Features
You Bet Your Life
I'm probably the only man alive who can say he was weaned on Groucho Marx's cigar smoke. Because my father was Groucho, I learned to appreciate the aroma of a good …
Stars, San Francisco
Stars restaurant owner Jeremiah Tower sees no contradiction in serving roasted squab with shiitake mushrooms and sesame noodles on the same menu with a Partagas Limited Reserve …
Windows on the World, New York City
The view. The wine list. The cigar policy. The cuisine. That's the order of things at Windows on the World, New York's highest restaurant. The dining center (it's more than just …
Yuca, Miami
You have to wonder after eating at Yuca in Miami what would have become of the great kitchens of Havana if their chefs had not given up their toques and kitchen whites for …
Lighters
You've probably heard the question a thousand times: "Gotta match?" The query was asked by smokers long before lighters were portable. And before the First World War, carrying a …
Posters
Out on the tennis court, the methodical, machinelike precision of Ivan Lendl in his heyday never betrayed his secret passion, antique posters. But his private obsession--you could …
Hine Cognac
It's late afternoon on the Quai de L'Orangerie in Jarnac, a small commercial town straddling the Charente River, which glides gently through the Cognac region in southwest France. …
Cashmere
The texture evokes silk. The warmth reminds of wool, but from an uncommon origin. The price concerns no one who understands its true worth. Like diamonds in the universe of …
Sports: Golf Camps
A sliced tee-shot, coupled with a deep-throated moan of frustration, was all too familiar to Dan Ackerson, the president of MCI Telecommunications Inc. Like so many of America's …
Three-Star Heaven: Europe's Top Restaurants
Midnight is nearing, and chef Jean-Pierre Silva is coming out from his kitchen, a Sancho Panza Belicosos gripped between his fingers, to relax with guests in the bar lounge of his …
Hotel Bel-Air Cap Ferrat, Cote d'Azur, France
Can a Golden Age be revisited? Very rarely, but yes. To turn back to the blazing blue glory days of the French Riviera, all you have to do is turn your back to its overbuilt …
Hotel Savoy, London
The Savoy has a way of making any visitor to the United Kingdom feel at home. Turn off the Strand onto the short forecourt of the hotel (known to London cabbies as the banjo, …
Jumby Bay, Antigua, West Indies
The faint buzz of construction workers from someone's new villa is heard. That's it. Silence pervades across the white sands. Beyond a bushy tangle of sea grapes, the beach curves …
Cigars
A Glorified Smoke: Ernesto Carrillo and El Credito Cigars
"A corpadito for me and my friend," says Ernesto Carillo as he strolls up to the Cafeteria San José with a chunky, pyramid-shaped cigar dangling from his mouth. In between large …
Interview: Francisco Padron, Cubatabaco
Francisco Padron, 52, triumphantly stood at the podium in the centuries-old Palace of the Captains General in Havana and described to dozens of diplomats, journalists and cigar …
Up Front
The Real Story
The antismoking crusade is in full swing again. The big news on the smoking war front came out of the Environmental Protection Agency in January when it released its report saying …
Out of the Humidor
Dear Marvin: One of my friends was in a custom shirt maker's shop in New York. While waiting to be helped, he lit up a fine Dominican cigar. Immediately, the sales lady …