Cigar Snob Magazine March April 2024

Spring is sprung and we have some of the good stuff to celebrate. Loafers inspired by cigar design, a fashion-conscious watch that can stay waterproof at almost 1,000 feet below, and a backyard, woodfired pizza oven are among our gift suggestions.

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SPLURGE CANDELA C-8

100% ELECTRIC HYDROFOIL BOAT

Silently skimming the water at a maxed out 31 mph, this futuristic watercraft was magic. Maybe the electric cars aren’t your thing, but here is – finally –a reason to celebrate an electric vehicle.

We hit the Lake Geneva shoreline and more on a trek through Switzerland, a cigar-forward territory if there ever was one. We take in the country via its stellar train system. Along the way, there were whiteouts in the Alps, walks through Charlie Chaplin’s old place, and a walk through the United Nations Office at Geneva.

A rapidly-expanding sushi operation lands in South Florida and turns into one of the area’s hottest tables in the cuisine-crazy Miami area.

Nick Melillo dog-eared a couple of passports in his trek to launching Foundation Cigar Co., one of the cigar sector’s top brands. Growing up in a family of cigar smokers, the leaf was his destiny. We talk with the well-traveled Melillo about his journeys, his life in cigars, and conspiracy theories.

The Cuban Cowboy grew up in Miami and learned as a teenager that he loved country music. When he played on The Voice a couple of years ago, he hit big, and Mendez moved to Nashville, where he now records. We talk with Mendez about his life in music and cigars.

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In a scene that looked like it had been taken straight out of a movie, a tractor-trailer’s cab dangled high above the Ohio River following a multivehicle crash on Friday March 1. The truck’s trailer sat almost halfway over the edge of the Clark Memorial Bridge, which spans the Ohio River connecting Louisville, Kentucky with southern Indiana, while the cab and its driver were suspended over the river’s rushing, frigid waters for nearly an hour. Crews were reportedly on the scene in less than five minutes, but it took time to devise the plan and put the pieces in place for the daring rescue.

Louisville firefighter Bryce Carden, 29 years old, was lowered alongside the hanging truck where he met the victim face to face. According to Carden, “Thank God,” was the driver’s reaction to seeing him hanging next to her window and who could blame her. Using a free pocket knife given to him during training (if you watch our MAILTIME videos you know how much I love a good pocket knife), he cut her free of her seatbelt and secured her to his harness before they were pulled up to safety. Carden and the driver remained calm throughout the experience and prayed all the way up to safety. In numerous interviews Carden has given credit not just to the entire Louisville Fire Department but to the driver as well, herself a military veteran, for keeping it together and working with him to make the rescue possible.

I had a completely different letter written for this issue but as I sat watching this unfold, enthralled by the bravery and selfless acts of Carden and the men and women of the Louisville Fire Department, I had to scrap it to shine a light on these heroes. First responders are a special breed and I want to use this space to say THANK YOU and GOD BLESS.

Now I need a favor from you. If you’re in a cigar lounge and you spot some firefighters picking up smokes, don’t let them pay. Walk up and thank them for putting their lives on the line every day, then pick up the tab. And if you happen to live in Louisville and know what station Carden and the rest of that rescue team is based in, shoot us an email at feedback@cigarsnobmag.com with that address so that we can send them a thank you package.

Now on to this issue. It’s a good one! We kicked things off with our intrepid senior editor Steve Miller, who took one for the team with a trip to Switzerland to visit, among other things, the site of Deep Purple’s iconic Smoke on the Water starting on p. 33. Upon returning, he sat down with Foundation Cigar’s Nick Melillo for a piece titled Renaissance Man on p. 65. Ivan and his photo shoot crew captured the lovely Australian, Milli Ross, on Española Way in South Beach while she enjoyed the Espinosa Azulejo with Zafra Rum in a pictorial we called Relax & Indulge, starting on p. 46. I got to test drive a revolutionary new 100% electric, hydrofoil boat for a new section we’re calling Splurge on p. 30 and I also interviewed a young country singer on p. 86. In the meantime, Jamy was covering every cigar event and festival under the sun. Her coverage of Puro Sabor is on p. 92, ProCigar is on p. 98, and

The Great Smoke is on p. 104. You may think that’s enough but wait, wait there’s more! There’s much more so get to it, dig in and enjoy our pages with your favorite smoke and if you have something to say about it, let us know at feedback@cigarsnobmag.com.

Keep ‘em lit,

Erik Calviño ecalvino@cigarsnobmag.com

YOU’RE HIRED

I’m super flattered to have my cigar story printed in the (Sept/ Oct 2023) issue (Pride of Paducah). What an honor!! As far as Paducah goes, yes, your crew definitely need to stop in. Besides being the Quilt capital, we are home to some great restaurants and bars, plus we have the smoker friendly, Old Fashioned Cigar Bar. Chef Sarah Bradley owns and operates Freight House downtown. She’s been on Top Chef twice, and a finalist both times. She runs a fantastic, locally sourced farm-to-table restaurant with a revolving menu. We also have Doe’s Eat Place, with some of the best steaks around, and Stella’s, which sits inside a historic building and also features a great menu. Barrel & Bond, which has probably the most extensive bourbon selection in the entire state, is run by Brian Shemwell and Fish Adams (yes, he goes by Fish). They are big bourbon collectors and put forward a sizable portion of their private collections to open a truly amazing bar, with floor to ceiling bottles of some of the rarest bourbon. They have bottles from nearly every decade, some of the last bottles known from certain barrels. They often help local stores barrel select at different distilleries around the state, as they really know their bourbon. Inside you’ll find many bourbon “artifacts” from years gone by. It’s almost like being in a museum.

As far as the Old Fashioned Cigar Bar, Joaquin Hilton has created a great cigar lounge with a well stocked humidor, full bar with a large bourbon list, and a lively atmosphere. Jeanne Rudd serves up some of the best cocktails WRITE

in town, including a smoked Old Fashioned presented in a Booker’s bourbon box.

So, once you plan this trip to showcase the shining star on the Ohio River, book your rooms at the 1857 Hotel downtown. It’s worthy of a photo shoot all its own. Once there, you are in walking distance to all of the places I mentioned, plus other restaurants, bars, music stores, and many antique stores. Oh, and of course the National Quilt Museum. Thanks again!

Thanks again!!

Jason C

Paducah KY

Via questions@cigarsnobmag.com

Hello again Jason! In another first here at Cigar Snob, we would never publish feedback from the same person twice. However, we’re making an exception here. Your response this time around was even better than the first submission you sent us. Thank you so much for such an insightful travel write-up on what to see and do in Paducah. It makes you want to go out and check what the fare is for a flight out to the Quilt City, excellent job sir. Come to think of it, we might have something here. Would you be interested in doing this for a living? You’re hired!

PIG ROAST PARTY?

We need another pig roast, La Caja China party! That was too much fun.

JT

Via questions@cigarsnobmag.com

Someone’s ready to party Lechon Challenge style! If you don’t know what JT is referring to, check out lechonchallenge.com. As for you, JT, we are working on an event program which we hope to unveil soon and we will do everything possible to host another Lechon Challenge.

OSCARTOBACCO COM

OSCAR VALLADARES TOBACCO & CO

OVCIGARS

MY FATHER CIGARS AND TATUAJE CIGARS CONTINUE CONNECTION FOR LA UNION

My Father Cigars and Tatuaje are ready to ship the initial run of their La Union collaboration. The first delivery will be for the black boxes, with a red box to come later, with some differences in wrappers.

There are four La Union blends and all come in a 7 ¼ x 50 double corona with a traditional Cuban 109-style head. Two were blended by Tatuaje’s Pete Johnson and will have a covered foot while the two blended by the Garcias will have an open foot. The tobacco used for binders and fillers is grown by the Garcia family. For the wrappers, Johnson chose Nicaraguan shade grown Corojo 99 for the black box and Ecuador Sumatra for the red box. The Garcias chose to use Ecuador Habano for the black box and Connecticut USA Broadleaf for the red.

Each box of 40 will feature 20 by each brand. The cigars will retail for $60 and $2,400 a box. Each box comes with a Xikar Xi1 Perfect Cut cigar cutter.

PADRÓN CIGARS TO CELEBRATE 60TH ANNIVERSARY AT PCA24 WITH KEYNOTE AND SPONSORSHIP

Padrón Cigars will celebrate its 60th anniversary at PCA24 in Las Vegas March 22-25.

Padrón Cigars is teaming up with the Premium Cigar Association for sponsorship of this year’s trade show.

The celebration will kick off on March 22, with the Padrón family delivering this year’s keynote address. For the speech, members of the Padrón family will dive into their family’s history in cigar making and take questions from those in attendance. The Padrón family will offer one of its cigars to the first 200 in attendance as part of the festivities. Also, as part of their sponsorship of this year’s trade show, Padrón’s booth will be located at the center of the trade show floor.

“My family and I are honored to celebrate our 60th Anniversary at PCA24,” Jorge Padrón , president of Padrón Cigars Inc., said in a press release. “For over 30 years we have been supporters of this important organization. Our

associa tion with its membership has played a significant part in our development as a company. We are pleased to have been given the opportunity to share this special milestone with PCA and we look forward to a strong and continuing relationship.”

ERIC NEWMAN RECEIVES LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Eric Newman is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Nicaraguan Chamber of Tobacco . Newman, third generation owner and president of J.C. Newman Cigar Co., was presented with the award this week at the Puro Sabor Festival’s White Dinner, which was held at the J.C. Newman PENSA factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. Newman said that he was very surprised and humbled by the honor, and was very grateful to receive it surrounded by so many friends in the cigar industry.

CROWNED HEADS ANNOUNCES MIL DIAS MADURO

Crowned Heads is shipping a new regular production release, Mil Dias Maduro, in partnership with the TacaNicsa factory in Esteli, Nicaragua, home to the original Mil Dias brand.

Mil Dias Maduro is be available as a 5 3/8 x 52 Edmundo, 6 x 54 Sublime and 4 7/8 x 56 Tapes. Price ranges from $10.95 to $12.50. The blend features a Grade A Dark Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Habano binder, and all-Nicaraguan filler tobaccos from three regions (Viso Jalapa, Ligero Condega, and Seco Ometepe).

“Mil Dias Maduro is an extension to the original Mil Dias brand that we announced in July of 2020,” Crowned Heads co-founder Jon Huber said in a press release. “What’s important to note, however, is that the Maduro blend is not simply a retread of the original blend where we just swapped the wrapper leaf out. Mil Dias Maduro is an all-new blend from the outside to the inside that we felt was worthy of bearing the Mil Dias brand name. We began working on the Mil Dias Maduro blend with Eradio Pichardo in the summer of 2023. The result is a cigar with a flavor profile that is dense and lush, layered with notes of dark chocolate, baking spices, with excellent structure and a pepper component that is most noticeable on the retro-hale.”

METAPA IS NOW AKSUMFOUNDATION CIGARS REBRANDING

Foundation Cigar Company’s Metapa line now goes by Aksum.

The blend remains unchanged but the packaging is fresh as well, as the image on the box and band of Aksum is that of Haile Selassie’s father, Ras Makonnen, who was once governor of Aksum, a kingdom in East Africa and South Arabia. Makonnen is regarded as one of the great leaders of Abyssinia and confidant to Emperor Menelik II.

The cigars feature a Sumatra Ecuadorian wrapper, Connecticut Broadleaf binder and Nicaraguan filler.

Aksum stays with the four sizes of its predecessor: 5.5 x 48 Corona Gorda ($14.50), 5 x 50 Robusto ($15.50), 6 x 52 Toro ($16.50), 7 x 54 Double Corona ($18).

The cigars come soft-pressed in 10-count boxes.

The cigars are now shipping and the line will be showcased at the upcoming PCA trade show in Las Vegas.

RED PHONE BOOTH OPENS IN STYLE IN MIAMI’S BRICKELL NEIGHBORHOOD

Red Phone Booth , a franchised experiential outlet that features a 1920s-style cigar lounge, bar and eatery, has opened in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood, its first Florida establishment.

With the original location in downtown Atlanta, Red Phone Booth also has locations in Atlanta, Nashville, and Dallas, with Tampa next on the list.

Red Phone Booth Hospitality was founded by Stephen de Haan. The Brickell location is the first franchise location to open.

The new Florida location occupies nearly 6,000 square feet and features reclaimed brick walls from a textile mill, a honey onyx bar, Italian leather couches, and hand-painted ceiling and fine art throughout the venue. On the second level, the Mafia Room is available to rent for private events and has its own bar, pool table,

poker table and flat screen TVs.

Red Phone Booth serves up a wide choice of cocktails, made to order food and a full humidor.

While the lounge is open to the public, part of the unique Prohibition experience is that guests will need a secret phone number from a member or local hotel concierge to dial into the restored London antique red phone booth to gain entry.

Memberships are reciprocal at all locations and start at $400 (individual) to $7,500 (corporate) with packages in between. The Red Phone Booth Brickell location is currently accepting applications for membership.

CAO TAPS AI FOR VIRTUAL HOT ROD DREAM MACHINE TOOL

Cruising behind CAO’s release of the Resonator cigar is the Flathead Dream Machine, an AI tool that puts the CAO smoker in the driver’s seat.

With some imagination and a few keystrokes, the AI tool whips up the user’s hot rod dream machine, creating images that can be admired in the gallery or shared among fellow cigar smokers.

“CAO has always been the first one off the starting line, just like CAO Flathead has always been inspired by hot rods and car culture,” Ed Lahmann , senior brand manager for CAO Cigars, said in a press release. “We felt it was time to lead the pack once again with a fun and imaginative AI tool that connects CAO fans with their passion for cars and cigars. We look forward to seeing the hot rods that are built on the tool and to giving CAO fans the chance to share what drives them in the way of their dream car.”

ZZ TOP GUITARIST BILLY GIBBONS LAUNCHES CIGAR BRAND

ZZ Top frontman, guitarist and co-founder Billy Gibbons has formed his own cigar brand, Billy Gibbons Cigar Co

Gibbons’ debuts include Virtu, a line from the Dominican Republic team behind Debonaire Cigars and Debonaire Rum, which will come in five sizes, and Twin Turbo, a two-pack rough-cut style cigar brand.

Virtu features Habano and Maduro wrappers and will be first available in a humidor collectible, available through retailers, with a select

few signed by Gibbons. Each numbered cedar humidor features five Debonaire cigars, a custom-designed Zippo, and pinstriping artwork.

Twin Turbo will launch with two cigars in a foil pouch and are created for the convenience store consumer.

Over the years, Gibbons, a Texas native, has participated in endeavors outside music, including tequila, restaurants and hot sauce, all reliably Texas-connected.

In a 2021 interview with Cigar Snob, Gibbons said that among his favorite smokes were Partagas, Royal Jamaica, Montecristo, and H. Upmann.

“His personal preference leans on the smallish side though larger Winston Churchill smokes are also a regular indulgence,” Cigar Snob wrote

FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESS INDUSTRIAL CIGAR CO. EXPANDS LOUNGE EXPERIENCE WITH FUSELAGE PARLOR & KITCHEN

Industrial Cigar Co. a Frisco, Texas lounge, has expanded its establishment with the new Fuselage Parlor & Kitchen , a food and drinks establishment with art deco/aviation themed decor.

The addition of nearly 3,000 square feet includes the Principle Cocktail Lounge, a collaboration with Principle Cigars , featuring a cigar collection paired with crafted cocktails and a light food menu.

“The expansion of Fuselage Parlor & Kitchen is an exciting chapter for the Frakes family, and we are thrilled to continue our journey to become a true destination lounge,” Brandon Frakes , co-owner of Industrial, said in a press release. “This expansion is a celebration of the relationships we’ve built over the past seven years, and we invite everyone to join us in this new and elevated experience.”

TEXAS CIGAR FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES DETAILS

The Texas Cigar Festival , presented by Casa de Montecristo, takes place on April 13 in Houston, where guests will receive huge event bags loaded with premium cigars.

This year’s event takes place at the country music

nightclub Stampede Houston and runs from 1 to 6 p.m. The event features meet-and-greets with cigar personalities, a Texas BBQ, live music, and bull riding.

VIP tickets include an upgraded swag bag, exclusive food, and an open bar. General admission includes a BBQ lunch and two drink tickets.

NEW ENGLAND CIGAR EXPO RETURNS IN SEPTEMBER

New England Cigar Expo returns for its second annual edition, on September 27 and 28 at Dreamer’s Ranch in Windham, New Hampshire.

The two-day extravaganza kicks off with the Two Guys Smoke Shop 39th Anniversary Cigar Dinner, a comedy show, the Cigar Hall of Fame 2024 induction ceremony, and a game show where the winner wins up to 1 lb. of gold valued at over $30,000. Ticket holders will receive 18 premium cigars on night one.

Festivities continue the next day with Expo Day, offering attendees the chance to mingle with industry titans, enjoy live broadcasts of the Cigar Authority Podcast, and witness a strongman competition featuring some of the world’s largest athletes vying for cash prizes. Ticket holders on day two will receive 21 premium cigars.

Food trucks will be on site and special guests are always a possibility – last year comedian Bill Burr dropped by.

Tickets will be available for purchase starting on May 4 at 10 a.m. EST for VIP and two-day passes, and May 6 at 10 a.m. EST for single-day tickets.

Tickets can be purchased online at 2GuysCigars. com and at all Two Guys Smoke Shop locations in Nashua, Salem, and Seabrook, New Hampshire

FRATELLO CIGARS TO LAUNCH POCAHONTAS AT PCA

Fratello Cigars will make the Pocahontas a PCA exclusive at the tradeshow in Las Vegas March 22-25. The 5.5 x 54 cigar ($10) is part of Fratello’s DMV series featuring Virginia. It features an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and a mixed-blend filler composed of Dominican, Colombian and Nicaraguan tobaccos.

The Pocahontas will be limited to 200 boxes and manufactured in the La Aurora Cigar Factory in

the Dominican Republic. Anticipated shipment is expected in April.

DIESEL VINTAGE SERIES NATURAL NOW SHIPPING

Diesel Vintage Series is expanding to include Diesel Vintage Series Natural, a five-cigar collection.

Diesel Vintage Series Natural complements Diesel Vintage Series, the Maduro-wrapped line that launched last year. The new blend features an Ecuadorian wrapper, a Nicaraguan Habano binder from Esteli and a range of Nicaraguan Jalapa filler tobaccos.

The Series Natural comes in the following sizes: Diesel Vintage Series Pico Gordo 4.5 x 60 ($8.79), Diesel Vintage Series Robusto Gordo 5 x 56 ($7.79), Diesel Vintage Series Toro 6 x 52 ($7.99), Diesel Vintage Series Double Corona 7.75 x 49 ($8.79), Diesel Vintage Series Rabito 6 x 46 ($9.29).

All sizes of Diesel Vintage Series come in 20-count boxes except for the Rabito frontmark, which is packed in a 10-count box.

Diesel Cigars are distributed by Forged Cigar Company

CLUB MACANUDO OPENS LOCATIONS IN JAKARTA, TAIPEI

Club Macanudo has opened new venues in Jakarta, Indonesia and Taipei, Taiwan.

Located in the premier district of South Jakarta, Club Macanudo Jakarta is part of the luxury Bumi Pakubuwono development, which is bordered by five-star hotels and a golf resort, and the upscale shopping and business district of Senayan City.

Club Macanudo Taipei is located in Xinyi, the city’s prosperous central business district, and features city views.

Both feature extensive humidor retail selections featuring a collection of Macanudo cigars along with a selection of Scandinavian Tobacco Group ’s most popular brands including CAO, Silencio and Alec Bradley.

In addition to the five Club Macanudo locations in New York City, Bossier City, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei and Jakarta, Scandinavian Tobacco Group also operates a Macanudo-branded, luxury retail

shop and cigar lounge in Copenhagen.

PURE AROMA CIGARS RELEASES ARMANDO ARTAMENDI CABINET SELECTION

Pure Aroma Cigars , known for producing the highly rated D’Crossier line of smokes, has partnered with Armando Artamendi of Aficionado’s Premium Cigars & Wine to release the Armando Artamendi Cabinet Selection Sun Grown. The blend of Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers is finished with an Ecuador Habano wrapper. The binder is undisclosed. The line will initially be available in two sizes, a 5 ½ x 52 Robusto Extra ($14) and a 6 x 60 Enormous ($15).

FERIO TEGO RELEASES TIMELESS PANAMERICANA SECRETO

Ferio Tego is shipping a new addition to its Timeless Panamericana line, the 4.5 x 40 Secreto ($10), a Petit Corona. Manufactured in Nicaragua, the Timeless Panamericana blend features Nicaraguan and Costa Rican filler tobaccos, a Nicaraguan binder, and an Ecuador-Sumatra wrapper. It is packaged in hinged Okume boxes of ten cigars.

Ferio Tego Panamericana Secreto is the fifth format in the Panamericana blend, joining the 7 x 48 Julieta, 6 x 60 Gordo, 5.5 x 52 Belicoso Fino, and 5 x 50 Epicure.

“Petit Coronas are perennial favorites among many of the most discerning premium cigar enthusiasts,” Michael Herklots, co-owner of Ferio Tego, said in a press release. “The addition of this time-honored vitola provides a more obvious, focused and straight-to-the-point expression of the Panamericana blend without sacrificing flavor or finesse.”

LOS STATOS DELUXE LIMITED EDITION NOW SHIPPING

Los Statos Deluxe Limited Edition is now shipping.. The 5.5 x 50 Figurado ($16.99) features a Connecticut-grown Broadleaf, Pennsylvania Broadleaf and Corojo 98 from Nicaragua as the foundation of the cigar with Ecuadorian Sumatra binder and Mexican San Andrés wrapper.

The packaging includes eye-catching double outer wrapping with black and gold branding.

“This blend is sophisticated in nature,” Matt Booth , one of the creators of the cigar, said in a

press release. “It is medium to medium-plus in body, yet full in flavor transition throughout the entire smoke. With so much complexity, there’s only one downside to the cigar and it’s that it literally goes by too fast, leaving you to wish the experience lasted longer.”

Los Statos Deluxe Limited Edition is produced in the Dominican Republic at the William Ventura Cigar Factory . The Los Statos Deluxe brand is distributed by STG’s Forged Cigar Company .

ATABEY BLACK RITOS SHIPS

The Atabey Black Ritos by Nelson Alfonso of Selected Tobacco is now shipping to United Cigar Branded lounges and NFT box holders. As the world’s first cigar NFT, the Atabey Black Ritos originally released in 2021. Enthusiasts were able to purchase NFT boxes at a set price of $1,200 as Atabey Black Ritos NFT’s were released with a charitable intent and not as an auction item.

After five years of post-roll age in Selected Tobacco’s aging rooms, the 2024 release is now shipping exclusively to ten select U.S. retailers.

The 6 1/8 x 55 Atabey Black Ritos ($50) features a dark Ecuador wrapper with fillers of Dominican and Peruvian tobaccos aged in rooms lined with five different cedars and French Oak for the aging process.

The Atabey Black Ritos comes in black lacquered boxes of 25.

QUALITY IMPORTERS PRESENTS THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON COLLECTION

Quality Importers Trading Company presents the Year of the Dragon four-piece collection, a celebration of the Chinese Year of the Dragon. The collection includes a Humidor Supreme 20 count traveler humidor ($57.99), a five-count cigar caddy ($31.99), the Palió Pro Antares lighter ($64.99), and Xikar Perfect Cut cigar cutter ($99.99).

Retailers are encouraged to purchase the collection as a group but can also buy it as individual pieces.

The Year of the Dragon collection is available to order until the end of March. Retailers can purchase individual items or as a group at the wholesale price of $100.

Got Gear

TOBACCO VANILLE EAU DE PARFUM FRAGRANCE

BY TOM FORD tomford.com

$295 (50ml)

We love the smell of tobacco in the morning. Or afternoon and evening for that matter. For that, Tom Ford delivers this warm and spicy scent with tinges of tobacco leaf, vanilla, and ginger. And check the vessel; the black flattened top and the squared, opaque/deep brown tinted bottle make it look like a chess piece. The fragrance is also cross gender – in a Q & A forum, several women users weigh in to say it is “absolutely” fine for females. So Mother’s Day is in play.

IT’S SPRINGTIME AND SOME OF YOU IN LESS TEMPERATE CLIMATES ARE PREPARING TO EMERGE FROM SOME WEATHER-INDUCED TORPOR. WE GOT YOU AS YOU COME BACK TO THE WORLD, WITH A BUFFET OF GOODS THAT WILL GET YOU BACK IN THE GAME. A FASHIONABLE WATCH, SOME KILLER KICKS, A SPACE-AGE ESPRESSO MAKER, A NIFTY PIECE OF LUGGAGE, SOME FINE CRYSTAL SIPPING GLASSES AND A WOOD-FIRED PIZZA OVEN ARE ALL ON TAP AND READY FOR YOU. SUMMER STARTS EARLY, YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST.

BELL & ROSS BR 03-92 DIVER BLACK & GREEN BRONZE bellross.com

$4,900

With this classy, flashy timepiece, you can dip past 300 yards down and will know what time it is, literally, as it’s water resistant to that scary depth. They call it “100 percent nautical aesthetic,” while we call it pretty cool looking. The square case, green dial and rotating bezel, as well as the sapphire crystal, make this something you’ll be wearing on the boat. Man overboard, who cares?

THE MAJORDOME PURO LOAFER lemajordome.ch

$740

Drawing design inspiration from the cigar world, these suede slip-ons come with a sun-grown hue for the exterior and a darker, oscuro shade for the interior leather lining. Even the saddle takes a cue from cigars, with the understated but smooth shape of a traditional cigar band. Got some ideas of your own? These kicks are made to order and customizable but limited in production to 24 pairs this year. The producer, Majordome, is a Swissbased operator that is up-and-coming. Teaming up for this project with Michael Herklots, co-owner of Ferio Tego Cigars, bodes well for the brand.

BRIGGS & REILLY LARGE EXPANDABLE SPINNER LUGGAGE briggs-riley.com

$870

We’ve already got the plane tickets piling up for the year and need something to haul stuff in. Enter this hefty, handy suitcase. Attributes include flexible compress/expand ability, TSAapproved lock, and 360-degree, ball-bearing spinner wheels. The polycarbonate shell assures that it is light as it can be for its size. That comes in handy as most international airlines are now limiting weight per piece of luggage. Spinner is available in black, plum, latte and matte navy with monogram optional.

Got Gear

BREVILLE BAMBINO PLUS breville.com

$499

What we need is an espresso maker in 11 colors, shades up to and including red velvet cake and the bizarrely attractive, elaborately decorated Aboriginal culinary journey, which is part of Australian-based Breville’s “celebration” of that country’s indigenous people. Package aside, the Bambino Plus promises to deliver barista-quality performance using a stainless steel portafilter and a hands-free automatic steam wand that makes microfoam milk. For those with bleary consciousness in the a.m. the machine features a proprietary heating system that has it ready to roll in three seconds.

SPIEGELAU WILLSBERGER ANNIVERSARY WHISKY GLASS spiegelau.com

$79 (set of 4)

The original Willsberger series has been produced by Spiegelau for three decades. For this series, it is replicated and machine-blown, Spiegelau says, making this four-glass crystal set more affordable. The five-inch high, thin-walled glasses are convenient, dishwasher safe and hold 12 ounces of your favorite brown liquor. These also feature a wide bottom, allowing it to disperse its notes upward.

XIKAR XI-120 PERFECT CIGAR CUTTER xikar.com

$84

The closed back helps prevent overcutting, while also catching those trimmings that end up on the floor, on the counter and any other places they can be a pest. The aluminum body comes in four shiny colors – black, blue, red, silver – and is small enough to go anywhere. Finally, the patented double guillotine design features stainless steel blades that can cut gauges up to 60-ring.

GOZNEY PIZZA DOME us.gozney.com

$1999

The pitch is succinct AND attractive: “roast, smoke, steam or bake. Super fast or low and slow. A wood-fired adventure, every time.” The pizza dome is a compact accomplice to your massive backyard grill, sitting just over two feet high and less than three feet wide. You’ll want to shell out for the FlexFuel model, which allows for both wood-fire and gas fuel. Both that and the gas-only model can cook up a 16-inch pie and feature three layers of insulation that heats up to 700 F in minutes.

This section of the magazine is typically reserved for “Essentials” as in things you can’t live without. But sometimes a new product comes along that is so different and impressive that it makes you want to splurge. The Candela C-8 is just that.

CANDELA C-8

candela.com

$395,000 (base)

The Candela C-8 is a Swedish-made, 100% electric hydrofoil day cruiser that has been dubbed “The Tesla of the seas.” This ingenious watercraft offers an incredibly quiet ride, even in choppy seas and affords the captain a fuss-free experience as the boat glides above the water. But while the captain is blissfully unaware of everything happening at the water level, Candela’s sensors and UAV-inspired flight-control system are keenly aware of every detail, constantly adjusting the foils and throttle to keep the craft stable and ultra-comfortable. The ride is so comfortable that you forget you’re gliding. Only after you manually lay off the throttle and land back on the water does it become real.

Pushing off the dock and coasting around the marina pre-takeoff, the C-8 looks and feels like a sturdy, well-built day cruiser, not

unlike something you’d be on while hopping about the Italian Riviera. But once out on open water, dropping the hammer initiates the lift-off sequence and seconds later you are flying at 18 mph and climbing fast, and the feeling is unlike any other I’ve experienced in my years of boating. There is no concern about trim or crossing another vessel’s wake or anything really, you just glide along having a normal conversation with no yelling above the noise that comes with engine vibration and water displacing. The visibility was also a noticeable improvement as there is hardly ever a moment where the bow is above the captain’s line of sight. You can see everything in front of you with ease.

But even if you couldn’t see, the massive proprietary GPS chart plotter screen at the helm gives you more than just maps and bearing. There’s also all the intel you’d want to know about remaining battery life, current usage rate, and draft. The C-8 has a range of 65 miles at a speed of 25 mph, and all out at 31 mph you’ll cover 46 to 52 miles. It takes 6.5 hours to charge the Polestar-built lithium-ion battery from zero to 100% with a 220-volt charger.

ERIK

SMOKE ON THE WATER

BY STEVE MILLER

CIGARS, HOLLYWOOD, ROCK LEGENDS AND TRAINS IN THE PLAYGROUND OF EUROPE

Photo: Sanga/stock.adobe.com

ermatt, Switzerland –

By the time the gondola reached 9,000 feet, we were in the middle of a whiteout. It was pure static outside our sizable tin can, which rolled back and forth, whipped by the 45 mph winds, enveloped in a gray blur of snowflakes. The gondola, with a capacity of roughly 30 people, had no heat and a handful of passengers. Toes and fingers were icy despite multiple layers of gloves and socks.

The trek up the side of an Alps mountain was a high point of a Swiss Alps visit, which took in the city of Geneva followed by a week based in the village of Montreux, using the country’s excellent train system to visit other towns including Bern and Lucerne.

While the country of eight million is a quarter the size of Florida, its attributes include four languages –Italian, French, German and English – that vary in frequency and fluency depending on the region and a setting that never lets you forget that a

great piney wilderness is never far.

The south is Alps territory, the north is the Jura Mountains, and in between are rolling plains and relatively shallow lakes – Lake Geneva comes in at around 1,000 feet deep, a piker compared to Crater Lake in Oregon, which is a scary 2,000 feet deep.

The country is widely known, sometimes disparaged, for its politically neutral stance in world affairs. But

it also has mandatory military service. It is among the more civilized destinations – we saw one cop, a train patroller searching for passengers who didn’t pay their fare – and while it has some sketch, the country’s residents enjoy a relatively crime-free life.

The trek originated in the way some

great journeys begin: With a cigar, a glass of wine and a self-imposed challenge: “How hard can it be to see this?”

It was a March evening, the cigar was a Drew Estate Undercrown, the wine was a smooth red, and the thought came from looking at the gatefold photos in Machine Head, the 1972 album by Deep Purple. The small black and white pics showed the fleecy band members with gear set up in hotel corridors, a burning building, and a United Nations “dove” logo.

But it was the song that put Purple on the map, “Smoke on the Water,” that sealed the deal. The lyrics describe a casino fire, name drop Montreux on “the Lake Geneva shoreline,” and speak of recording the album in Montreux’s Grand Hotel . The original plan was to record using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, a portable recording trailer, at the casino. But the casino was leveled by a fire during an afternoon performance by Frank Zappa the day before Purple were to begin the sessions. “We ended up at the

Top to bottom: The shore on Lake Geneva in Montreux; Hotel President Wilson Geneva

Photo: Michael Ludwiczak/stock.adobe.com

Photo: marriott.com

Grand Hotel, it was empty, cold and bare,” the song goes.

The Grand Hotel , about two miles to the north, became the studio the band would use, parking the recording trailer in an alley behind the hotel.

This needed to be seen and understood.

Cigars, Cuisine and the United Nations

We landed in Geneva in the morning, with an immigration check that consisted of one bored officer who never once looked up. We stayed at the Hotel President Wilson , a rightful five-star property on the main avenue that traverses Lake Geneva. The city features a wide path that has a horseshoe around the lake, with booths for bike rentals, boat rides, souvenirs and food. It’s a scene for sure, with more locals than tourists on the first weekend of November. It’s the calendar’s sweet spot for travelers who prefer small crowds; the summer is done, and the ski season is a couple of weeks away.

Geneva is home to the primary international office of the United Nations , as Deep Purple noticed, and it’s open to visitors. While the U.N. has been a benign and costly venture, it's a mandatory stop for the politically curious and we're glad we took the time.

The U.N. began at the urging of President Woodrow Wilson, who led the charge to establish first the League of Nations, headquartered in Geneva, following WWI. His idealistic embrace of pacifism was internationally influential and from the League of Nations came the United Nations after WWII.

Wilson is still revered in Switzerland; our hotel is named for him and sits on Quai Wilson, a main avenue named for the 28th U.S. president that traverses much of the lakefront. His Switzerland legacy of the U.N. is a worthwhile visit, regardless of how peaceful your politics.

The visit involves some predictable

bureaucracy, and includes an advance reservation, a modest admission fee, a QR code and a passport number sent ahead of time.

Groups come in at around 20 people and are broken into smaller packs of five, each with a guide, also accounting for language. There are plenty of English speakers among European visitors and that was the main dialect.

The building is a linoleum/tile tribute to institutions everywhere, but the drabness fades away in the quarters of the representatives, and their spacious meeting rooms. These are lushly carpeted, woodpaneled rooms that resemble courtrooms and are designed for the best sound.

A group that includes 193 member countries has some translation needs, and this is handled via automatic transcription software that beams through headphones, allowing each member to hear the conversation in his or her native language. The library presented

a deep dive into the history of the U.N. in Geneva and included letters and transcribed speeches. History geeks take note – the tour is guided and allows limited time on any one place in the U.N., so you’ll have to check into the ephemera quickly as the guide chatters.

The highlight of the tour was the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room, a 16,000-squarefoot room that featured an ornately painted domed ceiling that appeared to drip stalactites in blue, red and yellow, mixed into a background of greens, grays, and blacks. Some of the stalactites were over a foot long. The ceiling was created by

Miquel Barceló, a contemporary Spanish artist who used a reported 100 tons of paint to complete the work, which was unveiled in 2008.

The disappointment was the closed cafeteria. We’d already imagined this vast menu of international foods, but it was closed as part of a renovation that we expect will take forever to achieve. Much like world peace.

We walked back to the hotel in a pouring rain that allowed us to duck into little places for shelter that made it a rewarding soak. The small tailor shop, the bodega with a tiny humidor, and finally, La Grappe d'Or (The

Top to bottom: Davidoff of Geneva Flagship store in Geneva; Restaurant La Grappe d'Or

Photo: us.davidoffgeneva.com

Photo: grappedor.ch

Golden Cluster, as relating to grapes – it took a second), a hole in the wall restaurant that served a perfect niçoise salad to go a with a heaping cheese fondue.

Eating at the plentiful luxe restaurants can be pricey and time-consuming, and we learned from talking to some locals that there are easy in-out places that have fresh food. Our best find was at the top of Manor , the country’s major league department store chain. The multistoried outposts start with a grocery on the ground floor that equals

Whole Foods, filled with Swiss and French wines, fresh fish, meats and produce.

The restaurant is based on stations and an abundance of prepared foods, including salads, juices, soups, a hot bar and beer and wine. Custom prepared pizza is also available, and everything is priced at least 10% lower than any restaurant. Take the food and sit outside on the welcoming, spacious patio. It was a find that we used a few times during the trip, as Manor is ubiquitous.

Top

Not far from Manor is a stretch of luxury. It’s where Davidoff of Geneva has been based since 1911, when Henri Davidoff opened his store about a four-minute walk from its current corner location at Rue de Rive 2, where it sits among a very Swiss chocolatier, a Rolex store and a perfumery.

Entering the store is like walking

Cigars in Switzerland are part of the nation’s fabric, dating back to the 1500s. But the game was elevated starting in the late 1800s when Villiger was founded, then enhanced when the Davidoffs moved their family business from Kiev to Geneva in 1911. Since that time, these two brands have endured to become the first names to drop when talking of the country’s cigar legacy, and for good reason; they are purveyors of the finest of cigars. Here are some smoking suggestions for your travels in Switzerland.

VILLIGER The World of Cigars

Spitalgass-Passage 15, 3011 Bern villigercigars.com

Manuel's

Löwenstrasse 12, 8001 Zürich manuels.ch

Lakeview Bar & Cigar Lounge at the Burgenstock Resort

Bürgenstock 17, 6363 Obbürgen burgenstockresort.com

Havana Deck at the Paradiso Hotel

Via Carona 27, 6900 Paradiso parco-paradiso.com

Renaissance Bar at the Badrutt's Palace Hotel

Via Serlas 27, 7500 St. Moritz badruttspalace.com

Hotel Les Trois Rois

Blumenrain 8, 4001 Basel lestroisrois.com

Smokers Lounge at the Grand Hotel Zermatterhof

Bahnhofstrasse 55, 3920 Zermatt zermatterhof.ch

Hotel Bellevue Palace Sky Lounge at the Royal Savoy Hotel and Spa

Av. d'Ouchy 40, 1006 Lausanne royalsavoylausanne.com

La Réserve Genève Hotel, Spa and Villa

Rte de Lausanne 301, 1293 Bellevue lareserve-geneve.com

Photo: Vassil/ Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain

Photo: marriott.com

to bottom: The Palais des Nations, the main building of the United Nations Office in Geneva; Lake Geneva from the Grand Hotel Swiss Majestic in Montreux

into a library; hushed, reverential and soothing. The humidor is predictably filled with the best of Davidoff, but also features a selection of other brands, the lighting perfect, the hanging tobacco plants a nice touch. They’re set off by a prodigious display of fine single malts and other brown spirits along with the best in luxury accessories. The interaction with the perfectly coiffed clerks is simple; you get what you want, you pay, you leave. It’s not a social occasion but walking around the store is reward enough.

El Septimo is another story; its tiny second floor store is welcoming and cozy, with a space to smoke overlooking the busy street below. The décor is modern and simple, like a cultured trust fund kid’s Manhattan digs.

Our hotel also offered a humidor –common in Switzerland – although the country has also fallen to the no-smoking mania that began in the U.S. As a result, while the hotel was fine, with rooms featuring nine-foot-tall windows viewing Lake Geneva, the smoking “room” was a cramped stool with a table and an ashtray off to the side of the building. No view, little light, good luck. We didn’t use it.

Charlie Chaplin, Vino and Machine Head

A trek to Montreux provided the chance to use the heralded Swiss train system, where, yes, the trains always run on time. Eerily so, and don’t be late.

First move is to get the Swiss travel pass, as trains are deceptively pricey. And you should ride the trains frequently and without reserve, as they are top notch, featuring comfort, convenience and wine. Don’t forget the wine; we rode from Bern to Montreux with a carafe of a local red that magnified the countryside as the sun set. We watched from a seat in the lounge in the second level of the double-decker train car – magical.

Also: Trains are BYOB – yes, we have that in the U.S., but it is sanc -

tioned in Switzerland.

You can get tickets for any journey in the country online, from the app, at a machine in the stations or from the staffed counter. We did a mix of machine and counter, as some of our trips were tricky and we didn’t want to cut connections too close – the only people chasing trains in these stations are Americans and Italians. Another thing to remember though is that you can buy a ticket for a 5 p.m. departure and if you miss it, the ticket still works for the 6 p.m. So, if you have no schedule, things are good.

Montreux was the smart bet for a place to base. We checked into the Grand Hotel Suisse Majestic –no relation to the makeshift Deep Purple recording locale – which was a 200-foot walk across the street from the station.

It’s a perfect location, walkable to anything in the immediate area including restaurants, shops and venues. Most sufficient were traditional European breakfasts with crusty bread, olive oil, cheese and smoked

salmon chased with strong French coffee and mineral water.

The hotel bar has a full cigar room, with a humidor containing all the hits and plenty of space with cushy chairs.

The village is best known for the annual Montreux Jazz Festival , held since 1967. The town is filled with reminders and memories of the event, which has featured some of the biggest names in rock, jazz and pop, from the brilliant (Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett, Rory Gallagher) to the bland (your decision).

Souvenir shops push anything branded with the festival, while signs in November are already priming visitors to return in July for the event.

Right after assigning our room –looking at, yes, Lake Geneva – the hotel clerk handed over two passes for the local bus, which allows free rides on the transit that spans the

town’s 13 square miles. The pass was a valuable ticket to anywhere and included discounts for museums and other attractions.

We spent the first night enjoying more Swiss pinot noir, which accounts for around 30% of the grape production in the country. It’s rare to find a Swiss red in the U.S., and it was a treat despite its shared traits with the finer French pinots. Sometimes just being near the fields gives it a psychologically enhanced flavor.

The Montreux Casino is the town square, set one block off the main drag with a back deck opening onto a lake view. The two stories feature a ground floor gaming area and a second-floor restaurant. The building’s main auditorium fits 1,000 people and is used as a venue during the jazz festival. When it burned in December 1971, it left a gap-toothed smile in the town’s waterfront for four years while it was rebuilt.

While the casino was walkable from the hotel, we flexed the bus pass for the ride to the Grand Hotel, carefully figuring out how to track down a

Top: Passenger train through the Jungfrau mountains just east of Montreux

Photo: Janoka82/stock.adobe.com

defunct lodge that was once considered one of Montreux's finest. A Google image shows a shuttered Thai restaurant facing the main road in front of the hotel, perhaps a landmark.

Using some local maps, mostly in French, we got off at the proper stop, at the Thai restaurant. Just around the eatery sat the hotel, unremarkable except for a small plaque on the door: “This plaque marks the anniversary of one of the best-known rock albums of all time, Deep Purple’s Machine Head.” The narrative goes on to describe the events that led to the Grand Hotel.

The hotel was in disrepair, but the door was open and inside, a cleaning crew was at work on some of the failing wood panels. The parquet floor pattern remains, the same as seen in one of the small photos inside the Machine Head jacket.

It was a moment. Mission accomplished.

The next day Charlie Chaplin hit our radar. Who knew the diminutive silent movie actor with the questionable upper lip had anything to do with Montreux?

In fact, he moved to Switzerland in 1953 after being chased out by

some of Hollywood’s rabid anticommies, but also amidst a Mann Act rap, which he beat. His former estate is now Chaplin’s World , a museum about 15 minutes outside of Montreux. It is an enlightening, well-done traipse through Chaplin’s storied life. It takes visitors through his home as well as around the verdant grounds on the 37-acre tract, which includes outbuildings and gardens, with a view of the lake in the distance.

Each room in the museum includes screens showing Chaplin films as well as artifacts from those movies, including the cane, hat and shoes

Chaplin wore in his silent film heyday.

The rooms of the home contain furniture of the era – Chaplin died in 1977 – while showing home movies of his 11 children and his last wife, Oona, who met Chaplin on set in 1942 when she was 17 and he was 53.

It was a three-hour museum, with plenty of visuals to take in, along with a little history. The moral of the story appears to be stay in your lane; Chaplin’s career would have been stronger had he not mused about world affairs and his own political “feelings.” And stay clear of female cast members before they’re legal.

Illustration : Florin Safner

Into the Alps

Zermatt was never on the agenda. We were aware that the weather would be nearing full-on winter and we knowingly carried with us the threads that anyone who once lived in Michigan would pack. So the evening planning session was a go; to get to Zermatt required a 6 a.m. train to a bus to another train, 90 miles over rugged territory to the southeast toward the Italian border. And it would be a snowy 30 degrees up there in the foothills of the Matterhorn.

That sounds like a great day to travelers, probably not so great to tourists, who would be advised to charter a car.

And we were off, standing on the frigid Montreux train platform in the dark. While it was a balmy 42 degrees when we left, the temps dropped with each stop. We hopped

on a bus that drove up a mountain and the snow came and never left, as we were increasing altitude. The mountain ranges stretched out a little more and no longer were we looking up at them as much as sideways at them. We were then discharged outside another train station, this without any hospitality frills, with vending machines rather than kiosks for sustenance and no one else around aside from some skiers. This was a 32-degree wait for the next train, which wound around the mountains as we approached Zermatt, pulling into the frigid village station after three hours in transit.

It was a true ski village, with folks in fur-lined down coats walking among bars, coffee shops and ski and

snowboard supply stores. Snowflakes drifted around everything, making the entire scene into a snow globe.

We wound through the village streets and found ourselves in front of the church, St Mauritius , a beckoning parish that dates to 1285. Its simple exterior is enticing, a beacon at the end of a shopping area. The ceiling features an artistic rendering of Noah’s Ark and demands

attention because the room’s inspiring dome looms large over the parish. The altar is traditionally ornate and features sculpted art.

We wound our way past the inns and motels – nothing oversized in the village, and some were nicer than others – and found the ticket booth for the tram. It would take us from 5,300 feet to 12,000 feet, well short of the Matterhorn’s 15,000foot peak but good enough.

Top to bottom: Lakeview Bar and Cigar Lounge at the Burgenstock Resort on Lake Lucerne; the Scottish Smoked Salmon at the Lakeview Bar and Lounge

Photo: burgenstockresort.com

Photo: burgenstockresort.com

“You won’t see anything, it’s all snow up there,” the woman told us. "They've stopped the skiers, even." Yes, we will, I thought. A whiteout is something.

The trip is made in two separate rides. One goes to 8,000 feet. The next to 12,000 feet. We took both.

We sat in the creaky tram, while waiting for our pilot to arrive. It was cold – bitter cold – and the thump of our departure was welcome. Snow fell steadily outside and the angle of our car moved us sideways, the wind pitching us a little once in a while. At the first stop, we waited on a platform in the cold for everything to roll.

This was the leg of the blizzard-like conditions, a frenzied blast of dark whiteness that pitched us into a zone of nothingness. There was zero visibility, and someone mentioned that no skiers were being al -

lowed on the slopes.

Make that one more hard-to-understand thing in this world – skiing.

As we approached the station at the top, the snow broke a little and we could see the ground 300 feet below.

That 4,000-foot climb sheared another 10 degrees off the temp, and we arrived in 15 degrees. The cold was bracing, and we saw skiers in a small room near the gondola drop taking off their gear after being chased from the shuttered slopes, melting ice dropping off their brows and hats.

But past the motion, the views and the challenging climate was yet another reward just up an escalator, the Restaurant Matterhorn Glacier Paradise .

Making the best of the high vista with wide views for miles, the restaurant is an open-floored panorama of the

Alps. This was off-season, allowing visitors full walk-around privileges.

The on and off gusts of snow delivered a flurried frenzy past the windows every three minutes or so, and to witness nature in its fury inside this warm globe was something you carry out of there in your head.

The restaurant offered a generous selection of alcohol and food, with a mix of self-serve and wait service. The restaurant also features a viewing platform, which would have been reserved for crazy people on this stormy day.

We could have stayed all night, but the rides up and down the mountain were infrequent and not nearly as steady timewise as the country’s trains. We spent around 35 minutes up there, savoring our Alpine exis -

tence.

We returned to the village and a small bar and restaurant for some German beer followed by a long ride back to Montreux.

The trip back was filled with playing back the wonder of Zermatt and the climb through the cloudy snow-filled skies. It was fortunate that this was at the end of the Switzerland trip. Leaving on this high note answered the ‘why?’ question of travel. We move and see and do because it’s there and because everything is an adventure when you haven’t been there before. It’s often unpleasant, this travel thing, filled with anxiety and fear of the unknown. This is human nature at play, the dislike of giving up control. The upside of globe-trotting is the reward that lurks around every corner – a snowy gondola, a taste of food you didn’t know you liked, and the achievement of navigation.

Top: The peak at Matterhorn Glacier Paradise has the highest mountain station in Europe

Photo: matterhornparadise.ch

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BY IVAN OCAMPO

ucked away just off Española Way, one of the trendiest streets on South Beach, is a discreet black door simply marked with the letters SB. Behind it lies Sushi Bar Miami Beach, a reservation-only, 14-seat, speakeasy-style sushi bar offering a 17-course Omakase dining experience. Situated at the rear of the chic Esmé Miami Beach Hotel, Chef Francis Arguilla and his team deftly combine responsibly sourced fish, traditional Japanese methods, and a creative flair that has made Sushi Bar one of the hottest tables in town.

Omakase, a dining style rooted in trust, has no menu.

“The word ‘omakase’ means ‘chef’s choice’ in Japanese,” explains chef Arguilla, “so you’re going in trusting the chefs to make these bites that are absolutely amazing.”

Guests need only mention any allergies and the chefs curate a 17-course culinary journey featuring the freshest fish sourced directly from places like Japan,

Spain, and New Zealand.

Sushi Bar originated as a pop-up in Austin, accumulating a staggering 20,000-person waitlist upon its inception.

Evolving from pop-up to brick-and-mortar, it expanded to Miami 1 1/2 years ago as the company's first outpost and now also has restaurants in Chicago and Dallas.

“What’s great about this concept is that every location changes based on what we can acquire locally with produce and sourcing. So, I'd say here in Miami, it's a little bit more Latin-based, with more Hispanic flavors. Chicago has a little bit more of like this Thai influence and Austin and Dallas have a little Tex-Mex. But I think every location is unique because we're able to source from what they grow here and whatever the palate or cuisine is more relevant in the area.”

In Miami Beach, Chef Arguilla tantalizes taste buds with

delights like Bluefin Tartar, truffle-infused scallops, and Shima-aji—a jack fish fermented in Fresno chilies, finished with Myers lemon juice and zest.

With nightly seatings at 5:30 pm, 7:30 pm, and 9:45 pm, visits are priced at $175 per person, inclusive of a welcome cocktail at Esmé's El Salon cocktail bar. Indulge post-dinner with their curated Sake list, an excellent selection of small-batch wines, and the option to pair it with a cigar on their open-air patio or venture to nearby Española Cigars and buy your stogie there.

Pro tip:

Try to hold out until the 9:45 seating where you might be 'forced' to sample extra bites the chefs are experimenting with. It’s worth the wait.

Sushibarhospitality.com

NICK MELILLO

RENAISSANCE MAN

The founder of Foundation Cigar Co. has traveled the world, plumbed the notions of mystics, toured with Ziggy Marley, and become cigar buddies with Joe Rogan. Here's the world according to Nick.

BY STEVE MILLER / PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANE SHAUCK

heck in on Joe Rogan’s podcast, as an estimated 11 million viewers and listeners do for each episode, and you’ll invariably see Rogan lighting up a premium, pulled from an elegant black lacquer box sitting to his right.

The cigar comes from Nick Melillo’s Foundation Cigar Co., and it’s no accident that Rogan enjoys the brand.

“My man Nick really knows cigars,” Rogan told comedian and world class eccentric Tom Green on a February episode, as he opened a box and handed one over.

Melillo’s trajectory into cigar industry esteem was preordained. The Connecticut native grew up with both his grandparents and his father enjoying the best cigars they could find.

“My family was not directly involved in the industry, they were all involved in cigars – smoking them,” he says. His first lesson in loving cigars came early.

Chastised loudly by an overzealous low-level principal for firing up a celebratory smoke along with a couple of classmates during his high school graduation, Melillo’s father came to his defense. “He started laying into the vice principal,” Melillo recalls, further bolstering the young grad’s confidence in cigars as a treasure worth arguing for.

His father had, after all, gifted the teen with a Diamond Crown humidor as a graduation present.

After graduating magna cum laude from Quinnipiac University with a degree in International Business, a stint at a cigar shop, and some world travels, Melillo came back home ready to negotiate his fate, which was, after all, cigars.

A call from Jonathan Drew to be part of the fledgling Drew Estate in Nicaragua took Melillo into a hands-on dive into all elements of cigar production. He devoured the knowledge, with the dream of having his own brand slowly building in his mind.

Summoning the courage to strike out on his own, Melillo left Drew Estate and came back to the U.S., where he

plotted his own cigar kingdom.

"I took a little time and started the planning, [considering] brand names," he says.

In July 2015, Foundation Cigar Co. was officially on the books, debuting at the 2015 International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association show. By September, he was shipping, first working out of a cabin before moving to a 50-acre tobacco farm in Connecticut's River Valley.

Melillo has a natural love for the Connecticut tobacco he was raised around that resulted in 2016 in the Charter Oak, a nod to both his family heritage and the tree that dates back to the 1600s.

“The whole Charter Oak line is a tribute to my grandfathers, because most of these brands that were in Connecticut faded away by the end of the 90s,” he says. “The Charter Oak is a symbol of Connecticut. If you go to [the state capital of] Hartford, it’s the first real symbol of American independence. The oak tree was used to hide a charter from the English, one of the first signs of the rebellion.”

We talked with Nick, 45 years old, about his life as a traveler, student of life and the road that led him to start Foundation. The interview has been edited for brevity as Nick is a generously loquacious interview, so questions are entered here as a guide rather than how they were exactly phrased.

Cigar Snob: How did you make the connection with Rogan?

Nick Melillo: I’ve been a big Joe Rogan fan I believe since 2012, his podcast got me through when I was starting Foundation. I’d always have it on in the background. Then 2020 hit and a good friend of mine in [Los Angeles] knew how much I loved Joe and he said ‘make me a couple boxes and I’m going to get them to Joe.’

I worked with my art director here in Nicaragua and we did some handpainted boxes for him. Then we had this weird run-in with one of Joe’s friends and he just happened to be going to visit him at his new place in Austin and he volunteered to take the boxes to him. Two months later, this was 2020, September, October, and I was sitting there with the podcast

behind me as I’m working and I saw behind the water bottle the corner of one of our Foundation ashtrays because I sent an ashtray along with the boxes. I said, ‘Holy shit, there’s the ashtray,’ so I go back to every episode to find when the ashtray appeared. Sept. 11, 2020 was the first time the ashtray was out there and it’s been there ever since. Then in November he brought the box out for the first time, put it on the table and gave us a shout out, and he’s been amazing. He’s just become a huge Foundation fan. He ended up sending me a private message on Instagram thanking me for the boxes, and he said ‘I wanna buy a humidor, what do you recommend?’

I said, ‘Joe, I gotcha.’ I made him a beautiful Elie Bleu humidor with his logo, hand inlaid. Probably not a year later, I said, ‘He needs his own cigar,’ so I made him a Joe Rogan Experience cigar blend especially for him, and he just really loved them. I noticed what he liked to drink, you know he likes spicy food, so I made him a nice broadleaf blend, mostly Nicaraguan fillers.

CS: You don’t think of Connecticut and smoking freedom. How did

that work for you growing up?

Nick: Although my family wasn’t directly involved in the industry, they were all Connecticut broadleaf cigar smokers. My grandfathers, great grandfathers, uncles, everybody smoked Connecticut cigars. So I became the cigar guy, my senior year of high school. That's what I was known as because I was so into it. My parents were cool with cigars because they saw how much it was part of my relationship with my grandfather. One of my first times smoking a cigar was with my grandfather. I was doing well in school. I wasn't into drinking or drugs. They were actually supportive of it, and that summer it turned into a job. I ended up getting a job at the Calabash Shoppee in Hamden, Connecticut. It was a crazy time for the industry. I used to go into the shop every Friday to get smokes for the weekend and the lines would be out the humidor and this particular day I got up to the cash register and said, ‘Listen, I need a job. I just graduated and would love to work for you guys. I know every cigar in the humidor, I know all the prices, the blends.’ I didn’t hear from them for most of the summer and a week before I started university, they called me up and put me in charge of the humidor. I had the tough job of trying all the new cigars and choosing what I wanted to bring into the humidor.

CS: In fact you had your own cigar rating system to help you decide if the store should bring in the brand. Would it be harder to figure out what to put in there today?

Nick: I would probably put more in, yes. That time, 1996, was a crazy time because there were so many people in our industry for the wrong reasons and there was a lot of crap. There were a lot of quality issues, and the industry has come a long way in the quality of products that are being put out. It’s like night and day. I think the practices over the past 20 plus years, with quality control practices have continued to improve, and it would be a lot more difficult to make those decisions these days.

CS: How did you connect with Drew Estate?

Nick: This was 1996, I started

meeting sales reps from a company called Drew Estate, I never heard of them. They came out with a product named La Vieja Habana, made by Nick Perdomo, and I brought it into the humidor and then not three months later met [Drew Estate co-founder] Jonathan Drew for the first time, that was 1997. And we kind of hit it off and became friends, exchanged numbers and emails and kept in touch between 1997 and 2002. But I really wanted to get out of Connecticut after I graduated. My plan was to save enough money and once I graduated, I hit the road. I backpacked around the world for almost a year in 2002. I did two excursions, actually. I spent a month in Italy, I had a job working for a renaissance Italian art history tour, so it was great, I got to save money. I also backpacked that year around Europe with Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. I followed them on tour and because they would see me at many different concerts after the second or third concert they let me backstage and I watched the concerts from the stage. They gave me all access at the concerts. I started following reggae at the end of high school and it really kicked in during college. Then I bought a round-the-world ticket, Paris to India, India to Bangkok, Bangkok all throughout Thailand, down the Mekong River into Laos and into Vietnam and from Vietnam to China and from Beijing to Japan. I smoked cigars the whole way around, a lot of Montecristo #4s, petite coronas. Jon was on my email list as I was circumnavigating the globe. We had talked when I first started my travels and he said, ‘Hey let’s touch base in 10 months and see where you’re at.’ I got all the way around the world to Japan, and I got an email from Jon and he offered me to be his right-hand man in Nicaragua. And my dream was to travel through Central America next to learn to bunch and roll cigars. This offer from Jon was perfect timing. I came back to the states for a month and flew to Nicaragua in March 2003.

CS: Working at Drew Estate, living in Nicaragua, that was a big deal for you.

Nick: I was 24 years old and I stayed for almost 12 years. We were a fraction of its current size, we were working

out the back of Nick Perdomo’s house. Every year, the growth was kinda wild. I just nestled in. I obviously didn’t have any production experience at the time and I think Jon was just taking a chance. I thought I would be mirroring him around but he left after the first week and said ‘figure it out.’ I had to prove myself, it was a big time. Now was the time to show in real life that I can do this. We built a great team and I just started learning. Here I was among all these legends I had read about in books and I was learning from them, so l learned right away how to bunch and roll and then how to blend, organize a production process. There were not a lot of set systems in place when I got there so I started working with the team to organize everything and evolved into the role of tobacco purchasing, blending, quality

I'm probably never going to do it. I knew that because of the experience I had, if I failed I could get a job on the tobacco side of things. I knew I had a cushion if I failed. So in 2015 I left. The night before I drove to Managua, the capital, there was a lot of earthquake activity and I got stuck in a traffic jam north of Managua. They thought one of the volcanos was going to go off. That was my drive out. There had never been since I had been living in Nicaragua that strong of earthquake activity before.

CS: You spent all that time in Nicaragua, around Esteli. What changed in that dozen years?

control. I lived on a tobacco farm, my house is now AJ Fernandez’s San Lotano farm. I thought, ‘If I’m going to live down here, I’m going to live on a farm.’ I moved into town three years later.

CS: Why did you leave?

Nick: I toiled with that decision for a couple years. It was one of the most difficult decisions of my life. One of the main things was at the time, talk of FDA regulations was really intense, this idea of having a date where brands could not enter the market after a certain date. It was daunting, the thought of never being able to start my own brand was difficult to process. It was something I knew I would always regret if I didn’t start my own company. But at that time I was 36, so I felt if I don’t do it now,

Nick: It’s really come a long way, Esteli, as far as infrastructure, gross business overall. The whole city has really been lifted up by the cigar industry. Coming here in 2003, the roads were banged up, factories were not at the standard they are now. Population wise, business wise, this town is booming because of the handmade cigar industry. The facilities now have the proper health insurance, day care centers, and so many different benefits for the workers that were not seen when I got here. And the secondary industries, clothing stores, supply stores, fertilizer, paper, all generated from the industry there, things that I don’t see in other towns. In Nicaragua, the biggest threat to the industry will always be the government. We [recently] dodged the FDA bullet but it is always a threat.

CS: Are there any places you’ve seen that could grow tobacco that would be good?

Nick: A lot of places grow tobacco but not cigar tobacco. One place that comes to mind is Jamaica, which is similar to the industry in Connecticut. It kind of faded away at the end of the 90s, and some of them moved to the Dominican, but it’s a place I’d like to see come on the map again. One issue is infrastructure you need for the curing process. You can grow the tobacco, but without the barns to cure it…I would also love to see the potential of Ethiopia. It’s the birthplace of coffee, and I am not too familiar with the land and the specifics. I haven’t tested it out yet but I think it would be an interesting place.

CS: Why don’t more people take a look at these?

Nick: To get into the curing barn process it’s a minimum of $80,000 to $100,000 investment to do it properly. And also there’s the know-how. But you also have, unfortunately, influence from the World Health Organization. They are incentivizing a lot of these different third world countries to actually not grow tobacco, not to get too negative. They’re even worse than the FDA and the anti-smoking people in the states. They actually incentivize farmers in third world countries to grow crops other than tobacco. It’s happening in Jamaica.

CS: Today, we’re seeing more brands releasing high-end, expensive cigars. Is that sustainable?

Nick: We released two of our most expensive products in the past two years. One was called the [Highclere Castle] Senetjer which is a tribute we did for the discovery of King Tut’s tomb. So we made an exact replica of the box. I worked with Highclere Castle on that project too. The owner helped discover King Tut’s tomb with [British archaeologist] Howard Carter so it was real special

to be tapped by him to do this 100year anniversary box. We had a real Egyptologist work on the hieroglyphs to make sure everything was legit. The cost involved with that, the investment, was one of our highest price point sticks.

Then we had the Knight Commander under my Tabernacle line, but it’s priced the way it is because we donate all of our net proceeds on our side to charity. So that’s the reason for the high-end sticks. I think they have a place for something special, something different. You want to have a New Year’s Eve cigar. I don’t think it's sustainable for an everyday cigar but they have a place in the market.

We only did 700 boxes and people were upset because I don’t have any more of [either] of them. The Senetjer and the Knight Commander both retail for around $40. It’s not a $500 stick but it's on the pricier side.

CS: Tell me about the Olmec Maduro winning Cigar of the Year for 2022. And congrats, again.

Nick: Ah yes, to be recognized by Cigar Snob for Olmec as the No. 1 cigar was the honor of a lifetime. I

sudden it’s over. I started asking a lot of questions about life in general that summer and it opened me up to studying all different types of religions and that led to the religious mystics.

Throughout the years, I became fascinated with it. I am not a Mason, but I am fascinated with Masonic teachings and the architecture. I started getting into all this and it hasn’t stopped.

CS: How much deeper do you go on that kind of thing? Do you have theories?

think Cigar Snob emulated what the whole market felt at the time. Olmec has been one of those brands that connects with cigar lovers on all levels. Most of the market and final consumers had the cigar as their No. 1. The sales were showing the demand for the product. We were close to 12,000 boxes on backorder within the first three months of the cigar being on the market.

The Olmecs are the original mother culture of Central America. They invented the first calendars, built the first pyramids, and were the first to consume tobacco. The same area where tobacco is grown today in San Andres, Mexico and is used for handmade cigars is where Olmecs once flourished. The Mexican Negro seed is one of the oldest seed varieties in the world and pre-dates the Cuban seed. This brand is a homage to the original cigar smokers.

CS: Your journey so far has been adventurous.

Nick: Working in the cigar shop, graduating high school, was this really great time of transformation, especially that summer. You’ve been going to school, your life and all of a

Nick: In Mesopotamia there are the tablets that are some of the oldest if not the oldest that even western civilization classes talk about dating back to 5,000 BC within tablets if you read them talks about a specific group…that means ‘those who have descended from the heavens’ and in these tablets they have a fairly detailed outline of our solar system. So there’s speculation amongst conspiracy theorists that this was an alien race. And the story goes that they bioengineered homo sapiens out of hominids and that’s what started the human race. I don’t necessarily believe all this but it’s an interesting tale.

There’s a lot that we don’t know. And you think about just ancient Egypt itself talking about a high culture 2,000 years before the time of Jesus. Can you imagine like Julius Caesar is closer to us in time or the iPhone than the building of the great pyramids? And there is controversy whether those dates are accurate or not. There are those who speculate that the Sphinx…[is] much older that it’s actually dated. When they had geologists looking at the site, they had dates of 10,000 years BC while others had 2,000 years BC. As I’ve gotten older, although it’s great to speculate and have conversations, sometimes I keep it contained. I’ve seen people over the years who get too far off into the conspiracy world, and they tend to sometimes lose touch so it gets to be a negative thing. They get too into it, and start to you know, ‘We’re all controlled and don’t have any power’ you know like the Illuminati is controlling everything. It can be a cop out. Although it might be true (laughs).

Circa 2006, Nick Melillo (third from left) and the team from Drew Estate break ground on what would become La Gran Fábrica Drew Estate.

Photo courtesy of: Nick Melillo

48 CIGARS

CHURCHILL

Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Nicaragua

VITOLA: Churchill

Rocky Patel Vintage 1992

Undercrown Maduro

Oliva Serie O Maduro

A. Fuente Sungrown Chateau

La Gloria Cubana Serie R Black

$ 20.45

NICARAGUA

LENGTH: 7

WRAPPER: Nicaragua

BINDER: Nicaragua

52 RING: Nicaragua FILLER:

VITOLA: Churchill

LENGTH: 7

WRAPPER: Ecuador

BINDER: Honduras

FILLER:

48 RING: Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

VITOLA: Corona Doble

LENGTH: 7

54 RING:

WRAPPER: Mexico

BINDER: USA

Brazil & Nicaragua FILLER:

VITOLA: Churchill

LENGTH: 7

50 RING:

WRAPPER: USA/Connecticut

BINDER: Nicaragua

Nicaragua FILLER:

VITOLA: Royal Salute

LENGTH: 7 5/8

54 RING:

WRAPPER: Ecuador

BINDER: Dominican Republic

FILLER:

Dominican Republic

VITOLA: No. 48

LENGTH: 7

48 RING:

WRAPPER: Nicaragua

BINDER: Nicaragua

Nicaragua FILLER:

An ultra-flavorful, box-pressed blend with a balanced profile of intense dark chocolate, almond, and espresso complemented by earth and pepper. Consistently draws and burns well while leaving behind a solid, compact ash. Medium to full strength.

$ 12.05

HONDURAS

An impeccably square-pressed Churchill covered with a toothy, dark brown wrapper. Produces tons of thick, aromatic, medium strength smoke with a profile of earth, roasted nuts, and smooth pepper complemented by a touch of dark chocolate.

$ 11.75

NICARAGUA

An intensely flavorful blend with a profile of ripe fruit, earth, and smooth pepper complemented by the aroma of tanned leather. Produces an abundance of aromatic smoke along a perfect draw and a wavy burn. Medium strength.

$ 10.11

NICARAGUA

Consistently well-made and covered with a neatly applied, dark brown wrapper, this Churchill draws and burns perfectly while producing an excellent output of medium strength smoke. Delivers a profile of dark chocolate, smooth pepper, and sweet earth with a touch of leather in the aroma.

$ 10.30

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

This large cigar covered with a somewhat bumpy but attractive reddish brown wrapper opens with a heavy dose of cedar, later joined by cinnamon, cashews, and heavy cream balanced by a savory spice on the finish. Draws well and leaves behind a flaky ash. Mild to medium strength.

$ 8.99

NICARAGUA

Delivers a smooth, earthy core accompanied by notes of molasses, spice, and a hint of ripe fruit. This box-pressed maduro draws and burns well while producing a good output of medium strength smoke.

TORPEDO

Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series

93

Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Reserve

92

HVC La Rosa 520 Rare of Rare

Don Lino Africa

92

VITOLA: Torpedo

LENGTH: 6

52 RING:

WRAPPER: Nicaragua

BINDER: Nicaragua

Nicaragua FILLER:

$ 19.95

NICARAGUA

Ultra-flavorful and balanced with a profile of dark chocolate, caramel, and roasted almonds balanced by smooth pepper and earth. Consistently well-made, this medium strength torpedo draws and burns flawlessly while producing an excellent smoke output.

$ 14.50

NICARAGUA

91

Perdomo 30th Anniversary

91

VITOLA: Torpedo

LENGTH: 6

WRAPPER: Mexico

BINDER: Nicaragua

52 RING: Nicaragua FILLER:

VITOLA: Torpedo

LENGTH: 5 1/2

54 RING:

WRAPPER: Ecuador

BINDER: Ecuador

FILLER:

Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

VITOLA: Kifaru

LENGTH: 6 1/4

WRAPPER: Ecuador

BINDER: Cameroon

FILLER:

52 RING: Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

VITOLA: Torpedo

LENGTH: 7

54 RING:

WRAPPER: Nicaragua

BINDER: Nicaragua

Nicaragua FILLER:

Hooten Young Operation Gothic Serpent 30th Anniversary

VITOLA: Belicoso

LENGTH: 6 1/4

54 RING:

WRAPPER: Ecuador

BINDER: Mexico

Dominican Republic FILLER:

A beautifully pressed torpedo covered with a walnut-colored wrapper. Delivers a smooth, full strength profile of roasted nuts, dark chocolate, and pepper accompanied by a touch of sweet earth. Consistently well-made and leaves behind a solid, compact ash.

$ 20.00

USA

Opens with a well-balanced combination of nuts, cedar, and rich creaminess accompanied by light pepper and baking spice. Consistently produces an excellent smoke output along a perfect draw and a slightly wavy burn.

$ 10.99

NICARAGUA

Consistently well-constructed and covered with an inviting, milk chocolate colored wrapper with a beautiful sheen. Draws and burns impeccably while producing a medium plus strength core of earth, smooth pepper, cedar, and cream with a tanned leather note in the aroma.

$ 14.00

NICARAGUA

An impeccably constructed torpedo covered with a supple, reddish brown wrapper with thin veins. Delivers a smooth core of earth, sweet pepper, and cashews complemented by notes of subtle cinnamon and cocoa. Draws and burns perfectly while producing an excellent smoke output.

$ 15.00

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

A thick, firmly packed torpedo covered with a medium brown wrapper with a velvet feel. This medium plus strength blend produces a thin smoke output along a firm draw while delivering notes of earth, salted nuts, and wood with some pepper on the finish.

TORO

Cavalier Genéve Black Series II

VITOLA: Toro

LENGTH: 6

54 RING:

WRAPPER: Mexico

BINDER: Nicaragua

Nicaragua FILLER:

Joya de Nicaragua Antaño Gran Reserva

Matilde Limited Exposure No. 1

K Fire by Karen Berger

Founders Roosevelt Maduro

Kristoff 2023 PCA Signature Series

VITOLA: GT20

LENGTH: 6

52 RING:

WRAPPER: Nicaragua

BINDER: Nicaragua

Nicaragua FILLER:

VITOLA: Toro

LENGTH: 6

50 RING:

WRAPPER: Mexico

BINDER: Dominican Republic

FILLER:

Dominican Republic

VITOLA: Toro

LENGTH: 6

52 RING:

WRAPPER: Mexico

BINDER: Ecuador

Nicaragua FILLER:

VITOLA: Toro

LENGTH: 6

52 RING:

WRAPPER: Ecuador

BINDER: Ecuador

FILLER:

Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

VITOLA: Toro Extra

LENGTH: 6 1/4

WRAPPER: Brazil

$ 9.00

HONDURAS

An earthy and flavorful box-pressed toro with a profile of bittersweet chocolate, roasted almond, and ripe fruit balanced by smooth pepper in the background. This medium plus strength blend is consistently well-constructed.

$ 12.75

NICARAGUA

A powerful and flavorful toro with a core of intense earth and pepper complemented by notes of molasses, dark chocolate, and a subtle hint of cedar. Consistently well-constructed, this full strength blend provides an excellent draw and burn.

$ 10.50

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Covered with a dark brown wrapper with a reddish hue and slight veins showing, this wellmade toro draws well and produces a medium strength smoke output with notes of wood, sweet pepper, and roasted nuts.

$ 14.50

NICARAGUA

A neatly box-pressed blend covered with a dark brown wrapper with a slightly coarse feel. This medium strength toro draws and burns well while producing an excellent smoke output with notes of earth, roasted nuts, and black pepper with a hint of sweetness.

$ 10.00

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

An earthy and sweet blend complemented by notes of oak, cocoa powder, pepper, and overripened fruit. Produces a somewhat thin output of medium strength smoke along a firm draw.

$ 12.00

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

BINDER: Dominican Republic

FILLER:

54 RING: Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

A dark, soft-pressed toro topped with a neat pigtail. Produces an abundance of medium strength smoke with notes of sweet earth and pepper accompanied by subtle hints of wood and dark chocolate. Draws and burns well while leaving behind a flaky ash.

$ 13.35

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

A flavorful blend covered with a slightly bumpy, reddish brown wrapper with excellent oils. Consistently draws and burns well while producing a good output of medium strength smoke with notes of roasted nuts, pepper, and cream accompanied by a touch of earthiness.

$ 16.75

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

A firmly packed toro with an ultra-flavorful profile of sweet pepper, cedar, and ripe fruit accompanied by a note of vanilla cream on the finish. This medium plus strength blend delivers a firm draw and a sharp burn leaving behind a tight, compact ash.

$ 19.08

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Neatly box-pressed and finished with an inviting, reddish brown wrapper with a velvet feel. Consistently well-made providing an excellent draw and burn leaving behind a solid, compact ash while producing a smooth, medium strength profile of cedar, sweet spice, and nuts.

$ 10.20

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Impeccably pressed and covered with a clean, light brown wrapper with a soft, supple feel. Produces an abundance of thick, aromatic smoke with a core of cedar, sweet cream, and toasted almonds balanced by a smooth pepper note on the finish. Medium plus strength.

$ 16.00

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Opens with loads of cedar and sweet spice later joined by a healthy dose of vanilla cream and chili pepper on the finish. Neatly constructed and covered with a clean, reddish brown wrapper with a velvet feel. Produces an excellent smoke output with medium plus strength.

$ 13.50

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Opens with flavors of wood, sharp pepper, and cinnamon joined by subtle notes of tanned leather and dried fruit. This medium plus strength toro draws well and produces an excellent smoke output while leaving behind a somewhat flaky ash.

VITOLA: Celestial

LENGTH: 6 1/8

50 RING:

WRAPPER: Nicaragua

BINDER: Nicaragua

Nicaragua FILLER:

VITOLA: Toro

LENGTH: 5 3/4

54 RING:

WRAPPER: Ecuador

BINDER: Nicaragua

FILLER:

Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

VITOLA: Ace of Hearts

LENGTH: 6

52 RING:

WRAPPER: Cameroon

BINDER: Indonesia

FILLER:

Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

VITOLA: Toro

LENGTH: 6

52 RING:

WRAPPER: Ecuador

BINDER: Dominican Republic

FILLER:

Dominican Republic

VITOLA: Toro Gordo

LENGTH: 5 3/4

58 RING:

WRAPPER: Ecuador

92

TORO

E.P. Carrillo Encore

Caldwell Long Live the Queen

La Aurora Small Batch Lot No. 003

BINDER: Cameroon & Dominican Rep.

FILLER:

Peru, Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

VITOLA: Toro

LENGTH: 6

54 RING:

WRAPPER: Ecuador

BINDER: Honduras

FILLER:

Nicaragua, Dominican Republic & USA

Casa Cuevas Sangre Nueva

TORO

AJ Fernandez Bellas Artes

92

Illusione Epernay Le Taureau

Aladino Classic

West Tampa White

Viaje Flashing Thunder

92

VITOLA: Toro

LENGTH: 6

54 RING:

WRAPPER: Nicaragua

BINDER: Nicaragua

FILLER:

Brazil, Honduras & Nicaragua

VITOLA: Robusto

LENGTH: 5 1/2

56 RING:

WRAPPER: Nicaragua

BINDER: Nicaragua

Nicaragua FILLER:

91

VITOLA: Toro

LENGTH: 6

50 RING:

WRAPPER: Honduras

BINDER: Honduras

Honduras FILLER:

VITOLA: Toro

LENGTH: 6

52 RING:

WRAPPER: Ecuador

BINDER: Nicaragua

Nicaragua FILLER:

VITOLA: Toro Extra

LENGTH: 6 1/2

52 RING:

WRAPPER: Ecuador

BINDER: Nicaragua

Nicaragua FILLER:

Micaleff Herencia Habano

VITOLA: Toro

LENGTH: 6

52 RING:

WRAPPER: Nicaragua

BINDER: Ecuador

Honduras & Nicaragua FILLER:

$ 10.00

NICARAGUA

Beautifully pressed and finished with a flawless, milk chocolate colored wrapper, this medium plus toro delivers a well-balanced core of roasted nuts, cinnamon, and smooth pepper accompanied by subtle touches of caramel and sweet cream.

$ 13.00

HONDURAS

A balanced and complex blend delivered in a neatly box-pressed format and finished with a light brown wrapper with sheen. Draws well and produces an excellent output of aromatic smoke with notes of cedar, toasted almonds, mild coffee, and a delicate touch of tea.

$ 9.70

HONDURAS

Impeccably balanced and consistently wellmade. Delivers a clean, medium bodied profile highlighted by notes of toasted almond, cedar, and sweet spice accompanied by a touch of cream. Produces an excellent smoke output while leaving behind a solid, compact ash.

$ 9.99

NICARAGUA

A creamy and flavorful toro delivering a core of white pepper, cedar, and toasted nuts complemented by a rich, sweet creaminess on the finish. Produces a good output of medium strength smoke along a good draw and wavy burn.

$ 11.57

NICARAGUA

An intense, slow-burning blend that opens with a blast of sharp pepper, which settles to incorporate subtle hints of cedar, bitter coffee, and earth. This consistently well-made toro extra is covered with a supple, light brown wrapper. Medium to full strength.

$ 12.00

NICARAGUA

Opens with a heavy dose of earth and pepper later balanced by notes of tanned leather, roasted almonds, and a hint of cream. Produces a good output of medium plus strength smoke along a firm draw leaving behind a dark gray ash.

TORO

AJ Fernandez San Lotano The Bull

My Father El Centurion H.2K.CT

VITOLA: Toro

LENGTH: 6

54 RING:

WRAPPER: Ecuador

BINDER: Nicaragua

Nicaragua FILLER:

VITOLA: Toro

LENGTH: 6

52 RING:

WRAPPER: USA

BINDER: Nicaragua

Nicaragua FILLER:

Espinosa Murcielago de Oro TAA 2023 Exclusive

La Aroma de Cuba Pasión

Leaf By Oscar Corojo

90

VITOLA: Toro

LENGTH: 6

54 RING:

WRAPPER: Mexico

BINDER: Nicaragua

Nicaragua FILLER:

VITOLA: Marveloso

LENGTH: 6

52 RING:

WRAPPER: Nicaragua

BINDER: Nicaragua

Nicaragua FILLER:

VITOLA: Toro

LENGTH: 6

52 RING:

WRAPPER: Honduras

BINDER: Honduras

Honduras FILLER:

Esteban Carrera’s Devil’s Hand

VITOLA: Toro

LENGTH: 6

50 RING:

WRAPPER: Nicaragua

BINDER: Nicaragua

Nicaragua FILLER:

$ 9.50

NICARAGUA

Flawlessly pressed and covered with a beautiful, milk chocolate colored wrapper, this medium to full strength blend delivers a balanced core of almond cream, sweet pepper, hickory, and a hint of coffee. Draws and burns perfectly, leaving behind a compact ash.

$ 9.70

NICARAGUA

A flavorful and balanced blend that combines smooth pepper and sweet spice with notes of cedar, peanuts, and heavy cream. This softpressed toro is consistently well made, providing an excellent draw and plentiful smoke output. Medium plus strength.

$ 12.50

NICARAGUA

A flavorful, medium to full strength blend that opens with tons of oak, pepper, and dark chocolate accompanied by a sweet earthiness on the finish. Beautifully constructed and covered with a flawless, reddish brown wrapper with excellent oils.

$ 11.85

NICARAGUA

Beautifully constructed and covered with a light brown, inviting wrapper. This medium strength toro provides a firm draw while delivering notes of cream, cedar, and sweet spice complemented by a touch of cayenne pepper on the finish.

$ 10.50

HONDURAS

A consistently well-constructed toro covered with an oily, reddish brown wrapper. Delivers a super smooth core of ripe fruit, cocoa, and earth accompanied by a touch of pepper in the background. Produces a good output of medium strength smoke.

$ 10.60

NICARAGUA

Flavorful and consistently well-made, this medium bodied blend is covered with a clean, slightly toothy, reddish brown wrapper. Draws well and leaves behind a solid, compact ash while producing a core of nuts, sweet pepper, and molasses with a hint of earthiness.

ROBUSTO

A. Fuente Magnum R

Rocky Patel Dark Star

Espinosa Sumatra

91

VITOLA: R 44

LENGTH: 4 7/8

WRAPPER: Ecuador

91

90

La Aurora 120 Aniversario

Cain Daytona

90

90

89

$ 10.28

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

BINDER: Dominican Republic

FILLER:

47 RING: Dominican Republic

VITOLA: Robusto

LENGTH: 5 1/2

50 RING:

WRAPPER: Honduras

BINDER: Honduras

FILLER:

Honduras & Paraguay

VITOLA: Robusto

LENGTH: 5

WRAPPER: Ecuador

A flavorful and balanced robusto covered with an inviting, reddish brown wrapper with excellent sheen. Produces an excellent output of medium strength smoke with flavors of cinnamon, sweet cedar, and a touch of cream with a hint of spice.

$ 10.50

HONDURAS

Consistently well-made, this toothsome robusto extra produces a flavorful combination of smooth pepper, bittersweet cocoa, and American coffee balanced by a touch of sweet creaminess in the background. Medium strength.

$ 11.00

NICARAGUA

52 RING: Nicaragua FILLER:

BINDER: Nicaragua

A flavorful blend that delivers a core of white pepper, wood, and a touch of earth complemented by a sweet nuttiness on the finish. This well-constructed smoke builds to a medium plus strength along an excellent draw and burn.

$ 14.00

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

VITOLA: Robusto

LENGTH: 5

WRAPPER: Dominican Republic

BINDER: Dominican Republic

50 RING: Dominican Republic FILLER:

VITOLA: 550

LENGTH: 5

50 RING:

WRAPPER: Nicaragua

BINDER: Nicaragua

Nicaragua FILLER:

VITOLA: Petit Robusto

LENGTH: 4 1/2

52 RING:

WRAPPER: Mexico

BINDER: Nicaragua

Nicaragua FILLER:

Produces an abundant smoke output along an easy draw and an even burn while producing a core of cedar, chili pepper, and tanned leather complemented by almond cream on the finish. Medium strength.

$ 7.07

NICARAGUA

Smooth and creamy with a core of deep pepper, roasted nuts, and a touch of earth accompanied by a touch of caramel sweetness in the background. This medium strength robusto draws and burns flawlessly while leaving behind a dark gray ash.

$ 13.50

NICARAGUA

A short, box-pressed robusto finished with a clean, walnut-colored wrapper and topped with a neat pigtail. This slow-burning blend produces notes of earth and sharp pepper with a touch of tanned leather while leaving behind a dark gray ash. Medium to full strength.

Foundation Menelik

ROBUSTO

$ 15.00

NICARAGUA

Creamy and balanced with a core of sweet cedar, cashews, and jasmine tea complemented by a smooth touch of spice. This impeccably constructed robusto draws and burns exceptionally while producing tons of mild to medium strength smoke.

$ 10.61

NICARAGUA

An impeccably constructed, soft-pressed robusto covered with a smooth, supple wrapper with a velvet feel. This medium strength blend produces an excellent smoke output with a core of cedar, pepper, and sweet spices complemented by a subtle note of floral on the finish.

$ 8.00

NICARAGUA

Impeccably constructed and covered with a flawless shade grown wrapper with minimal veins. This well-balanced robusto draws and burns perfectly while leaving behind a solid, compact ash. Delivers flavors of cedar, sweet pepper, and salted peanuts with a hint of cream.

$ 9.45

NICARAGUA

Solidly built and covered with a golden-colored wrapper with a beautiful sheen. Draws and burns exceptionally while leaving behind a solid, compact ash along a profile of light pepper, oak, and toasted nuts accompanied by a touch of honey. Mild to medium.

$ 14.50

HONDURAS

Produces tons of thick, mild to medium bodied smoke with a profile of nuts, cedar, and cream accompanied by a touch of spice. Consistently draws and burns well while leaving behind a crumbly ash.

$ 7.30

NICARAGUA

A short, pressed robusto covered with a clean, shade grown wrapper with a velvet feel. This medium strength blend delivers a core of earth and smooth pepper complemented by subtle notes of oak and black American coffee.

VITOLA: Robusto

LENGTH: 5

50 RING:

WRAPPER: Ecuador

BINDER: Cameroon

Nicaragua FILLER:

91

VITOLA: Robusto

LENGTH: 5 1/2

54 RING:

WRAPPER: USA/Connecticut

BINDER: Nicaragua

Nicaragua & Dominican Republic FILLER:

VITOLA: Robusto

LENGTH: 5

50 RING:

WRAPPER: USA/Connecticut

BINDER: Mexico

Nicaragua FILLER:

VITOLA: Robusto

LENGTH: 5

54 RING:

WRAPPER: Ecuador

BINDER: Indonesia

Nicaragua & Dominican Republic FILLER:

VITOLA: Robusto

LENGTH: 4 3/4

50 RING:

WRAPPER: Honduras

BINDER: Honduras

Honduras FILLER:

VITOLA: Robusto

LENGTH: 4 3/4

52 RING:

WRAPPER: Ecuador

BINDER: Nicaragua

Nicaragua FILLER:

Sacrificio Junior

Southern Draw Rose of Sharon

91

AJ Fernandez New World Connecticut

90

Undercrown Shade

90

Flor de Selva No. 20

89

Perla del Mar

88

BY ERIK CALVIÑO

So it's not every day that we have a country singer from Miami. A Cuban cowboy at that. So how did country music become your thing? You were a theater major in college, so when did country music come into play? I remember finding country music around middle school age, in those teenage years. I had a girlfriend at that time who liked country music and she kind of introduced me to that world. Specifically, it was really Darius Rucker who got me into it because I grew up listening to my dad's music, Only Wanna Be With You every time the [Miami] Dolphins would lose. "I'm such a baby cuz the Dolphins make me cry," we'd sing it as a family. And so, I remember making that connection later one day listening to a Darius Rucker song like, 'I've heard this voice before.' And I remember the exact song. It’s called Comeback Song by Darius Rucker, and I was like, 'Man, I dig this song. But I think I know this voice and I know this guy.' I did a little Google search and made the connection. 'That's Hootie from Hootie and the Blowfish.' And then I started going through his catalog and it was kind of like just a gateway from there. From Darius Rucker, I found Dierks Bentley, Blake Shelton, all those guys who influenced me. I loved the stories in their lyrics, I loved the melodies that they were using. There's something about country. Country music just kind of lit a fire in me, and it was all I listened to throughout my high school years. Life’s got a funny way of working out you know, now I'm singing country music for living.

So, you fall in love with country through the gateway of Darius Rucker, which is pretty funny. Now take us through how you got to this point. Did you just start playing country songs, trying to cover the songs you liked, and then eventually started writing your own? Yeah, that’s kind of how it happened. As you mentioned before, I was a theater major in college, and I was acting for a while. Pre-COVID I was going back and forth from New York to Miami auditioning for plays, doing the acting thing, it was great. Then COVID hit and obviously it shut down that whole industry and suddenly I had a lot of time on my hands. I thought, 'man, it's time for me to pick up the guitar, I love country music, I love listening to it, I love singing it but it's time for me learn how to play.' I started playing guitar, started learning all these classic country cover songs that I love. And I've always had a passion for poetry, and a passion for stories. So, it was time for me to try to write my own country music. I started mimicking those sounds, mimicking the chords and the melodies. I found my footing in the world of country music and just telling stories about my life and those around me.

That’s insane. Most people learned how to bake or

ORLANDO MENDEZ

The Cuban Cowboy

how to butcher a new language. You started a country music career and after starting a local country music band in Miami, we first came to know of you through the talent show The Voice on NBC. How did that come about?

The Voice thing was funny man, it was 2022. We were playing all these shows and I had seen open calls for The Voice a couple of times, just through casting networks I still had from my acting days. I never thought anything of it, I didn’t really want to do that, and a friend of mine one day says, “Hey, I saw this email to audition for The Voice and I think you should do it.” I was like, 'Man, I don't want to. That's not me. I don't want to do reality TV. I'm not interested.' And he says, “Well, I think you're crazy not to do it and if you don't sign up, I'm going to sign you up.” So I did the virtual audition and like four or five online rounds later, they flew me out to LA for the big Blind Audition.

What was the first song you sang on the Blind Audition and what was going through your mind?

The first song was Beer Never Broke My Heart by Luke Combs. That's the first song I sang on there, you can still find it on YouTube. I say it to this day, that was the most surreal moment of my life. Right? We had spent three or four weeks in LA in preparation for the audition, rehearsing, interviewing, doing all these things for TV. I was around 99 other people who were given this chance to Blind Audition, some incredible talents so I was just like, 'man I want one chair to turn. I just want to go on this stage and not be completely disappointed, I just want one chair to turn. Please give me one chair.'

To get four chairs to turn around was the most surreal moment in my life. I never planned on that and never thought about it. It was a huge blessing.

After The Voice you ended up leaving Miami and moving to Nashville. You’re now an independent artist, so you’re not signed to a label, how does that work? If there’s a cigar smoker out there who wants to follow in the Orlando Mendez footsteps, what does that look like?

It's tough, but it has gotten easier with the world of social media and independent distributors. Right now, I go through DistroKid. So pretty much you can just start a profile on there and put your music right to Spotify, Apple Music and all of that. Not having a label is challenging because you're competing against all the other independent artists like you but you're also competing against all the label artists for the same audience. It takes resources, it takes money, it takes dedication, but it's possible, we've been making it happen for a year now and this year is looking great. I have had the big

blessing of being invested in by certain people to allow me to record music and release music. My parents have been pivotal. A man by the name of Wade McGuinn out from South Carolina has been pivotal in helping me fund some of this stuff. And for that I'm grateful and looking for the next next partners as well.

Your latest track, Motherland, is one that you’re pretty excited about, can you play us a bit of it?

(singing)

Yeah, I'm sitting here drinking at the southernmost tip, down in the Florida Keys.

About to take my last rum-filled sip when suddenly it came to me, I looked out across the ocean to see if I could see, the island where I came from, that still part of me. And sure, I ain’t ever been there, I ain’t ever touched that sand, but it's where my family came from, and it makes me who I am. This deep-rooted connection that at times I don’t understand, but as I'm sitting here right now, I’ll tell you man. There's only 90 miles and a cigar in my hand, between me and the motherland.

That’s awesome. And that great line that says, “And a cigar in my hand,” feels like the perfect segue into your love of cigars. Do you remember the first cigar you smoked?

I remember, it was a Romeo y Julieta. I was probably under cigar smoking age if we're going to be honest, but I remember one of my birthdays my godfather bought me a Romeo y Julieta. He wanted that to be my first cigar smoking experience and he wanted it to be with him and so I smoked one with him. But probably the most special cigar experience is watching my grandfather roll cigars as a kid; he would roll his own cigars. They were tobacco farmers back in Cuba, he didn't do that here for a living, but he still had a passion for rolling and I remember from a young age watching him roll cigars.

So, what's your go-to cigar right now?

This Liga that I’m smoking is pretty good but I've been smoking Plasencias quite a bit. My go to celebration cigar, though, which my grandfather was a big fan of, is Padrón. So, my go to celebration cigar is that Padrón 1926.

What kind of celebratory moment do you have in your sights for this year that would warrant a Padrón 1926?

There's a few in my sights for this year. I think one of them would be releasing a song that gets over a million streams. I think that's coming this year, I really do believe that's coming, we're getting there. Another would be when I play the [Grand Ole] Opry, I hope that happens soon as well. I'm also planning an album release this year, so after I release my album, I'll definitely have a little 1926.

PHOTO BY: NATHAN CHAPMAN

SCOREBOARD

We started paying attention to the platform formerly known as Twitter in our March/April 2010 issue when we had our friend and co-founder of Stogie Review Walt White write a story about Twitter’s impact on the cigar world. The following issue was the first to run a Twitter Scoreboard and ever since we’ve been keeping tabs on the Twitter accounts of cigar companies, personalities, retailers, and more. Today we transition from calling it the Twitter Scoreboard to the odd-sounding X Scoreboard. We’ve traded the powder blue and bird for a minimalistic, modern X on a black background but as always, if you believe you have the numbers to be on this page, let us know via @cigarsnobmag.

TOP CIGAR ORGANIZATIONS

Drew

Rocky Patel @RockyPatelCigar

CAO International @CAOCigars

Padron Cigar @PadronCigars

Ashton Cigars @ashtoncigar

Alec Bradley Cigars @AlecBradley

La Flor Dominicana @LFDCigars

Jonathan Drew @JonathanDrewArt

Camacho Cigars @camachocigars

La Gloria Cubana @lagloriacubana

E. Perez-Carillo @EPCarrillo

Pete Johnson @TatuajeCigars

Oliva Cigar Company @OlivaCigar ............................................ .

Xikar Inc @XIKARinc

Davidoff Cigars @Davidoff_Cigars

JC Newman Cigar @JCNewmanCigars ...................................... .

Nick Perdomo @PerdomoCigars ............................................. .

AJ Fernandez @ajfcigars

Punch Cigars @punchcigars ................................................... .

Ernesto Padilla @PadillaCigars ............................................... .

Stephen

Cigar Rights of America @cigarrights ..................................... .

Premium Cigar Association @PCA1933 ................................... . Tobacconist University @tobacconistU

TOP CIGAR RADIO

Cigar Dave Show @CigarDaveShow

KMA Talk Radio @KMATalkRadio ............................................ . Cigars and Scotch @CigarScotch ........................................... .

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

@cigarspiritswine

Palma De Mallorca, Spain #Rosalones #seleccionbodegas #2023 #nicaragua #cigar #sotl #cigarporn #botl #cigaroftheday #fincavallejo #rueda #verdejo #cvne #wine #cigarsnob #luxury #mallorca #moment #joyacigars #joyadenicaragua

@tonypec_

Ignite your motivation Thru passion ����

When you do what you love, it truly doesn’t feel like work

TOP

INSTAGRAM SCOREBOARD

Since its launch in October of 2010, the cigar world has become enamored with Instagram. Today the ‘Gram is unquestionably the most popular platform on which to share snaps of what you’re smoking and drinking. This scoreboard is sorted by number of followers and broken into groups: Top 20 Cigar & Cigar Accessory Companies, Top 10 Retailers & Reps, Top 10 Cigar Influencers, Top 3 Cigar Organizations, and Top 3 Cigar Radio accounts. If you have the numbers and belong in one of these groups, stand up and be counted! Set us straight via Instagram @cigarsnobmag.

Padron Cigar @padroncigars

Davidoff Cigars @davidoffcigars

Drew Estate Cigars @drewestatecigar

Arturo Fuente @arturofuentecigars

Rocky Patel Premium Cigars @rockypatelcigar

Raquel

Boveda @BovedaInc

Epic Cigars @epiccigars

Gurkha Cigars @gurkhacigars

Oliva Cigar Co. @olivacigar

My Father Cigars @myfathercigars

Xikar Inc @xikar

La Flor Dominicana @LFDCigars

Camacho Cigars @camachocigars

AJ Fernandez @ajfcigars

Ashton Cigars @ashtoncigar

Plasencia Cigars @plasenciacigars

Nick Perdomo @Perdomocigars

Alec Bradley Cigars @alecbradleycigar

Joya de Nicaragua @joyacigars

Havana

Famous

Mulberry

Michael

Cigar

Master

Nikki

Melanie

Cigars

TOP CIGAR ORGANIZATIONS

Premium Cigar Association @PCA1933 ................................... .

Total Product Expo @totalproductexpo .................................... .

Cigar Rights of America @cigarrightsofamerica ........................ .

TOP CIGAR RADIO

Cigar Dave Show @cigardave

KMA Talk Radio @KMATalkRadio ............................................ .

Eat Drink Smoke @eatdrinksmokepodcast ............................. .

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

@mgl6966

The Edge, New York Nooo Yoik.

The Edge, NYC

@crystalsscigarss

Washington D. C.

If you wait until you’re ready, you’ll wait forever!

TOP

CIGAR INFLUENCERS ON

by Jamilet Calviño Festival 2024

he annual festival celebrating the Nicaraguan tobacco and cigar industry celebrated its 11th year with five days packed with events that guided guests through the heart of the country’s award-winning tobacco farms and cigar factories. The sold-out event drew a diverse audience representing 22 countries, all there to see first-hand how some of the best cigars in the world are made. Puro Sabor participants choose a track made up of a combination of pre-set tours, then all groups meet up for lunch and for the evening’s dinners.

Day 1

We left Managua for a two-hour bus ride to Estelí, where the festival kicked off with lunch at AJ Fernandez’s San Ramón farm. The festival’s first cigar moment was with the AJ Fernandez Dias de Gloria while guests enjoyed food and cocktails amidst a backdrop of lush tobacco growing in the surrounding fields. The welcome dinner that evening was held at La Gran Fábrica Drew Estate, where our hosts unveiled a new mural featuring the Deadwood Tobacco ladies. Flor de Caña 18 was poured from the barrel all night. The evening's cigar moment was presented by Pedro Gómez and featured the Liga Privada Selección de Mercado, a Europe-only blend. Guests enjoyed rock and blues from a live band while DE’s Henry Pineda poured Blackened Whiskey and handed out Blackened M81 cigars to finish out the night.

Day 2

All groups were driven to Condega to visit Oliva's Hacienda d' Ernesto. It's an understatement to call it simply a finca or farm. It's more accurate to call it a tobacco farming and genetics complex. The groups split into two, with one group planting tobacco seedlings in the field and the other, the one we were in, receiving a crash course in tobacco varieties from Ernesto Milanés and tobacco genetics from the legend himself, Vivaldo García. Ernesto is the head of Oliva's tobacco farming operations, and although the operation is called Hacienda d' Ernesto, it isn't named after him. The young son of Oliva’s owner Fred Vandermarliere’s is coincidentally named Ernesto as well; the hacienda is named after him.

Vivaldo García wowed participants with his knowledge of tobacco genetics. It's clear why he is widely considered one of the foremost tobacco geneticists in the world and is credited with developing some of the most popular tobacco seed varieties in use today.

Afterwards, our group walked up the hill to an impressive curing barn to find a full spread featuring Flor de Caña rum, Toña beer, and samples of Oliva Serie V and Serie V Melanio for all to enjoy. The local Chevrolet dealer showed off the latest models, which is something we haven't seen or perhaps never noticed at previous Puro Sabor Festivals. Lunch was served and there was plenty of smoke in the air, these being the first cigars the group enjoyed all day. All of this was followed by an enthusiastic welcome statement from Fred Vandermarliere. He passed the mic to Flor de Caña Ambassador Alejandra Pereira, who led us through a multi-sensory tasting of the Flor de Caña 18. We made it back to our hotels for some much-needed rest

before the dinner celebration at Scandinavian Tobacco Group. Before heading out to dinner, guests received the official Puro Sabor Festival cigar box/humidor, made by Cigar Box Factory of Estelí. The boxes were loaded with a selection of cigars from each member factory of the Chamber of Nicaraguan Tobacco.

The party at Scandinavian Tobacco Group started with a welcome statement from CNT president and La Gran Fábrica Drew Estate's general manager, Manuel Rubio, as well as one from Estelí's mayor, Francisco Valenzuela. There was food, dancing, endless drinks, and an overflowing number of cigars. As the festivities wound down, some weren’t ready to call it quits and continued to party at nearby Famous Bar. If you don’t know the place, you probably will on your next visit to Estelí. All parties in recent years seem to end up there.

James and Jeremy Yoder

Julian Cuevas, Hiram Díaz and Carlos Ahmed Carus

Candas Carmen and Alejandra Pereira

Walter Saes and Vivaldo García

Manuel Rubio, Henry Pineda and Pedro Gómez Rodríguez

Photos by: Carlos Hernández

Day 3

Some say a cigar festival doesn’t really start until you visit a cigar factory and that’s exactly what we did on the third day. We began at My Father Cigars, one of the gems of Estelí. The group was greeted by three generations of García tobacco-men, Don Pepín, Jaime, and Jandy, and a breakfast spread including delicious homemade croquettes. We toured the family’s massive operation, which has grown steadily over the last 20 years. You can find multiple stories dating back to 2006 in Cigar Snob’s archives documenting this growth. The most recent addition has given the company more room for tobacco aging and production capacity but despite this growth, the Garcías still hold fast to their traditional tobacco processing and cigar making methods and practices.

Don Pepín gave a masterclass in attention to detail and tobacco traditions that should be experienced by all lovers of premium cigars. The visit concluded with a stop into the My Father Lounge that faces the factory’s rolling floor and the adjacent bar for Toñas and in some cases, something a little stronger.

Lunch was hosted by Karen Berger at her Estelí Cigar Factory where guests enjoyed a sampler containing four K by Karen Berger blends, Connecticut, Habano, Cameroon, and Maduro, as well as her latest cigar K-Fire. The company's VP of sales, Bruce Busch, joined Karen in welcoming the crowd and presenting the blends.

We were taken to Scandinavian Tobacco Group for a tour of the company’s handmade cigar factory. The group received the #23 cigar from our Top 25 list, the Cohiba Riviera, to enjoy during the tour. We were able to see the tobacco stripping machines in action. These semi-automated machines strip out the central vein or stem from the tobacco leaf roughly 2.4 times faster than when done entirely by hand. Moving through the process, the team from STG showed off their selection of tobacco varieties available for blending and took us on to the rolling floor to appreciate the subtle differences in how they produce cigars. On the way out, we were gifted a CAO Sampler Pack. The day closed with a dinner party at Victor Calvo Cigars. The place was decked out with lights and decorations that made it look like they dropped a nightclub in Estelí. Suddenly, organizers made way and a group of classic American choppers drove all the way into the party, giving it a surreal vibe along with the 80s and 90s rock coming from the band on stage. Guests were handed three cigars for the evening, selections from Foundation, Joya de Nicaragua, and Victor Calvo. The event managed to ratchet up the crowd’s enthusiasm with dancers running through the crowd engaging everyone. Unlike the previous night, where the party moved to Famous Bar, this setup kept everyone going well past bedtime.

Jaime, María, Pepín and Jandy García with Rose Joudeh

Bruce Busch, Andrés Díaz Cote and Karen Berger

John Alexander and Dimi Maroudas

Pierre Jebian, José Paiewonsky and Diego Castellanos

Adriana Lugo and Victor Calvo Jr.

Candas Carmen, Rocío Sandoval and Ana José González

Day 4

The tours continued with a visit to A.S.P. Enterprises, the tobacco growing giant, which supplies raw material that ends up in countless blends for many of the biggest cigar makers in the world. Our tour was able to see tobacco plants in four stages of growth; just planted, 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days. It’s fascinating to see how quickly the tobacco plant grows. The ASP tour was given by owner David Perez along with his children David Jr. and Anabelle.

Lunch was at one of Plasencia’s farms where Nestor Andres Plasencia welcomed all and handed out Plasencia Alma del Campo cigars. It was a full Plasencia family affair that included family elders Nestor Sr. and his brother Dr. Gustavo. Along with lunch, we received a tasting of Epifania Prosecco, a first for this festival, which is usually more about beer and rum. During a touching moment, the CNT provided a donation to Escuela Cristal, a school for children with disabilities in Nicaragua.

We hopped back on the bus to PENSA, JC Newman’s cigar factory in Estelí. We were greeted by Eric Newman and the factory’s general manager, industry veteran Omar Ortez. They handed everyone the company’s flagship, BrickHouse, which was enjoyed throughout the tour. The highlight, however, was when everyone on the tour was taught how to make their own BrickHouse. We were taught how to bunch the tobacco for three cigars, put them in the mold, press them, then apply the wrapper ourselves. At the rate that we made these cigars, the factory would not last long but thanks to the help of our teachers, our cigars were well-constructed.

After we freshened up back at the hotel, we returned to PENSA for the dinner that everyone was waiting for, the White Party. This event draws a diverse crowd of locals and Puro Sabor participants. We were greeted by traditional Nicaraguan stilt-walkers and dancers as this was the festival’s most traditional, folkloric Nicaraguan event. Eric Newman received a lifetime achievement award, then delivered a moving speech. Guests were handed their second full box of cigars at the White Party; this time it was also to celebrate Cigar Box Factory of Estelí’s 10th anniversary. It was a beautiful box loaded with excellent smokes. The night was made even more fun and energetic thanks to the singers and dancers who entertained throughout the night. The energy continued later at Famous Bar where some who shall remain nameless stayed up until 4 AM partying the night away.

David Jr, David and Anabelle Pérez

Néstor A. Plasencia, Rocky Patel and Néstor Plasencia

Omar Ortez

Jorge and Beba Padrón

Victor Calvo, Evelyn Moncada, Bélgica Suárez and Néstor A. Plasencia Wade Crance, Frank Herrera and Evan Noyes

Eduardo Lahsen and the Toña Models

Eric Newman

Day 5

The day began with a visit to Oliva Escuela Elemental, the school founded by Oliva Cigar’s owner Fred Vandermarliere. The children sang for us, and the school’s principal explained the school’s mission and the programs they offer. As consumers, we typically only look at cigar companies as the ones who make and distribute these wonderful cigars that we enjoy but in Estelí and other communities like it, these companies represent so much more.

We walked over to TABOLISA (Tabacalera Oliva, S.A.), Oliva Cigar’s main cigar factory, where we received an assortment of 10 cigars to enjoy during the tour, including Serie V, Melanio, Master Blends, Serie G, O, and Connecticut Reserve. We fired up our smoke of choice and split up into two groups for the tour. TABOLISA is an impressive factory that underwent a massive overhaul and remodel without ever stopping production.

The multi-faceted tour continued at the company’s Las Mesitas tobacco processing facility. The tour included a look at the technological advancements that allow the supervisors to monitor temperature and humidity inside the “pilones” 24/7. The tour concluded with snacks, refreshments, more cigars, Oliva branded hats, a lighter, and a killer leather backpack.

After the whirlwind morning tour at Oliva Cigars, it was time for lunch. This time it was held at Rocky Patel’s TAVICUSA (Tabacos Villa Cuba, S.A.) farm and the site of RP’s future factory, which will break ground later this year. After lunch, we enjoyed the Rocky Patel DBS, Cigar Snob’s #13 cigar of 2023, while Rocky himself took the stage to welcome all.

The festival’s climactic party, the gala, was held back at Las Mesitas. To start, we received a sampler of five cigars, Oliva Serie V, Mi Querida Black, Don Pepín García Cuban Classic, Villiger 1888 Nicaragua and Aganorsa Leaf Aniversario Connecticut.

The band got everyone, and I mean everyone, up and dancing while a group of entertainers picked up anyone who dared to stay seated. The party culminated with a fireworks show. A fitting end to an amazing week visiting some of the best tobacco and cigar facilities on the planet in a country where the natural beauty is matched only by its warm and welcoming people.

Néstor Plasencia, Rocky Patel and Dr. Gustavo Plasencia

Melvin Griffin and Cagdas Cildir

Festival 2024 Dominican Republic

By Jamilet Calviño

he Dominican Republic’s annual ProCigar Festival, now in its 16th year, brings together cigar lovers from all corners of the world to celebrate the country’s tobacco prowess through a series of tours, seminars, and dinners. This year the six-day event hosted over 1,000 guests representing 20 countries. The festival starts in La Romana, where Altadis’s Tabacalera de García is located, then makes its way up to Santiago, where the majority of the ProCigar member companies are based. When registering for the event, guests choose which field or factory tours they want to participate in, and guests spend the final day at a tobacco plantation together. This year we started our coverage in Santiago and selected tours with Quesada Cigars and La Flor Dominicana.

Santiago Day 1

While the La Romana group was riding up after visiting Tabacalera de García, we were flying into Santiago and arrived in time for the Welcome Cocktail at the Hodelpa Garden Court where our ProCigar backpack was waiting for us. The ProCigar branded backpack was full to the brim with a sampler box containing 12 cigars, accessories from Colibri, Les Fines Lames, HumiDif, and others as well as a ProCigar polo and cap. The welcome pack also contained a pack of delicious Jules Destrooper butter crisps! They didn’t make it past my morning coffee the following day.

Once we’d stowed our backpacks, we continued to the pool deck where they’d rolled out the red carpet for us with live music, drinks like Brugal Leyenda rum, hors d'oeuvres, and a three-pack of cigars. Guests rubbed elbows with some of the Dominican Republic's legendary cigar makers as well as some up and comers. As is tradition for our group, we continued the party at Saga Restaurant & Cigar Club where we enjoyed tomahawk steaks and drinks with a background of live music and plenty of cigar smoke in the air.

Naeema Finley, Edwin Barrios and Lourdes Sánchez

Leticia and Klaas Kelner

Nirka Reyes, Ben Wills and Jamy Calviño

Jennifer Thorson and Steve Bartell

Abe Flores and Scott Vines

Luz Holguín, Timothy Forman and Agata Filippova

Photos by: MichyWatchao

Santiago Day 2

Let the cigar tours begin! At ProCigar, the consumer gets to select what cigar tour he/she attends on each day, and for our first tour of 2024 we visited Quesada Cigars to celebrate their 50th anniversary. We boarded an early bus to Quesada Cigars where we were greeted by the father/daughter team of Manolo and Raquel Quesada, who handed us each a Casa Magna Liga F. Ferio Tego’s Michael Herklots and Manolo Quesada led a guided component tasting of the 50th anniversary cigar. We love these component tastings because they allow you to isolate and identify where each flavor and sensation in the cigar is coming from. We celebrated the anniversary with a proper Champagne toast led by Raquel, then enjoyed a rum tasting led by Brugal’s rum master, Miguel Ripoll, and brand ambassador Susana Ortega.

A delicious traditional Dominican roast pork was served for lunch followed by a beautiful cake to commemorate the anniversary. Along with the cake and coffee, Casa Magna Connecticuts were passed out and on the way out every guest received a two-cigar coffin of the Quesada 50th Anniversary cigar.

Upon returning to the hotel, we attended a cigar seminar hosted by Michael Herklots and ASP’s David Perez. The seminar focused on the difference that a wrapper can bring to a blend. Each participant received two cigars with the same filler and binder blend; the only difference was that one had a Habano wrapper and the other Connecticut wrapper. It was an incredibly informative and eye-opening seminar.

As is typical at ProCigar, the parties were top notch, and the Welcome Dinner at Parque Central de Santiago was no exception. All the entertainment was excellent, from the artist live painting while we mingled to the folkloric dancers while we dined. The food, drinks, and cigars were fantastic, and the dance contest was a lot of fun as well.

Michael Herklots, Susana Ortega, Raquel and Manolo Quesada and Miguel Ripoll

Raquel and Manolo Quesada

David Pérez and Michael Herklots

Vanessa and Chris Alonso

Elissa Noyes, Frank Herrera and Fred Rewey

Dr. Blue, Ken Hamlin and Travis Johnson

Mark D Rabe and John Doyle

Jessly Segura and Jamie König

Santiago Day 3

Few factory tours can convey the essence of being a ‘tabaquero’ in the Dominican Republic as well as the tour of La Flor Dominicana. We started the day at LFD’s farm with Litto Gómez and his team putting on a show with his collection of paso fino horses followed by a tour of LFD’s fields and curing barns. The tour took a twist when Tony and Litto Jr. surprised their father with a mini museum paying homage to his life, they called it Casa Gómez.

From there the tour moved back to the factory where folkloric dancers greeted us and guided us to our seats and handed us a new smoke, the LFD Ligero. As usual on this tour, the food was exceptional. There was a paella loaded with lobster, shrimp, clams, and mussels. Then there was the roast pork, churrasco, sausage, chicken, and to top it off they brought tomahawks over to each table and carved them. Amazing! We walked off all the food and drinks with a tour of the cigar factory accompanied by the LFD Solis, Litto Jr’s blend.

After some rest, we hit the party of the year, the White Party! The event is held at Santiago’s Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración, as unique of a venue as you will find. In fact this is the only event held at the historic landmark. Upon entering, we were handed a box with Art de Fumar’s art on it. Inside, the box was packed with the best of the best in Dominican cigars. As is the case every year, this event brings out a who’s who of the Dominican Republic’s elite. The Golden Soul band got everyone dancing, then suddenly the floor opened and we could see Tony Gómez on one knee. His longtime girlfriend Mina made her way to the center of the dance floor and soon there wasn’t a dry eye in the house; she said YES!

Litto Gómez

Ben Wills and Victor Anderson

Mina and Tony Gómez

Rafael Nodal and Alina Nodal Iturbides Zaldivar, Guillermo and Michelle León, Manuel Ynoa and Livi Yanet León

Santiago Day 4

In recent years, the final day of tours for ProCigar has been organized as a “Field Day.” While that name may conjure up images of middle school students competing in relay races and tug of war, ProCigar’s field day is about gathering all participants and cigar makers at one of the member company’s farms. This year’s field day was hosted by La Aurora at their Jacagua plantation, and while there were no sack races or tug of war, there were games like bingo, corn hole, darts, and dominos. There were also excellent cigars, food, and drinks to go along with the fun vibes.

For the final night of ProCigar, the organization went all out with their Gala Dinner at El Centro Español. Guests were greeted with another beautiful, collectible box of cigars. In addition to the cigar legends, festival participants, and upper crust of Dominican society on the list, the Dominican Republic’s president, Luis Abinader, was in attendance, a first for the festival.

Michael Herklots ran the auction to benefit Voluntario Jesús de los Niños and the Hospicio San Vicente de Paúl, among other nonprofit organizations, and ProCigar’s own initiative “A Home for My Family.” The auction raised over $500,000. Once the auction was over, we got down to the business of dancing. We don’t get tired of saying it, attending the ProCigar Festival is worth every penny for smokers who want to learn, smoke excellent cigars, and enjoy some of the best parties in the cigar business.

Isis Lawrence

EVENTS

THE GREAT SMOKE 2024

West Palm Beach, FL

The Great Smoke 2024, hosted by Smoke Inn, was a celebration of the Year of the Dragon. Over 2,000 people attended with another 600 coming along virtually. Attendees received a goodie bag with a commemorative Year of the Dragon ashtray, lighter, cutter, hand drum, and 34 cigars. Food was occasion-appropriate, as everyone feasted on Chinese cuisine. The event also featured Chinese dancers in traditional garb, and surprise guest Guy Fieri showed up to sign boxes and do an interview with master of ceremonies Michael Herklots of Ferio Tego Cigars.

Kim Keeney and Brian Motola

Abe Dababneh

Brothers of the Leaf from NJ on Liver & Lung Tour

John Kosmas and Dawn Howard

Jacob Janisch and Justin Catlin

José Soler and Luis Padilla

Keith Leverett, G Williams, Rod Bell and Terry Smith

Teddy Beninati, Danny Sambucchi and Loui Sanzo

Larry Palombo and Rob Levine

Nish Patel, José Morel and Nimish Desai

Domingo Neto and David Ludwig

Victor Hernåndez, Ivan Ocampo and Ramon Adato

Oliver Hyams, Susan Georgiou, Steven Vega and Emily Hooker

Charlie Baranyai and Angelo Romeo

Angie Cañete and David Figueroa

Patricia Briggs and Brandy Dababneh

Laurel Tilley, AJ Fernández, Kyle Farling and Frank Santos

Erik Espinosa, Guy Fieri and Michael Herklots

EVENTS

NESTOR MIRANDA’S 81ST BIRTHDAY AT CITY CIGAR LOUNGE Miami, FL

Nestor Miranda celebrated his 81st birthday with an intimate dinner event at City Cigar Lounge located in downtown Miami. The event doubled as the launch for the highly anticipated NM80 cigar brand. Over 40 guests enjoyed an Argentine style five-course dinner presented by award-winning Chef Carla Dilorenzo of Los Tanitos restaurant. Guests took home a box of the NM80 and a personalized bottle of The Balvenie 14.

Jason Wood, Erik Calviño and Nestor Miranda

Mónica Márquez

DeDe, Janet and Tisha

James Vita and Gabriel Piñeres

Nestor Miranda and Mark Ellington

Linda Giang, Regnier Acosta and Ibis Lu

Photos by: Carlos Gastelbondo

EVENTS

SOTL GLOBAL MOVEMENT AT CITY CIGAR LOUNGE Miami, FL

Sister of the Leaf Global Movement, a mentorship group for women, with a love of cigars as a binder, attracted a group of 40 female patrons for a soireé with Belkys Sánchez, JC Newman and Woodford Reserve at City Cigar Lounge. Belkys Sánchez explained the benefits of joining Sisters of the Leaf and explained its mission. Attendees received a couple of cigars, a raffle ticket, and a cocktail from Woodford Reserve. The event wrapped with lounge owner Tico Gutiérrez handling the raffle drawing, where the winners received humidors, lighters, and a $100 gift certificate to the lounge.

Henry Infante, Belkys Sánchez, Brittany McNeil and Antonio Ferret

Teri and Andrea Valentina

Betty González-Alpízar and Denise Cuevas

Tico Gutiérrez and Linda Giang

Susie Estévez, Gabriel Piñeres, Teri Valentina and Ricky Delgado

Janelle Sims, Antonio Ferret, Noel Johnson and Tico Gutiérrez

Carlos Garcéd, Alex Dominguez and Belkys Sánchez

Brittany McNeil and Cy Prince

Belkys Sánchez and Roberto Rodríguez

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

Alejandro Martínez Cuenca Joya De Nicaragua

Karl Malone

Barrel-Aged by Karl Malone

Dion Giolito Illusione Cigars

Erik Espinosa Espinosa Cigars

EVENTS

30TH ANNUAL CONINE GOLF CLASSIC Ft. Lauderdale, Fl

The 30th edition of the Conine Golf Classic, held at the Fort Lauderdale Country Club drew over 260 golfers to play in a scramble on both of the country club's courses while enjoying both versions of Cuba Aliados, the Original Blend and Cabinet Edition. The star-studded event included celebrities from the world of sports including Livan and Orlando “El Duque” Hernández, Alonzo Mourning, Glen Rice, OJ McDuffie, Dennis Martínez, Carlos Boozer, and Lenny Harris. Together they helped raise over $570,000 for Conine’s Clubhouse and Joe Dimaggio Children's Hospital.

Photos by: ReelTimes Productions