Innehållsförteckning för January/February 2023 från Cigar Aficionado

A mix of the new and the old took the highest scores in this issue, with top performances from classic brands and new releases alike. We awarded scores of 94 points to such venerable names as Arturo Fuente, Montecristo, Padrón and Partagás (three in our figurado category) and a new brand called Olmec shined with a 93-point score. TOP FIGURADO ARTURO FUENTE DON CARLOS NO. 2 This impeccable Fuente torpedo tied with the iconic Montecristo No. 2 and consistently superb Padrón Serie 1926 No. 2 for top score in the issue and this category. $14.20 DOM. REP. 94 TOP ROBUSTO PARTAGÁS SERIE D NO. 4 There is a reason that this stately smoke with its distinctive red-and-gold look has been a mainstay of Cuban cigar smokers for decades: it’s consistently good.…

Las Vegas packs a lot of personality into a city in the middle of the desert. It’s synonymous with bright lights, grandeur, revelry, around-the-clock energy and a pleasing glitz that draws both high-rollers and penny-ante players. Now, for its 150th anniversary, luxury cigar accessories designer S.T. Dupont has further compacted Sin City’s essence into the palm of your hand with the Casino Pocket Complication Lighter. Looking more like a luxury timepiece than a lighter, it has a built-in roulette wheel set into one side, displaying all its various gears, screws and other inner workings. Set the wheel spinning via a built-in pushbutton on one side and see where it lands. On the opposite face of the lighter is an engraving of a roulette board, and the rest of the lighter…

While wear takes a toll on fancy footwear from loafers to oxfords and snazzy sneakers, one stalwart shoe is a standby for years of use. Leather lace-up boots take their cue from hard-working kicks designed in the early 20th century. Bred for practicality, but instilled with rugged style, these American-made shoes can take a beating and still look great when paired with chinos and a button-down. Combat, as so often happens with men’s wear, inspired the Trench Boot (bottom, $488) from Oak Street Bootmakers. The World War I General of the Armies John J. Pershing knew the importance of foot protection to infantry and approved the heavily reinforced boot that would be named for him. George Vlagos, Oak Street’s founder and designer, says, “While at the helm of [the American…

It isn’t a typo. The Cuban Trinidad Coloniales, which scored 92 points, retails for nearly £40, or about $48. Habanos S.A. raised the prices last year on the Trinidad and Cohiba brands. Should you decide to splurge, the Coloniales shows an elegant tension between sweet and spicy. The Joya Silver Corona scored 91 points and comes from the oldest producer of handmade cigars in Nicaragua. It was blended for more modern palates with bolder tobocco. If value is what you’re seeking, the Henry Clay Rustic Cheroot retails for less than $5 and scored 90 points. It’s made at the Flor de Copan factory in Honduras for Altadis U.S.A. The Cuban Partagás De Luxe Tubo scored 90 points as well and is designed for portability, as it comes in a slick,…

The Partagás Serie D No. 4 has long stood as one of Cuba’s benchmark robustos, but it’s also the cigar that Cuba makes the most of by volume. Regardless of the high production rate, it’s still an excellent smoke and scored 94 points, the highest of the entire category. It’s notable for being one of the stronger cigars in the Habanos portfolio. Three cigars scored 91 points. Cuba’s fairly new Por Larrañaga Galanes was released with little warning, as it hit the market rather suddenly in 2021 and has been performing well ever since. The Honduran Sancho Panza Extra Fuerte was rebooted last summer when General Cigar hired Matt Booth of Room101 fame to reblend the sleepy brand. The Camacho Nicaragua represents the Honduran arm of Davidoff of Geneva. CUBA…

It has become a tradition at Cigar Aficionado magazine to start our year with a celebration of excellence, our annual ranking of the Top 25 cigars of the year. It’s a project that has become especially popular with our readers. Our editorial team analyzes a year’s worth of cigar reviews and has a blind tasting of the top-rated cigars to see which ones rise above all others. At the end, we select the 25 best, and one cigar is given the lofty title of Cigar of the Year. This year, the winner is the H. Upmann No. 2, a beautiful cigar rolled in Cuba. It’s a well-crafted smoke, balanced, elegant, not too strong and not too mild. It delivered again and again, and we scored it 98 points, tying it…

When your fantasy is to ski your own private powder, making run after run in unbroken knee-high to waist-deep snow, you have to go where chairlifts don’t. The ultra rich may splurge on a helicopter to the top, but the “poor man’s heliskiing” is snowcat skiing. Even at half the price, it’s still not exactly slumming, but it does come with a number of other advantages over riding in a chopper. Snowcats—the vehicles that groom trails—become buses on treads when cat-skiers hitch a ride on the back. Unlike helicopters, they can run in any weather and are inherently safer because they take the peril of winter-mountain flying completely out of the equation. While you won’t ascend as high as helicopters, you typically unload in tree-sheltered areas, instead of barren mountain…

Three cigars dominated this category with fantastic scores of 94 points. All three come from well-established producers that make iconic torpedoes. From the Dominican Republic, the Arturo Fuente Don Carlos No. 2 is defined by its Cameroon wrapper, which is grown in Africa from Sumatra seeds. The Cuban Montecristo No. 2 is probably the most recognizable smoke in the entire cigar world, Cuban or otherwise. Unaffected by passing trends, this pirámides size has been around for decades and is truly part of the cigar canon. The box-pressed Padrón Serie 1926 was made to commemorate the birth year of company founder José Orlando Padrón and is made with bold, well-aged Nicaraguan tobacco that is both rich and concentrated, yet refined and opulent. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC RING GAUGE: 55 LENGTH: 5 7/8" FILLER:…

Talented and resourceful, Nick Melillo of Foundation Cigars brings us Olmec, one of his newest cigar lines. The Claro version scored 93 points and combines a Mexican wrapper with Nicaraguan tobacco to rich, satisfying effect. Olmec is named after the ancient Mesoamerican people who occupied the area where Mexican tobacco is grown today. Two cigars scored 92 points, one from Cuba and the other from Nicaragua. When the Cohiba Siglo VI was introduced in 2002, it was the thickest Cohiba to date. Still on the heftier side, the Siglo VI is immensely popular despite the big price tag. Rocky Patel celebrates his 60th birthday with the Sixty brand, which he says was aged for a few years before it was released. The Toro’s rich, precise notes certainly suggest mature tobacco.…

Dear Marvin, Sir, thank you. Your untold story article [“The Magazine That Almost Didn’t Happen,” Nov./Dec. 2022] is fascinating. Please consider writing your autobiography as only you can define it. Your portrait by Rick Wenner reflects a strikingly familiar image of another Sir—Sir Winston! Mike Moore Goldsboro, North Carolina Dear Marvin, Congratulations on the 30th anniversary of CIGAR AFICIONADO. I found it interesting that on the cover of covers, you had Wayne Gretzky and his wife Janet on one of your earliest covers, and their daughter Paulina with her husband Dustin Johnson more recently. Truly, enjoying a cigar is a family affair. Joe Schilp Piscataway, New Jersey Dear Marvin, Congratulations on 30 years of Cigar Aficionado. It is my go-to source of cigar news and cigar ratings. I am grateful…

The arrival of winter can mean resetting the thermostat on your imbibing by making heated cocktails that beat the cold. These are three of the classics. HOT TODDY Born humbly in eighteenth-century Britain as a simple mix of whisky, sweetener and hot water, the updated Hot Toddy has added a raft of choices. Today, they’re made with spirits from Scotch to Irish, Bourbon, rum and brandy and can come zesty with spices, lemon juice and even tea. 2 oz. Scotch whisky (or other aged spirit)1 Tbsp. honey1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice1 pinch cinnamon1 pinch nutmegHot water (or tea)Lemon wedge studded with cloves Combine the spirit, honey, lemon juice and spices in a warmed coffee glass. Fill with hot water. Garnish with lemon wedge. Use a warm spoon to handle the…

Dan Aykroyd COMEDIAN, ACTOR Arturo Fuente Double Chateau Fuente Maduro Dan Aykroyd has had what he describes as “quite a cigar arc.” It started when, at 14, he unloaded freight cars for the Canadian National Railway. On breaks, he smoked the “pretty grim” White Owls that he had filched from his father. A decade later, he was enjoying handmade smokes on the Rockefeller Center roof garden after a long day of writing sketch comedy for “Saturday Night Live.” The process reached a zenith one afternoon at the Cigar Aficionado offices with editor and publisher Marvin R. Shanken, who pulled out a vintage Cuban from 1947. “That’s probably the finest cigar I’ve ever smoked.” Aykroyd also fell in love with Arturo Fuente. “It’s not as famous as the Cohibas and the…

Cuban Churchills can be difficult to find, as very few are still in production. H. Upmann Sir Winstons, which scored 92 points, can be even more challenging to find, but if you see them, buy them. They aren’t powerhouses in terms of strength, but they are full of nuance and character. Far easier to find (and considerably less expensive) is the La Gloria Cubana Classic Churchill, which also scored 92 points. It’s made in the Dominican Republic by General Cigar using a blend that combines Nicaraguan, Dominican and Ecuadoran tobaccos. While General’s factory is large and produces many brands, La Glorias are made in a special area called El Credito. The separate gallery is dedicated solely to that brand and is named after the factory in Miami where they were…

Making a mild cigar is simple. But making a mild cigar that’s also flavorful and resonant is much more complicated. Yet Ashton manages to accomplish that seeming contradiction with its Panetela. At 92 points, it’s the highest-scoring smoke in this category. The Panetela is made by the Fuente family in the Dominican Republic with a Connecticut shade wrapper grown in the United States. One of Cuba’s most mysterious cigars is also one of the best performers of the panetela section. The Trinidad Fundadores scored 91 points and used to be obtainable only as a diplomatic gift from Fidel Castro himself. Now commercially available, the Fundadores still carry an element of mystique, as they are not always easy to find and often sell out as soon as they’re stocked. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC…

TOP SCORES 94 Arturo Fuente Don Carlos No. 2 Dominican Republic • $14.20 • Figurado • Medium-Full 94 Montecristo No. 2 Cuba • £34.20 • Figurado • Medium 94 Padrón Serie 1926 No. 2 Nicaragua • $19.70 • Figurado • Medium-Full 94 Partagás Serie D No. 4 Cuba • £28.30 • Robusto • Medium-Full 93 Olmec Claro Corona Gorda Nicaragua • $12.50 • Toro • Medium 92 Ashton Panetela Dominican Republic • $10.00 • Panetela • Mild-Medium 92 Cohiba Siglo VI Cuba • £70.20 • Toro • Medium-Full 92 La Gloria Cubana Classic Churchill Dominican Republic • $8.49 • Churchill • Medium-Full 92 New World Dorado Figurado Nicaragua • $12.80 • Figurado • Medium-Full 92 Rocky Patel Sixty Toro Nicaragua • $18.75 • Toro • Medium-Full TOP VALUES 91 Joya…