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 • The elusive (and massive) “A” sizes are rated in this issue, and one of them achieved a near-classic score of 94 points. A few former Cigars of the Year—like the Cuban Bolivar Royal Corona and the Nicaraguan Casa Magna Colorado Robusto—prove that they still have star power, even more than a decade after winning the award.

Our Favorite Movie

out of the humidor

Cigar Aficionado

good life guide

Les Fines Lames Knife Cutters

TAG Heuer Autavia 60th Anniversary

Irish Coffee

Umbrellas

Cannoli

Pickleball

The Godfather at 50 • Conceived as a quick payday fashioned from a lurid novel, the landmark gangster movie became a cultural phenomenon and quite possibly the greatest movie ever made

The Essential Godfather

10 Things You Always Wanted to Know About The Godfather…but Don’t Ask

Online Obsession • Fifty years on, fans keep diving into the film’s underworld

Cigars in The Godfather

Secrets of The Godfather • A conversation between Francis Ford Coppola and editor and publisher Marvin R. Shanken

Stunning Saint Barths • The Caribbean paradise of Saint-Barthélemy is one of the most cigar-friendly vacation spots in the world, with top-notch dining, unforgettable beaches and luxury accommodations

Cigars in Paradise

DRIVE FOR SHOW • The driver is a golfer’s most exciting club, and one that has changed dramatically over the past several decades

Spring Fling • When the days get longer than the nights, it’s time to put some pop into your drinking

“A”s • If any cigar size should be on the endangered species list, it’s the “A.” At nearly 10 inches long, these cigars require extra-large tobacco leaves pristine enough to be classified as wrapper. Those are difficult to cultivate, but a few cigarmakers are up to the challenge, most notably the Arturo Fuente Cigar Co. The Fuente Fuente OpusX PerfecXion A scored 94 points and is a complex composition that was made in the Dominican Republic with only Dominican tobacco. Dominican puros are already rare, which makes this “A” a true treasure. At 93 points, the Aladino Patton is a showcase for Honduran tobacco, all of which was grown from Corojo seeds in the Jamastran Valley. The Miami-made Tatuaje Reserva A Uno scored 92 points and consists of Nicaraguan tobacco, save for the giant Ecuadoran wrapper.

churchills • Two Churchills in this tasting scored 93 points, and they both exhibited an impressive degree of harmony and sophistication. From Nicaragua, the My Father Le Bijou 1922 is certainly a winning blend. The box-pressed torpedo was the 2015 Cigar of the Year and its unique qualities translate to the Churchill quite well. Powered by a bold combination of Nicaraguan tobacco, the Churchill is striking in its dark, oscuro wrapper. The Cuban Quai d’Orsay Clemenceau is a Regional Edition made exclusively for France. As is noted on the second band, it marks the 50th anniversary of Coprova, France’s official distributor of Cuban cigars. Quai d’Orsay used to have a Churchill called Imperiales. While the Clemenceau might evoke the old, discontinued size, this new smoke is excellent on its own merit.

coronas • Half the cigars in this category scored 9o points or higher, but three coronas in particular scored 92 points. The Cuban Cohiba Siglo III is one of the original sizes in the Línea 1492 line. As larger, fatter Cohibas have been added over time, Habanos has yet to discontinue anything in the series, showing that when it comes to Cohiba, trends don’t...