Innehållsförteckning för January/February 2021 från Cigar Aficionado

94 TOP FIGURADO FUENTE FUENTE OPUSX PETIT LANCERO This thin and pointy cigar looks like an arrow and performs like one too, as focused notes of leather, cocoa powder and spice hit the palate’s bull’s-eye with intensity and precision. DOM. REP. 93 TOP CORONA HERRERA ESTELI HABANO LONSDALE DELUXE Tobacco from three countries struck a harmonious chord of sweet, savory and spicy intonations. The Lonsdale Deluxe is made by Drew Estate in Estelí, Nicaragua. NICARAGUA 93 TOP ROBUSTO HOYO DE MONTERREY EPICURE NO. 2 Mild enough for beginners and complex enough for seasoned pros, this perennial favorite continues to charm smokers of Cuban cigars. CUBA 93 TOP TORO COHIBA SIGLO VI This was the first Cohiba to break the 52 ring gauge barrier when it came out in 20o3, and…

Having sold more than half a billion units in its 88-year history, the Zippo lighter is an American icon. Myriad styles make them collectible and they’re popular among the military. But for cigar connoisseurs Zippos have always posed a problem: most run on naphtha lighter fluid, which creates a distinct chemical taste. Now, Zippo offers inserts fueled by cleanburning butane that won’t taint your smoke. The inserts come in two models—single-torch ($14.95) and a double-torch ($16.95)—with each designed to replace the naphtha-burning guts in most models. The inserts produce either one or two powerful blue jets and feature an adjustment knob on the bottom to raise or lower the height of the single or double flame. The idea to update the traditional Zippo design with butane inserts isn’t a new…

Since his big-screen debut 20 years ago in The Mummy Returns, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has kept a blistering pace, starring in film after film, many of them box-office smashes. Here are his biggest hits, ranked by worldwide box office. Furious 7 (2015) $1.5 billion The first movie with The Rock to break the $1 billion mark. Paul Walker, who had starred in the Fast & Furious franchise from its start in 2001, died midway during filming in an unrelated car crash. It’s the ninth largest movie of all time, when ranked by worldwide box office, and Johnson’s biggest hit ever. The Fate of the Furious (2017) $1.2 billion Segments of this hit were filmed in Havana in 2016, soon after the normalizing of relations between the U.S. and Cuba…

When Matt Massei walks out on the veranda of the Pinehurst Resort Country Club near his office, there is a particularly satisfying sight—players who have finished their rounds sitting in the big rocking chairs, a cold beverage in hand and many puffing on a cigar. “We have 30 big rocking chairs out there,” says Massei. “Every afternoon you go out, there are several guys enjoying a cigar and taking in the environment. We love to see that.” Massei is the executive vice president of Pinehurst, the golf mecca in North Carolina, and the crowds of eager players have become common on golf courses all around the United States. When the pandemic began to impact the U.S. in early 2020, Massei and other golf executives worried for the fate of the…

The Fuente Fuente OpusX Petit Lancero might look like a run-of-the-mill panetela at first, but the unusual belicoso head suggests that this is no ordinary cigar. And it isn’t. The sublime, 94-point smoke has the highest score of this tasting and the smoking experience is as unique as its appearance. Between the thin ring gauge and powerful Dominican tobacco grown at the Chateau de La Fuente farm, the draw puts a very focused, concentrated smoke squarely on the tongue where flavors blossom intensely across the palate in complex layers. More orthodox in form, the 93-point Cuban Montecristo No. 2 lives up to its venerable reputation as one of the cigar world’s quintessential Cubans with its highly detailed smoke and warm coffee-like tonality. Few cigars are as recognizable. 94 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC…

The immensely popular Cohiba Siglo VI scored 93 points and is one of the most sought-after cigars coming out of Cuba. When the Siglo VI first came on the scene in 2003, it was the thickest Cohiba in production, and one of the heaviest ring gauge cigars in the entire Habanos portfolio. But it was also the first Cohiba to sport the new bands with embossed golden letters and the first cigar to come in the glossy pull-cap tubos still produced today. Despite the initial fanfare and ongoing popularity, the Siglo VI is the highest-scoring smoke of this category. The 92-point Micallef Herencia Maduro Toro scored 92 points and is produced for Al Micallef by the Gómez Sanchez brothers in Nicaragua. Though still fairly new to the industry, Micallef is…

He materializes on the screen like the Ghost of Cigars Past, his torch caressing the end of a Bolivar Belicoso Fino. The broad, craggy smile, the physical confidence and, of course, the Cuban cigar—actor Martin Kove is clearly having a moment. The 74-year-old is riding a late-career updraft, thanks to the international popularity of the surprising smash TV series “Cobra Kai.” The show, currently streaming its third season on Netflix, revived steely martial-arts master John Kreese, the character from The Karate Kid and its Reagan-era sequels whose catchphrases (“No mercy!” “Sweep the leg!”) put Kove on the map more than 35 years ago, and back in the spotlight today. Netflix claims more than 50 million accounts viewed the second season of the show, making it one of the network’s more…

Do you wake up in a cold sweat, dreaming about smoking a 1492 from one of the 500 humidors released in 1992? Or getting your hands on a Dunhill Estupendo from the 1980s? Or just imagining a pristine box of Cohiba Behike BHK 52s from 2010, when it was named Cigar of the Year, sitting in your humidor? Those cigars have come and gone at auction in the United Kingdom, and if money is no object, they could be yours, assuming they ever come back up for sale. The 1492 went for $31,000 for the box of 50 back in 2018, averaging out to $637 per cigar. The Dunhill Estupendo exceeded that price per cigar back in 2012. Six loose Estupendos sold for the equivalent of $1,077—each—at the time. The…

The issue you hold in your hands right now will bring you many hours of reading pleasure. The cover story highlights one of the biggest celebrities in America today. In addition, we have our annual review of the Top 25 Cigars of the Year—one of our most popular features—with many exciting choices. On the cover, we have Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who was known as a wrestling superstar before becoming an acting star. He’s also a businessman. One measure of his immense stardom is his more than 200 million followers on Instagram, far more than just about anyone on the planet. The interview for the cover story took place over the Internet, a concession to the Coronavirus pandemic. What we learned from the discussion was that The Rock is an…

Think of Sherlock Holmes and it’s hard to escape cinematic images of Inverness capes and deerstalker hats. Truth is the seminal super sleuth donned neither of those in the canonical stories. But what he did wear in print—over and over—was what we would call a bathrobe. Only Holmes’ creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, referred to it as a dressing gown. That may sound a little gender suspect now, but in the Victorian era, such a “gown” was an essential part of a gentleman’s wardrobe. In a time of a strict dress code that kept men cinched up all day in layers of clothing and accessories, a flowing robe was a fine fallback position for relaxing at home—while still keeping up appearances. Today, the terry cloth bathrobe is typically employed to wear…

Most anecdotes of grand old whiskies seem always to revolve around the single malts of Scotland. Collectors brag on their 20-to 40-year-old bottles. Whiskies aged for 60 years can fetch prices that would finance the purchase of a fine home. Often lost in the frenzy for mature Scotch is a variant of Scotland’s most popular drink: blended whisky. But the category that makes up at least 90 percent of Scotch whisky produced is quite capable of growing into venerable old age. Blends of a certain age offer remarkable complexity at the very pinnacle of the blended Scotch category, and good value is often a lovely bonus. As if to underscore this, when Dewar’s reintroduced a method of aging blends by a four-step process in 2019, it did so with a…

When Dion Giolito of Illusione Cigars purchased the rights for the OneOff brand in 2017, he sought to restore what he believed to be the cigar’s cult-like status. His efforts have not gone unnoticed, as the OneOff Julieta is the top Churchill of the issue with 91 points. All the tobacco was grown in Nicaragua by Aganorsa, as is most of the leaf that Giolito uses for his cigars. Two Churchills scored 90 points and while both are excellent, they differ considerably in style. The 601 Red Label Habano is made by A.J. Fernandez at his San Lotano factory in Ocotál and is composed of bold Nicaraguan tobacco under an Ecuador Havana wrapper, while the Villiger Cuellar Black Forest is made in the Dominican Republic by Jochy Blanco and is…

It’s rare when the highest score of a category also has the lowest retail price, but this is the case with the Nat Cicco Casino Real Double Toro. The hefty smoke scored 92 points and at $5.79 it’s not only the least expensive cigar of the grandes section, but the cheapest of the entire issue. In this unusual instance, economy and quality are not at odds, as the cigar draws beautifully, burns evenly and is full of flavor normally found in smokes twice the price. Two cigars scored 90 points. The JFR Lunatic is made in Nicaragua by Aganorsa Leaf and commands attention with its shaggy protrusion of tobacco from the foot. Altadis continues its relationship with the Plasencias, who make the Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua with a…

TOP SCORES 94 Fuente Fuente OpusX Petit Lancero Dominican Republic • $14.00 • Figurado • Medium-Full 93 Cohiba Siglo VI Cuba • £46.35 • Toro • Medium-Full 93 Herrera Esteli Habano Lonsdale Deluxe Nicaragua • $9.28 • Corona • Medium-Full 93 Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 2 Cuba • £22.44 • Robusto • Medium 93 Montecristo No. 2 Cuba • £28.56 • Figurado • Medium 92 Micallef Herencia Maduro Toro Nicaragua • $12.00 • Toro • Medium 92 Partagás Serie P No. 2 (Tubo) Cuba • £27.33 • Figurado • Medium-Full 92 Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill (Tubo) Cuba • £24.50 • Robusto • Medium-Full 92 VegaFina 1998 VF 52 Dominican Republic • $9.30 • Robusto • Medium-Full 91 Quesada Selección España Corona Dominican Republic • $7.70 • Corona •…

The cigar world is home to a huge lexicon of words. There are myriad descriptions used for how cigars are rolled, the tobacco that goes inside (not to mention how those leaves are harvested, fermented and aged) and even the packaging in which they finally reside. This cigar glossary was designed to expand your knowledge as a cigar aficionado. Here is a primer on some of the terms, complete with a pronunciation guide for the more challenging words. The far larger cigar glossary can be explored and studied at cigaraficionado.com. Amatista (ah-mahh-TEE-stuh) A heavy glass jar containing 25 or 50 cigars, typically secured with metal clips and a leather strap for carrying. Seldom seen today, this packaging was popular in the ’50s and ’60s. Cuba’s H. Upmann cigars originated the…

Dear Marvin, Absolutely love the magazine. It wasn’t until my father-in-law passed away in 2010 that I even got into cigars. He had suggested on many occasions that we enjoy a cigar out on his deck after a great meal or after watching a college basketball game together. I was a cigarette smoker, so that never seemed appealing to me. His mail was forwarded to our address after his death and he was a member of the Thompson cigar club. Once I started getting the catalog, I thought, what did he find so enjoyable about these cigars? I made a few orders and remember ordering my first box of cigars. Shortly after, I began a subscription to your magazine, just to learn more about them. Your magazine has guided me…

You really can’t claim to be a Scotch drinker without having at least a passing knowledge of the meaning of blends and single malts. Single malts are easy to understand, malt whiskies made at a single distillery. Blends are a combination of single malts and grain whiskies, and blended Scotch is the most popular type, represented by such famous brands as Johnnie Walker, Dewar’s and Chivas Regal. But a third variety exists that plenty of self-respecting fans are oblivious to—blended malt whisky. It’s a category stuck in the middle of the other two, and while many formidable examples exist, it has been saddled with a confusing moniker. A bottle of blended malt whisky contains only whisky that is made from pure barley malt and distilled in a pot still, much…

Three countries come together beautifully in the Herrera Esteli Habano Lonsdale Deluxe, which scored an impressive 93 points. At a thin ring gauge of 44, the Ecuador Havana wrapper plays quite prominently in the smoking experience, but it also serves to harmonize the Honduran binder and Nicaraguan filler. It’s made by Drew Estate in Nicaragua. At 92 points, the Cloud Hopper from Warped showcases a Corojo ’99 wrapper, which, like all the tobacco in this cigar, was grown in Nicaragua by agricultural conglomerate Aganorsa. Also from Nicaragua, the Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series Corona scored 91 points exhibiting all the signature cocoa and coffee character the brand is known for. Originally a cigar made just for Spain, the Dominican Quesada España Corona scored 91 points as well. 93 NICARAGUA RING GAUGE:…

There’s a simple reason why the Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 2, which scored an outstanding 93 points, tends to be a favorite among smokers of Cuban cigars: It’s mild enough for beginners and complex enough for the seasoned vets. Medium in body, these elegant robustos are packaged in slide-lid wooden cabinets and although they’re smoking well young, these Epicures undoubtedly have aging potential should you wish to put them away for a while. Bolder and more full bodied, the Cuban Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill scored 92 points and is buttressed by a leathery base and spicy underpinning. Tobacco from all over the world converges in the VegaFina 1998 VF 52, which scored 92 points as well. The five-country blend resulted in a cigar that is as rich in…