SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2022
True Grit
The Story of a Tobacco Legend p. 57
New
World Wine p. 23
Super Agent
Leigh Steinberg
p. 78
p. 42
editorials SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2022
23 5 TO TRY: SOUTH AMERICAN REDS Sitting along the same parallel as the celebrated wine regions of Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand, these wines from Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay are bringing exciting experiences to new and seasoned wine drinkers alike. These winemakers have managed to reimagine and at times re-discover classic French varietals of a time before the Great French Blight. We sought out five of these South American reds and smoked through our stocks to find the best cigar to enjoy with them.
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CATENA ZAPATA MALBEC ARGENTINO / ROCKY PATEL WHITE LABEL
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DOMUS AUREA / EIROA THE FIRST 20 YEARS
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ACHAVAL FERRER FINCA ALTAMIRA / DIAMOND CROWN BLACK DIAMOND
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CARMEN VINTAGES BLEND III / OLIVA SERIE V
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PISANO RPF / AVO SYNCRO NICARAGUA FOGATA
33 TRAVEL SMOKING IN THE TRIANGLE North Carolina’s Capital City is part of a sprawling academic haven. But it’s also a hive of history, interesting eating, and some downright eclectic cigar possibilities. We trekked to Raleigh and walked away with some surprises.
57 TRUE GRIT On the surface Julio Eiroa is a living tobacco legend from a different time, making cigars reminiscent of Cuba’s golden age of tobacco. But that doesn’t begin to tell the story. His journey from an exiled young man living in Tampa, moves along to being part of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. From there to being among the pioneers of the tobacco business in Honduras. When that fell apart, he built it back better. We returned to his tobacco operation for the first time in over 12 years in order to tell his story.
78 HARD BALL WITH LEIGH STEINBERG Sports agent Leigh Steinberg is a respected legend in a field known for its feisty negotiating on behalf of the best athletes among us. At 73 years old, Steinberg has seen a lot of comings and goings in the sports industry. We sat down with him to talk about LIV Golf, sports betting and his dream client. 8 | CIGAR SNOB | SEPT / OCT 2022
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features SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2022
14 LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER
16 FEEDBACK
18 WHAT’S BURNIN’
42 SMOKING HOT CIGAR SNOB AZÚCAR FEATURING ESPINOSA LAS 6 PROVINCIAS
65 RATINGS
80 TWITTER SCOREBOARD
82 INSTAGRAM SCOREBOARD
84 EVENTS 84 HAVANAFEST PA 86 FERIO TEGO AT EMPIRE 88 LATIN BUILDERS FISHING
TOURNAMENT WITH OLIVA CIGAR
90 ASHFEST 92 ROCKY MOUNTAIN CIGAR FESTIVAL 94 BREW CITY CIGAR FESTIVAL 96 KIMPTON SURFCOMBER WOODFORD
RESERVE & OLIVA CIGAR BEACH VIBE EXPERIENCE
98 OLE GRAPEVINE
25 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
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SOUTH AMERICAN REDS
NAVIGATING THE SOUTH AMERICAN WINE LANDSCAPE IS LIKE TAKING A TRIP BACK IN TIME TO PRE-PHYLLOXERA FRANCE. YOU COME ACROSS OLD-VINE MALBECS IN ARGENTINA, THE LONG FORGOTTEN AND OFT-CONFUSED CARMÉNÈRE IN CHILE, AND THE “HEALTHY” TANNAT IN THE UP AND COMING WINE PRODUCING COUNTRY OF URUGUAY.
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Photo Credit: Michael Robson
Smoking in the Triangle
NORTH CAROLINA’S CAPITAL CITY IS PART OF A SPRAWLING ACADEMIC HAVEN. BUT IT’S ALSO A HIVE OF HISTORY, INTERESTING EATING, AND SOME DOWNRIGHT ECLECTIC CIGAR POSSIBILITIES. WE TREKKED TO RALEIGH AND WALKED AWAY WITH SOME SURPRISES.
By Steve Miller | Photography by Chris Hildreth/RoosterMedia SEPT / OCT 2022 | CIGAR SNOB |
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Featuring
espinosa Las 6 provincias
LOCATION CUBAOCHO MUSEUM & PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
JULIO EIROA
BY ERIK CALVIÑO PHOTOGRAPHY BY TETE ALEMÁN
42 CIGARS