Cigar Aficionado

Cigar Aficionado is a magazine for the man who enjoys life’s great pleasures: fine dining and entertaining, the finest wines and spirits, world travel and the arts. At the heart of every issue is the cigar: what to smoke, where to smoke, and how to enjoy a great smoke.

highlights • In a strong tasting that saw 24 scores of 91 points or higher, Nicaragua continued to separate itself as today’s preeminent cigar-producing region. The country either captured or tied for the top spot in four of our six tasting categories, while the Dominican Republic and Cuba led (or tied) two sections of their own.

Cigars for the Troops

out of the humidor

Cigar Aficionado

good life guide • Living well demands that we indulge in things that are of superior quality and excellent origin. This guide aspires to find and recommend the best of everything to aficionados of the good life.

Paramount Cigar Cutters

The Toughest Fish

Tying Up For Summer

Range Rover Evoque

Genuine Gelato

Summer Mixing With Vodka

Scott Dunn Villas, the South of France

TAG Heuer Connected Modular 45 Golf Edition

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THE VETERAN • Kurt Russell has been a star for nearly 60 years, playing heroes, villains and everything in between. He returns to the big screen in July in the most talked about film of 2019

WHEN THE MOB RULED HAVANA • The true story of how gangsters sliced up Cuba and created an illicit playground

Tiger IS BACK • Tiger Woods returned to victory at the Masters in April, the site of his first major championship

Tequila’s Golden Age • Old-time methods capture the essence of Mexico’s national spirit

churchills

corona gordas • What a showing of quality! Three cigars scored 93 points in this category with many more achieving scores of 90 points or higher. Two of the 93-pointers are from Cuba—one a Regional Edition and the other, part of the Cohiba Siglo Series. The Cohiba Siglo IV may not get as much press as its beefier brother the Siglo VI, but it displays all the distinct character and grace one would expect from a brand as celebrated as Cohiba. The Punch Duke was made exclusively for Mexico, and with its heavy 54 ring gauge, is reflective of modern tastes. Also scoring 93 points, the Espinosa Habano No. 4 from Nicaragua. The word Habano refers to the Cuban-seed wrapper grown in Ecuador.

double coronas • The Fuente Fuente OpusX Double Corona was one of Cigar afiCionado’s first smokes to be named Cigar of the Year. Nearly 15 years later, the Double Corona is still an outstanding cigar, scoring 93 points. This gorgeous OpusX is made in the Dominican Republic and serves as a showpiece for the unique Dominican wrapper that brand owner Carlos “Carlito” Fuente Jr. grows on his Chateau de la Fuente farm in Bonao. The La Aroma de Cuba Double Corona scored 92 points, and is made in Nicaragua by the Garcia family for Ashton Distributors Inc. Given the size of the cigar and its relatively low price point, this rich and earthy double corona might be the best bargain of the issue.

figurados • The Plasencia Alma Fuerte Generacion V topped the figurado category at 93 points. When it first came out, this Salomon impressed us so much, it ended up as the No. 9 cigar of 2017. Today, it still performs at the same high level, thanks to the aged tobaccos put aside by Nestor Andrés Plasencia, who has a vast inventory of tobacco. As a cigarmaker and one of the largest growers of premium leaf in Nicaragua, Plasencia is in the perfect position to select premium tobaccos from his top farms. Two cigars scored 92 points, one from the Dominican Republic, and the other from the U.S. The La Flor Dominicana Air Bender Chisel is rolled with its trademark chisel head. All the tobacco, save for the wrapper, is grown on the La Canela farm in the Dominican...