May
June 2022
Black Swan p. 44
p. 44
NOLA Golf and Cigars p. 33
DISPLAY UNTIL 8/22/2022
Inflation Buster Excellent Cigars Under $
9
p. 72
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editorials MAY / JUNE 2022
25 5 TO TRY: IRISH WHISKEY When you mentioned Irish whiskey in the past, usually only a handful of brands came to mind. Until recently, there were only two distilleries left on the island and they were owned by one company! Now it’s hard to keep up with all of the new brands coming out of the Emerald Isle. That’s because the number of Irish distillers, from both small independents and large, well-funded firms, has been on the rise for the last decade along with the whiskey’s global popularity. Lucky for you we’re here to taste and pair them with the right cigar.
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REDBREAST 12 YEAR OLD / JOYA DE NICARAGUA DOS CIENTOS
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KINNITTY CASTLE AGED 10 YEARS / ROCKY PATEL DISCIPLE
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SLANE IRISH WHISKEY / ESPINOSA CREMA
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J.J. CORRY – THE HANSON BATCH NO. 2 / FSG 20-ACRE FARM
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GRACE O’MALLEY BLENDED IRISH WHISKEY / MY FATHER – THE JUDGE
33 TRAVEL: STICKS AND SWINGS IN NEW ORLEANS The Crescent City’s relationship with tobacco goes back centuries, and today its cigar culture is alive and well thanks to those 78 square blocks of colorful, booze-soaked, and cuisine-fueled history known as the French Quarter.
72 INFLATION BUSTER With prices skyrocketing all around, we looked through the last three years of ratings for the highest rated smokes under $9 before taxes. You’re welcome.
75 BARN SMOKER Drew Estate works with a number of growers around the US to source tobacco for some of their most beloved brands. During its Barn Smoker events you get to visit the farms and peek behind the curtain to understand the process and meet the personalities that make it happen, all while loading up on food, fun, swag, and tons of DE smokes.
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features MAY / JUNE 2022
14 LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER
16 FEEDBACK
20 WHAT’S BURNIN’
44 SMOKING HOT CIGAR SNOB BLACK SWAN FEATURING BLACKBIRD CIGARS CO.
57 RATINGS
82 TWITTER SCOREBOARD
84 INSTAGRAM SCOREBOARD
86 EVENTS 86 CIGAR SNOB’S
CIGAR OF THE YEAR PARTY
88 REPUBLICA CIGAR LOUNGE GRAND OPENING
89 OPUS X FOUNDERS NIGHT CIGAR DINNER
90 GALIANO CIGAR ROOM 3 YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY
92 SABOR HAVANA BOLD BURGER
BATTLE WITH CAMACHO CIGARS
94 STOGIE FEST 96 LA ZONA PALOOZA 98 XAVIER’S CIGAR LOUNGE/LDA CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT
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IRISH WHISKEY
IRISH WHISKEY WAS ONCE THE MOST POPULAR SPIRIT IN THE WORLD UNTIL ONEROUS TAXES, WARRING, FAMINE, THE PESKY TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT, AND THE INVENTION OF THE COLUMN STILL ERODED THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED IRISH DISTILLERS FROM 1,228 IN 1779 TO A MEASLY TWO DISTILLERIES BY 1966. AND THE SAME COMPANY OWNED THEM BOTH. THANKFULLY,
YOU CAN’T KEEP THE IRISH DOWN FOR VERY LONG, AND IRISH WHISKEY HAS BEEN GAINING POPULARITY ANNUALLY SINCE THE MID-1990S, BRINGING THE NUMBER OF DISTILLERIES UP TO 32 WITH MORE BEING BUILT AS WE SPEAK. THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT FOR IRISH WHISKEY AND HERE ARE FIVE SPIRITS THAT SHOULD BRING YOU BACK INTO THE FOLD.
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Sticks And Swings In
New Orleans
By Vic Williams Bayou Oaks at City Park
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FEATURING
blackbird cigar co.
48 CIGARS CIGAR CUTTER, LIGHTER & ASHTRAY: EL PAMA (elpama.com)
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DREW ESTATE’S BARN SMOKERS DROP TONS OF KNOWLEDGE, CIGARS, FOOD, AND BOOZE ON THEIR LEGIONS OF FANS IN THE COMPANY’S UNIQUE, INIMITABLE STYLE. By Steven Miller Photography by Ramon Santana
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