JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2024
p. 41
YEAR of the DRAGON p. 83
ROBERT TRENT JONES
Golf Trail p. 31
editorials JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2024
24 PERFECT PAIRING RON DEL BARRILITO / PARTAGAS DE BRONCE
26 ESSENTIALS JACOB AND CO. EPIC X LA AURORA LIMITED EDITION WATCH
31 SWEET HOME ALABAMA The state refers to itself as “Sweet Home Alabama,” and there’s little doubt the title is earned. This becomes clear when you grab the golf clubs and head for the Robert Trent Jones Trail, a path of courses that winds through the state with golf goodness. We rolled that trail and came back with the full report.
41 TOP 25 CIGARS We love to help readers find good cigars. We also love to see hard work get rewarded. Our annual Top 25 Cigars gives us a chance to do both. Here is our list of the best of the best of 2023, complete with a handy tear-out card that you can take to your tobacconist. The producers are worthy of your support, toiling to ensure the cigars you buy are the best they can make. Here’s a shout out to them.
83 ENTER THE DRAGON Gurkha last year wrangled an all-star team of cigar producers to commemorate the Chinese Zodiac’s Year of the Dragon via a series of quarterly releases. The ambitious endeavor showed a deft marketing sense, and we jump into the middle of it to tell how it came together.
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features JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2024
14 LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER
16 FEEDBACK
18 WHAT’S BURNIN’
52 SMOKING HOT CIGAR SNOB IN THE AIR TONIGHT FEATURING COHIBA RIVIERA
69 RATINGS
88 X SCOREBOARD
90 INSTAGRAM SCOREBOARD
92 EVENTS 92 OLIVA HELPING HANDS ROARING 20’S GALA 94 SABOR HAVANA SMOKE THIS 96 ESPINOSA LA ZONA PALOOZA 98 AJ FERNANDEZ AT TABACON CIGAR & SPIRITS 100 ROCKY PATEL AT TABACON CIGAR & SPIRITS 102 MONTECRISTO & REMY MARTIN AT CITY CIGAR LOUNGE 104 LAUNCH OF TRINIDAD ESPIRITU SERIES 3 AT CHICA 106 DAVIDOFF NICARAGUA 10TH ANNIVERSARY EXPERIENCE AT NEPTUNE CIGARS 108 TAMPA BAY WHISKEY VOYAGE 110 BREW CITY CIGAR FESTIVAL
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@ A R T E S A N O D E LT O B A C C O A R T E S A N O D E LT O B A C C O . N E T
SWEET HOME ALABAMA BY GAVIN MALISKA
Photo: RTJ Golf
IF YOU’VE DRIVEN THROUGH ALABAMA WITH YOUR EYES OPEN, YOU’VE SEEN THE GREEN HIGHWAY SIGNS FOR THE ROBERT TRENT JONES GOLF TRAIL. EVERYWHERE. IN FACT, IN SOME PLACES, WHETHER YOU’RE A GOLF GEEK OR NOT, THE TRAIL IS ASSUMED TO BE KNOWN BY MOTORISTS; “RTJ GOLF TRAIL” WITH AN ARROW IS WHAT YOU GET. WE SAW THE SIGNS A LONG TIME AGO – THE TRAIL IS A BEACON FOR GOLFERS, FEATURING OVER TWO DOZEN COURSES AND INCLUDING SIX RESORTS. WE TOOK SOME TIME TO INDULGE.
9TH GREEN AT CAMBRIAN RIDGE - SHEARLING COURSE
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cohiba RivieRa
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42 CIGARS
Image credit: istock Photo/ luctra_design
ENTER THE DRAGON
BY STEVE MILLER
EVENTS ROARING 20s GALA OLIVA HELPING HANDS Coral Gables, FL
Oliva Helping Hands Foundation hosted its debut gala at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables with a Roaring 20s theme, all the way down to the cars of the Gatsby days. Attendees, many of whom dressed in Flapper-era costumes, received two cigars, dinner and drinks, while Yadira Creighton, Fidel Valdés Rodríguez, and Fred Vandermarliere from Oliva Cigars thanked everyone for coming out. After dinner, patrons hit the outdoor terrace for some cigars and to review the items for the silent auction. The foundation's beneficiary for the event's proceeds was a new school in Jalapa, Nicaragua.
Teri Valentina and Ibis Lu
Alfonso and Ramona Rey
Aquiles Legra, Emilly Andújar, Claudia Uribe and Jorge Valdés
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Fidel Valdés, Maarten Van der Linden and Litto Gómez
Mari Rubi and José Fernández
Osnay Martínez, Lourdes Sanders, Regnier Acosta, María Flora Souto, Sandy Alemán, Janette and Morris Lischner Photos by: Jayy Starzzz
José Luis Plasencia, Indiana Ortez, Dana Pineda-Plasencia and Fred Vandermarliere
Kenneth Rios, Adrian Alfonso and Carlos Somoza
Barbie and Ozzie Gómez
Ramon Adato, Jamy Calviño, Victor Hernández, Belkys Sánchez, Ely Rodríguez and Barbie Calviño
Ibis Lu, Yadira Creighton, Walter Duartes and Daniela Carvajal
Dariel Fernández, Carolina Vester, Patty and Albert Sosa
Isabela Creighton and Daniela Carvajal
Renate Van der Linden , Alicia and Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr, and Maarten Van der Linden
Carmen Rivero and Regnier Acosta
Brian Shapiro, Fred Vandermarliere and Peter Struber
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