of 400 dynamited and drilled 410,000 tons of granite off the 5,700-foot mountain. The workers took trams up and down the mountain while completing the project. None of them died. And yes, some of them had to dangle on bosun chairs – similar to what we see window washers using today – while detailing the famous faces. Over the years, various buildings have been added to the park, including a museum, a terrace and a trail. Today, two million people a year come to Mount Rushmore. They wield binoculars and cameras and a sense of history, time and place. The Rushmore park experience starts at the Sculptor’s Studio, where Borglum kept his plaster models for the etching. In the studio, you get a talk from a ranger historian and a 15-minute movie on the carving. From there, walk on up to the Presidential Trail to examine the visages. In the evening, the faces are lit up; the park is open to 11 p.m., and it’s worth taking the time to see that. And Black Elk? That day, after we returned from a full exploration of the monument, I found my camera. I had left it in the back window of the car. It was melted by the sun. Black Elk was right.

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TABLE ROCK GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA he second best thing about hiking Table Rock Trail – which comes after the invigorating hike itself – is the drive out there.

sure you sign in when you get back. The trail starts up to some well-marked smaller trails, and it’s downright civilized. Yes, that’s kind of a downer, but keep moving. The Jurassic, boulder-strewn forest is flanked by some small waterfalls that create a nice, wild thrum of noise. It’s a rainforest, and you walk among a mix of oaks, hickories, pines and

browns of the winter, or the blossoming greens of spring and summer. Push on a little more, and you’re rewarded with a sweeping landscape of lakes and the peaks of nearby hills, while you look down on floating hawks and bountiful tree tops. The trek down is simple, walking down the same way with a little different perspective. You’ve

The road time gives you some room to enjoy the loot you’ve acquired from an evening or two at the Cigar Experience Lounge or Outman Cigars & Martini Bar in Greenville. The ride is 45 minutes of meadowed hills that roll among thick groves of trees, topped with some rocky mountain cropping. Pull up to Pumpkintown, a one-light burg five miles outside of Table Rock State Park. Time a visit to autumn and you can check out fields that are jammed with these jack-olanterns. Time it to another season and it’s still a fine place to grab some chow at the Pumpkintown General Store. Expect basic, wellprepared, heart stopper breakfasts – biscuits, gravy, sausage, tons of toast, lots of eggs. For lunch, grab a couple chili dogs and fries, and why not? You’re headed for a 3,400-foot climb. The food is fortifying and mortifying at the same time, but also delicious.

"The visitor’s center puts out a sign-in sheet to track hikers who might get lost, become bear bait or find other misadventure. Be sure to sign out, or they’ll send someone looking for you.”

But Table Rock Trail – part of the Pisgah National Forest and bordering the Linville Gorge Wilderness – is good for cutting out the dabblers, once you get into it about a half-mile, which is the make-or-break point. Besides, you know something good might be up ahead when the visitor’s center puts out a sign-in sheet in case you don’t make it back. They’ll send someone looking for you, fearing you’ve become bear bait, gotten lost or otherwise encountered a misadventure, so be

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Photo: DiscoverSouthCarolina.com

When you pull into the Table Rock parking lot, you’ll see cars and people running all over and if you’re like me, you’ll want to turn around and find something less accessible, less popular and more solitary.

Table Rock Trail takes hikers up 2,000 feet to a granite dome that provides panoramic views of the surrounding area. hemlocks. This is the warm up, though, as you move upward to get to the heart of the real hiking as you follow tributaries of the Linville River and the gorge. The scramble upwards and into the upper reaches of the trail, though, is where things get real. The wet climate and the waterfalls make the rocks on the trail a slippery slide and so as you enjoy and appreciate the increasing difficulty of the walk, be aware: You may slip and fall. No matter, things get intense as you go up 2,000 feet in 3.6 miles on the way to the top. Around two miles up, there’s a little shelter. Time for a smoke and a look at the expansive view. Depending on the season, you’re going to take in some intoxicating autumn colors, some stark

seen it, so make sure you encourage some folks going up who might be wearing out. By the time you get down, you’ve taken in one of the great hikes of South Carolina. Driving back to Greenville, don’t get ahead of yourself with plans for the evening. Ever notice how we sometimes experience new things, especially something out of the ordinary, and then forget what it felt like at the time? This is the opportunity to savor the walk, and store it for later, when you need it. When you get back to town, head to the Cigar Boxx. With a small humidor and a bar with a selection of over 200 single malt scotches and 100 bourbons, it’s a good stop to continue the savoring. And then ask yourself the inevitable question: What’s next?

JUL / AUG 2020 | CIGAR SNOB |

Alejandro MartĂnez Cuenca Joya De Nicaragua

Dion Giolito Illusione Cigars

Carlos "Carlito" Fuente, Jr. Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia.

Erik Espinosa Espinosa Cigars

Karl Malone Barrel-Aged by Karl Malone

cigarsnobmag.com/podcast

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the americans

keeping tampa's legacy burning by Steve Miller

JUL / AUG 2020 | CIGAR SNOB |

e’ve done the tourist traps to death, from the theme parks (Dollywood, no thanks) to the roadside stops (really, there’s a cheese castle in Wisconsin?). Finally, there’s a destination on the horizon that will light up cigar fans: A multi-million dollar overhaul of the J.C. Newman Cigar Co.’s El Reloj cigar factory in Tampa’s Ybor City, which will become a cigar version of the Bourbon Trail, complete with museum, tastings, movies and roll-your-own classes. The factory is the last operating cigar factory left in the square-mile-sized Ybor district, a 100,000-square-foot monument to the early 20th century when 300 million cigars a year came from the teeming domestic cigar industry based there.

knocking out parts of the structure for improvements. Along the way, they discovered new treasures that will be part of the tours, including a secret staircase used by the factory manager to hide valuables – thinking some awesome cigars, or less fun, cash – from bandits who made the rounds in the old days. The Newman cigar experience will also include a theater to screen archived and current cigarthemed reels, an event space for corporate events and weddings, and a retooled cigar factory on the third floor to showcase the rolling of the American, J.C. Newman’s cigar, produced using all American parts, from the tobacco to the boxes. “Just as people visit wineries and craft breweries, this is the place to see about cigars,” Drew says.

“We had 150 cigar factories in Tampa at one time and now we’re the last traditional cigar factory in the U.S.,” says Eric Newman, president of J.C. Newman who, along with his brother Bobby, is part of a third generation of leadership of the family-owned company.

It’s natural to want to show off these functional relics. It’s like going to a natural history museum where the stagecoach still runs. Which is where the next generation of Newman leadership comes in. The boldly envisioned cigar destination was conceived by Eric’s son, Drew. “We have this opportunity to create the premier tourist destination for cigars [here] in the U.S.,” Drew says. “Over the past few years, really passionate cigar smokers would go to Latin America to see these modern cigar factories, but the reality for us is that our home is this factory in the middle of Tampa, 15 minutes from the airport, close to Disney and so many other attractions in the state. They can come here to see how cigars are made rather than flying overseas.” The grand plan has involved moving departments from one part of the building to another, and

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“He was pulled aside and told by people to find another line of work because only old men smoke cigars,” Eric says. “But he said, ‘There are new old men born every day,’ and kept going.” After almost 60 years in the Midwest, J.C. decided to move the family closer to the source of the coveted Cuban tobacco. He bought the Regensburg building a.k.a. El Reloj, or “the clock,” for the chiming timepiece at the top of the structure’s red brick tower. “We rented the first floor when we first came in 1953,” Eric says. The operation was still Clevelandbased, renting the new location to give it a tryout. It worked, and J.C. Newman Cigar made the move south in 1954. The rolling machines it brought along called for some enhancements to the old building, which until then had housed only hand-rolling. “We had to put steel beams in once we moved in to hold up the machines on the second floor,” Eric says. As with almost all of the cigar factories built in the city between 1886 and 1910, it had three stories with the widest side of the building facing north. This is because in the days before electric lights, the best indirect sunlight light – north or south – was needed to discern between the tobacco colors, as the leaves are sorted according to up to 50 different hues.

This is the 125th anniversary of the business, which started in the frigid north of Cleveland’s east side in 1895 and moved to the balmy tropics of Tampa in the mid50s. “We’re using some of the same hand-operated machines my grandfather (J.C. Newman) bought in the 30s,” Eric says. “These aren’t replica machines. I can’t think of any product made on the same machines from that long ago.”

and he was warned that cigars were not going to be a thing for very long.

“So much of Florida is new, it’s been built in the last 40 or 50 years, so as a result there’s very little history in Florida. But our factory and the cigar industry in Tampa is one of the things that gives the city history.”

To chronicle the story of J.C. Newman Cigar is to narrate a piece of Tampa history. But like so much of the state’s history, it starts with some transplanting. Newman was founded in Cleveland, when Hungarian immigrant Julius Caeser Newman, Eric’s grandfather and Drew’s great-grandfather, borrowed $50 for some tobacco and crafted himself a rolling table from some old boards. He was inspired in a most unlikely fashion considering the era – as a pre-teen, spotting the wife of a prominent Hungarian politician on the “veranda of her palace, smoking a long, black cigar,” writes Stanford Newman, J.C.’s son and Eric’s father, in his 1999 memoir, Cigar Family. Stanford started out selling for J.C. in the 1930s,

Stanford succeeded J.C., who died in 1958. Stanford passed away in 2006. Eric is now president and his younger brother Bobby is executive vice president. “I can’t say I was groomed for this, but it was assumed,” Eric says. Both he and Bobby got their MBAs, and both were part of the business by the end of the 70s, when the cigar industry was robust. Then the 80s saw a drop in demand, and what demand there was shifted from Tampa cigars to those made in Latin America. And there was rancor in the Newman ranks, as the company was owned by 14 members of the family, all of whom demanded profits as well as a say in operations. “One of them compared the cigar business to the buggy whip business; a dying industry with no future,” Stanford Newman wrote in his memoir. With profits slimming and the family squabbling, Stanford proposed a solution. “The family had a buyout, and myself, Bobby and my father became the decision makers,” Eric says. And as the newly minted leadership trio consid-

Photo: JC Newman archive

Drew, Eric, and Bobby Newman stand behind Stanford Newman with a portrait of J.C. Newman in the background. (1999) ered the debt they had taken on to buy out the family, fortune struck. Carlos Fuente Sr., owner of Arturo Fuente Cigar, was moving his entire operation to the Dominican Republic and asked Stanford Newman to handle his Tampa machine-made business. The overture stemmed from a need by Fuente to service customers, particularly in the northeast part of the U.S., who had relied for decades on Fuente-made brands. The Fuente-made Moya was the go-to smoke among Cuban communities from Miami to New York. It sounded good to Newman. But he had an idea, as well. In exchange for the Tampa-made cache, Fuente agreed to make La Unica cigars in the Dominican, a premium smoke that was the first high-end cigar to be sold in cellophane bundles rather than a fancy box, passing along the savings to the customer. Up until then, bundled cigars were made from tobacco scraps and were of lesser quality. “We really didn’t know what we had,” Eric says. “But things took off from there. We handled sales,

as Fuente has this great factory but not the sales organization that we did. So our sales guys began selling Fuente, doing what we do best, and Fuente could concentrate on doing what it does best, making cigars.” By 1990, Fuente was manufacturing Newman’s Cuesta-Rey in addition to the La Unica brands in the Dominican Republic. “It’s a natural alliance,” Stanford told the Tampa Tribune at the time. “I grew up two blocks from the Newman building,” says Carlos Fuente Jr., who now helms Tabacalera A. Fuente, based in Santiago, Dominican Republic, the largest family-owned premium cigar company in the world. “I look at the father, Stanford Newman, and he was one of my mentors…they came to Tampa and he did things no one else did,” Fuente says. “His courage was boundless. When people were selling cigars at 30 cents he was at 50-55 cents. He was such a pioneer.” Longevity, some solid deal-making, and a steadfast ability to move with the industry has sustained J.C. Newman Cigar. The 135 employees at the Ybor factory make 60,000 cigars a day.

Meeting the Newmans in the early 2000s, Jeff Borysiewicz, who owned his own small company, Corona Cigar Co., had some good vibes about the family. Both Newman and Corona were family-run and had the flexibility to make decisions based not on the dictates of a board of directors but “based on doing the right thing,” Borysiewicz says. It was clear by then that Drew would emerge as the new voice of Newman as the years passed. In 2016, it was Drew who reached out to Borysiewicz, who by then was both running Corona and growing tobacco as the head of his own Florida Sun Grown in Clermont, Fla., to provide the wrapper for a new cigar, the American, featuring all domestic products, from the wrapper to the box. It was a harbinger of a changing of the guard at Newman, which will see it into the coming years.

Eric is 72, hardly old by today’s standards, and by the way, what’s a succession plan? “We got a call a few years back about a succession plan,” Eric says. “I was 24 when I started here and

JUL / AUG 2020 | CIGAR SNOB |

ances of what it takes to affect policy is a valuable – and unique – arrow in the cigar maker’s quiver, a producer’s only as good as his or her product and the ability to properly market it. For example, the American. Hatched three years ago upon the suggestion of Drew’s wife, who posed the question “Can a world-class cigar still be made in the U.S.?”, the answer was yes. The American debuted in 2017, uses all domestic products: wrapper from Borysiewicz in Florida, filler from Pennsylvania, binder from Connecticut, boxes from Miami, labels printed in Sanford, Fla., and cellophane tubes from Green Bay, Wisc.

Photo: JC Newman archive

“We were talking about how we’re this oldest family cigar company in America, and she asked, ‘Why don’t you have an American-made cigar?’” Drew says. While small-batch distilling and craft brewing were homegrown favorites, there’s no reason cigars can’t get into the game, they agreed. “People want to support locally made products,” they figured. And they were right.

Bobby Newman, Eric Newman, Carlos “Carlito” Fuente, Jr., and Stanford Newman standing behind Carlos Fuente, Sr. at his desk. now I’m 72. So, well, we didn’t really have one.” The de facto succession plan, it appears, is passion for cigars. And Drew Newman, 38, law degree in hand, is a likely candidate to take the reins when the time comes. The idea for the factory expansion and renovation is Drew’s, to start with. So he’s already developing the future. “When he was 8 years old, he told us he was J.C. Newman reincarnated,” Eric says of his son. “He was giving factory tours here at 14 years old. He designed a website for us as a teenager. He’s got a real passion and love for this, it’s in his soul. And I have handed that to him.” Unlike his father and uncle, though, Drew comes to the business with a broader life experience. While he was working tobacco trade shows at 11 years, old, Drew also had an interest in politics and the legal system. His pursuits led him to Washington D.C., where he got his law degree from American University in 2007. Which led to a judicial clerkship with the D.C. Court of Appeals. Which led to a job as counsel for the Council of the District of Columbia, the local government of Washington D.C. “I was never pressured to join the family business, and I ended up staying in D.C., building skills and trying to do some good work and help people along the way,” Drew says, speaking by phone from his home in Brooklyn, where he and his wife, Ariel, live with their 4-month-old son.

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He’s officially listed as general counsel for J.C. Newman Cigars, but, as his father notes, Drew is likely going to be The Man at Newman in the future. Drew acknowledges his future, and he’s planning on moving his family to Tampa in the coming months. “I knew that if I wanted to join the business, I should bring some value to it,” he says. Part of that value is the legal acumen and political knowledge it takes to advocate for the industry. “The saying is that if you are not at the table, you are on the menu, and right now there are a lot of regulation issues that could have an impact on the handcrafted premium cigar business,” he says. Testifying last year before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, Drew urged committee members to approve a bill that would exempt premium cigars from federal oversights which police availability to minors and addictiveness. In fact, on any issue that protects the small guy in the cigar business – including the 3,000 specialty retailers that sell premium cigars – Drew advocates for protection. “We’ve been in this struggle for six years now. Ever since the FDA proposed to expand authority to include all tobacco products in 2014,” he says. “So this effort is to help the FDA understand that premium cigars are different.” While the law is his specialty and grasping the nu-

It almost didn’t get off the ground. The old guard took some convincing. “Drew said, ‘Dad, I want to do this American cigar’ and I said, ‘That’s a lousy idea,’” Eric says. He was overruled. The American comes in four sizes, from a 4.5 x 50 Robusto to a 7 x 47 Churchill and is sold exclusively in stores – not online. The adventurous entrepreneurial spirit, passing through generations, has allowed J.C. Newman Cigar to survive two world wars, a depression, a recession, the Cuban embargo and all the cyclical business twists that an economy weathers. Add to that now the sweep of the coronavirus. “Our company was around for the original pandemic,” Eric notes, referring to the 1918 Spanish flu. “During the Great Depression, my grandfather made two-cent cigars to be affordable. And during this, cigar consumption has not tailed off, and we’re very fortunate.” With that, he makes a prediction. “We believe that brick and mortar is the future of the industry,” Eric says. “There will be a thinning out of all retailers. But [for cigars] I think consumption will be solid. The smart retailer will be about keeping customers, and keeping that ambience.” He continues, “We’re on generation No. 4 here… we’re fortunate, we’ve defied the odds.” Borysiewicz thinks of Newman like Miller Brewing in Milwaukee or Detroit’s Ford Motor Co. in that “You don’t want those things to leave. There’s a reason and a desire to preserve those industries and what they mean to those locations. Newman gives an identity to Tampa.”

JUL / AUG 2020 | CIGAR SNOB |

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BY STEVE MILLER

Freud fixed heads. A new movie shows how he fixed his own. Hint: Cigars, lots of them.

a diary he kept in the last decade of his life, a local smoke that looks like a lancero, which he bought by the box daily. For the movie, the props master secured local cigars, just as Freud smoked. But Freud’s real love was anything Cuban, and in that diary, he declared his love for Don Pedros and Reina Cubanas. hen you invent psychoanalysis, you get to indulge your vices. Sigmund Freud knew that. The psychological set’s de facto godfather smoked a reported 20 cigars a day, and as far as we know, no one dared tell him to cool it a bit.

Freud “complained about the inferior Austrian cigars” to his close friend and colleague Max Eitingon, according to a diary translation. Eitingon found some Don Pedros in a German village just over the border and ordered Freud “several hundred.”

seum in London, which includes several cigar boxes of jade, leather and metal among its artifacts. The Tobacconist shows us an elderly Freud who strikes up a friendship with the 17-year-old protagonist, Franz, who has come to Vienna from a rural village to apprentice in a tobacco shop. Fifteen minutes into the movie, the two meet, Freud toting his daily two boxes of the local flavor and a newspaper. While Franz puzzles on the mysteries of life and love in the big city, he both toils and sleeps at the shop, run by a salty, one-legged man named Otto, who himself loves a good stogie.

So when Austrian film director Nikolaus Leytner prepared to work on the movie The Tobacconist, a film released in the U.S. in July, with an ageing Freud as a main character, he was ready for an authentic backdrop. “There was no smoking on set,” says Leytner, speaking via phone from Vienna, where the movie was based. “But of course, we all knew that Freud smoked so much, so we had to make some allowance.”

“Have you ever held anything this marvelous, this wonderful? So perfect in its imperfection, between your teeth?” – Sigmund Freud (Bruno Ganz) The film begins in winter of 1937 as the Gestapo prepares to annex Austria and occupy the capital. Despite the cheerless drama of the staging, The Tobacconist uses the cigar as an appropriate treasure, a bright spot of life revered by Freud’s character, played by the late German actor Bruno Ganz. “Bruno wanted to know everything about Freud,” Leytner says. “He smoked all the way through the movie, it was part of him being Freud.” Indeed, Ganz as Freud is never without a cigar, as in real life Freud was rarely photographed without a smoke between his fingers. His jam was what he called a trabbuco, according to

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Now that’s a pal. “Because of the monopoly, there were very few shops that sold Cubans,” Leytner says. “He smoked other cigars, too. When he traveled, he sought out special cigars or asked friends to get him some.” Cubans were the most special, and the totemic Hoyo de Monterrey is prominently displayed as the coveted brand through the movie. “It was the Cubans that he loved, and no, there was no product placement deal,” Leytner says. Freud, in real life, kept his love of cigars up to his death in 1939 at the age of 83. His devoted love of cigars is even a part of the Freud mu-

“Women are like cigars: If you pull at them too hard they won’t give you pleasure.” - Sigmund Freud (Bruno Ganz) “A bad cigar tastes like horseshit, a good one like tobacco,” Otto tells Franz as he schools the boy on the most prized of commodities he sells at the shop, which also includes magazines, newspapers, pens and, from under the coun-

ter, skin mags. “A very good cigar, on the other hand, tastes like the world.” Otto says this as he tenderly handles a box of Cuban Hoyo de Monterreys, and directs Franz to turn each one “so they don’t dry out.”

“A very good cigar…tastes like the world.” – tobacconist Otto Trsnjek (Johannes Krisch) It’s the only box Otto has been able to procure, and clearly the cigars he’s selling don’t merit a humidor investment. But Otto still understands what he has. Cigars like the Monterrey, Otto adds, give a man “pleasure and spirit.” Franz, seeking to tap Freud’s wisdom in his quest to connect with a young lady he meets, one day delivers to Freud a Monterrey, in exchange for Freud’s insights into courting. The Monterrey, Franz tells Freud, is “harvested by brave men and hand-rolled tenderly by beautiful women on their thighs,” a famously apocryphal marketing tagline but fittingly alluring amidst the tumult of a Nazi invasion.

the book, Leytner said, Seethaler was beyond agreeable, saying “you can make what you want.” Ironically, neither Leytner nor Seethaler is a cigar smoker. Their knowledge of the culture, then, is admirable in creating a storyline that uses the cigar as a unifying thread. Leytner said he took all of the cigar-centric lines in the movie directly from the book, including Otto’s brief narrative on the merits of a very good cigar. The movie ends with the tragic invasion of SS troops, who arrest Otto for transgressions including dealing in pornography. The Jewish Freud is preparing his exile to London. The boy and Freud meet one last time, at Freud’s flat, and Franz brings more Monterreys for his mentor.

Leytner was inspired to develop the project after reading the best-selling 2012 novel of the same name by Austrian writer Robert Seethaler.

The teen, now running the shop, pulls out three cigars and hands them to Freud – one for now, one for the journey and one to celebrate the safe passage.

When the two met to discuss making a film of

Freud gingerly unwraps the paper they are

wrapped in, pulls one free, lights and savors. “Have you ever held anything this marvelous, this wonderful? So perfect in its imperfection, between your teeth?” he poses to Franz, the blue smoke billowing. The boy shakes his head no. “Then it’s high time my friend. New worlds are created just by trying.” Freud torches another of the cigars with a wooden match and hands it to the boy, and the two sit down for a smoke as coffee is served by Freud’s daughter Anna. The appeal to cigar smokers – camaraderie and appreciation – was not lost on the marketing chiefs of the movie. When The Tobacconist opened in Europe in fall 2018, an association of tobacconists in Austria screened the film for its members. But given the virus situation in the U.S., no such event is possible here. Just as Freud and Franz are joined by a smoke as the movie nears its end, the wrap of the film was celebrated by a smoke in the studio. Ganz and Leytner, among other crew and cast members, all got together to put the Monterreys to use. “It was in the back of the shop, which was larger than the set showed,” said Leytner, who stopped smoking cigarettes when his daughter was born 18 years ago. “It was a time we could relax, and we had been around these great cigars during the shooting. It was time.”

JUL / AUG 2020 | CIGAR SNOB |

60 CIGARS

CHURCHILL Joya de Nicaragua Numero Uno

$ 16.60 VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Le Premier 6 7/8 48 Ecuador Nicaragua Nicaragua

Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente

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Double Chateau Fuente 6 3/4 50 USA/Connecticut Dominican Republic Dominican Republic

Espinosa Crema

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No. 1 7 48 Ecuador Nicaragua Nicaragua

Montecristo White Series

90 90

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Double Corona 7 54 USA/Connecticut Nicaragua Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

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Churchill 7 56 Ecuador Nicaragua Nicaragua

Nat Sherman Metropolitan Host

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Perdomo Double Aged 12-Year Vintage Connecticut

80 | CIGAR SNOB | JUL / AUG 2020

N I CA R AG UA

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C A smooth and creamy blend covered with a nearly flawless wrapper. Delivers a mild bodied profile with notes of nougat, soft spice, vanilla, and a touch of butterscotch. Draws and burns beautifully leaving behind a solid, compact ash.

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N I CA R AG UA Delivers a balanced, medium strength profile with notes of oak, roasted nuts, soft spice, and a touch of cream along a perfect draw. This thick Churchill is covered with an attractive, golden colored wrapper with a beautiful sheen.

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Hampton 7 50 Ecuador Honduras Honduras

H O N D UR AS Impeccably constructed and finished with a supple, light brown wrapper with a touch of sugary sweetness on the head. The mild profile is silky smooth and creamy complemented by subtle notes of wood, tanned leather, and almond.

JUL / AUG 2020 | CIGAR SNOB |

GRAN TORO Padrรณn 1964 Anniversary Series

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No. 4 6 1/2 60 Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua

La Aroma De Cuba - Mi Amor

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Nestor Miranda Collection Maduro

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Toro 6 60 USA/Connecticut Nicaragua Peru, Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

Alec Bradley Magic Toast

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Canimao

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89 82 | CIGAR SNOB | JUL / AUG 2020

N I CA R AG UA

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Refinados 6 60 Mexico Ecuador Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

USA Woody and smooth with a profile of earth, bittersweet cocoa, and a hint of spice. Consistently well-constructed and covered with a dark brown, neatly applied wrapper. Medium strength providing a firm draw and an even burn.

JUL / AUG 2020 | CIGAR SNOB |

GRAN TORO Oliva Serie V

$ 11.25

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Double Toro 6 60 Ecuador Nicaragua Nicaragua

Camacho Liberty Series 2020

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Gordo 6 60 Ecuador Honduras Honduras & Dominican Republic

Plasencia Cosecha 146

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Monte Carlo 6 58 Honduras Nicaragua Honduras & Nicaragua

Asylum 13 Corojo

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Toro 6 60 Honduras Honduras Honduras

Nimmy D

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Sixty 6 60 Nicaragua Honduras Nicaragua

Saga Solaz

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88 84 | CIGAR SNOB | JUL / AUG 2020

N I CA R AG UA

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Gordo 6 58 Ecuador Dominican Republic Dominican Republic

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C Covered with a golden brown wrapper with a soft, supple feel, this mild to medium strength gran toro has a core of wood, subtle honey, and spice accompanied by a hint of sugar cane sweetness. Leaves behind a compact, gray ash.

JUL / AUG 2020 | CIGAR SNOB |

TORO 601 Blue Label Maduro

$ 8.95

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Prominente 5 1/2 56 Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua

Mi Querida Triqui Traca

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No. 648 6 48 USA/Connecticut Nicaragua Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

Perdomo 20th Anniversary Maduro

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Epicure 6 56 Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua

VegaFina 1998

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VF 54 6 1/8 54 Ecuador Indonesia Colombia, Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

La Palina Black Label

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C Produces an abundant smoke output with a sweet and woodsy profile complemented by notes of tanned leather, soft spice, and a touch of ripe fruit. This thick toro is finished with a hearty, reddish brown wrapper with sheen.

$ 9.50

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Toro 6 50 Brazil Dominican Republic Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

Macanudo Inspirado Green

89 86 | CIGAR SNOB | JUL / AUG 2020

N I CA R AG UA

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C Opens with tons of strong espresso and bittersweet chocolate joined by notes of currant, black pepper, and charred oak. Medium plus strength and finished with an extremely dark, toothy wrapper with good oils.

$ 7.39 VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Toro 6 50 Brazil Indonesia Colombia & Dominican Republic

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C Covered with a dark brown, toothy wrapper with a coarse texture and good oils. Draws and burns consistently well with a profile of earth and wood accompanied by a hint of molasses on the finish.

JUL / AUG 2020 | CIGAR SNOB |

TORO Rocky Patel Grand Reserve

$ 13.00 VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Toro 6 52 Undisclosed Nicaragua Nicaragua

Warzone

Creamy and rich with a profile of cinnamon roasted nuts, cedar, pepper, and a touch of chocolate accompanied by a tanned leather aroma. Consistently well-made providing a perfect draw and an excellent smoke output. Medium strength.

$ 8.99

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Toro 6 52 Cameroon Honduras Colombia & Nicaragua

Henry Clay War Hawk Rebellious

N I CA R AG UA Produces an abundant smoke output and delivers a core of nuts, earth, and pepper complemented by a hint of citrus. Medium plus strength and covered with a clean wrapper with a velvet feel.

$ 9.60 VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Toro 6 54 Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua

Gurkha San Miguel

H O N D UR AS Impeccably constructed and covered with an oily, beautifully applied wrapper. This medium plus strength toro produces an excellent smoke output with a balanced profile of sweet pepper, cocoa, wood, and a touch of earth.

$ 9.95

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Toro 6 54 Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua

Villiger TAA Exclusive 2020

N I CA R AG UA A thick, well-constructed toro covered with a milk chocolate colored wrapper and topped with a neat pigtail. Delivers a core of smooth pepper, oak, and a hint of cream along a medium strength body.

$ 9.00 VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Toro 6 54 Ecuador Nicaragua Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

EP Carrillo Encore

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C A pressed toro covered with a dark, reddish brown, and highly aromatic wrapper. Medium plus strength with a core of red pepper, earth, and sweet wood complemented by a touch of leather on the nose.

$ 12.35

89 88 | CIGAR SNOB | JUL / AUG 2020

N I CA R AG UA

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Celestial 6 1/8 50 Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C Delivers a core of wood, pepper and earth accompanied by a subtle hint of sweetness on the finish. This pressed toro is covered with a good-looking, light reddish brown wrapper with minimal veins. Medium plus bodied.

TORO AJ Fernandez San Lotano Requiem Connecticut

$ 7.60

N I CA R AGUA Excellent construction coupled with a beautiful, light brown wrapper finished with a neat triple cap. This medium strength blend consistently produces an abundant smoke output with a balanced profile of soft pepper, cedar, and earth joined by a sweet cream and roasted almond finish.

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Toro 6 52 Ecuador Honduras Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

Southern Draw Rose of Sharon

$ 10.25

N I CA R AGUA A beautifully box-pressed toro covered with a supple wrapper and finished with a covered foot. Produces an excellent output of thick, aromatic smoke with notes of pepper, roasted nuts, vanilla, and wood complemented by a touch of cream.

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Toro 6 52 Ecuador Nicaragua Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

91 La Galera Connecticut

$ 6.40

D OM I NI CAN REPUBLIC Thick and well-made, this mild to medium strength toro has a core of wood, sweet pepper, nuts, and a hint of cream. Draws perfectly while producing an excellent smoke output leaving behind a dark gray ash.

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

El Lector 6 54 Ecuador Dominican Republic Dominican Republic

90 Ashton Classic

$ 12.40

D OM I NI CAN REPUBLIC Delivers plenty of wood and spice accompanied by more subtle notes of citrus and vanilla along a perfect draw and razor sharp burn. This mild blend is covered with an impeccable light brown wrapper.

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Double Magnum 6 50 USA/Connecticut Dominican Republic Dominican Republic

89 CAO Gold Label

$ 7.59

N I CA R AGUA Opens with notes of wood, cinnamon, and grass later joined by a touch of earth and subtle pepper. This mild to medium strength blend draws and burns well while leaving behind a solid ash.

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Corona Gorda 6 1/2 50 Ecuador Nicaragua Nicaragua

Rocky Patel The Edge Connecticut

$ 8.19

H O ND U R AS Consistently well-constructed and covered with a supple, light brown wrapper with only thin veins showing. Mild to medium bodied with a profile of earth, sweet pepper, cream, and black American coffee.

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Toro 6 52 Ecuador Mexico Honduras

88 JUL / AUG 2020 | CIGAR SNOB |

ROBUSTO My Father Le Bijou 1922

$ 7.40

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Petit Robusto 4 1/2 50 Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua

Diamond Crown Black Diamond

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Marquis 5 1/4 56 USA/Connecticut Dominican Republic Dominican Republic

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Robusto 5 1/2 50 Mexico Nicaragua Honduras & Nicaragua

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Toro 5 1/2 54 Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua

90 | CIGAR SNOB | JUL / AUG 2020

N I CA R AG UA Loaded with flavors of dark chocolate, smooth pepper, and roasted nuts accompanied by a touch of strong coffee. Produces an excellent smoke output while leaving behind a solid, light gray ash. Medium to full strength.

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

N I CA R AG UA Consistently well-constructed and covered with a clean, dark reddish brown wrapper with excellent oils. Provides a flawless draw and burn while producing an abundant output of highly aromatic smoke with notes of cedar, nuts, cocoa, and a touch of pepper.

$ 15.60 Robusto 5 50 USA/Connecticut Dominican Republic Dominican Republic

La Gloria Cubana Spanish Press

Covered with a dark brown, toothy wrapper with excellent oils. This medium strength, thick robusto has a core of cedar, nuts, and coffee balanced by blackberry sweetness on the finish. Perfect draw and excellent burn.

$ 7.50

La Aurora 100 Años Edición Especial

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C

$ 10.50

Nestor Miranda Special Selection

A flavorful and complex blend finished with an impeccable, dark brown wrapper with sheen. Delivers a powerful blend of cocoa, earth, and smooth pepper complemented by a touch of cedar, nuts, and sweet cream.

$ 19.00

Rocky Patel Winter Collection

N I CA R AG UA

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C A smooth, medium bodied blend with a profile of cedar, sweet pepper, allspice, and earth complemented by a touch of ripe fruit. Consistently draws well and leaves behind a solid, light gray ash.

$ 6.40 VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Robusto 5 1/2 50 Nicaragua Mexico Brazil, Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C A pressed, medium strength blend finished with a hearty, reddish brown wrapper. This flavorful robusto delivers notes of sweet pepper, allspice, cedar, and a touch of cocoa while leaving behind a solid, compact ash.

JUL / AUG 2020 | CIGAR SNOB |

ROBUSTO Arturo Fuente Don Carlos

$ 10.30 VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Robusto 5 50 Cameroon Dominican Republic Dominican Republic

Herrera Esteli Habano

Balanced and creamy with a profile of nuts, sweet cedar, and soft spice complemented by a touch of cinnamon. This medium strength robusto draws and burns beautifully while leaving behind a solid, compact ash.

$ 9.12

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Robusto Extra 5 1/2 52 Ecuador Honduras Nicaragua

Tatuaje Reserva Miami

N I CA R AG UA An impeccably constructed thick robusto covered with a clean, light brown wrapper with a supple feel. Delivers an excellent smoke output with a flavorful and balanced core of cedar, nuts, and cinnamon with a hint of earth and light pepper in the background.

$ 12.00

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

J21 5 50 Ecuador Nicaragua Nicaragua

Sindicato

N I CA R AG UA A complex and nuanced smoke that is clean and balanced on the palate with notes of cocoa, toast, unsalted almonds, cedar, and light spice accompanied by a touch of floral. Flawless construction leaving behind a tight, compact ash.

$ 8.50

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Robusto 5 54 Mexico Nicaragua Nicaragua

La Aurora 1903 Cameroon

N I CA R AG UA An attractive, pressed robusto topped with a neat pigtail and finished with a covered foot. This medium strength blend produces tons of thick and highly aromatic smoke with notes of cedar, cocoa, and cream complemented by light spice on the finish.

$ 5.75 VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Robusto 5 50 Cameroon Ecuador Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

La Barba Purple

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C Opens with a blast of pepper and wood, which subside to incorporate more subtle flavors of roasted nuts, mild coffee, and a touch of cinnamon. This well-made smoke draws well and leaves behind a slightly flaky ash.

$ 9.90

90 92 | CIGAR SNOB | JUL / AUG 2020

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Robusto 5 50 Ecuador Dominican Republic Dominican Republic

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C Delivers a smooth and balanced profile of cedar, earth, and pepper complemented by subtle notes of toast, honey, and a hint of cream. Consistently provides a good draw and a wavy burn leaving behind a slightly flaky ash.

JUL / AUG 2020 | CIGAR SNOB |

CORONA Liga Privada Unico - Year of the Rat

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

$ 15.99 Corona Gorda 5 1/2 46 USA/Connecticut Brazil Honduras & Nicaragua

Davidoff Escurio

Impeccable construction and covered with a flawless, oily, dark brown wrapper and topped with a perfect fantail. This medium strength corona is ultra-flavorful delivering a profile of black cherry, dark chocolate, oak, nuts, and a hint of strong espresso.

$ 16.50

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Corona Gorda 6 46 Ecuador Brazil Brazil & Dominican Republic

HVC Hot Cake

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C Covered with a dark brown, oily wrapper with a velvet feel, this medium bodied thick corona has a core of sweet wood, chocolate syrup, and currant balanced by a touch of bitter coffee and smooth spice.

$ 7.40

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Corona Gorda 5 5/8 46 Mexico Nicaragua Nicaragua

Joya Black

N I CA R AG UA Superb balance of sweet, earthy, and smooth spice complemented by more subtle notes of almonds, cedar, and tanned leather. This medium strength blend is covered with a hearty wrapper and produces an excellent smoke output.

$ 6.30

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Nocturno 6 1/4 46 Mexico Nicaragua Nicaragua

Fratello Bianco I

N I CA R AG UA A well-balanced blend with a flavorful profile of earth, dark chocolate, black cherry, and roasted nuts accompanied by a touch of spice. Produces an excellent smoke output and leaves behind a beautiful, compact ash.

$ 8.75

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Long Corona 6 1/4 44 Mexico Dominican Republic Peru, USA & Nicaragua

Balmoral AÃ±ejo XO Oscuro

89 94 | CIGAR SNOB | JUL / AUG 2020

N I CA R AG UA

N I CA R AG UA Delivers a smooth and earthy profile complemented by rich dark chocolate, espresso, pepper, and a hint of roasted nuts. This medium plus strength blend is covered with a dark, toothy wrapper with a coarse feel.

$ 9.40 VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Corona 5 7/8 42 Mexico Dominican Republic Brazil, Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C Covered with a dark brown wrapper with slight veins showing, this flavorful blend has a core of wood, earth, and pepper complemented by a touch of ripe fruit. This corona draws and burns perfectly, while leaving behind a solid, light gray ash.

CORONA Warped La Colmena

$ 15.95

USA Flawlessly constructed and finished with a neat pigtail and a covered foot. Draws and burns beautifully while delivering nuanced flavors of toasted almond, sweet cedar, honey, and a subtle touch of pepper. Medium bodied.

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Amado No. 44 5 1/2 44 Ecuador Ecuador Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

Guardian of the Farm - Nightwatch

$ 9.96

N I CA R AGUA Cloaked in a thick, ultra-flavorful wrapper and finished with a covered foot, this medium to full strength corona delivers notes of red pepper, chicory, grilled meats, and tanned leather complemented by a touch of almond cream.

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Orpheus 6 44 Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua

92 Casa Cuba

$ 9.35

D OM I NI CAN REPUBLIC Consistently well-constructed and covered with a thin, light brown wrapper. This classic corona delivers a medium bodied blend with a core of sweet cedar, spice, and nuts, complemented by a creamy texture.

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Doble Tres 5 1/2 44 Ecuador Dominican Republic Dominican Republic

Illusione Original Documents

$ 8.95

H O ND U R AS A flavorful and well-balanced blend covered with a medium brown wrapper with sheen. This well-made corona produces an abundant output of thick, aromatic smoke with notes of cedar, sweet pepper, subtle earth, and a touch of molasses. Medium plus strength.

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

mk 5 1/8 42 Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua

91 La Palina Mr. Sam

$ 11.00

USA An attractive short corona finished with a beautiful, oily wrapper. This medium strength blend produces plenty of smoke with notes of cedar, ripe fruit, pepper, and bitter coffee.

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Corona 5 1/2 42 Ecuador Nicaragua Nicaragua

90 Gilberto Oliva Reserva

$ 5.40

N I CA R AGUA Delivers a combination of nuts, wood, and pepper accompanied by a touch of cream along an easy draw producing an excellent smoke output. This mild to medium strength corona is covered with a light brown wrapper with some tooth.

VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Corona 5 3/4 43 Indonesia Ecuador Nicaragua

89 JUL / AUG 2020 | CIGAR SNOB |

The cigar world is on Twitter and we aim to keep track of who’s leading who. The following is a scoreboard of the cigar world’s most relevant Tweeples. The list is sorted by number of followers and broken into groups: Top 20 Twitter Cigar Companies & Reps, Top 10 Twitter Retailers, Top 10 Online Cigar Tweeps, Top 3 Twitter Cigar Organizations, and Top 3 Cigar Radio Twitter accounts. If you have the numbers and belong in one of these groups, stand up and be counted! Set us straight via Twitter @cigarsnobmag.

TOP CIGAR COMPANIES (sorted by Twitter followers) Rocky Patel @RockyPatelCigar......................................... Drew Estate Cigars @DrewEstateCigar............................. Padron Cigar @PadronCigars............................................ CAO International @CAOCigars......................................... Alec Bradley Cigars @AlecBradley.................................... La Flor Dominicana @LFDCigars....................................... Jonathan Drew @JonathanDrewArt.................................. Camacho Cigars @camachocigars.................................... Ashton Cigars @ashtoncigar............................................. Pete Johnson @TatuajeCigars........................................... La Gloria Cubana @lagloriacubana.................................... Xikar Inc @XIKARinc......................................................... Nick Perdomo @PerdomoCigars....................................... Miami Cigar Co @miamicigar............................................. Punch Cigars @punchcigars............................................. Davidoff Cigars @Davidoff_Cigars.................................... Ernesto Padilla @PadillaCigars......................................... AJ Fernandez @ajfcigars.................................................. Avo Cigars @AvoCigars..................................................... La Palina Cigars @La PalinaCigars....................................

35210 33279 28392 25953 20974 20380 18734 18664 18319 16482 14992 14961 13324 13058 12850 12783 12491 12349 11675 11501

TOP CIGAR RETAILERS & REPS Famous Smoke Shop @FamousSmokeShop...................... Mulberry St. Cigars @MulberryStCigar............................. Cigar Hustler @cigarhustler.............................................. Cigar Row @CigarRow..................................................... Jeff Borysiewicz – Corona Cigar Co @CoronaCigarCo....... Michael Herklots–Nat Sherman @MichaelHerklots............ Barry – Two Guys Smoke Shop @Barry2Guys................... Lindsay Siddiqi @TheCigarChick....................................... Cheap Humidors @cheaphumidors................................... Buckhead Cigar @BuckheadCigar.....................................

14990 13178 11046 7906 7519 6417 6349 5162 5150 4322

TOP ONLINE CIGAR TWEEPLES David Voth–Sex, Cigars, & Booze @SexCigarsBooze......... Cigar News @CigaRSS .................................................... Cigar Events @CigarEvents............................................... Cigar Federation @CigarFederation.................................. Robusto Cigar Babe @RobustoBabe................................. Stogie Boys @StogieBoys ............................................... Cigar Evaluations @CigarEvaluation................................. The Stogie Guys @stogieguys........................................... Cigar Inspector @CigarInspector ..................................... Tom Ufer @cigarsmonkingman..........................................

96 | CIGAR SNOB | JUL / AUG 2020

145740 16361 14776 12121 10771 8374 8222 7907 7481 6403

TOP CIGAR ORGANIZATIONS CRA @cigarrights............................................................. 14735 Premium Cigar Association @PCA1933............................. 8364 Tobacconist University @tobacconistU............................. 4511

TOP CIGAR RADIO Cigar Dave Show @CigarDaveShow................................. 11376 Smooth Draws @SmoothDraws....................................... 4226 KMA Talk Radio @KMATalkRadio...................................... 2250

SOME OF OUR FAVORITE TWEETS, MENTIONS, AND RANDOM SOCIAL MEDIA GOODNESS.

@thenotoriousmma via Instagram Bert Sugar, I am boxing.

@ashleysmokin via Instagram Wishing I was in Florida with this FSG instead of my garage. This isn’t my first Florida Sun Grown from @drewestatecigar and it definitely won’t be my last, (always bought from @ havanaphils) This medium-full body cigar has notes of oak and an earthiness that I love, and not to mention it’s a beautifully constructed stick. I mean, just look at that ash! What do y’all want me to smoke and review next?

JUL / AUG 2020 | CIGAR SNOB |

98 | CIGAR SNOB | JUL / AUG 2020

JUL / AUG 2020 | CIGAR SNOB |

100 | CIGAR SNOB | JUL / AUG 2020