Cigar Snob Magazine March April 2019 by Cigar Snob Magazine

MARCH / APRIL 2019

Getting Wired in

SEATTLE p. 41

Jim Jackson's College Basketball Breakdown p. 103

RITUAL

of the Sacred

Fire p. 99

p. 57

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EVERYDAY BOLD SMOKES BUILT TO INTENSIFY YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE No journey is complete without Camacho’s Everyday Bold Smokes. Built to intensify your next adventure, each blend is crafted with our legendary Original Corojo at its core and blended with high-grade wrappers. This is a wakeup call to make every voyage a bold one, it’s the difference between a life lived, and a life lived loud.

MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

SHARE YOUR BOLD JOURNEY #BOLDANYTIME

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MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

editorials MARCH / APRIL 2019

PERFECT PAIRINGS

MONTECRISTO NICARAGUA SERIES / HAVANA CAFÉ COCKTAIL Two brands with deep Cuban heritage — Montecristo and Havana Club — have adapted to life in their new homes.

PERFECT PAIRINGS LAS 6 PROVINCIAS / CIGAR CITY BREWING

Espinosa Cigars’ latest blend comes together with a Tampa brewery’s homage to Cuban espresso.

DESTINATION: SEATTLE

BEAN TO CUP

COFFEE GEAR

SPIRITUAL SMOKE IN GUATEMALA

103

JIM JACKSON’S NCAA CONFERENCE TOURNEY PREVIEW

Two and a half days in America’s coffee capital. The caffeine flowed like a river, but cigars aren’t quite welcome. We didn’t let Seattle rain on our stogie parade.

Like your favorite cigars, a great cup of coffee requires a coffee bean to pass through the hands of countless passionate artisans from the time the fruit is harvested.

Stock up and practice. You’ll be showing your barista who’s boss before you know it.

Venture to Guatemala’s Tikal National Park for an excursion that takes you from luxury accommodations to a shamanic cigar ritual.

Jim Jackson has found hoops success in college, the pros and the broadcasting world. Check out his conference tournament roundup.

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features MARCH / APRIL 2019

LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

FEEDBACK

WHAT’S BURNIN’

BRAND BREAKDOWN ROCKY PATEL 32 33 34 36 38

SMOKING HOT CIGAR SNOB

RATINGS

TWITTER SCOREBOARD

CAFEINA

106

EVENT COVERAGE 106 110 112 114 116 118 120 122

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OLDE WORLD RESERVE COROJO OLDE WORLD RESERVE MADURO SUN GROWN MADURO RP SPECIAL EDITION TAVICUSA

PROCIGAR FESTIVAL THE GREAT SMOKE ROCKY PATEL AT SMOKE INN BOYNTON BEACH CIGAR SOCIAL AT THE WHARF FEATURING OLIVA CIGARS SUPER BOWL PARTY AT DAVIDOFF OF GENEVA ATLANTA MY FATHER AT SEMINOLE CASINO NICK’S CIGAR SHOP SINATRA’S EVENT BELÉN JESUIT TOMBOLA CIGAR LOUNGE

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MARCH / APRIL 2019

VO L . 11 IS SU E 2 www.cigarsnobmag.com PUBLISHER & EDITOR Erik Calviño SENIOR EDITOR Nicolás Antonio Jiménez COPY EDITOR Michael LaRocca SALES & OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Oscar M. Calviño PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Ivan Ocampo ART DIRECTOR Andy Astencio DIGITAL RETOUCHING SPECIALIST Ramón Santana CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATOR Florin Safner CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Andy Giambarba Jim Jackson CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS David Benoliel Andy Astencio EVENT PHOTOGRAPHERS Jamilet Calviño Ramón Santana Zubari of Fånkphotography Ronald Pollard Cover Photography by David Benoliel www.davidbenolielphotography.com Cover Model - Ana Boyar 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

(SUBSCRIBE TODAY) - Only $18 for one Year (six issues) of -

- Magazine delivered to you Visit: www.cigarsnobmag.com or write: subscribe@cigarsnobmag.com

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We are admittedly and unashamedly crazy about Cuban coffee at Cigar Snob. If you listen to our podcast or follow us on social media you’ll see and hear plenty of references to our love/addiction/obsession with the stuff. So three quarters of the way through producing this “coffee heavy” issue, I noticed a severe and disconcerting lack of Cuban coffee content. This will cost someone his or her job! Cuban coffee is the fuel that powers this magazine and thanks to my sister, our commercial grade Rancilio coffee machine, and Pilon Coffee Service, which keeps our coffee cupboard stocked, we happen to make excellent Cuban coffee. It’s also likely the reason that we get so many visitors. If you’re not from one of the bastions of Cuban-American culture — Miami, Tampa, or Jersey City — you’re probably wondering what the difference is between Cuban coffee and espresso. After all, it’s brewed with espresso roast coffee beans and using an espresso machine or a moka-style stovetop coffee maker, both of Italian origin. The only difference makes all the difference. Unlike espresso, where the end consumer adds his or her sugar to taste, the Cuban variant gets its sugar before the first drops of piping hot coffee have hit the cup. These extremely hot first few drops of coffee hydrolyze the sugar producing a sweeter, more viscous coffee where the sugar is fully integrated. When making Cuban coffee without the benefit of a super-hot commercial grade coffee maker, you help the hydrolyzing process by taking the first few drops that land on the sugar and whipping it into a coffee infused sugar paste we call “espumita.” Then pour the rest of the coffee in to mix it all and integrate the sugar that way. Either way, you get an espresso that gives you a jolt when you drink just a thimble’s worth. How else do you think such a small team can produce this magazine? It’s a PED for publishers! I still have the coffee shakes from how much caffeine was consumed for this issue. In addition to the aforementioned overindulgence in coffee that is part of our every day, we actually tasted a ton of specialty coffee under the tutelage of our dear friend and coffee nut Andy Giambarba. He wrote a wonderful piece (p. 57) along with a gear guide and how-to section to help you get started on your journey into the world of specialty coffee. While we were buzzing on the stuff in Miami, our senior editor Nick Jiménez and art director Andy Astencio were getting wired in Seattle (p. 41). Thanks to Jim Jackson of FOX Sports for breaking down the college basketball postseason for us (p. 103). And finally I took a trip to the heart of Guatemala’s Petén region in search of a deeper

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connection to tobacco and in the process uncovered the ancient Mayan ritual of the sacred fire (p. 99). Let us know what you think about this issue. Too much coffee? Too little coffee? Not enough Cuban coffee! Thank you for being a reader and never forget that you are the reason we make this thing so if there’s something else you’d like to see just say so. Keep ‘em lit,

Erik Calviño ecalvino@cigarsnobmag.com

MY FATHER

TORO

NUMBER

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| 19 3 0 5 . 4 6 8 . 9 5 0 1 | M Y F A TMAR H E/ APR R C2019 I G| A R SSNOB .CO M CIGAR

CORRECTION Right factory, wrong country In the January/February 2019 issue, we ran a list of some of the best limitededition cigars that had been released in 2018. One of those was the Nestor Miranda Collection 75th Anniversary. We correctly listed the manufacturer as My Father Cigars, but made a mistake when we listed the cigar’s country of origin as the Dominican Republic. My father makes cigars — including this one — in Estelí, Nicaragua.

RENAISSANCE MAN Good Afternoon Cigar Snob team, My name is Tony. I’ve been following both your podcast and magazine for the past couple months and I have to say I’m very impressed with everything you’re doing. I particularly enjoy the tone of your show. It is the perfect balance between technical knowledge, industry workings and cigar culture. With all of that said, I wanted to swing by and tell you guys to keep doing what you’re doing and if you find yourself in a position where you need some help digital content wise, don’t hesitate to reach out. Besides being a full time Soldier in the Army, I’m also an independent filmmaker with three feature films under my belt. Hopefully someday we can slap hands and share a smoke. Regards,

Tony M. via feedback@cigarsnobmag.com One of the best and most unexpected outcomes of our launching a podcast has been the ongoing series of connections we’ve made with listeners. Cigar smokers are an interesting bunch, and our podcast audience is no exception. Tony, we’d love to shake hands (we’ll build to slapping ) and share a cigar. Who knows? Maybe we’ll work on a movie together. Here’s our pitch. A custodian working at an FDA lab gets curious about a secret room where loud experiments are being conducted. When she manages to sneak in, she finds and falls in love with the half-man-half-cigar they have been torturing with their chemical testing.

PEOPLE FROM PHOENIX ARE PHOENICIANS Somehow I’ve been smoking cigars my whole adult life and never realized what a great cigar town Phoenix is. After reading your last travel story (January/February 2019), I’ll be looking for some excuse to head into the Valley of the Sun! Thanks,

Mark B. via feedback@cigarsnobmag.com Oh hi, Mark! We had a great time in Phoenix and there aren’t many more cigarfriendly towns.

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AVO IMPROVISATION SERIES LE19

The events also serve to raise awareness for Cigars for Warriors, a 501(c)(3) charity whose sole focus is to support the American military. Drew Estate is introducing a VIP package to its Barn Smokers for the first time. VIP tickets will get you access to a dinner hosted by Jonathan Drew the night before the Barn Smoker as well as three “rare Drew Estate cigars,” according to a Drew Estate press release. VIP attendees will also get some extra swag (lighters, rocks glasses, etc.).

AVO Cigars announced the seventh installment in its Limited Edition Improvisations Series. LE19, as it’s called, is also only the second installment to come in a boxpressed format. Its three-country blend of tobaccos includes Ecuadorian wrapper, Dominican binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic and Peru. “The AVO Improvisation LE19 packaging is inspired by the box pressed cigar molds used to shape the cigars in the rolling process,” said Scott Kolesaire, Director of Marketing at Davidoff of Geneva USA, in a press release. “The cigar’s secondary band draws further inspiration from the mold and ties in this concept with a unique typographic ‘2019’ lockup incorporated into a mold pattern.” The LE 19 is a 6 x 52 box-pressed toro and has a retail price of $15 per cigar. Production is limited to 2,500 boxes, all of which will make their way to the U.S. market. The same blend will be made available in other markets, but that cigar won’t be boxpressed.

Here’s what the 2019 Barn Smoker lineup looks like: May 18: Florida Barn Smoker in Clermont, Fla. July 20: Pennsylvania Barn Smoker in Strasburg, Penn. Aug. 10: Connecticut Barn Smoker in South Windsor, Conn. Oct. 5: Kentucky Barn Smoker in Hopkinsville, Ky. Oct. 26: Louisiana Barn Smoker in Convent, La.

ASSOULINE PUBLISHING ANNOUNCES THE IMPOSSIBLE COLLECTION OF CIGARS BOOK

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In an Assouline press release, the company describes the book this way: “‘The Impossible Collection of Cigars’ envisions the ultimate humidor brimming with the most remarkable cigars of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries from the most prestigious makers. Like the pop of the Champagne cork, the flick of the lighter or the strike of the match and the first draw of the smoke are synonymous with celebration, relaxation, and comradery. A luxurious pause from the world around, an exceptional, hand-rolled cigar has cemented itself as a civilized passion and genteel hobby over the course of centuries.” … “Considering the differences and attributes of cigars like Nicaragua’s Padrón to Dominican Republic’s Arturo Fuente and Davidoff of Geneva, Honduras’ Rocky Patel to the Bahamas’ Graycliff, and, of course, Cuba’s arsenal of legendary smokes, Sigmund’s is a list any connoisseur could only dream of.” Learn more about the book at assouline. com.

VILLIGER LA MERIDIANA IS COMING TO THE U.S.

DREW ESTATE 2019 BARN SMOKER DATES Tickets to Drew Estate Barn Smoker events in Florida and Pennsylvania are now available at barnsmoker.com. Kentucky, Connecticut and Louisiana Barn Smoker tickets will go on sale later in the year. The event series is designed to bring smokers closer to the source of the American tobaccos that play a role in some of their favorite cigar blends.

lection volumes on Rolexes, wine, golf, and more. As you might have guessed by now, the next installment focused on cigars. The Impossible Collection of Cigars was written by Aaron Sigmund, an award-winning publisher, editor and author as well as founding editor of Smoke Magazine. Hand-bound and presented in a cigar-style box, the 14-by-17-inch book contains more than 300 illustrations in its 232 pages and sells for $995.

Villiger Cigars announced that it will bring the Villiger La Meridiana — a cigar that’s been available in Europe since 1998 — to the U.S. market.

Assouline Publishing announced an upcoming addition to a new volume in its Ultimate Collection, a series of ultra-highquality books that are as beautiful as they are content-rich. There are Ultimate Col-

The cigar, named for a forgotten Havana cigar factory, is a Nicaraguan puro available in five formats, all packaged in 10-count boxes: Corona (5 1/2 x 42), Robusto (5 x 50), Torpedo (6 x 52), Churchill (6 7/8 x 48) and Toro Box Pressed (6x54). The cigars range in price from $6.50 to $10.60.

FDA PUSHES BACK DEADLINE FOR PREMIUM CIGAR LAB TEST RESULTS The FDA’s Nov. 8, 2019 deadline for cigar makers to report results of lab testing on cigars has been delayed. According to Cigar Rights of America (CRA), the technology to test premium cigars does not exist, which one can assume would make it difficult to meet those deadlines. The FDA has also provided no guidance regarding how cigar makers are supposed to fulfill their regulatory requirements absent that technology. The new deadline is now six months or nine months out, depending on the size of each manufacturer. Smaller manufacturers get the three extra months. There’s still no indication that the FDA will provide that needed guidance on how to comply with these seemingly impossible regulations.

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“Today’s significant action by the FDA in extending the deadline for HPHC reporting, for the time being, removes a cloud lingering over the premium cigar industry,” said CRA executive director Glynn Loope in a press release. “It is a testament to the efforts of our CRA and IPCPR litigation team for reaching this agreement.”

resided with SVP and Chief Commercial Officer Jim Young, who will be relocating to Davidoff ’s home base of Basel, Switzerland.

For more information on efforts to combat federal regulation of premium cigars, visit CRA at cigarrights.org.

“I know that the combination of Dylan’s leadership, his strategic thinking and his relentless focus on brilliant execution and outstanding business performance will translate to an exciting new chapter for Oettinger Davidoff AG, our customers and our consumers in the Americas,” Jim said.

DYLAN AUSTIN IS NEW PRESIDENT OF DAVIDOFF AMERICAS Oettinger Davidoff AG announced that Dylan Austin is being promoted from his position as the company’s VP of Sales and Marketing to the position of President of Davidoff Americas. Dylan will be taking over much of the responsibility that had

Dylan has been in the cigar business since 2005 and became a member of the Davidoff team when the company acquired Camacho in 2008.

“I look forward to building on the significant achievements that Jim Young has accomplished during his leadership of the Americas business over the last seven years. It is my honor to lead the Davidoff Americas team into the future and to continue driving the success of our outstanding brand portfolio,” said Dylan.

Montecristo Nicaragua Series Havana Café cocktail In many ways, the premium cigar industry is about taking Cuban culture and adapting it to a new home outside of Cuba. Take, for instance, the Montecristo Nicaragua Series. One of the most iconic brand names in the Cuban cigar tradition as applied to a Nicaraguan puro by A.J. Fernández in collaboration with Rafael Nodal — two men whose stories connect Cuba, Nicaragua and the United States. We’ve paired the cigar with a cocktail whose ingredients tell a similar story. The Havana Café makes use of Havana Club rum (as Bacardi notes, “the real Havana Club”) and cold brew coffee. It’s a refined take on the carajillo, a Spanish and Caribbean favorite for anyone looking to get their caffeine and their party in one glass.

HAVANA CAFÉ * 2 oz Havana Club Añejo Clásico * ¼ oz Demerara * ¾ oz Martini & Rossi sweet vermouth * ½ oz Cold brew coffee * Garnish with lemon twist * Single large ice cube in rocks glass

THE PAIRING The Montecristo Nicaragua Series delivers a core of earth and pepper on the palate that acts as the perfect base for this cocktail’s combination of sweet coffee and rum but what sets the pairing apart is the way that the vermouth cuts through all of it. We found that drawing in the smoke from the Montecristo first, followed by a sip of the cocktail gave us a fun sequence of earth and pepper up front followed by sweet rum and coffee, cleaned up by an austere vermouth finish. It’s a fun, boozy way to take your morning coffee. LOCATION AND MIXOLOGY COURTESY OF: Havana Club brand embassador Gio Gutierrez

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Espinosa Las 6 Provincias LHB Cigar City Cubano-Style Espresso Brown Ale Even without speaking a word of Spanish, you can probably take some pretty good guesses as to what “Las 6 Provincias” means. Espinosa Cigars’ latest brand is an homage to the Cuba of old. Before the Castro regime split them up to make a total of 15 — a classic play for control, since it made it easier for the government to limit its citizens’ movement — Cuba comprised 6 provinces: Pinar del Río, La Habana, Matanzas, Las Villas, Camagüey and Oriente. Old timers — and even a lot of younger Cubans who were raised in the States — still identify with that old map of the island. So when we were looking for something to pair with this elegant, nostalgic Las 6 Provincias LHB (which is supposed to be the first in a series of six cigars), a 6 x 54 boxpressed Toro, we knew it would be most fitting to find something that recalled that same heritage in some way. When people talk about a country’s “national drink,” they’re almost always talking about alcoholic beverages. But more than the mojito or the Cuba libre, more than straight rum or the Daiquirí, Cubans’ real love affair is with coffee. Specifically, Cubanstyle espresso. So of course the American brewery that developed a beer made with Cuban-style beans would be in Tampa — an American city whose historical ties to Cuba inform its character to this day. Cigar City Brewing’s Cubano Espresso is a brown ale brewed with “a heaping helping of Cuban-style espresso beans” roasted at Tampa’s own Buddy Brew Coffee.

THE PAIRING The beautifully box-pressed Espinosa opens with a pepper zing accompanied by a healthy dose of nuts, earth, and spice. The flavors are intense and welldeveloped with a medium to full body. The Cigar City Cubano Espresso Brown Ale delivers loads of rich, creamy coffee and cocoa flavors along a thick, almost chewy mouthfeel. This pairing works on every level as the intensities are well-matched and the flavors are perfectly complementary. LOCATION: The Corner (thecornermiami.com)

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@henryclaycigars

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ROBUSTO

OLDE WORLD RESERVE COROJO COUNTRY

Honduras

WRAPPER

Nicaragua

BINDER

Nicaragua

FILLER

Nicaragua

PRICE

$ 9.00 - $ 11.00

Rocky Patel Owner

What was it like when you started in cigars? It’s been a learning experience. It started out as a hobby and then I was a sideline investor back in ‘95, ‘96. I was approached by someone about investing in making cigars. I kept pouring money into the business and not seeing any returns. I realized I had invested way more money into this hobby than I ever wanted, so I had a cigar company strapped to my back and I didn’t know what to do. I thought it would be something fun, but I didn’t realize how much work was involved in making a great cigar. I knew I had a great palate, but we were having someone else make the cigars and they were quite inconsistent. The only way to succeed was to have control of our own manufacturing and have good ingredients, which means having relationships with the best growers in the world. It took a long time, coming from the outside, to build those relationships. Olde World Reserve is a revived brand and a big part of the story with this brand is making use of those relationships you have built over all these years. What can you tell us about the cigar and what led to its being brought back?

AVAILABLE IN 3 SIZES

The Olde World Corojo, which is made in Honduras, is a brand that’s been around for a long time and it was introduced a good 12 years ago. We had certain special tobaccos in there that we ran out of and we couldn’t get them — both in the Olde World Corojo

and the Maduro. It was a pretty solid brand for us and there were so many requests for that cigar. So we started sourcing these tobaccos. They’re from a different Nicaraguan farm and valley that we typically don’t source tobacco from, and there’s also tobacco from Honduras. And then we have the Honduran Corojo wrapper, which is a hard wrapper to get. I would describe it as a medium-bodied cigar with a lot of balance and sweet flavor. Do you have any pairing recommendations for the Olde World Reserve Corojo? With the Corojo, I would say that would go well with a good Pinot Noir, a Highland Scotch or an aged rum. You mentioned Corojo tobacco being harder to come by. Tells us more about why that is. Well, Corojo is a unique seed. That’s the seed that was originally brought over [to Central America] from Cuba. The Eiroa family were some of the first to have it here and since then other people have been starting to grow Corojo. They don’t grow that much of it; there’s a lot of Criollo, a lot of Habano 2000, so Corojo is a harder wrapper to find and any Corojo we get ends up in the Olde World Reserve Corojo. Going back to the story of the early days, that problem of sourcing tobacco also played a role in one of the turning points for the company, didn’t it? There’s a difference between acquiring tobacco and working with people to take the time to cure, ferment and age tobacco properly. There’s a lot of inventory cost. When you’re tying up tobacco for six to eight years that people are used to just turning around and selling after a year or two, they’re not so keen on it. We didn’t have the money when we first started to have 15 or 16 million dollars of inventory sitting around. I had to convince the Plasencias to allow me to have the tobacco and hold onto it while we fermented and aged it. When we had the capability to do that, that’s when we felt good about attaching the Rocky Patel name to the products.

SWEET

Toro 6 1/2 x 52

Robusto 5 1/2 x 54

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Sixty 6 x 60

CHOCOLATE

NUT

EARTH

CREAM

WOOD

COFFEE

SPICE

OLDE WORLD RESERVE MADURO

ROBUSTO COUNTRY

Nicaragua

WRAPPER

Costa Rica

BINDER

Nicaragua

FILLER

Nicaragua

PRICE

$ 9.00 - $ 11.00

Rocky Patel

Owner

So we just spent some time on the Corojowrapped Olde World. What can you tell us about this Maduro? The Maduro wrapper on this cigar is a Habano that’s being grown in Jalapa in Nicaragua. The cigar itself is made at TAVICUSA, our Nicaraguan factory. The Olde World Reserve Maduro is going to have a little more spice, a little more caramel and coffee to it than the Corojo. What would you recommend pairing with this cigar? On the Maduro, I’d go with a Cabernet or — when it comes to spirits pairings — something more like a peaty Islay Scotch or a heavier, pepperier rum. What’s the availability of this cigar look like and what has the reaction been from smokers so far? Both of these cigars — Olde World Reserve Corojo and Maduro — are readily available. People love it. The Corojo is the original blend. The Maduro has been changed a little bit, I believe for the better. It was hard to find those tobaccos and we got them. So each of these cigars is made in a different country. What are some of the benefits and impacts of having production in both Honduras and Nicaragua?

AVAILABLE IN 3 SIZES

We’re lucky now that we have two different factories. With the political situations that transpire in Central America all the time, if there are problems in Nicaragua or Honduras, we’re lucky to have production in both places. With what’s going on in Nicaragua, we’re able to

take our tobacco and resume production to Honduras if we have to. We’re blessed in that way. People ask whether it’s different to make cigars in Honduras versus Nicaragua. It’s really not. The skill set is the same and they have years and years of tradition of making great quality cigars there. The farming and the soil is quite similar. Yeah, there’s some differences between Jamastrán, Estelí and Jalapa, for example, but they’re similar. What were you doing before cigars and what was the transition like for you? I was a lawyer in L.A.; there were a lot of celebrities around. We’d be on movie sets and all these people were smoking cigars, so I started smoking cigars. And then there was the Grand Havana Room that opened in Beverly Hills, which was down the road from my office. I would go there and hang out and smoke cigars. That was when I was approached by Phil Zanghi about investing in the cigar business. It was crazy because back then they were all mild cigars. When we launched the Indian Tabak Super Fuerte, people thought I was crazy. I remember giving one to Litto Gómez in New York and he said, “This is such a strong cigar!” Look at him now! He makes some of the strongest cigars out there. Luckily, because the cigar boom of the ‘90s slowed down, tobacco became available for someone like me to come in and acquire all these aged tobaccos. Where can you go now to find tobaccos that are aged eight, nine, even 10 years? Nobody would sell it to you! So it helped me to be able to get that kind of tobacco and create a brand that people liked so much. It also helped you to develop your own cigar identity as a blender. The most fun part of getting started was being able to create a taste profile that was different from everything else that was out there. I enjoy cooking and I love different flavors. My heritage is different and my perspective is different, so even early on my cigars had a lot more layers of flavor and spice and complexity. At the same time, you want balance. It’s about character, not just strength.

SWEET

Toro 6 1/2 x 52

Robusto 5 1/2 x 54

Sixty 6 x 60

CHOCOLATE

NUT

EARTH

CREAM

WOOD

COFFEE

SPICE

MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

SUN GROWN MADURO

ROBUSTO COUNTRY

Nicaragua

WRAPPER

USA

BINDER

Nicaragua

FILLER

Honduras & Nicaragua

PRICE

$ 9.20 - $ 11.15

Rocky Patel Owner

How would you describe the smoking experience with Sun Grown Maduro? The Sungrown Maduro is a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper with fillers from Estelí and Condega. That brand has a lot of caramel, coffee, espresso, some lingering white pepper. I would describe that brand as medium plus in flavor profile. Very complex, very rich. It’s a really well aged cigar with a lot going on. Right there in the name, you’ve got sun grown. For the person who’s not as familiar with the process, what’s the significance of it being sun grown? There are two types of tobaccos grown on a farm. There’s sun grown tobacco and there’s shade grown tobacco. The sun grown tobacco is literally grown in the sunlight. The plant gets to be about five and a half feet tall, the leaves are very thick and rich and deliver a lot of flavor.

You’ve been among the cigar makers most involved in the fight against FDA regulation of premium cigars. What’s your involvement looked like? I was lucky to be able to enter into this industry, work hard and be successful. Others should have the same opportunity. In wine, for example, there are always incredible young entrepreneurs doing incredible things. That same opportunity should be available to people in cigars. You don’t want an industry controlled by three or four large manufacturers. The best thing for consumers is choice. This regulation would suck the creative energy out of the industry. Having my legal background and being a bulldog, I got tied up in persuading people in Washington. We’re speaking the truth here. There is no reason to regulate an industry that is so well behaved, that makes a legal product, that is truly an art form. There are families like the Padróns, the Fuentes, the Plasencias, that have generations of history in this art form, and that’s what drives me every day to protect it. It’s a matter of principle. You’ve also got all these Burn lounges. What was the vision there?

I would recommend Robusto or Toro.

In all my travels, there hasn’t been much change in where and how you smoke cigars. We wanted to show that smoking cigars can be fun and can be enjoyed by everybody. Women, men, any adult who wants to enjoy a nice place where you can have a drink, enjoy good music, and a have a cigar. Each Burn lounge is completely different in design and architecture. You’re in a very cool room with clean air, a fun atmosphere, the finest spirits, and the ability to enjoy a cigar.

Was there a product or a moment in your career in cigars when you can remember thinking, “All right… We’ve made it”?

People are learning about this culture. We’re creating a culture of awareness and making it fun to enjoy a cigar.

Shade grown tobacco is grown under cheesecloth that blocks out about 75 percent of the ultraviolet rays. The plant gets about nine feet tall, the leaves are very thin, very long, and usually the tobacco is lighter in flavor. Is there a specific vitola that you’d recommend people go to to try these cigars?

AVAILABLE IN 5 SIZES INCLUDING:

I think probably the launch of The Edge. We had had success with the Vintage 1990 and the Vintage 1992, and when we launched The Edge, which was a total departure. It was in a 100-count box, no cellophane. We just wanted to show a raw product from the factory. It was a big change also because half the filler was from a country nobody was using. That’s still one of the staple brands.

SWEET

Lancero 7 1/2 x 38

Petite Belicoso 5 1/2 x 52

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Sixty 6 x 60

CHOCOLATE

NUT

EARTH

CREAM

WOOD

COFFEE

SPICE

MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

RP SPECIAL EDITION

ROBUSTO COUNTRY

Nicaragua

WRAPPER

Ecuador

BINDER

Nicaragua

FILLER

Nicaragua

PRICE

$ 10.45 - $ 12.20

Rocky Patel Owner

Special Edition has the most limited production of any cigar we’re talking about here. Special Edition is a very limited cigar. It’s only available at a few retailers around the country. These are retailers that have really supported our brand and do significant volume, so we limit where that cigar is sold. It comes in a 10-count box, it’s box-pressed, it’s got a Habano wrapper from Ecuador and fillers from three different valleys in Nicaragua. That cigar is very balanced, smooth, creamy. The overall richness of the cigar and the balance make it refined and unique. When we say limited, how limited are we talking? That cigar is available at only 350 retail stores throughout the country. What’s special is that the tobaccos are aged for a minimum of six years. We can only do that so much, and because of the age of the tobaccos, even though we’re using a lot of visos and ligero, the cigar has a very rich flavor while still being very smooth on the palate. Who were some of the people you leaned on for wisdom or help when you got your start?

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I mean, that was the hardest thing. Everybody thought I was going to be another Don Nobody. They thought, “Here comes this kid, we’re going to milk him for his cash, he’s going to move on and he’s not going to last.” I remember back in the ‘90s there were hundreds and hundreds of people and they’d come with suitcases of cash just saying, “Ship us whatever.” I thought, “This is the craziest business I’ve ever been in.”

That lasted a couple of years before the bottom fell out. So to answer your question about who we went to for help, we were lucky that we had this relationship with UST. We went in there and started making cigars and we had the pick of the litter of tobacco. Larry Polombo was at UST running the factory and then Pepe Gutierrez came after. Local guys in curing like Fausto. They gave me a shot, which was great. General Cigar ended up with the factory and the Cullmans allowed me to stick around and keep making cigars there. The Plasencia family. They took a risk on me and we would fight, there would be screaming matches, but I said, “Listen, you have all these factories, but your legacy is as great farmers, not great cigar makers. Allow me to use these tobaccos and I promise we’ll have a solid brand.” It was hard to get Nestor Sr. to change his ways, but they eventually allowed me to work. Thanks to them, we came out with the Edge and the Decade and all these things. They took risks for us and I have to give them a lot of credit. What was the feedback from family and friends when they found out you were leaving the law to get into cigars? They thought I was crazy. “You’re leaving a successful law firm, you spent all this time and money getting this degree, and now you’re going to invest in this thing where you’ll never make it.” One of the other things that happened … I was carjacked in L.A., so my parents wanted me out of there. They’re used to small towns in Wisconsin. I grew up in Green Bay. But that was part of the equation. I was burnt out on L.A. and moved to Florida, so that went into the mix. We were running the company out of my house. The extra bedrooms were converted into humidors. Even I thought I was nuts. It was work, perseverance, sacrifice, and thinking outside the box. I don’t believe in luck. Back to this Special Edition — what pairing recommendations would you make for this one? I would go with a very oaky Chardonnay or an aged Highland single malt.

SWEET

Robusto 5 1/2 x 50

Toro 6 1/2 x 52

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Sixty 6 x 60

CHOCOLATE

NUT

EARTH

CREAM

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SPICE

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TAVICUSA

TORO COUNTRY

Nicaragua

WRAPPER

Mexico

BINDER

Nicaragua

FILLER

Nicaragua

PRICE

$ 10.30 - $ 11.30

Rocky Patel Owner

Your newest release is Tavicusa. Tell us about that for those people who haven’t come across it yet. Tavicusa has a wrapper from San Andrés, Mexico. It has fillers from our own farms in Estelí and Condega, along with a Connecticut Broadleaf binder. It’s got pepper and a lingering sweetness. It’s nice and rich with a lot of meaty flavor. It’s one of my new favorites; I really like that cigar a lot. And it’s named for the factory. How did the factory get that name? It is named for Tavicusa, our Estelí factory. I think this is our tenth year with that factory, too. The name of the factory was something our partner Amilcar Pérez came up with. It’s a shortening of Tabacalera Villa Cubana, S.A. That S-A at the end is for Sociedad Anónima, which is sort of like saying “Incorporated” which is why so many Central American factories’ names end in those two letters. Any pairing recommendations with that? Any good rum, single malt Scotch or red wine. A lot of people like it with bourbon, but bourbon is a little sweet for my palate. I think it’s a great cigar to smoke after a nice steak.

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Your Burn lounges are good places to try pairings like that. They’re each so different. What has been your approach to tailoring the little

nuances of each Burn lounge to the city it calls home? We try to bring in some of the local architecture, design and culture. In Pittsburgh, you see the overall design incorporates steel bridges, brushed metal, steel. We also bring in some flair in the upholstery and things like that. Naples had more of a Middle East or Asian look. We remodeled it and now it has more of an old Florida look. Oklahoma City has a very Native American, Southwestern theme to it. Atlanta will have a lot of Southern charm and it’s tied to the baseball stadium, so there’s going to be this giant peach made out of baseballs. Indianapolis will incorporate a lot of cool stuff from the Indy 500. Tell us about the work of the Rocky Patel Foundation. We’ve had the foundation for a long time. We’re working on a new factory in Nicaragua and part of the goal is to have a school there and also to have a school in Honduras. That’s our plan right now with the foundation. For the person who hasn’t been to the region, paint a picture for our readers of what life is like for people in these towns. These are very poor countries. They’re countries where the people are good, hard working, but have had bad governments for such a long time. They’ve had wars, political unrest, and it seems like the poor people have never gotten a shot. It’s scary when you see all the dirt roads and hillside after hillside with shacks made of thin metal. You think life is tough here or that you’ve had a tough day? You ought to see some of these conditions. It’s hard to worry about school when you’re thinking about your next meal. But when you give them work and opportunity, there can be development. So many of the people in these towns, though, work in the premium cigar industry, and that goes a long way for them. Since I’ve been there, we’ve seen hospitals, schools, universities, more culture, more work. You see society developing in places where people seemed like they had no chance.

SWEET

Robusto 5 1/2 X 50

Toro 6 1/2 X 52

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Sixty 6 x 60

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OUR CAFFEINE-FUELED TOUR OF RAIN CITY TOOK US TO GREAT FOOD, GREAT COFFEE AND EVEN BETTER PEOPLE — BUT SEATTLE SHOULD ALSO BE A CAUTIONARY TALE TO CIGAR LOVERS IN THE REST OF THE COUNTRY.

BY NICOLÁS ANTONIO JIMÉNEZ PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDY ASTENCIO Space Needle, Seattle

lanning travel to our country’s northernmost states in the winter can feel like a crap shoot. You could have snow delay your flights, then encounter temperatures that keep you holed up inside. Despite a reputation for precipitation, Seattle’s not known for heavy snowfall, but Christ almighty did we dodge a bullet. Our original plan called for a visit to Rain City during what turned out to be one of the snowiest weeks of the snowiest month the city had seen in 30 years. After being hit by an unusual 10 inches or so of snow, tens of thousands of Washingtonians lost power, flights were canceled, and drivers spun their cars all over the state’s slippery roads.

feine, though, we don’t get much opportunity to experience the variety of specialty coffee (more on what that means in Andy Giambarba’s piece on p. 57) that’s abundant in Seattle and makes the town a coffee mecca.

DAY 1

Some fortuitous procrastination led to our delaying the trip for a week, which put us in Seattle in weather that was actually kind of perfect for a couple of Miamians looking to get away from our 85-degree winters.

After a long day making our way from Miami to Seattle, we just had the last bit of the day to work with. We got in our rental car and made the drive east to Snoqualmie Casino (snocasino.com), about 40 minutes from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. See, thanks to a 2005 law, smoking in any workplace is illegal throughout the state of Washington. The key word there is “workplace” because it means that the preferences of the consumer and the type of business in question don’t matter. The law is written to keep any employee from ever being around smoke — even if they’re working for a tobacconist.

That nippy weather is also great for the secondary research we knew we would be undertaking. Miami is a coffee-obsessed place. And a small team that works in Cigar Snob’s office — with its industrialgrade espresso machine that would make more sense as a fixture in a busy hole-in-the-wall café than in an office with a staff of five and a coffee shop right across the parking lot — consumes a medically inadvisable amount of coffee on a daily basis. But our love of coffee is narrow in scope. Most days, we make Cuban-style coladas every couple of hours; our art director Andy (who was with me for this tour of Seattle) and I rarely turn down cafecito. Despite our love affair with caf-

Like so many other laws, though, this one doesn’t bind Indian tribes or their reservations, so when it comes to smoking indoors, the Snoqualmie Tribe and their Casino are effectively the only game in the area (the next closest lounge, Smokey Joe’s — smokeyjoescigarlounge.com — is just outside of Tacoma, Washington on the Puyallup Reservation). Snoqualmie sits at a higher elevation than Seattle does. As you make your way up on the scenic drive, you might see more and more snow along the way — a rare sight in the city. Once you step into the casino, you’ll make your way across the casino floor to Lit, the upscale cigar bar that’s tucked to the side of the casino floor, offering a stark contrast to the

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: The view of downtown Seattle from the Space Needle’s observation deck; Snoqualmie Casino slots just outside of Lit, the casino’s cigar bar; the lobby at The Inn at El Gaucho

flashing lights of the slot machines just outside with dark wood, warm lighting, comfortable seating and a well-appointed bar. This is as good of a place as any to sample beers, wines and spirits produced in the area. We went with Woodinville Whiskey Company Straight Bourbon Whiskey and Westland Distillery’s Peated American Single Malt Whiskey. Most importantly, though, the humidor at Lit is not to be missed. It took me by surprise — you wouldn’t think that a cigar bar with next to no competition would impress you this way. They could easily phone it in, after all. But once you walk in, you realize that the selection was curated by people who really do care about cigars and offering visitors like you all the selection you could want — including loads of boutique brands that are hard to find even in thriving cigar markets. The first meal of our trip was right across the casino floor at 12 Moons, Snoqualmie’s Asian restaurant. We went with the Korean Bulgogi Steak (8 oz. flat iron) and Kurobuta Tonkatsu (panko breaded Japanese Berkshire pork loin). These two meals both came in large ceramic trays with bowl-shaped sections for each component of the meal — rice in one, kimchi in another, and so on. Dinner was good — although the highlight, for me, was the Earl Grey

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Lit, Snoqualmie Casino’s cigar bar; Pike Street; the Cuban-style espresso at El Diablo Coffee, a “Cuban-inspired” Queen Anne coffee shop; Nashville hot chicken sandwich at 5 Spot

tea ice cream sandwich (between two waffles) we had to round it all out. Snoqualmie Casino’s also got a steakhouse called Vista Prime Steaks & Seafood; both restaurants boast incredible views of the Snoqualmie Valley, although those are best appreciated at lunch since there’s not much to light up the landscape at dinnertime. Beat from a full day of travel and wobbly from a filling meal, we made the drive to downtown Seattle to hit our respective sacks and rest up for our first Rain City morning.

LONG LIVE THE QUEEN (ANNE) We woke up well rested and ready to tackle the day thanks to the comfortable accommodations at The Inn at El Gaucho (innatelgaucho.com). A funky name for a hotel, I know. It’s called that because it shares a historic building with the Seattle location of the El Gaucho chain of steakhouses. They’re well known in the Pacific Northwest, and the chain’s

parent company also has some of the area’s premier restaurants, bars and hotels. As you might imagine, our dinner plans for this second night pretty much made themselves. More on that later. As I mentioned earlier, we had a specific side mission on this trip: to find and drink all the coffee we possibly could. Being the self-indulgent Cubans that we are and jonesing for a colada, we got in our car and drove north to Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood, where I’d learned there was a “Cuban-inspired” coffee joint called El Diablo Coffee Co.. So just how Cuban is El Diablo? It’s a respectable effort. The “Cubano” coffee does make use of caramelized sugar like the coffee Andy and I are used to, but it’s not nearly as sweet and the blend’s not quite right. And it’s served with sparkling water — which is a classic move for great espresso, but which is, again, highly un-Cuban. We enjoyed the coffee on its own merits, but don’t come here expecting to be transported to Little Havana by your cafecito. Included on the El Diablo menu are empanadas of varying degrees of Cubanness and a Cuban sandwich — which is really what got us the most excited. Having traveled all over the place keeping our eyes peeled for this sort of thing, it blew me away that El Diablo actually serves its Cuban sandwich on Cuban-style bread as opposed to a baguette or some other alternative. You can also get buttered Cuban toast with your coffee if you’re not looking

for something quite so heavy. Kudos to them for going the extra mile on that one. The really great thing about this coffee shop, though, is the building. El Diablo is a decades-old institution in Seattle, but only moved into this location in 2018. Its new home is a Queen Anne-style house that blends in perfectly with the neighborhood around it, and the spacious second floor dining room was filled with regulars drinking coffee, reading books and looking like they were getting work done. The front porch would have been a great place to enjoy our coffees in warmer weather. After our espressos, we walked a few blocks south on Queen Anne Ave to get our full breakfast fix at 5 Spot, a neighborhood diner with a section on the menu that changes every few months when the restaurant switches to a new city-based theme. There was a Nashville-themed section of the menu when we dropped in, so I started my day strong with a Nashville hot chicken breakfast sandwich. It had all the intestinal effects you might think it did — and it was freaking delicious. Naturally, we drank more coffee. The menu isn’t all that changes every so often here. 5 Spot works with local artists to create themed artwork as well, so most of what’s on the walls changes along with the menu. It’s the sort of idea you find yourself wishing someone would bring to your favorite neighborhood diner.

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: One of many works by Dale Chihuly at Chihuly Garden & Glass; La Marzocca at the KEXP Gathering Space; taking a deep dive with a cupping session at Conduit Coffee; Conduit Coffee bags

The Queen Anne is a great part of town to take a smoking walk. One of the city’s more affluent neighborhoods, it’s named for the Queen Anne-style architecture that’s so prevalent there. Besides, if you really want to enjoy a cigar as a visitor to Seattle, taking a walk is among the only ways to pull that off; smoking isn’t legal within 20 feet of any business entrance, so you can’t legally linger anywhere while your stogie’s lit. When you’re done with your cigar stroll, it’s time to get high. Really high. Like… 600 feet high. At the Space Needle. What’d you think I was talking about?

botanical gardens. His glass sculptures, with their bright colors and frequent references to the ocean life of the Pacific Northwest, work as well in galleries as they do in gardens. And at this museum dedicated exclusively to his work, we took a deep dive into the Chihuly world. His striking glassblowing is the sort of art that anyone — whether you’re an art buff like Andy or a philistine like me — can appreciate for the high degree of difficulty it took to create. The museum takes you through galleries; the “Glasshouse,” where there’s a 100-footlong suspended sculpture; and a garden in which Chihuly’s work becomes part of the landscape with trees, plants and flowers.

Erected for the 1962 World’s Fair, the Space Needle has remained one of the most recognizable and iconic structures in this or any other city’s skyline. How many other buildings’ silhouettes could you pick out of a lineup this confidently? The 10-milean-hour elevator ride to the observation deck takes roughly 40 seconds, and once you’re there, you get the best views of the city and the waterways that surround it. The Space Needle is right up against Broad Street, which forms part of the southern limit of the Queen Anne neighborhood, so you’ll be overlooking downtown skyscrapers in one direction and the neighborhood we’d just left in the other.

Before making our way to drink some more coffee, we were going to need a cup of joe. La Marzocco is a super premium coffee equipment brand that you’ve probably seen in commercial settings — although coffee nuts with loads of counter space and money to burn might have one of their consumer espresso machines, which start at $4,900. If you’re on the fence about whether to buy an Italian coffee maker or an Italian scooter, though, you can test drive the former at the La Marzocco Café and Showroom, a coffee counter that brews just steps away from an open seating and lounge area belonging to KEXP-FM (kexp.org), a public radio station that specializes in alternative and indie rock, as well as a kiosk where Light in the Attic Records (lightintheattic.net), an influential local record label, sells vinyls.

It’s also just one part of a small cluster of arts and culture destinations like the Museum of Pop Culture, the Pacific Science Center, and Chihuly Garden and Glass. Tacoma native Dale Chihuly’s work is everywhere — from airports to museums to

Regardless of whether the idea of fancy coffee makers sounds exciting to you, the La Marzocca counter at the KEXP Gathering Space is a must for curious coffee drinkers. That’s because once a month, the company brings in a new coffee roaster

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to overhaul the menu and show Seattleites what they’re made of. When we visited, we had espresso made with beans from Elixr Coffee, a Philadelphiabased roaster. From this retail coffee hangout we made our way north again, this time heading to the edge of Lake Union, where we got a more intense crash course in coffee from the guys at Conduit Coffee. They’re a boutique wholesale roaster with a directto-consumer subscription service that fulfills local orders by bicycle delivery — although you can place an order on their website and get coffee delivered to your door. Conduit founder Jesse Nelson gave us the grand tour, letting us sniff his beans (a thing I considered rephrasing until I decided it sounded too funny to edit), running through some of the process they go through for quality control, and of course making us yet more coffee. “We taste the coffee or do quality control at nine steps along the way,” Jesse said, noting that, as with tobacco, the storage conditions of coffee beans (especially humidity) can affect their quality before they’re brewed. Conduit has an open house every Tuesday, along with a tour that you can book through Airbnb Experiences. Once our lesson was done, we moved on to a portion of the tasting experience that I can’t guarantee you’ll be able to experience for yourself. Sales

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: El Gaucho, one of Seattle’s favorite chop houses; Union Cigar Society; Rain City Cigar; steaks are cooked over charcoal at El Gaucho; [bottom right] the private bus lounge at Rain City Cigar

so many other anti-smoking measures, this one left premium cigars as collateral damage in efforts to curb cigarette smoking. “What they did was they passed a law that said you can’t smoke within 25 feet of any door, window or ventilation shaft.” rep Shaun Lieb made us some coffee and we took my travel humidor up to Conduit’s roof for our first cigars of the day. It’s always a good time when you meet people who are not only hospitable and knowledgeable, but also down to share a smoke. Maybe you’ll get a similar invite if you bring stogies — maybe not. After all, these guys still have beans to roast. If you’re not able to make it to this part of town or available tour times don’t quite work for you, there are plenty of other places in Seattle where you can try Conduit products. Jesse and Shaun recommend Intrigue Chocolate Co.’s Capitol Hill Chocolate & Coffeehouse (intriguechocolate.com) at the south end of Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. Just down the road from Conduit is Union Cigar Society, a small cigar shop with a walk-in humidor that punches well above its weight — especially when it comes to its selection of boutique cigar brands. Shop owner Daniel Jensen curates the selection himself, though he got his start at Rain City Cigars (we’ll get to them later), which places less emphasis on boutique brands. While Union Cigar Society can’t offer you a place to smoke, there is a common area in the complex that’s far enough away from any entrances for you to enjoy a cigar legally. It’s outdoors, so the weather will have to cooperate, but it is an option. From here, we made our way to one of the very few places you can go in Seattle to get out of the cold or rain with your cigar. Although, it’s not quite what you might think of when you hear “smoking

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indoors.” Rain City Cigars has a small storefront, but because they remove every cigar from its box and put it in a tray, the shop packs a huge number of cigars into its floor-to-ceiling cabinet humidor. But the thing that really sets Rain City apart is its private club — which is a bus in the parking lot. “We call it the short bus, but we also call it our mobile lounge,” said Rain City owner Joe Arundel. “We’ve had this for three years and it’s set up as a private club to comply with local laws and restrictions. We base it on purchases in the store, so if they want to check on whether we have true members, we can go into our system and show the purchases that justify the use of the bus.” There is a day pass system in place. Spend at least $12.50 in the store, and you’ve got access to the bus for 24 hours from the time of your purchase. To be clear, the bus really is one of those short, handicap-accessible buses, and there hasn’t been any modification to the interior of the bus beyond heating and ventilation. When we visited, there was a handful of guys in there smoking and chatting like they might have been in any other cigar lounge. Except these guys, like I said, were on a bus in the parking lot. “[The ban] was passed by voter initiative. A voter initiative is that you as a citizen can put anything on the ballot so long as you collect enough signatures. In the case of this particular initiative, there were paid signature gatherers and it was backed by the pharmaceutical industry,” Joe said, noting that like

In addition, the law bars smoking in any workplace, which is why the private bus club has to be separate from the store. No employees go into the bus club. While it is of course unfortunate that Joe and his customers are forced to deal with these laws, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that the atmosphere in that bus was pretty great. It is, after all, all about the people, and I got the sense that there’s something about being a member of a private club that is a parked short bus that creates a sort of we’re-all-in-thistogether camaraderie among members. If you’re in town, stop by and meet the bus crew. By this time it was getting a little late. We’d had a full day, but skipped lunch in anticipation of the heavy meal we knew was coming at El Gaucho. You might think from the name of the place and the gaucho-inspired embellishments on the servers’ tuxedos that there’s something Argentinian about El Gaucho. You’d be wrong. Aside from those two things, this is about as classic and nostalgic an

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(there are five total between Seattle and Kent) just a couple of blocks from the hotel. Andy and I both had the Bialy Egg Sandwich (two fried eggs, roasted tomatoes, goat cheese, fresh basil and Dijon sandwiched in a brioche bialy). Naturally, this was also where we got our first coffee fix of the day.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The iconic Public Market Center sign at the south end of Pike Place; loads of fresh fish and produce at the Pike Place Public Market; [bottom right] a plaque at the “First Starbucks”

evolution, with renovations and furniture upgrades that will make the rooms not only more spacious, and warmer (I was told these would be the only heated floors in any Seattle hotel), but also ready for an incredible in-room steakhouse experience that has got to be one of the rarest hotel amenities anywhere.

American chop house as you’ll ever come across. The dining room has this incredible ‘50s-era supper club feel to it, like you’re stepping into a period movie when you walk through the door. And the open kitchen, visible from just about anywhere in the restaurant, adds a fun touch to the experience. Andy ordered the filet mignon and I went with the Frenched rib chop. Both were cooked to perfection, and the sides — scalloped potatoes, Brussels sprouts with bacon and a blood orange balsamic, roasted sweet corn with chipotle honey butter — were good enough that I could have left the place thrilled to have just eaten those. Our hotel, you’ll remember, is attached to the restaurant. The Inn at El Gaucho is a boutique hotel on the second level of this historic building that was once home to the Sailors’ Union of the Pacific. A building that once served as a gathering place, lodging, gym and all-in-one pit stop for sailors is now one of Seattle’s premier steakhouses and boutique hotels. At the time we were visiting, the hotel was in the midst of yet another chapter in its

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El Gaucho does have a cigar menu. Unfortunately, the steakhouse has to contend with that smoking ban like everybody else in the city; nobody’s been granted exemptions or been grandfathered in. So while it’s not through any fault of their own, it doesn’t make much sense to buy your cigar here unless you know for certain you’re about to start a nice long stroll. Considering how stuffed we were, it would have been tough to go right to bed, so we headed out to meet some friends of Andy’s at The Crocodile, a storied bar and rock venue that opened in 1991 and has played host to bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Cheap Trick, R.E.M., Mudhoney, and Yoko Ono. If you were ever a fan of the acts that put Seattle on the musical map, this is still the spot. Finally, we ended the night with a different kind of nostalgia at Jupiter (2ndandbelltown.com/jupiter), a bar where you’ll find a full selection of beers and spirits along with an arcade jam-packed with games — most of which are an impressive collection of vintage pinball machines.

PUBLIC MARKET, PRIVATE CLUB Our third and final day began with a quick walk to breakfast at Macrina Bakery’s Belltown location

We walked breakfast off with a stroll to the Pike Place Market, which put us there just in time to catch many of the vendors setting up at this openair waterfront market along the western edge of downtown Seattle. Maybe I’m alone in this, but I actually prefer to walk through these places at that stage. It’s cool to be around the energy of all those small businesses setting up shop as the crowds start trickling in. If you’ve been to many of those outdoor markets in city centers, you know that they can sometimes feel like tourist traps. The French Market in New Orleans comes to mind; lots of trinkets and t-shirts and hot sauces with names that are either poop jokes or regional marketing gimmicks. There’s a little bit of that here, to be sure, but Pike Place is as much a destination for locals as for anyone else. There’s loads of fresh seafood (I had a chance to sample a crab leg that left me wishing I’d left more room when I had breakfast), restaurants with great views of Elliott Bay, and other items that make it as much a tourist shopping spot as a convenient market for Seattle urbanites. While at Pike Place Market, we met up with our guide for the day: Nebojša Solunac, who goes by Solo for the benefit of those of us who are intimidated by the task of pronouncing his name. If his name looks familiar, it could be because you remember him as a source in a piece I wrote about private companies in space (ISSUE MONTH AND YEAR). He’s served in the Air Force, he’s been a NASA test pilot … and now he can say he’s been a Cigar Snob tour guide! (How’s that for a feather in your cap, Solo?) Solo, Andy and I crossed the street from the market to the original Starbucks. Many Seattleites are quick to point out that the store across from Pike Place Market isn’t really the original Starbucks location; the company’s founders started in another spot and then moved. But still, this location

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Damn the Weather, a downtown bar and restaurant; Westland Distillery in the industrial district; we tasted everything Westland Distillery had to offer ... twice.

is close enough and it really is pretty cool to walk into a Starbucks that feels like it was frozen in time back in the ‘70s. We got our coffees and kept moving on foot. There are a few tobacconists that you can get to pretty quickly walking from the market: Market Tobacco Patch (just a few doors down from the fauxriginal Starbucks) and International Cigars & Tobacco (on 3rd Ave. between Pine and Pike) are two that we visited, albeit briefly. Neither is a destination — but then, in a city where you’re not allowed to smoke at the cigar shop anyway, they don’t need to be. Just keep these spots in mind if you’re in the area and looking for a stroll cigar. Having worked up an appetite and looking to lay down a base in our guts for more coffee and cigars with Solo, we got in his car and headed south to Damn the Weather. You could easily walk this distance in about 15 minutes, but we took a number of detours for sightseeing purposes. Damn the Weather is a small bar and restaurant with great cocktails and excellent food. I had a pork sandwich and a sherry old fashioned, which is part of Damn the Weather’s lower-on-alcohol Day Drinks menu. On our way out, Solo pointed out some of the staircases on the sidewalks that seem to lead underground to nowhere in particular. Turns out there’s a whole city under the city in the Pioneer Square area. In 1889, a cabinetmaker accidentally started a fire that consumed 31 Seattle blocks when firefighters failed to put it out because they were running all their hoses at once, killing the water pressure. When the city began to rebuild, they took it as an opportunity to address the problem of frequent flooding. City officials raised the street level by as much as 30 feet in some places, meaning that what had once been street level in some buildings would become basements. The remnants of that old Seattle are still there, with some storefront facades and hotel signage still there for you to see. The best way to see them, as you might imagine, is with some more historical context than I’m able to offer

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you here. Get your tour from a place like Beneath The Streets (beneath-the-streets.com), whose ticket office is right on Pioneer Square, kitty corner from Damn the Weather. Having just had lunch, it was time for coffee. Yes, I know we’d just had coffee from Starbucks before lunch. That was then. This is now. Back in the car we went, this time to Café con Leche, a Cuban joint in the heart of Seattle’s industrial district, south of downtown. We were surprised to find that there’s a legitimate Cuban restaurant serving Cuban food the right way (with some exceptions, like the sacrilegious pan con tofu sandwich) all the way on the opposite corner of the country from Miami. If you’re craving a Cuban sandwich or ham croquetas, this is where you come in Seattle. This is all usually so hard to find! But how was the Cuban coffee? Simply put… it’ll do. It wasn’t quite right, but it hit the spot you want a post-meal espresso to hit and the caramelized sugar that characterizes Cuban coffee was there, even if not executed perfectly. What was executed perfectly was the whiskey at Westland Distillery, just south of Café con Leche. The distillery makes American single malts with Washington barley, declaring itself a pioneer in a new style of whiskey, where single malts have generally been seen as belonging to Scotland and the Old World. If you’re a whiskey lover, don’t miss the chance to stop by the distillery for a flight. Or two. You might need a couple if you want to sample the core whiskeys (American Oak, Peated and Sherry Wood) as well as any limited edition stuff that might be available to pour. We hadn’t smoked at all so far, which just felt too strange for one of these Cigar Snob trips. Typically, our rule is that we won’t bother telling you about places or things that you won’t have access to as a tourist yourself, but by now you might have an appreciation for just how hard smoking opportunities

are to come by around here. Solo took us over to his hangout, The Vertigo Club (thevertigoclub. com), a private, members only cigar hangout that is easily Seattle’s best and most exclusive cigar lounge. But it’s not as snooty as all that makes it sound. “There was a great cigar scene here,” said Vertigo Club founder Bill Daly. “For example, [you could smoke at] the top steakhouses, there was a club at Columbia Center ... But with the new law, the bottom fell out of everything.” Bill was in the finance world in 2007, and he used to try to schedule client meetings at Smokey Joe’s, the cigar lounge just outside Tacoma that I reference at the start of this piece. “It was on Indian land, so you could still smoke. The issue there was that it was impossible to do any kind of business because it was set up like a sports bar,” he said. “So I came up with this idea that maybe we should put a club together that hearkened back to an older era when people could get together in a place where they could converse, and that rather than being directed toward televisions was directed toward conversation. They could do their networking and get to know one another in a more intimate setting. I wanted a ‘30s or ‘40s vibe, a little bit like a speakeasy.” There’s no question that’s what Bill pulled off with Vertigo, which is just a tenth of a mile south of

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The Lounge at The Vertigo Club; the bar at Aerlume; roasted black cod at Aerlume in downtown Seattle; bottles on bottles on bottles at Von’s 1000SPIRITS

they have to know you’re cool.

Westland Distillery. It’s an intimate setting that feels casual while still evoking that “we’re serious about enjoying cigars” feeling. “The law was such that this could not be a workplace of any sort. I had to find a way to work within the narrow parameters of the law. If you couldn’t have employees, how could you have a club? Well, if you automate everything — access cards, lighting, heating, air — all that stuff was automated. And then you create a culture where people would police their own areas, bring their own supplies. What we did was create an environment. We have a bar with cocktail shakers, a kitchenette, you can have dinners, there’s plates and ice makers. So when I was asked the question of how I got around the law, the answer was that I didn’t.” The Vertigo Club doesn’t do any advertising. There’s not even a sign over the front door. Members know where it is, and they’re the only ones who really need to. To become a member requires not only a fee (which, as Bill puts it, is not cheap) but also an interview with Bill. The idea is that he and the other members need to be able to trust you and they want you to feel invested in the space, because without employees, everybody is counting on everybody else to be a steward. Put another way…

52 | CIGAR SNOB | MAR / APR 2019

“I have to say [the best part of this experience] has honestly been the people. I have been incredibly blessed to have the people I have had here. I have met some of the most interesting people over the last ten years. We have a very informal interview process. People will generally figure out when they get to the top of the stairs [and into the lounge area] whether they’re going to join. These are some of the greatest people I have ever had the pleasure to get to know,” said Bill, before noticing one member who was working on his standup routine (every cigar lounge has one of these guys), “with the exception of that guy over there.” While it’s unfortunate that a business like his needs to exist at all, he points out that the model he built could serve as a blueprint for others looking to create space for cigar smokers in markets where government has gone to these lengths to intrude on your right to enjoy a cigar. After finishing our cigars with Solo and Bill, we packed up and headed back into downtown for dinner at Aerlume, a restaurant that’s all about seasonal ingredients. The design of the restaurant itself is a nod to this idea, with its huge windows, open floor plan, and clear view to the kitchen. It feels fresh, expansive, unintimidating and accessible while still being striking. In daylight hours, you also get an incredible view of Puget Sound. Unlike El Gaucho, Aerlume (owned by the same restaurant group, Fire & Vine Hospitality, which has James Beard Award winner Jason Wilson as its culinary director) offers a more non-traditional menu.

We started with chicken liver mousse served with candied nuts, mulled apples and preserved huckleberry. Then there were the duck fat roasted potatoes with smoked black cod, dill creme fraiche, celery and fennel (holy cow was that good). For our main courses, Andy and I had the pappardelle with braised beef and the mole spice pork chop (Washington pig, of course), respectively. The service was incredible, the food was a journey, and the space itself was a pleasure to be in. If you have two nights in Seattle, it’s hard to imagine you could get a much more well-rounded and satisfying onetwo punch of dinners than El Gaucho and Aerlume. From there, we headed to Von’s 1000SPIRITS for an after-dinner drink. They have, as you might imagine, a thousand spirits to choose from. Unfortunately, our early flight forced us to be responsible and keep it to one each. And just like that, it was over. Neither Andy nor I had ever been to Seattle before. Two and a half days was just not enough. Seattle is a big city with a Western sense of adventure, a deep appreciation for the quirky and a tradition — thanks to all that coffee — of agriculturally-rooted artisanship making its way into everyone’s daily life. This is a town that, on paper, should have a booming cigar scene. But, to adapt a quote from Pericles, just because cigars don’t take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in cigars. Visit Seattle — maybe in weather warm enough to walk and smoke in — enjoy the food, explore the underground, and get as high as the Space Needle will take you. But while you’re at it, take note of just how far things can go in your town if cigar smokers don’t wake up and smell the coffee.

MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

KE AV EE ST LA

chowfoods.com

damntheweather.com

10. Starbucks Reserve

21. Café Con Leche

24. Von’s

Roastery

2901 1st Ave S, Seattle

1000SPIRITS

1124 Pike St, Seattle

cafeconlecheseattle.com

1225 1st Ave, Seattle vons1000spirits.com

10th AVE E

15th AVE E 15th AVE E

EL AV EN EAST LAKE AVE E

10th AVE E

FA IR W

I - 5 EXPRESS

304

OTHER 26. Space Needle 400 Broad St, Seattle spaceneedle.com

27. Pike Place Market pikeplacemarket.org

11. Elm Coffee

& Cafe

25. Westland Distillery

Roasters

2408 1st Ave, Seattle

2931 1st Ave S, Seattle

28. Chihuly Garden and Glass

Multiple Locations

macrinabakery.com

westlanddistillery.com

305 Harrison St, Seattle

D MA

RIN

DIS MA

T WN

M LU CO

99YESLER29 WAY

B IA E

YS RR

t JA

FIR

B IA

11th AVE IS

E UNION St

E SPRING St

E MARION St

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St S RY J

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15th AVE E

12th AVE

Cal Anderson Park

BROADWAY

BELLVUE AVE E ISO

M LU CO

t S ON

15th AVE E

BROADWAY E

BELLVUE AVE E

EAST LAKE AVE E

15th AVE E

IL TH

E PIKE St

E SPURCE St

15th AVE E

YESLER WAY

23 S WASHINGTON St 11 S MAIN St 12 13S JACKSON St

chihulygardenandglass.com

29. Pioneer Square 100 Yesler Way, Seattle seattle.gov

30. Museum of Pop Culture 325 5th Ave N, Seattle mopop.org

31. Olympic Sculpture Park

S ES PR EX

starbucks.com

116 1st Ave S, Seattle

I - 5 EX PRESS

ING

305

DOWNTOWN / QUEEN ANNE

1912 Pike Pl, Seattle

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FAIRWEL AVE N

WESTLAKE AVE

FERRY

23. Damn The Weather

I - 5 EXPRESS

TO BLAKE ISLAND

1502 Queen Anne Avenue North, Seattle

22. Macrina Bakery

R SP

S ON

I-5

20. 5 Spot

E PIKE St

S ES PR EX

elgaucho.com

E PINE St

PIKE / PINE

I-5

2505 1st Ave, Seattle

S AY NW

2501 Westlake Ave N, Seattle

KA AS

19. El Gaucho

E PIK

Company

E AV

8. Conduit Coffee

Freeway Park S INE

SEATTLE BREMERTON FERRY

E PIK

AV E

thecrocodile.com SEATTLE - BAINBRIDGE

E JOHN St DENNY WAY

E PINE St

E THOMAS St

Y WAY DE N N

AV E

W AY

THOMAS St

12th AVE

2200 2nd Ave, Seattle

18. Aerlume

JOHN St

E HARRISON St

12th AVE

E MERCER St

S JACKSON St

12th AVE S

17. The Crocodile

AR D RA LE NO

18 AL AS K

4t h

E ALOHA St

E REPUBLICAN St

JOHN St

AN CH

BE L

St D

2n d

AV E

Volunteer Park

CAPITOL HILL

CASCADE

T LS

LIO TT

AN CH

9th AVE N

DEXTER AVE N

AV E

19 22

Boren Park

DENNY WAY

3r d

1s tA VE

TE RN LIO AV E TT AV AL E AS KA N W AY

LS t

AV E

BE L

4t h

LE NO

AV E

W AL

2n d

9th AVE N

AU R ORA AVE

5th AVE N

ST OA D BR

AV E

THOMAS St

Denny Park

DENNY WAY

T ON ST

10th AVE E

WESTLAKE AVE N DEXTER AVE N

STLAKE AVE N WE

AURORA AVE N

5th AVE N

TAYLOR AVE N

1st AVE W

QUEEN ANNE AVE N

3rd AVE N GE LO W AV EN

JOHN St

5t h

1s tA VE

Pa r

EAST LAKE AVE E

AVE N 2nd AVE N

3rd AVE N

3rd AVE W

QUEEN ANNE AVE N

Ed wa rd s

MERCER St

REPUBLICAN St

THOMAS St

28 26

RESTAURANTS & BARS

aerlumeseattle.com

starbucksreserve.com

RA AURO

2nd AVE W

3rd AVE W 3rd AVE W

tle

stumptowncoffee.com

9. Starbucks

eldiablocoffee.com

2003 Western Ave Suite C, Seattle

conduitcoffee.com

4th AVE W

5th AVE W

1825 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle

International Fountain

1115 12th Ave, Seattle

4th AVE W

mrwestcafebar.com

16. El Diablo Coffee Co.

SOUTH LAKE UNION MERCER St

E ST

Roasters

W HARRISON St

ROY St MERCER St

7. Stumptown Coffee

5th AVE W

720 Olive Way, Seattle

6. La Marzocco Cafe lamarzoccousa.com

LOWER QUEEN ANNE

15. Mr. West Cafe Bar

COFFEE 472 1st Ave N, Seattle

W MERCER St

e BOS

AVE

seattlecigarshop.com

ROY St

W MERCER St

107 Pike St, Seattle seattlecoffeeworks.com

ALOHA St

WESTLAKE

1522 3rd Ave, Seattle

ALOHA St W OLYMPIC PL

and Tobacco

Works

CE DA R

5. International Cigar

W PROSPECT St

14. Seattle Coffee

tobaccoleafseattle.com

Bhy Kracke Park

OA D

215 Broadway E, Seattle

HIGHLAND DR

E LYNN St

LAKE UNION

WESTLAKE

4. Tobacco Leaf

W HIGHLAND DR

GALER St

1st AVE N

1906 Pike Pl #6, Seattle

caffeumbria.com

QUEEN ANNE

W GALER St

1st AVE W

Patch

HAYES St

QUEEN ANNE AVE N

3. Market Tobacco

BLAINE St

3rd AVE W

unioncigarsociety.com

Playfield

W BLAINE St

FAIRWEL AVE E

320 Occidental Ave S, Seattle

Northen Queen Anne Greenbelt

HOWE St

EASTLAKE

N AVE

2. Union Cigar Society 2046 Westlake Ave N # 201, Seattle

16 West Queen Anne

slatecoffee.com

13. Caffe Umbria

BOSTON St

W HOWE St

Multiple Locations

raincitycigar.com

EAST QUEEN ANNE

TER

2646, 5963 Corson Ave S #130, Seattle

Roasters

McGROW St

DEX

1. Rain City Cigar

12. Slate Coffee

CIGAR SHOPS

elmcoffeeroasters.com

W McGROW St

NNE EN A QUE

AVE AKE STL WE

- SEATTLE -

Roanoke Park

David Rodgers Park

2901 Western Ave seattleartmuseum.org

32. CenturyLink Field 800 Occidental Ave S, Seattle centurylinkfield.com 33. T-Mobile Park

1250 1st Ave S, Seattle seattle.mariners.mlb.com

S JACKSON St

AL K

University of Washington

Montlake Playfield

LIO VE TA

Denny Park

99 ST EW AR T

R BO

O DIS

N OW

1ST AVE S

S JACKSON St

Jefferson Park

INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT

R A BLVD E S H INGTO

Jefferson Park Golf Course

RAINIER VISTA

Maple Wood Playfield

Genesee Park and Playfield

VD S N BL GTO SHIN E WA LAK

1ST AVE S

IDGE BR

EA T

S HORTON St

ES TS

Mt. Baker Park

NORTH BEACON HILL

E MARGINAL WAY S

GREATER DUWAMISH BEACON HILL

VAN ASSELT

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Riverview Playground

1 E AV th

Walt Hundley Playground

St AN

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1ST AVE S

Bailey Peninsula

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HIG MIC

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CORS ON A VE

CALIFORNIA AVE SW

MT. BAKER

A LAKE W

Puget Park

AVE S

Pigeon Point Park

LACEY V MURR OW MEMORIAL BRID G

SPOKANE St VIADUCT

FAIRMOUNT PARK

SW WAY

CALIFORNIA AVE SW

Sam Smith Park Colman Park

SW BEA C H DR

FAUN T LEROY

HOMER M HADLEY MEMORIAL BRIDG

RAINIER

W Lincoln Park

Judkins Park

SEAVIEW

Leschi Park

15th AVE S

HD AC

West Seattle Golf Course

WAY

33 5 JACK IN THE BOX

1ST AVE S

YOUNGSTOWN

E YESLER WAY

E AV ER I NI RA

E AV

GENESEE

E TL

E MARGINAL WAY S

SW AV E AL KI

W Me-Kwa-Mooks Park

Powell Barnett Park

SQUIRE PARK

LAKE WASHINGTON

S JACKSON St

99 21

W SEATTLE BRIDGE

ILV

WEST SEATTLE

HARBOR ISLAND

INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT WEST

MADRONA MANN

YESLER WAY

DGE

15th AV E S

Schmitz Preserve Park

Hiawata Playfield

E AV ER I NI RA

ALKI

NORTH ADMIRAL

IS O

PIKE / PINE

N OW

M S ROYAL BROU GHA

AD EM

E AV

YS WA AN

E AV

DOWNTOWN / QUEEN ANNE

ES AV KI L A

Cal Anderson Park

1st

AL A

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MILLER PARK

E JOHN St

Olympic tle Sculpture Ed Park DENNY WAY wa rd 1s sP tA ar VE k

A M

WASHINGTON PARK

STEVENS

Cascade

W yr

S DI

McG

EL M

LOAT IN

520

Washington Park

Volunteer Park

SOUTH LAKE UNION

International Fountain

INT F

MADISON PARK

Boren Interlaken Park Park

Kinnear Park

SMITH COVE

N PO

Broadmoor Golf Club

BLV DE

Northeast Q.A. Greenbelt

G RE E

E WASHING TON

VD BL

Playfield

WEST QUEEN ANNE

MAGNOLIA BRIDGE

LAKE UNION

EVER

MONTLAKE

EASTLAKE

12th AVE

EAST QUEEN ANNE West Queen Anne

Montlake Park

520

12th AVE

Magnolia Park

Roanoke Park

BROADWAY

NORTH QUEEN ANNE

INTERBAY

MAGNOLIA

David Rodgers Park

BROADWAY

Ella Bailey Park

NORTH BROADWAY

IA VE

Magnolia Playfield

Gas Works Park

Mt Pleasant Cemetery

SOUTHEAST MAGNOLIA

AG RT

Interbay Golf Center

Magnolia Playfield

UNION BAY

Husky Stadium

Magnolia Manor Park

LAK

LAWTON PARK

5 MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

56 | CIGAR SNOB | MAR / APR 2019

Seed to

cup Like any great tobacco, your coffee takes a long journey — guided by the expert hands of passionate farmers and artisans — to get from the farm to your mug. - WORDS AND PHOTOS BY ANDY GIAMBARBA MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

t’s a ritual we are all familiar with. It provides that needed respite in otherwise hectic days. It permits us a connection to the land where this venerated product originates. Our enjoyment of it benefits hardworking farmers who produce it from seed and nurture it until it’s ready to export. We seek out the masters who blend the flavors that please our particular palate. What starts as a “special occasion” indulgence turns into a daily habit. Coffee. I’m talking about specialty coffee. Did you think I was talking about cigars? The similarities between cigars and specialty coffee are remarkable. From their place of origin through production all the way to final presentation, there’s a shared passion and connection to the land. Whether we speak of “seed to smoke” or “seed to cup,” both products represent years of family history, hard work and an unmistakable artistic flourish. Both premium cigars and specialty coffee take our minds to contemplative spaces and leave their soul-satisfying mark on our palates and memories.

What is specialty coffee? There are two types of coffee in this world: commodity coffee and specialty coffee. Think of commodity coffee as the short filler cigar behind the cash register at the gas station. The beans used for this kind of application (fast food coffee, most supermarket coffee that comes in tubs or bricks) are all about delivering caffeine into your bloodstream, with no particular care in sourcing or roasting or packaging the beans. The marketing campaign might say otherwise, but it’s essentially unidentifiable coffee, roasted to smithereens, pre-ground, sometimes freeze dried dark brown stuff. It is brewed by unceremoniously pouring hot water over it, through the drip basket of the office coffee maker, where it sits, exposed to light and air and the continual heat of the burner. Same with the stuff at the restaurants that don’t care. The caffeinated stuff is in a glass carafe with a brown spout, the decaf in the same one with an orange spout; it sits and cooks until it’s all gone and

58 | CIGAR SNOB | MAR / APR 2019

Blue Bottle Coffee (Mami) manager Michelle Hopper makes pourover coffee.

then someone opens a packet and starts the process all over again. Specialty coffee is raised with a different destiny, just like great tobacco. It’s not sold off as a commodity to companies that are going to turn it into something unrecognizable. The farmers — just like with tobacco — have chosen to spend the extra time, the extra care and the extra risk to grow something that will yield less, but will stand out as exceptional. They grow high quality Arabica beans instead of the commodity version bean known as Robusta. They expect their coffee beans (actually the

seed inside the fruit of the coffee plant, otherwise known as the coffee cherry) to represent their work and the terroir of the region like a fine wine does. And they hope that every set of hands along the chain from seed to cup honors the product with similar effort.

Coffee production at an unimaginable price Instead of getting lost in all the coffee specifics of altitude, varietals, processing methods

and flavor notes, it is crucial to establish that the story of coffee, like tobacco’s, is about people — the farmers who grow and process the beans, the green buyers and roasters, all the way to the baristas. Those are the stories that lend depth to the product. You can smoke a Padrón without understanding the significance of the little hammer on the label, but you’ll never forget the story once you hear it. Like in the world of cigars, some of the people involved in coffee pay an unimaginably high price to bring their passion to market.

cessed, he and his son Mark took matters in their own hands and decided that they would control the production of their own coffee, protecting it from being mixed with coffee of lower quality. Together, they petitioned for their own license to become legally able to process and sell their own coffee. They were relentless in their fight, which you can

imagine might have angered a few folks who loved the status quo and the money it put in the pockets of those connected to the Coffee Board. The day that Alex received his license, a truck with masked men also arrived on his property and shot Mark to death. Alex was free

In 2016, I got the treat of my life, when I was skillfully driven up the road that leads to Strawberry Hill, through Irish Town, Gordon Town and all the way up to the region that produces Blue Mountain coffee in Jamaica. Tara Bradshaw, Chief Business Development Officer at Trafalgar Travel Ltd. in Kingston, had arranged for me to meet a historic figure in Jamaican coffee at his home high in the mountains. As we drove higher and higher — passing waterfalls, cafes, stores and churches, all the while avoiding some sphinctertightening oncoming traffic — I was expecting to glean lots of information about the local coffee industry and production. It turned out to be so much more. You walk down from the road into David & Chrissie Twyman’s family home, which is nestled into the side of the mountain. The windows were open to their breathtaking view. David’s father Alex and mother Dorothy had founded Old Tavern Blue Mountain Coffee Estate years before in the late ‘60s, when Jamaica eagerly sought out those who would help develop a nascent industry. Jamaica quickly realized that they had an export at the time that would compete with the world’s finest coffees. The Twymans’ farm was a standard bearer for the best of Jamaica’s Blue Mountain appellation. Like any true producer, Alex Twyman wanted to do more than simply grow and harvest his product. He wanted to be able to process, roast and sell it too. The Jamaican Coffee Industry Board, which governed coffee production and exportation, told him that he couldn’t. Formed as a safeguard to protect the new industry and establish quality control, the Board had become controlling and the subject of corruption allegations. Unhappy with the limitations of Jamaica’s Coffee Board which only allowed Alex to grow, harvest and turn in the coffee fruit to be pro-

Coffee growers David and Chrissie Twyman’s home is nestled into Jamaica’s Blue Mountains.

MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

SOME FACTS ABOUT

COFFEE A commonly held belief is that coffee was first discovered over a thousand years ago, by an Ethiopian goat herder who watched his goats react with extra energy when they ate the fruit of a certain bush. Specialty coffee is grown in Central & South America, Asia, and Africa. Coffee beans come from the fruit of coffee bushes. This fruit is called the coffee cherry. Specialty coffee beans have to be picked by hand as they do not all ripen at once. The bean is the seed inside the fruit — imagine it being the pit inside of a cherry. The skin of the coffee fruit is called “cascara” and has now started to be used in beverages. After harvest and sorting, the majority of coffee fruit is processed to remove the seed from the fruit. The fruit is agitated by water to remove the skin and mucilage, exposing the beans. This process is known as “Washed Process.” Some coffee fruit is allowed to dry in the sun and the fruit portion is allowed to ferment — these beans exhibit notes of blueberry as the fermentation flavors penetrate the beans. This coffee process is known as “Naturally Processed.” Beans are then dried before packing. Like premium cigars and fine wine, the enemies of coffee are air and light. Specialty coffee is best if brewed no more than 30 days after the date of roasting. It is best not to store coffee in the freezer, but in an airtight container in a dark cool place. Although it seems counter-intuitive, the darker the roast, the lower the dose of caffeine.

60 | CIGAR SNOB | MAR / APR 2019

to sell his own coffee, but it had cost him an unimaginable price. Those who work the land have always had my utmost respect. Farmers do magic, it seems. Or at least they try to harness the conditions under which magic occurs. They work tirelessly, physically, and without excuse as the land and climate offers them finite windows in which they must plant, tend and harvest their crop. Seeds turn into seedlings and seedlings into plants. Slowly and predictably plants flower and bear fruit. With the right care and more than a little luck, those leaves and fruits turn into products we love.

the record straight. “Our biggest competition is bad coffee, not other roasters,” he said. Paul is the company’s roaster, having spent a decade in coffee as a green buyer, working at origin and finally deciding that he wanted to control the end product: the flavor that helps so many of us around the world start our day on a great note.

Tobacco farmers have their own stories of losing so much more than money in the pursuit of their dreams. They have to deal with confiscated lands and violence at times. In coffee, as in tobacco, farmers are also contending with natural challenges such as leaf rust, drought and hurricanes. And occasionally, like the Twymans, much, much more.

The coffee roaster is the cigar roller & blender The vast majority of coffee arrives to a roaster as green coffee beans. Green buyers, as they are known, have sample roasted these coffees at origin and decided that they like a crop enough to purchase a lot of a certain size. Those lots are then packaged and sent to roasters all over the world. The roaster is the one responsible for coaxing all of the potential out of the bean, applying just enough heat to develop flavor, but without overdoing it and producing a bitter end product. Yes, that’s why certain coffees taste so bitter; they’ve been roasted too long. All of this occurs in seconds, with heating and cooling calibrated to the millisecond. As the farmer can take pride in producing an exceptional fruit (the green coffee bean), the roaster can bring out its stellar qualities or ruin it in seconds. Paul Massard and Chris Nolte met at the University of Miami as fraternity brothers. Fast forward 10 years and the two now operate Per’La Specialty Roasters, a specialty coffee roasting company based in Miami and supplying specialty coffee to high-end hotels and restaurants all over the city. In a niche that is booming all over the U.S., you would think they look at other coffee roasters as their competition. Chris, however, is quick to set

Paul Massard and Chris Nolte of Per’La Specialty Roasters

A great coffee roaster, like a great cigar roller or blender, is equal parts artist and alchemist. They are able to take a natural product — green coffee beans in this case — and roast them to a point where they can fully express their origin’s terroir and the intention of the farmer. Roast them a split second too long after the “first crack” and years of labor turn into a charred and bitter product, salvageable only with too much sugar and cream. Roast them a second too little and the sweetness of the bean is underdeveloped, leaving notes so sour few will find it palatable. Specialty coffees are available to consumers either as “single origins,” meaning all of the beans in the bag came from the same location and represent that one terroir, or as blends, a

MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

growing in her expertise as a barista and storyteller, teaching people about both coffee and the producers responsible for the delicious cup they were drinking. With a focus like that, her coffee career took off, culminating in her current role as customer relations manager for Counter Culture Coffee in Florida. It is a natural progression for someone who got into coffee as a barista because of coffee and people and is still working and excelling at her job with coffee and people.

mix of two or three different beans that produce a harmonious end product when blended in precise proportions. Like the master cigar blenders who combine filler, binder and wrapper to create a certain flavor profile, coffee roasters have the same dilemmas when dealing with limited size lots. They must figure out how to sub one bean for another when supplies are low, without changing the roast profile too much, so that the blended product remains consistent. Let’s face it; when baristas face sleepy hordes of commuters on a Monday morning, they want to produce the coffee their patrons have been longing for with no surprises.

A few minutes in the right or wrong hands A farmer can spend years in backbreaking labor to produce the coffee cherries he is proudest of. He can painstakingly process them, separating the bean from the mucilage, drying them, packing them in the right types of bags and shipping them across the world. The roaster can apply heat to the beans with the precision afforded to him or her by the latest computer guided technology. Roasted, then bagged, the coffee makes its way to the local cafe. That’s where the barista, distracted by his phone, over extracts the coffee and hands the customer a nice warm cup of yuck. Isn’t it astounding that so much effort and care can go into the production of an exquisite product, only for it to be ruined mere feet from the hands of the consumers it was intended to delight? There are many reasons why a barista can make or break the specialty coffee experience. Everything from simple distraction to a lack of training to not understanding how to keep the elements “dialed in” can all derail the experience — no matter how pristine the coffee is before it is ground. It’s like a shop owner not knowing or not paying attention to the humidity in their store — the end result is those individually banded works of art being subpar or ruined. “Must be quality control at the factory!” the consumer complains. Nope. Sometimes it’s just a passionless person who has been allowed to break the chain between

62 | CIGAR SNOB | MAR / APR 2019

A barista competes in a 2016 latte art contest in Miami.

producer and end user. If you’re lucky, your coffee gets served to you by someone who has consciously chosen a career in specialty coffee. Those are the folks behind the espresso machines or pour over bars, who put that extra effort into making sure that you experience what resonates with them. It’s like the local chef who puts his heart into every dish because he has a message he’s trying to communicate. Or the cigar store owner who still enjoys the industry and goes the extra mile for his customers, putting time and effort into storage, humidification, ventilation — even making different cuts available — all the while guiding his customers towards what he knows their palates might enjoy. For Sandra Walimaki of Counter Culture Coffee, each cup of coffee she served as a barista was a connection to fond memories of her Peruvian grandmother who roasted her own coffee and would carefully prepare it for her as a child. These memories formed her conviction about the specialness of the coffee moment. As she chose a career in coffee and people, her first stint as a barista was in her home city of Lima, Peru. From there she worked in a number of cities in the U.S.,

When Sandra trains baristas, she makes sure to communicate that they are the final step in the process and they have a unique honor. Most coffee consumers will never meet the producer who grew the beans and most will never meet the roaster who has helped develop the coffee’s flavor. She makes sure that the baristas she trains “know the story and can tell the story” of what they are serving. They are the ones who interact with the customers and have a chance to explain how special the coffee they’re drinking is. By encouraging this storytelling, Sandra honors her grandmother who made the origin and ritual of coffee everything for her. As with premium cigars, the greatest representatives of specialty coffee are always the ones who feel the connection and the passion for what they share with the world. If this article has piqued your interest in the world of specialty coffee and you find yourself asking how to brew your own, keep reading, I’ve compiled a list of equipment, some facts about coffee, and even a recipe to begin to brew specialty coffee at home.

Andy Giambarba is in insurance by day and loves helping businesses manage risk as much as he likes coffee — and he loves coffee. If he’s not doing one or the other, he’s probably cooking for or eating with friends. His palate, photography and deep appreciation for culinary craftsmanship have earned him the respect of Miami chefs and foodies alike. Follow him at @andymiami and @nowbrewing.coffee on Instagram.

MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

COFFEE GEAR ONE CUP. SIX CUPS. NO MATTER HOW MUCH COFFEE YOU’RE MAKING, MOST OF THE EQUIPMENT YOU NEED IS THE SAME. HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED IF YOU WANT TO ARM YOURSELF TO BREW LIKE A PRO. If you grind your own coffee each time you brew, you can control the consistency of the grind size, which will mean much more uniform extraction. Blade grinders are less expensive, but the size of the grind will be less consistent than if you use a burr grinder. Here are two burr options for a uniform result.

ACAIA PEARL acaia.com

$140.00 You want to measure out the beans you grind and brew as well as the exact amount of water you use, so a digital scale you can zero out is important. Make sure the surface area is large enough to hold your mug and not obscure the display. If you’re looking for the coolest scale on the market, the Acaia Pearl is functional art as well.

HARIO CERAMIC MINI-SLIM PRO hario.jp

$34.00 If you’re just grinding for one or want to grind even when you travel, this is an excellent, dependable manual option.

BARATZA ENCORE CONICAL BURR GRINDER baratza.com

$140.00 This is a good entry-level grinder that’ll last you years without giving up performance. The Baratza Encore is bulletproof.

You’ll need to decide on how you want to brew. There are two basic methods: immersion (French Press or Clever Dripper) or pour over. Pour over methods require a kettle with a spout that you can control the pour with. Coffee is extracted as water is poured over the grounds slowly.

THE STAGG KETTLE fellowproducts.com

$79.95 Since water temperature is key to brewing delicious coffee, you’ll want a kettle that allows you to keep the water in the perfect 195 to 205 degree range. There are many kettles with programmable bases on the market. There’s also this one that comes in matte black, has a thermometer in the top and looks like a piece of sculpture.

64 | CIGAR SNOB | MAR / APR 2019

EIGHT CUP CLASSIC CHEMEX chemexcoffeemaker.com

CLEVER COFFEE DRIPPER espressoparts.com

$45.50

$22.00

Chemex is a carafe and brewer in one as long as you purchase the correct paper filters, and they offer a large format size for brewing for you and all of your friends.

This gives you the full flavor of immersion, but the use of a filter yields a cleaner product. The mechanism that drains the coffee into your mug is a very neat touch.

HOW TO PAUL MASSARD OF PER’LA COFFEE ROASTERS OFFERS THIS RECIPE TO START YOU OFF ON YOUR HOME BREWING JOURNEY. PAUL KNOWS THAT, LIKE MOST PEOPLE STARTING OUT BREWING SPECIALTY COFFEE, YOU PROBABLY DON’T HAVE FANCY GEAR LIKE SCALES AND GRINDERS. SO HE SUGGESTS THAT YOU HAVE YOUR LOCAL ROASTER GRIND THE BEANS FOR YOU. SURE, THEY’LL LOSE FLAVOR MORE QUICKLY, BUT THE ROASTER PROBABLY HAS A VERY EXPENSIVE GRINDER THAT WILL GIVE YOU A MUCH MORE UNIFORM GRIND THAN YOU WOULD GET AT HOME. ALSO, THE USE OF THE FRENCH PRESS ELIMINATES THE NEED FOR A SCALE. For the perfect French press: Coffee amount: For every 8 ounces of water that your press holds you want to use 2 rounded tablespoons or, if you have a scale, 10 grams. So with a 32 ounce press you would use 8 rounded tablespoons or 40 grams of coffee. Coffee: Preferably something local or a coffee that has been roasted within 2 weeks. Grind: If you don’t own a burr grinder, have your roaster grind the coffee for French press; if you do have a burr grinder, use the coarsest setting on the grinder. Water: You want your water to be between 195 and 205 degrees. You can achieve this by bringing your water to a boil in a tea kettle or pot and then letting it sit for 30 seconds before using it. Time: 4 minutes Steps: 1 - Place measured, ground coffee into your press. 2 - Add your water to the press making sure all the coffee grounds are saturated, filling it all the way to the bottom lip/pour spout of your press or if your press doesn’t have a lip, leaving enough room to be able to insert the filter without it spilling over. 3 - Place the filter of your press on top of the grounds, pushing it down only enough so that all of the grounds are submerged under the water. 4 - Let sit undisturbed for 4 min. 5 - Once the 4 minutes have passed, push the filter of the press down slowly until it reaches the bottom. 6 - Serve and enjoy.

BODUM CHAMBORD FRENCH PRESS bodum.com

$34.99 Designed in the ‘50s, this is the classic, original French press coffee maker. It’s durable, attractive, and easy to use. For best results, use fresh, coarse ground beans with water between 92 and 96 0C.

BEANS A WORD ON BEANS: BUY A LOT OF THEM AND BREW A LOT OF THEM TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU LIKE. THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD SPECIALTY ROASTERS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY NOW. SHOP LOCAL AND SUPPORT ONES IN YOUR NECK OF THE WOODS, OR TRY THESE STELLAR ONES

PARLOR COFFEE - BROOKLYN parlorcoffee.com

RUBY COFFEE ROASTERS NELSONVILLE, WISC. rubycoffeeroasters.com

SIGHTGLASS COFFEE SAN FRANCISCO sightglasscoffee.com

HEART COFFEE ROASTERS PORTLAND heartroasters.com

MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

CELEBR AT ING TWENT Y Y E ARS OF ACID CIGARS

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EXPERIENCEACID.COM MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

Coffee hopping in Miami's Wynwood Arts District

TOP ALICE AND OLIVIA SKIRT MARC JACOBS LOCATION JUNIOR & HATTER

SHIRT ZARA LOCATION THE SALTY DONUT

SKIRT ZARA SHOES CECONELLO TOP & BRA VICTORIA SECRET

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ANA BOYAR THE INDUSTRY MODEL MGMT PHOTOGRAPHY

LIMITED EDITION www.limitededitionmanagement.com PRODUCTION

IVAN OCAMPO iocampo@cigarsnobmag.com PRODUCTION ASSISTANT

JAMILET CALVIÃ&#x2018;O jcalvino@cigarsnobmag.com WARDROBE STYLIST

BARBARA BIANCHINI www.limitededitionmanagement.com HAIR AND MAKE-UP ARTIST

LUCIA ABUIN www.limitededitionmanagement.com

SKIRT INTERMIX TOP VICTORIA SECRET KIMONO ALICE AND OLIVIA LOCATION WALT GRACE VINTAGE

80 | CIGAR SNOB | MAR / APR 2019

48 cigars

LOCATION: All Day (alldaymia.com)

MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

CHURCHILL

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Casa Fernandez Aganorsa Leaf Connecticut

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

Churchill 7 48 Ecuador Nicaragua Nicaragua

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Nat Sherman Timeless Panamericana

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

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An impeccably constructed, pressed Churchill covered with a striking, brass colored wrapper and topped with a neat triple cap. This medium strength blend produces an excellent smoke output with notes of cedar, pepper, and almond cream.

N I CA R AG UA Julieta 7 48 Ecuador Nicaragua Nicaragua & Costa Rica

Silky smooth and flavorful with a profile of sweet cedar, soft pepper, nuts, and light roast coffee complemented by a creamy textured finish. This mild to medium bodied Churchill draws perfectly leaving behind a solid, light gray ash.

$ 10.00

N I CA R AG UA

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

Super Toro 6 3/4 52 Ecuador Nicaragua Nicaragua

Micallef Experiencia

Consistently well-constructed and covered with a silky smooth wrapper with excellent oils. Produces an excellent output of thick, aromatic smoke with notes of leather, cedar, cinnamon, and a touch of pepper with a creamy textured finish.

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$ 11.00

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

La Crema 7 52 Nicaragua Mexico Panama, Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

La Galera Habano

N I CA R AG UA Opens with a shot of pepper and sour fruit that settles to incorporate sweeter notes of cream, almond, and leather. This medium strength blend is finished with a neatly applied, light brown wrapper.

$ 7.90

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

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

Cabeza Caracol 7 47 Ecuador Dominican Republic Dominican Republic

La Aurora Cameroon

A flavorful blend covered with a milk chocolate colored wrapper with slight veins. Delivers an abundant smoke output with a medium strength profile highlighted by notes of bitter coffee, sweet cedar, and allspice.

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$ 6.00

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N I CA R AG UA

$ 13.45

Vegas Del Purial Gran Reserva

$ 7.19

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

Churchill 7 47 Cameroon Ecuador Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C Delivers a core of wood and spice complemented by more subtle notes of leather, cinnamon, and walnut. This mild to medium strength Churchill produces a thin smoke output along an easy draw and a wavy burn.

MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

GRAN TORO

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Don Pepín García Cuban Classic

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$ 8.90

N I CA R AG UA VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Toro Gordo 2001 6 60 Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua

Undercrown Sungrown

$ 11.20

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N I CA R AG UA

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

Gordito 6 60 Ecuador USA/Connecticut Nicaragua

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Back2Back URNY Nicaragua

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A creamy and flavorful smoke with a medium strength profile of cedar, nuts, and vanilla cream complemented by more subtle notes of earth and pepper. Consistently well-constructed, this gran toro draws and burns beautifully.

$ 7.49

H O N D UR AS VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Toro 6 60 Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua

La Sirena

Delivers an intense blend of earth and pepper accompanied by more subtle notes of dark chocolate, espresso, and leather. This thick, medium to full bodied gran toro is covered with a dark, brindled wrapper with excellent oils.

$ 11.00

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N I CA R AG UA

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

King Poseidon 6 60 Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua

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Alec & Bradley Blind Faith

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Covered with a dark, reddish brown wrapper with a supple texture, this medium plus strength blend delivers flavors of pepper, earth, and dark chocolate balanced by notes of sweet spice and rich leather.

$ 10.95

H O N D UR AS VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Gordo 6 60 Honduras Nicaragua Honduras

Nestor Miranda Collection Habano

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Well-balanced and ultra-flavorful. Medium to full strength with flavors of cedar, almond cream, cocoa, and pepper complemented by leather and spice notes on the finish. Draws and burns consistently well leaving behind a solid ash.

Densely packed and covered with a dark, reddish brown wrapper with a velvet feel. This medium plus strength blend delivers a core of earth, coffee, and leather accompanied by a touch of sweet spice. Provides a firm draw producing a medium smoke output.

$ 9.95 VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Toro 6 60 Nicaragua Nicaragua Brazil, Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

N I CA R AG UA A thick and well-constructed gran toro with a profile highlighted by cocoa, coffee, and oats balanced by soft pepper and a touch of earthiness. Produces a good smoke output and leaves behind a slightly flaky ash.

MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

TORO

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Camacho Connecticut BXP

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$ 8.25

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Toro 6 50 Honduras Nicaragua Dominican Republic & USA

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Gran Habano Blue in Green

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$ 9.50

H O N D UR AS VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Gran Robusto 6 54 USA/Connecticut Nicaragua Nicaragua

Sanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Doro Claro

Flavorful and balanced with a profile of wood, cinnamon, cashew, and a hint of tea on the finish. Produces a good smoke output along a perfect draw and burn, consistently leaving behind a solid, compact ash. Medium strength.

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$ 9.03

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

Toro 6 50 Ecuador Nicaragua Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

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Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real

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N I CA R AG UA A balanced blend with a profile of coffee, leather, soft pepper, and a touch of hazelnut. The strength builds to a mild to medium level along an excellent draw and an even burn. This toro is covered with a clean, golden colored wrapper.

$ 8.1 4 VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Toro 6 54 Ecuador USA/Connecticut Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

La Sirena LT

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C Consistently well-constructed and covered with a light brown, supple wrapper. This mild cigar provides a perfect draw that produces an excellent smoke output with subtle notes of wood, soft spice, and light roast coffee.

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$ 9.40

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

Toro 6 52 Ecuador Nicaragua Honduras, Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

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EP Carrillo New Wave Connecticut

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Impeccably box-pressed and covered with a clean, golden colored wrapper with a velvet feel. This flavorful toro delivers a core of soft pepper and earth complemented by wood, coffee, and a touch of vanilla cream.

H O N D UR AS This mild to medium strength blend delivers a balanced profile with notes of wood, soft spice, and a light touch of earth complemented by hints of coffee and cream on the finish. Covered with a light brown wrapper with excellent sheen.

$ 6.25 VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Toro 6 52 Ecuador Nicaragua Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C Delivers a core of wood, almond, leather, cream, and a touch of spice along a firm draw. This mild to medium bodied blend is finished with an attractive, light brown wrapper with minimal veins.

TORO Plasencia Alma Fuerte

$ 20.00 VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Nestor IV 6 1/4 54 Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua

N I CA R AGUA Toro 6 52 Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua

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

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Ramon Allones by AJ Fernandez

$ 13.00 A flavorful and complex blend that opens with a profile of pepper and earth, which later incorporates dark chocolate and cinnamon roasted almonds with a bit of ripe cherry. Impeccably constructed producing an excellent smoke output. Medium to full strength.

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Loaded with deep, dark flavors highlighted by charred oak, pepper, cocoa, and black coffee with a touch of earth. This pressed toro delivers medium to full strength along a flawless draw and burn, leaving behind a solid, compact ash.

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N I CA R AGUA

Protocol Probable Cause Churchill 6 1/2 48 Mexico Nicaragua Honduras, Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua

$ 11.00

N I CA R AGUA VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Vibrato 6 54 Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua

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Covered with an impeccably applied wrapper and topped with a neat triple cap. Features a medium-plus strength core with notes of pepper, oak, and espresso accompanied by a rich, tanned leather aroma. Excellent construction.

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A rich and flavorful blend with a profile of roasted almonds, soft pepper, and earth accompanied by a long-lasting note of bittersweet chocolate on the finish. This dark, box-pressed blend produces an excellent smoke output.

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

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N I CA R AGUA

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$ 9.89

Perla del Mar Maduro

N I CA R AGUA

Perla G 6 1/4 54 USA/Connecticut Nicaragua Honduras, Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

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Dark, square-pressed, and flavorful. This mild to medium strength toro covered with a goodlooking, even-colored wrapper delivers a core of earth and soft pepper complemented by notes of espresso and dark chocolate.

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

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$ 6.70

Macanudo 1968

D OM I NI CAN REPUBLIC

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

Toro 6 54 Honduras Nicaragua & Dominican Republic Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

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Covered with a dark, reddish brown wrapper with good oils, this medium plus strength toro has a core of red pepper, oak, and cinnamon with a touch of sweetness on the finish. Produces an excellent smoke output along an open draw.

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$ 9.30

MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

PERFECTO

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Casa Fernandez Miami Aniversario

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$ 13.50

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

Perfecto 6 1/4 52 Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua

Aging Room M356ii

$ 10.00

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

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

Forte 5 7/8 56 Dominican Republic Dominican Republic Dominican Republic

AJ Fernandez Pinolero

Covered with an oily, reddish brown wrapper, this medium-plus bodied figurado has a core of sweet cedar, cinnamon, and red pepper complemented by a rich, creamy texture on the finish. Excellent draw and burn leaving behind a perfect ash.

$ 10.00

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N I CA R AG UA

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

Figurado 5 3/4 54 Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua

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La Aurora Preferidos Cameroon

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Well balanced and flavorful. This medium-plus strength blend has a core of leather and pepper complemented by notes of cocoa, light roast coffee, and chestnut. Develops into a perfect draw with an increasing smoke output.

$ 1 7.24

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Platinum No. 1 6 58 Cameroon Dominican Republic Dominican Republic

A. Fuente Hemingway

A mild to medium bodied perfecto covered with an even-colored, supple wrapper. Consistently well-made producing an excellent output of aromatic smoke with notes of wood, leather, and light roast coffee.

$ 8.93

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

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

Classic 7 48 Cameroon Dominican Republic Dominican Republic

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Gurkha Cellar Reserve 18 Years

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88 | CIGAR SNOB | MAR / APR 2019

Superb balance and complexity coupled with consistently excellent construction. This perfecto builds to medium to full strength while producing a profile of sweet cedar, cinnamon roasted almonds, cocoa, and light coffee with a soft pepper note in the background.

Flavorful and beautifully balanced with notes of cedar, leather, roasted nuts, and a touch of spice accompanied by lingering maple syrup sweetness on the finish. This ultra-consistent, long figurado draws and burns exceptionally well.

$ 1 4.00

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Hedonism 6 58 Undisclosed Dominican Republic Dominican Republic

Finished with a reddish brown wrapper with a velvet feel and topped with a neat, tightly wound pigtail. This mild to medium strength blend produces a good smoke output with notes of wood, pepper, and spice along an open draw.

MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

ROBUSTO My Father Connecticut

$ 7.70

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N I CA R AG UA

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

Robusto 5 1/4 52 Ecuador Nicaragua Nicaragua

Davidoff Grand Cru

$ 19.99

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

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

Robusto 5 1/4 52 Ecuador Dominican Republic Honduras & Nicaragua

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Casa Cuevas Connecticut

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) )

Silky smooth and creamy with a profile of cedar, vanilla, and light coffee complemented by a gentle touch of spice. This mild smoke is covered with a supple, impeccably applied wrapper with a beautiful sheen. Consistently perfect draw and burn.

$ 6.90 VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Robusto 5 52 Ecuador Nicaragua Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

Balmoral Añejo XO Connecticut

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C A mild and ultra-smooth smoke with soft notes of toast, almonds, and wood accompanied by a hint of honey. This consistently well-constructed robusto draws perfectly and produces a tight, compact ash.

$ 9.75 VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Rothschild Masivo 5 55 USA/Connecticut Ecuador Brazil, USA & Dominican Republic

Brick House Connecticut

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C A thick, impeccably constructed robusto covered with a clean, supple wrapper. Mild with a core of wood, soft pepper, and light coffee. Delivers an excellent draw and an even burn leaving behind a solid ash.

$ 6.40

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N I CA R AG UA

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

Robusto 5 54 USA/Connecticut USA/Connecticut Nicaragua

Viaje Circa ‘45

Opens with a dose of pepper and earth, which quickly settles to incorporate notes of coffee, nuts, and a hint of vanilla. This medium strength blend is finished with a neatly applied, clean, light brown wrapper.

$ 12.00

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

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90 | CIGAR SNOB | MAR / APR 2019

Well balanced and flavorful with highlights of nuts, cream, and leather along a core of earth and smooth pepper. This medium bodied robusto produces an excellent smoke output along a flawless draw and burn.

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

No. 1 5 52 Ecuador Indonesia Dominican Republic

Finished with an attractive, classic-looking, medium-brown wrapper and topped with a neat triple cap. Delivers a medium strength profile with notes of wood, nuts, and a bit of cream with a short finish.

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

MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

ROBUSTO Davidoff Royal Release

$ 80.00

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

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

Robusto 5 1/2 55 Dominican Republic Ecuador Dominican Republic

AJ Fernandez Enclave

$ 7.15

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N I CA R AG UA

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Robusto 5 52 Ecuador Cameroon Nicaragua

Herrera Esteli Habano

Impeccably constructed and finished with a covered foot, this medium strength blend is rich and creamy with a core of nuts, vanilla, and soft spice accompanied by a touch of caramel. Produces an output of thick, aromatic smoke.

$ 9.12

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N I CA R AG UA

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

Robusto Extra 5 1/4 52 Ecuador Honduras Nicaragua

Mombacho Casa Favilli

Produces an excellent smoke output with flavors of soft pepper, nuts, and toffee accompanied by earth and a touch of cream. This medium strength blend is covered with a neatly applied, light brown wrapper with good oils.

$ 10.95

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N I CA R AG UA

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Robusto 5 50 Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua

Montecristo Epic

Flavorful and balanced with a core of red pepper, caramel, cedar, and vanilla cream. This medium-plus strength blend is consistently well made producing an excellent smoke output along a perfect draw.

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$ 15.04

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Robusto 5 52 Ecuador Nicaragua Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

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Cornelius & Anthony Daddy Mac

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A beautifully balanced and complex blend covered with a flawless, reddish brown wrapper with a supple feel and excellent oils. This medium strength robusto delivers a core of sweet cedar, roasted almonds, and light spice complemented by a rich, vanilla cream note.

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C Covered with a stunning, dark reddish brown wrapper with excellent oils and a velvet feel. This consistently well-constructed robusto produces a rich, creamy profile highlighted by notes of cedar, coffee, and light earth.

$ 9.90 VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

Robusto 5 52 Brazil Nicaragua Honduras, Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

N I CA R AG UA Loaded with flavors of roasted nuts, sharp pepper, and wood complemented by a touch of earth. Covered with an attractive, milk chocolate colored wrapper with good sheen, this medium strength blend consistently draws well and burns even.

MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

CORONA

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Tatuaje Negociant Monopole

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$ 11.00 VITOLA: LENGTH: RING: WRAPPER: BINDER: FILLER:

No. 3 6 1/4 48 Ecuador Mexico & Nicaragua Honduras, Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

El Güegüense

Delivers a balanced and complex profile with flavors of caramel, butterscotch, and soft pepper complemented by notes of cedar and a touch of citrus. This mild to medium bodied corona gorda produces an excellent output of aromatic smoke.

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$ 9.90

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Corona Gorda 5 5/8 46 Nicaragua Nicaragua Honduras, Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

Room 101 Hit & Run

N I CA R AG UA Creamy and beautifully balanced with a flavorful core of sweet cedar, roasted almonds, and soft pepper accompanied by a caramel note in the background. Consistently leaves behind a solid, compact ash.

$ 10.20

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

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Corona 6 46 Ecuador Indonesia & Nicaragua Dominican Republic

Matilde Serena

Produces an excellent output of thick, aromatic smoke with notes of oak, toast, and pepper balanced by a creamy, vanilla flavor on the finish. This medium strength blend is covered with a caramel colored wrapper with minimal veins.

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$ 6.75

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Corona 5 1/2 44 Ecuador Dominican Republic Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

La Galera Connecticut

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C Beautifully constructed and finished with an impeccably clean wrapper with a velvet feel. Delivers a mild profile with notes of wood, soft spice, and leather accompanied by a touch of almond. Leaves behind a solid, compact ash.

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$ 4.85

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Bonchero No. 4 5 1/2 42 Ecuador Nicaragua & Dominican Republic FILLER: Dominican Republic

Por Larrañaga

D O M I N I CA N R E P UBLI C Mild to medium strength, this flavorful corona delivers sweet cedar and spice accompanied by notes of honey and cinnamon. Consistently wellconstructed and covered with a supple, golden colored wrapper.

$ 7.00

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

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N I CA R AG UA

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

Gran Corona 6 46 Ecuador Dominican Republic Dominican Republic

A smooth and creamy offering with a profile of cedar, soft spice, and a touch of vanilla. This mild cigar is covered with an ultra-thin, golden brown wrapper with almost no visible veins. Consistently provides an easy draw and good smoke output.

MAR / APR 2019 | 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........................................... Xikar Inc @XIKARinc......................................................... La Gloria Cubana @lagloriacubana.................................... Punch Cigars @punchcigars............................................. Nick Perdomo @PerdomoCigars....................................... Miami Cigar Co @miamicigar............................................. Ernesto Padilla @PadillaCigars......................................... Avo Cigars @AvoCigars..................................................... Nat Sherman Intl. @Nat42nd............................................. La Palina Cigars @La PalinaCigars.................................... AJ Fernandez @ajfcigars..................................................

32462 30917 26857 25093 21114 19541 19202 18969 17298 16754 14715 14326 12946 12904 12815 12209 11758 11737 11698 11406

TOP CIGAR ORGANIZATIONS CRA @cigarrights............................................................. 14518 IPCPR Staff @theIPCPR.................................................. 7907 Tobacconist University @tobacconistU............................. 4624

TOP CIGAR RADIO Cigar Dave Show @CigarDaveShow................................. 11555 Smooth Draws @SmoothDraws....................................... 4388 KMA Talk Radio @KMATalkRadio...................................... 2335

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

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............ Cheap Humidors @cheaphumidors................................... Lindsay Siddiqi @TheCigarChick....................................... Palm Desert Tobacco @palmdsrttobacco......................... Buckhead Cigar @BuckheadCigar.....................................

13667 13615 11637 8340 7303 6671 5536 5303 5191 4414

@chef_frediii via Instagram Cold? Not me! #wintervibes #coldweather #mountlaguna #cali #calilifestyle #lagunamountain #ilookgood #blessed #cigarsandoutdoors #cigarsnob #cigarsnoblife #cigarsnobmagazine #ezrazioncigars

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................................. Cigar Inspector @CigarInspector ..................................... The Stogie Guys @stogieguys........................................... Tom Ufer @cigarsmonkingman..........................................

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149886 15314 14571 12375 10100 8903 8858 8468 8121 6579

@cigarsncoffee_ via Instagram Amazing Opus X with Coffee, who says no to a Fuente on a Tuesday. Photo by @southbaycigars #cigarsncoffee #cigarlife #cigarfan #coffee #cigarphotography #afuentecigars #opusx

PICK THE CIGAR THAT SUITS YOUR SPEED

ACID KRUSH CLASSICS, AMBROSIA CLOVE TIKIS, DEADWOOD SWEET JANE, ISLA DEL SOL, KENTUCKY FIRE CURED, LA VIEJA HABANA, LARUTAN DIRTIES, LIGA PRIVADA CORONETS, TABAK ESPECIAL CAFECITAS, UNDERCROWN CORONETS.

WWW.DREWESTATE.COM MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

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THE RITUAL Finding a deeper connection to tobacco through an ancient Mayan ritual

Words and photos by Erik CalviĂąo MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

he Mayan shaman handed me two rustic cigars in preparation for the ritual. They were the kind of cigars that you would have made before the advent of the cigar press, the simple machine that combined with a mold gives premium cigars their more definitive and consistent shape. The cigars were loosely packed with naturally sweet, underfermented tobacco and they were a central component in the Mayan ritual of the sacred fire.

The pool at Las Lagunas Boutique Hotel was built around a Caribbean Ipe tree.

There is something transformative and magical about being in the jungle. From the moment you leave the comfort of civilization and take in the lush scenery, hear the sound of distant howler monkeys, and breathe in the oxygenrich air, you are at once grounded. It’s a sensation that is difficult to describe but feels very real. You get the sense that you are alive and exactly where you belong. I’ve felt something similar before. I couldn’t explain it, but when I set foot in the town where my grandfather was from in northern Spain, I felt at home walking through the cobblestone streets of that place I had never been to. The jungle in the Petén region of Guatemala gave me a similar sensation, but not because I have a connection to the specific place. I have no family connection to Guatemala, but I felt that profound and primal connection to my immediate surroundings. It was different, powerful, and intensely invigorating. I came here in search of a deeper connection to tobacco. I was looking for a more primitive link, something beyond what I already enjoy thanks in part to having been born in Cuba and work-

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ing in the premium cigar business. My modest goal was to climb to the top of a Mayan temple, smoke a cigar at sunset, and go from there.

shower, luxurious furnishings, and a deck with a view of the lagoon’s famous Monkey Island (more on this later). First, it was time to eat!

So on my first day in this area known for its rich Mayan history, I signed up for an excursion out to Yaxhá (visityaxha.com), the area’s third largest archeological site. The city of Yaxhá reached its peak in power and population around A.D. 250-600. We walked through what was the ancient city’s main thoroughfare, passing pyramids, ball courts, residential complexes, and palaces on our way to the main temple on the East Acropolis, Temple 216. When I arrived at the top of the 100-foot-tall temple and caught my breath, smoking a cigar felt somehow out of place and forced, so instead I opted to simply take in the sunset in silence. On this particular day, the view as the sun dipped into Lake Yaxhá was nothing short of awe-inspiring. On the walk back through the national park, our guide Gelver explained that the connection I was looking for could be found in the ritual of the sacred fire. I was instantly sold on the idea and although most of the others in the group had zero interest in cigars or smoking, they eagerly leapt at the chance to take part in this unique ritual. Gelver made arrangements for the ritual to take place the following evening.

When you book a room in a secluded hotel surrounded by wilderness in rural Central America, you expect a certain level of simplicity from the cuisine, and that would be par for the course. That’s not at all what happened here; the hotel’s Shultún restaurant — run by Executive Chef Michael Muller — serves up a diverse menu of Guatemalan and international cuisine using fresh, local ingredients. The highlights for

In the meantime, we returned to Las Lagunas Boutique Hotel (laslagunashotel.com), a secluded luxury sanctuary located on the water’s edge of the Quexil Lagoon inside of a 300-acre nature preserve. Every one of Las Lagunas’ 19 bungalow suites is either over water or just steps off of it. I stayed in a waterfront master suite equipped with an incredible cascade

The shaman reads the flames during this Mayan ritual.

me were the variety of dishes incorporating native “white fish” from the Quexil Lagoon, caught just steps from the restaurant. The flavor and texture of this lean, flaky, freshwater fish was always delicate and clean, acting as a perfect canvas for the chef’s creativity. After dinner, the staff brought us proper cigar ashtrays and a bottle of Zacapa XO for the nightcap. After a restful night under the lullaby of jungle sounds, I woke up refreshed and went for

group in exchange for first dibs on the grub. She literally looked through the bucket and selected the choice fruits; much like my kids back home, she ignored the carrots. The rest of the monkeys on the island deftly swung from limb to limb catching and eating everything we threw at them, except the carrots. Once back on land we hit the road again, this time en route to Tikal (tikalnationalpark.com), the beating heart of the Mayan world in Gua-

Sunset from atop Temple 216 at Yaxhá National Park

Tikal National Park was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Sites for both biodoversity and man-made wonder.

a morning swim in the hotel’s stunning pool, which also overlooks the lake and was built around a massive Caribbean Ipe tree. As the story goes, when the land was being cleared to build the pool, the owner didn’t have the heart to cut down such a majestic tree, so he had them build around it at a significantly higher expense. I could have relaxed there all day watching the sun come up over the lake, but I toweled off and went up to the main dining area to have breakfast. I was amazed at how after just one full day, the staff already knew every guest in my group by name and had made note of everyone’s food preferences and allergies. We followed this up with a quick boat ride to Monkey Island, where we met and fed the colony of rescued spider monkeys that inhabit the islet. The staff at Las Lagunas rides out to the island every morning with fruits and vegetables for the monkeys and they invite hotel guests to come along for the ride. Cindy, the friendliest (or most daring) of the monkeys, came on board the boat and posed for pictures with the

temala. It is one of only a few UNESCO World Heritage sites ever to be inscribed as such for both its biodiversity as well as its man-made wonder. It was one of the largest cities of the Mayan civilization and is said to contain a few thousand structures, although only a fraction have been excavated. The structures that are exposed give us a glimpse into a city that thrived for nearly 1,000 years before its precipitous collapse in the 10th century. The place is so mesmerizing and otherworldly that it appears as the rebel base on Yavin 4 in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope and in the newer Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Whatever your motivation may be to get to Tikal — be it walking in the steps of a Mayan king from 600 BC or pretending to be a rebel fighter watching the Millennium Falcon land on Yavin 4 — plan to spend an entire day exploring and bring plenty of water. Back at Las Lagunas Boutique Hotel, we met up with the Mayan shaman and walked into the jungle to experience the tobacco connection I’d been searching for. He meticulously laid out an

array of colored candles, frankincense, herbs and other offerings around a circular altar he made of different types of stones. Most of the items around the fire would be the offerings that we would each submit to the fire when instructed to do so. After an overview of the ritual basics and protocol, he began chanting a Mayan prayer and started the fire. The sun was dropping fast and we were soon standing in a pitch-black jungle with the fire, which seemed to pick up steam at sundown, as our only source of light. The blaze danced in ways that seemed counter to the breeze that was running through the clearing, and the shaman began to speak to each person individually while observing the fire. We lit our cigars when instructed to do so and watched the fire continue to dance. He observed the way each cigar was burning and prayed accordingly. We listened to the shaman’s chants, submitted our offerings to the fire, accepted his blessings, and let ourselves get lost in the moment. It was an enlightening experience that in a mystical and serendipitous way managed to give me exactly what I was looking for. Ancient Mayan civilization is a fascinating piece of human history with layers upon layers to explore and there is perhaps no better place to start that exploration than in Petén, Guatemala. Las Lagunas Boutique Hotel was more than the base camp for my journey; the staff at the hotel took care of curating and coordinating every excursion, guided tour, and adventure.

Travel Note: To get to Las Lagunas Boutique Hotel you must take a fifty-minute flight from Guatemala City to Mundo Maya International Airport in Flores. From there, a fifteen-minute drive will get you to the property.

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PHOTO: Elliot Hess UK Athletics

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OOP STAR AND FELLOW CIGAR LOVER JIM JACKSON PUTS HIS NCAA, NBA, AND FOX SPORTS EXPERIENCE TO WORK WITH THIS CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP. PHOTO: Keenan Hairston Duke Men’s Basketball

As a basketball fan, I love this time of year. Announcing games for FOX Sports gives me a chance to be part of conference tournament play and makes it all the more special. This college basketball season has been unique. People have been drawn to college basketball earlier than usual this year because of the dynamic freshmen at Duke. I call it the “Zion Williamson effect.” On the whole there’s been some unpredictability and changing of the guard. Kentucky started out slow but is now catching fire. Kansas seemed poised for a 15th straight Big 12 title before injuries struck. And Villanova, winners of two of the last three Final Fours, has been up and down. Within each conference there has been a lot of parity.

BIG EAST I’ve been calling a lot of Big East games this year, and you can never count out Villanova, but the team to beat in the Big East Tournament is Marquette. It has one of the best scorers in the country in Markus Howard who can go off for 30 or 40 points on any given night. He can catch and shoot or shoot off the dribble. His mid-range game is effective, and he can finish at the rim. His shooting range basically starts when he enters the gym. Villanova has struggled — at least by its high standards — because it lost four players to the NBA. The Wildcats are not shooting as well from the perimeter or defending as well as they have in the past. I think Jay Wright knew it would be a transition year for his great program. St. John’s might have the conference’s most talented starting five and has the home-field advantage of playing in Madison Square Garden. Seton Hall has Myles Powell and has beaten Kentucky and Maryland. Patrick Ewing has done a heck of a job of getting his young Georgetown team to believe and play the right way.

BIG TEN I want to hedge toward Michigan State winning

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Freshman phenom Zion Williamson takes flight

the Big Ten Tournament despite injuries to Nick Ward and Joshua Langford. Going on the road to beat a tough Michigan team really impressed me. Matt Painter’s Purdue squad has a marquee player in Carsen Edwards, and his team defends well, is physical inside, and can shoot from the outside. Ohio State, where I played, is tough on defense but can struggle on offense. Keep an eye on Maryland as a bit of a sleeper in the Big Ten Tournament. The Terrapins are young, but they’ve proven they can win on neutral courts. They have an excellent point guard in Anthony Cowan Jr. and have Bruno Fernando inside.

ATLANTIC COAST In the ACC Tournament, Duke is the odds-on favorite, depending on the status of Williamson. Virginia is a close second with North Carolina right behind. A lot of people have compared Duke’s freshman class to the Michigan Fab Five of the early 1990s. I played against those Chris Webber-led teams and give the slight edge to the Fab Five. That group was different, more balanced. Webber was such an excellent facilitator, Juwan Howard could post up and Jalen Rose had such height at the point guard position. And Jimmy King and Ray Jackson were so versatile de-

fensively. But Duke does have RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish and a player the likes of which I’ve never seen before in Williamson. With freshmen Coby White and Nassir Little plus experienced upperclassmen, North Carolina has gotten better and better. Florida State, an Elite Eight team a year ago, is an X-factor because it’s long and athletic, and Virginia Tech has played extremely well.

PAC-12 Washington has proven all year that it’s not only the best in the Pac-12, but it’s also a viable threat going forward. Washington plays like Syracuse, extending that tough 2-3 defense. Arizona State has been up and down, but when the Sun Devils get it going, they can play. If neither Washington nor Arizona State wins the Pac-12 Tournament, it will burst the bubble of a team hoping to get in the NCAA Tournament. Normally a power, Arizona has gone through a lot of issues off the court. I’m sure that is weighing heavily on the minds of the young men.

BIG 12 When I think Big 12 Tournament, I think of Kansas, but losing Udoka Azubuike really hurt. During the regular season, Kansas split with Kansas State, who I really like. I’m a big Coach

PHOTO: Elliot Hess UK Athletics

Kentucky and Tennesse will be battling it out in the SEC

SOUTHEASTERN In the SEC’s conference tournament, Kentucky’s freshmen, like Keldon Johnson and Tyler Herro, have gotten better as the season has gone on. The young guys are reacting instead of thinking too much now. Tennessee has two dynamic scorers in Admiral Schofield and Grant Williams, and LSU has proven itself with wins against both Kentucky and Tennessee. Don’t take your eye off what Bruce Pearl has done at Auburn either.

MOUNTAIN WEST, MID-AMERICAN, WEST COAST CONFERENCES The Mountain West Conference, Mid-American Conference and West Coast Conference each has a dominant team who should win its re-

spective tournament. Nevada is an experienced squad and viable Final Four threat that should take over the Mountain West Tournament. The Nevada coach, Eric Musselman, was my assistant coach when I played with the Atlanta Hawks. He coaches just like his father, Bill, a former NBA coach. He’s fiery and demands a lot from his players, but he lets his players play. He doesn’t hold his players back; he just holds them accountable. In the MAC Tournament, Buffalo, who upset Arizona in the NCAA Tournament last year and defeated Syracuse on the road this year, should win out. The conference doesn’t quite have the same challengers it had in years past. Look for Gonzaga to win the WCC Tournament. I love Mark Few, and this may be his best team, even though Gonzaga lost big man Killian Tillie to injury. The Bulldogs have a senior leader in Josh Perkins and a great shooter in Zach Norvell Jr. Rui Hachimura, a junior, has made great progress from where he was as a freshman. The Bulldogs don’t turn it over and hit three-pointers and free throws. A complete team, Gonzaga is as good as anyone in the country.

Jim Jackson is a college basketball game and studio analyst and NBA studio analyst for FOX Sports. He attended Ohio State, where he was a two-time All-American, two-time Big Ten Player of the Year and was named National Player of the Year by United Press International in 1992. Jim was selected fourth overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1992 NBA Draft and played in the league for 14 seasons.

PHOTO: Ian Bailey

Weber fan. It’s a physical team that plays without fouling. The Wildcats have experience in guard Barry Brown Jr., and Dean Wade is their catalyst. He can do a little bit of everything; he can post up, shoot the ball, put the ball on the deck. Chris Beard also has done a phenomenal job at Texas Tech.

It’s going to be an exciting week. I can’t wait.

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EVENTS

TABACALERA DE GARCIA EVENTS

PROCIGAR 2019

Dominican Republic Dominican cigar makers say theirs are the world’s best cigars. The annual Procigar festival is where they bring smokers to the source and make that case, creating lifelong fans along the way. The event draws people from all over the world. What they have in common is that they love cigars enough to spend a few days learning all they can and sharing the experience with like-minded people.

Karla Díaz, Isis Lawrence and Yasemin Ozoncul

Every Procigar festival involves lots of factory and farm tours, incredible dinners — often hosted right at the cigar factories and tobacco farms themselves — and a party atmosphere at night that you can’t help but be sucked into. The event was capped by a gala dinner and live auction that raised $175,000 for area charities. The Dominican Senate also took this gala as an opportunity to present Davidoff’s Henke Kelner with a resolution recognizing him “as a fundamental promoter of the development and modernization of the national tobacco industry and a driving force for the Dominican Republic to become the largest cigar exporter in the world.”

Regine Wolfgramm, Pedro Ventura, Yasemin Ozoncul, Nestor Rodríguez and Javier Elmudesi

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Josefina Pichardo and Lili Wang

LA FLOR DOMINICANA FIELD AND FACTORY TOUR

David Podber, Mariska Kelch, Mirko Lorenzo, Marco Van De Horst and Rianne Dankers

Litto Gómez leads a tour of LFD tobacco fields

Thomas Beamon, Thomas and Michael Cunningham

TRADITIONAL DOMINICAN DINNER PARTY

Guillermo León, Karl and Kadee Malone and Albert Montserrat

Jim Young, Sara Tío and Dylan Austin

Catherine and Monika Kelner, Augusto “Fufi” Reyes, Nirka Reyes and Catherine Llibre

Victoria McKee and Ernest Gocaj

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TABACALERA PALMA FIELD AND FACTORY TOUR

The Tabacalera Palma team

Steve McCray and Kenneth Hagins, Jr.

Jochy Blanco shares his knowledge with a tour group.

WHITE PARTY AT MONUMENTO DE LOS HEROES DE LA RESTAURACION

Joseph Green, Christopher Weathersby, Ylka Morales and San Pachal

Litto Gómez, Ángel Elizalde and David Pérez

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Philip Zanghi and Osiris Lagos

Don and Mary Lynn Kane and Andrew Beykovsky

TABACALERA LA ALIANZA FACTORY TOUR

Cigar tasting seminar

Ernesto Pérez Carrillo and José Blanco

GALA DINNER AT CENTRO ESPAÑOL

Henke Kelner was recognized as a fundamental promoter of the development and modernization of the national tobacco industry.

Tim Swail, Dan Murphy, Theresa and Sean Knutsen

Ramón Zapata Pérez

Christian Baez, José López and Daniel Aquino

Hostos Fernández Quesada, Oriana Veloso and Guillermo León

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EVENTS SMOKE INN’S THE GREAT SMOKE West Palm Beach, Fla.

This is arguably South Florida’s marquee annual cigar event. It’s just the right combination of a fun crowd, a variety of cigars, and access to some of the cigar industry’s biggest stars. According to Smoke Inn, this year’s — the 13th such event — was their biggest Great Smoke yet! It all started with a kickoff party on the Thursday night hosted by Drew Estate. On Friday, Rocky Patel hosted a VIP dinner. And then there was the main event on Saturday, which featured a live taping of the KMA Talk Radio Show.

Brandy and Abe Dababneh

Dana Sofía and José Luís Plasencia

Steve Vega, Susan Georgiou, Rob Norris, Rich Ivancic, Brad Winstead, Candela Díaz, Oliver Hyams and Paul Waller

Cindy and Steve Saka

Angel Rosario, Amanda Morton and Robert Lalli

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Traci Irven and Darryl Redmon

Michael Bonham and Jared Lee

Juan Pablo Rosales and Karen Rossi

Alfredo Cruz and Dion Giolito

Bill and Jaci Carney

Kerryn and Joe Cole

Adriana Ortega and Yandy López

Jose and Joseph Ortega

Our infamous photographer Ramón Santana

José Ortega, Joaquín Saladrigas, Janny García and Josef Joudeh

José Díaz and Eric Caraballoso

Ailsa and Juan Contijoch

José Morel and Nish Patel

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EVENTS ROCKY PATEL CIGARS AT SMOKE INN BOYNTON BEACH Boynton Beach, Fla.

Attendees took advantage of special deals on Rocky Patel cigars while getting a chance to rub elbows with Nish Patel, Nimish Desai and Hamlet Paredes. There was also a raffle in which one lucky smoker won a 70-inch TV. It’s always a great time at Smoke Inn lounges, and it’s even more of a party when the Rocky Patel crew rolls through. Jill Barr Loope, Hamlet Paredes, Nish Patel, José Morel and David Peters

David Peters and José Morel

Nimish Desai enjoying cigars with friends

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Nish Patel and Glynn Loope

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EVENTS CIGAR SNOB CIGAR SOCIAL AT THE WHARF WITH OLIVA CIGARS Miami

Cigar Snob, Oliva Cigars, and The Wharf Miami put together a riverfront cigar social for more than 200 guests. Smokers from all over town gathered for Serie V, Connecticut Reserve, Melanio, and other Oliva cigars at The Wharf, an open-air event space where they enjoyed great drinks and food from a wide variety of trucks (pizza, barbecue, you name it). The staff from The Cigar Shop of Bird Road provided sales assistance for the evening.

Shiah Goldberg and Ashley Dalti

Ivette and Marcos Crespo

Frank Herrera and Elissa Noyes

114 | CIGAR SNOB | MAR / APR 2019

Tony Guerra, Steven Gueitz, Cruz Juárez and Albert Sosa

Lissette Díaz-Nanavichit, Erik Calviño, Ed Reed, Nick Nanavichit and Brandon Schwartz

Ari Gómez, Ron Gilbert and Leinzs Vincent

Libert Ramos and Ivette Galano

Belkys Sánchez and Liz López

Eddy Guerra and Berta Bravo

MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

115

EVENTS SUPER BOWL WEEKEND AT DAVIDOFF OF GENEVA Atlanta

The Davidoff of Geneva store in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood was host to an ultraexclusive event over Super Bowl Weekend in which VIPs — most of them NFL and Hollywood celebrities — were offered gifts by a number of top-shelf brands. They also got a chance to smoke some Davidoffs that had been created specifically for Super Bowl LIII. There was a grooming bar, video game stations, and all sorts of gifts from brands across product categories. Celebrity has its perks.

Retired 49er Adam Walker

Eagles Super Bowl 52 champion Bryan Braman and friends

Patriot’s DuJuan Daniels

116 | CIGAR SNOB | MAR / APR 2019

Former heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield and Tony Hall

Alberto Rosario, Melissa McAvoy, Jeezy, and Brittany Reimann

Panther’s DJ Moore

MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

117

EVENTS MY FATHER AT SEMINOLE CASINO Coconut Creek, Fla.

My Father Cigars and The Macallan were featured at an event at Seminole Casino in Coconut Creek, Florida. Aside from great steak from the casino’s NYY Steak Dugout, attendees got three cigars, a lighter and a cutter out of the deal. The Macallan was on hand to pour their Scotch as well as some specialty cocktails. On the way out, everyone in attendance got a swag bag that included a bottle of The Macallan Gold and a leather cigar holder loaded with three My Father cigars.

Gabriela Aurora and Sara Arbelaez

José Ortega, Scott Walden and Joaquín Saladrigas

Ryan and Alexis Lemerich

Kirk Layne, José Ortega, Scott Walden and Donnell Bennett

Jeremy Fondi, Diego Haber and Marcelo Macari

118 | CIGAR SNOB | MAR / APR 2019

Greg Saladino, Rob Iacobelli, Kevin Frankel and Vincent Soriero

Jessica Maskiell and Gerardo Defabrictiis

Geryl, Vincent and Laddy Prestigiacomo and Larry Glass

MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

119

EVENTS FRANK SINATRA’S BIRTHDAY AT NICK’S CIGARS Rochester, NY

About 50 smokers came together to celebrate the life, legacy and music of Frank Sinatra on Old Blue Eyes’ birthday at Nick’s Cigars in Rochester. Guests showed up dressed in their ‘50s best and enjoyed cigars, whisky (two-finger pour, two ice cubes, a splash of water, just like Frank used to like it) and great music. The Rat Pack lives on.

120 | CIGAR SNOB | MAR / APR 2019

MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

121

EVENTS SCOTCH AND CIGARS AT BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL TOMBOLA Miami

Belen Jesuit’s annual scholarship fundraiser has been called Tómbola — Spanish for raffle — since the school’s early days in Cuba, but the event has evolved into a lot more than a simple raffle since then. For one weekend, one of the school’s small courtyards becomes the event’s cigar lounge, where moms, dads and alumni gather for stogies and spirits. This year’s event featured cigars by Padrón, C.L.E., and My Father (all companies whose owners have ties to the school) as well as Aberfeldy whisky. This year Tómbola raised more than $675,000.

Dads of Belen Jesuit students enjoying Aberfeldy and cigars at the Tómbola Cigar Lounge

Alex Gómez-Pina, L.J. Rodríguez, Benny Carmona, Alberto Delgado, Tony Franyie, Javier Mariscal, José López, José López-Jenkins, Carlos Bravo

Danny Garrido, Tony Abella, Manny Morera, Barbara Acosta, Tom Jelke

Javier and Carmen Mariscal

122 | CIGAR SNOB | MAR / APR 2019

Gabriel Mesa, Ricky Cambo, Michael López, Albert Paradela, Daniel Fuenmayor

MAR / APR 2019 | CIGAR SNOB |

123

124 | CIGAR SNOB | MAR / APR 2019