Cigar Aficionado November/December 2022

The magic has yet to fade on the 95-point E.P. Carrillo Encore Majestic, a former Cigar of the Year and true classic years after its debut. Other cigars shine, such as the 94-point Davidoff Nicaragua Diadema and a variety of cigars from Nicaragua and Cuba, including the Cohiba 55 Aniversario, one of the most expensive Cohibas ever released. TOP MISCELLANEOUS E.P. CARRILLO ENCORE MAJESTIC DOM. REP. 95 It got our attention when it debuted in 2018. It kept our attention when it was named Cigar of the Year. And now, it maintains its reputation with a jaw-dropping score of 95 points—classic on our 100-point scale. $12.50 TOP FIGURADO DAVIDOFF NICARAGUA DIADEMA DOM. REP. 94 Though made in the Dominican Republic, there’s no Dominican tobacco in this beautiful, double-tapered figurado. The Nicaraguan leaf is imported to the Davidoff factory and…

David Savona, the executive editor of Cigar Aficionado and a member of the editorial team for the past 27 years, badgered me to give him an interview to help celebrate the 30th anniversary of our favorite magazine. Little did he know that I had kept a secret from him and former executive editor Gordon Mott, who helped launch the magazine with me in 1992. In the interview, I discuss the background behind my original desire to launch my own cigar, and what happened that prevented me from doing it. The story is complicated and personal, and were it not for a moment in time I might be a cigar importer—and there would be no Cigar Aficionado magazine. To learn why, turn to page 50 to read my interview. My friends in the cigar…

“I used to enjoy two to four Cuban cigars a day… Now I’m consuming two to three a month.”—Robert Hubbard, Burlington, Kentucky Dear Marvin, Here is all you need to know about Padrón [“A Tale of Two Families,” Sept./Oct. 2022]. A few years ago, there was a Padrón event at Holt’s Cigar Co. in Philadelphia that Jorge Padrón was attending. I thought it would be great to shake his hand so I went to the event after work. When I got there, I saw Jorge in deep conversation completely surrounded by a circle of cigar aficionados who got there earlier than I did. I realized it would be some time before I might have a chance to meet him, and given that I was pressed for time, I decided to pick up…

It’s been around for years as a uniform for outdoorsmen and scholars. Now, Scotland’s most prized tweed fabric has made its way to the cigar world, covering a series of handsome cigar cases with a new sense of both fashion and history. Harris Tweed, the rugged woolen fabric, first woven into lively patterns by crafty crofters on remote islands, gained appreciation throughout the world and is now a coveted textile that’s as stylish as it is practical. Not that your cigars necessarily need warmth, but as the planet tilts away from the sun and winter looms, these cigar holders will be the perfect sartorial complement to your tweed jackets, coats and caps. Showing a combination of both rusticity and urban chic, the Harris Tweed Cigar Case (shown opened and closed at…

When Richard Mille kicked off its Ferrari partnership last summer, it took the checkered flag for ultrathin watches with the RM UP-01 Ferrari, clocking in at a record-breaking 1.75 mm thick and the staggering price of $1.88 million. “Everything we learned in our 20 years at Richard Mille was thrown out the window to do this watch,” says Julien Boillat, the company’s technical director for cases. And it shows. The UP-01, which is limited to 150 pieces, looks completely alien to not only other Richard Mille watches, but watches in general. The oblong timepiece spans the wrist, measuring 51 mm across and 39 mm from top to bottom with the time display in a small sub-dial at 12 o’clock, next to the spinning balance wheel in an aperture. Two disc-like crowns, integrated…

Since a certain spy first requested his Martinis with vodka, in place of gin, the name of that classic cocktail has been erroneously applied to just about anything served neat in a cone-shaped glass with a stem. (The latest ersatz invention is the Veltini, made with a trademarked cheese spread.) But one variant worthy of the name—despite its lack of gin or even vermouth—is the Espresso Martini. The drink actually started life in 1983 with the more legitimate name of the Vodka Espresso. The legendary Dick Bradswell of London’s Soho Brasserie concocted it, supposedly at the behest of a supermodel who requested both a pick-me-up and a lay-me-out in one glass. Fashionable nomenclature later dictated the present name. (It’s also been called a Pharmaceutical Stimulant when served in one of those…