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Summary of the current issue |
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Content of the summer-issue available shortly!
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Content of the spring-issue   Rothschild & Co.There is a growing trend these days for small cigars that give a short smoke. The introduction of smaller cigars is one of the measures which the cigar industry is taking in its attempt to confront the problems posed by a society that wants to curb smoking. Of course, aficionados don’t actually have less time on their hands, but with smoking bans in so many places, there has been a considerable reduction in the number of opportunities one has for enjoying a smoke outside one’s own four walls. Where it is still possible, cigar enthusiasts often consider having a shorter smoke, very often out of consideration for where they are, although the understanding they show is not always reciprocated. _____  A Matter of Family Honor
In 1964, with $ 600 in his pocket, José Orlando Padrón founded a small cigar manufactory in Miami to supply himself and fellow Cuban exiles. Today, one of the most important cigar brands on the planet bears his name. “Abusiness is like a baby”, declares José Orlando Padrón in response to my question regarding possible expansion plans. A small Robusto No. 35 from his 1926 Series serves as a wagging index finger: “First it crawls, then it tries to stand up, then takes small steps until it can finally walk. But if you try to walk too soon, you fall on your face.” The company’s founder has 82 years of life experience and the verve of a 50-year-old and has always oriented himself on basic truths. He would never prematurely force a decision. “You must know one thing”, he advises me.
_____  Say “Cheese”…!He even makes cigars smile. Manny Iriarte, Cuban by birth, is not only shooting artistically highly valuable photos, he is actually staging his photos in a manner which catapults the viewer into the middle of the event. Every passionado knows his photos and yet his name is hardly ever noticed by anyone. Cigar magazines without his advertising motifs are simply inconceivable. And Manny Iriarte also has a “direct line” to manufacturers, concerning illustration for important stories. He is, in the true sense of the word, a shooting star among the photographers dealing with brown gold. For the European Cigar Cult Journal, he provided photos for the current title story – one more reason why this look behind the scenes is quite informative to the consumer. _____  PanamaIn this series we are presenting the most important cultivable areas for tobacco, which, as is generally known, grows only in narrowly defined regions of the world blessed with favorable climate and the corresponding soil. In addition to this are the
factors of skill and experience of the tobacco farmers, experts and technicians, who all together are taking care of the precious golden brown leaves providing us with such pleasure and joy. For – as the connoisseur knows – there are no good cigars with bad tobacco. Her name calls to mind one of the
brilliantly-colored butterflies native to the tropical jungles along the Panama Canal – or an exotic new brand of cigar. Zoraida is a tabaquera and works in a newly-formed team at Panama Caribbean Tobacco. Her day’s work involves sorting the large quantities
of tobacco leaves that pile up on an antique desk, then placing them into neat stacks according to their various textures and shades of brown. The task requires a good eye and sensitive fingertips, and for aworker in the small city of La Concepción, near Panama’s border with Costa Rica, the job is a well-paid one. Zoraida, who is an attractive, alert, and highly motivated young woman, works standing, sorting the large-leafed tabaco criollo according to a careful list of criteria – her hands flying like butterfly
wings.
_____  HONGKONG - Spoilt for ChoiceBrash and bold, the Chinese Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong possesses relentless energy, which has allowed it to create a striking personality of its own since the departure of the British in 1997. Samuel Spurr encounters one of the busiest cigar cities in the world. Summer’s oppressive humidity is on its way out in November, and lower temperatures and fresh winds ensure clear, comfortable days to walk through Central, Hong Kong Island’s primary business district. Louis Vuitton and Giorgio Armani signs illuminate shadows cast by billboards of Rihanna and Daniel Craig’s endorsing faces. Brands are big business in this part of the world with ownership of such products being the ultimate status symbol. Appreciation of globally recognised cuisine increases unabated, with international chefs launching their restaurants to rave reviews. L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, recently awarded 2 Michelin stars, is one such gastronomic destination which hosts Hong Kong diners and is regularly visited by the multi-
Michelin-starred chef himself.
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Cigar Paraphernalia
Cigar art and paraphernalia make beautiful collectibles. Moreover, they often appreciate value and you won’t be tempted to burn them!
Smoke from a rare aged Havana cigar drifts up from a crystal ashtray. On my left is a humidor called “The Fort”, which was owned by the English King Edward VIII. To the right are notes written by Winston Churchill about procuring his personal cigars.
Behind me sits the oldest known Havana cigars in existence. Sweet, light, smoke spins like a figure skater as I blow it in a slow contemplative stream. At thatmoment one ofmy assumptions became a certainty. Objects from the history of cigars enrich
ones enthusiasm and understanding of fine smoke.
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Cosmopolitan Par Excellence
The Santa Damiana cigar brand originated in Cuba and is steeped in tradition. Its name comes from a famous tobacco plantation
in the Vuelta Abajo. The present-day cigar’s taste profile is due to, among others, tobacco expert George Gershel. If there are cigars that we could call something like “cosmopolitan” then the Santa Damiana brand would most certainly fall into that category. It started life in Cuba, or, more precisely, in the Tabacalera Cubana, Agramonte No. 106, in Havana. Both the factory and the brand name were once owned by a business in the USA. Since its reincarnation in the mid-1990s the Santa Damiana has been hand
rolled in the Dominican Republic. Its design and packaging were devised by Hunters & Frankau, the UK specialist cigar importer and distributor, while the blend was created by experts such as George Gershel of the Consolidated Cigar Company (today’s Altadis USA). Altogether, pretty international – which is actually a fitting description for it, because nowadays the Santa Damiana brand is known all
over the world.
★★★/★
Santa Damiana Selección Especial Torpedo
152
x 19,8 | 6 x 50, Preis/Price: EUR 7,– (D) 8,20 (A), Dom. Rep., Wrapper:
Nicaragua, Binder: Dom. Rep., Filler: Nicaragua, Dom. Rep.
This perfectly rolled Torpedo is adorned in a wonderfully oily wrapper. It has a delicately spicy and fruity taste and produces a discreet chocolate note as well as a complexity of wood, earth and roasted flavours. Ideal draw, a flawless burn and a fine, white ash all contribute to the pleasure of the smoke – mild to medium strength.
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Cigars and Chocolate
Chocolate and cigars have a lot in common, not least a strikingly similar cultural history. Therefore it’s an obvious choice to pair both luxuries on the palate.
EWith all the sensational new brands of chocolate available today, it is often challenging to find the perfect pairing with a cigar. Luckily for aficionados with a sweet tooth, a panel of experts has already done the pre-tasting: Swiss chocolate manufacturer
The House of Grauer has created a whopping 13 different chocolates in three different forms (leaves, sticks, and rings), each a perfect match for the fine smoke.
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Marked by the Ticking Whirlwind
Franck Muller loves superlatives, something which had already begun during his training as a watchmaker, completed by him at the age of 20 as the best in his age group. The man from Geneva didn’t want to be involved with normal watches anymore.
It was the renaissance of mechanical watchmaking in the 1980s which was much to his liking.
Damals setzte Franck Muller alles auf eine Karte und entschied sich für uhrmacherische Komplikationen im Retro-Look. Einer seiner Kunden, der Sänger Elton John, widmete dem Ausnahme-Uhrmacher nicht nur das Lied „Harmony“, sondern sorgte auch für den internationalen Durchbruch. Weil das rasante Wachstum finanziert werden wollte, gründete Franck Muller 1991 mit Vartan Sirmakes, seinem Gehäuselieferanten, die Technowatch SA. 1998 erhielt das Gemeinschaftsunternehmen den Namen Franck Muller Watchland SA.
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The Snuff Revival
Taking snuff is the alternative, smokefree way of enjoying tobacco. Whether it is pure tobacco, or flavoured with menthol
or fruit – its popularity is growing.In these days of smoking bans and restrictions more and more people are turning to a centuries-old alternative way of enjoying tobacco that had become a somewhat forgotten art in more recent times: Snuff. Even pipe and cigar smokers as well as increasing numbers of younger people now delight in pulling out their little box of snuff, be it pure tobacco, or tobacco refined with peppermint oil, menthol or fruit flavours. Just like their famous role models from the past like Napoleon, Frederick the Great or the prince of Germany’s poets, Friedrich Schiller, who were all great believers in a refreshing
pinch of snuff. The first-ever snuff factory was set up in Seville in Spain in the sixteenth century and it was from here that snuff set out to conquer Europe.
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