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 • There are plenty of high-scoring smokes in this issue, but only two scored 95 points. The Ashton Heritage Puro Sol is made by the Fuente family in the Dominican Republic and displayed admirable balance. Oliva put a maduro wrapper on its already brilliant Serie V Melanio blend, giving the Nicaraguan cigar an impressive new dimension.

A Derby Celebration

out of the humidor

Cigar Aficionado • VOL. 32 NO. 3

Sartorial Cigar Cases

2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray

McIntosh 75th Anniversary Power Amplifier

Pure Bred Lamb

The Year of the Chronographs

The Lodge at Sea Island, Georgia

Armagnac Vs. Cognac

Glammed-Up Golf Gloves

150 Years of the Kentucky Derby • CIGAR AFICIONADO’S GUIDE TO THE MOST EXCITING TWO MINUTES IN SPORTS

A Guide to Churchill Downs • If you’re going to watch the Derby in person, it pays to know the finest spots

Living for the Track • FanDuel host Michael Joyce has been in love with horse racing since he was a boy

The Long Shots

The Gambler • Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet Farm has gone from a hobby to the top Thoroughbred horse breeding operation in America

The Brown-Forman Way • For more than a century and a half, the Kentucky whiskey giant behind Woodford Reserve, Old Forester and many other spirits brands has prospered by matching tradition with foresight

The Drink of the Derby • More than 120,000 icy cold Mint Juleps will be served on May 4 at Churchill Downs

Smoking In (And Around) Louisville

Secretariat’s Ride to Derby Glory

THE SPHERE LIGHTS UP LAS VEGAS • IN A CITY FILLED WITH BRIGHT SHINY OBJECTS, NOTHING CATCHES THE EYE MORE THAN THIS $2.3 BILLION DOME

Like Father Like Son • Charlie Woods is growing up. Will he follow Tiger’s famous footsteps?

A Soprano No More • MICHAEL IMPERIOLI STILL GETS RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF “THE SOPRANOS,” BUT TODAY HE IS KEEPING BUSY WITH A RESTAURANT AND A ROLE ON BROADWAY

2023 YEAR IN REVIEW • AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT A YEAR’S WORTH OF CIGAR RATINGS

My Favorite Cigar • Cigar aficionados describe their smoke of choice

churchills • In Ashton’s large portfolio, the Heritage Puro Sol sometimes gets overlooked. It’s not as bold as the Virgin Sun Grown and not as mild as the Cabinet Selection. Unlike cable news, Heritage Puro Sol doesn’t lean too far to one side or the other, but that’s not to say that it’s a middle-of-the-road cigar. The Churchill scored 95 points, achieving that very difficult balance of abundant flavor and complexity without being too full bodied. It’s made in the Dominican Republic by the Fuente family. Another easygoing Fuente smoke, the Arturo Fuente Chateau King T scored 93 points, as did Cuba’s Romeo y Julieta Churchill (Tubo), which was medium in body. The third 93 went to a cigar with a considerably bolder flavor profile, the My Father La Opulencia Toro Gordo. It’s rolled in Nicaragua.

figurados • The high scores keep piling up for the Nicaraguan Oliva Serie V brand. Whether it’s the core line, the Melanio or the Melanio Maduro rated here, Oliva has turned this series into a powerhouse of excellence. The Oliva Melanio Maduro Torpedo scored 95 points for its dynamic performance that kept us enticed and interested from first light to final puff. While regular Melanios have an Ecuadoran Sumatra-seed wrapper, the Maduro brings the brand into sweet, ripe territory via a dark Mexican cover leaf. Altadis U.S.A. created a similar blend with its Trinidad...