Features
A Conversation With Fidel
Marvin R. Shanken, editor and publisher of Cigar Aficionado , interviewed Cuban President Fidel Castro in Havana on February 3, 1994. The interview focused on cigars, but touched …
Joel Robuchon, Paris
It's never worth rushing a great meal or a great cigar, but if you wish to have one of France's great gastronomic experiences, you better get to Paris as soon as you can. Despite …
Michael's, Santa Monica, California
Fifteen years ago, on the cusp of the '80s--when Americans discovered fine food, junk bonds and a limitless capacity for self-gratification--Michael McCarty was a pioneer, indeed, …
Mortons, New York City
The days of rough-hewn, slightly faded-around-the-edges steakhouses in the Big Apple are over. The polished, deep-red mahogany paneling, thick carpeting and plush, leather-backed …
Buyer Beware: Counterfeit Cigars
" Amigo. Hey , amigo ," said the waiter who had just brought me an extremely cold Hatuey beer at the Hotel Nacional in Havana. "Do you want to buy some Cohibas? Only $25 a box. I …
A Stained-Glass Menagerie
What does the name Tiffany mean to you?A pale-blue box holding something precious? Somebody's daughter?Breakfast?Or a colorful, leaded-glass lamp shade? If the answer includes the …
Tropical Delights
Picture yourself in a hammock strung between two tall palms. Before you, beyond the shade's edge, a wide, empty beach, brilliant in the afternoon sun, stretches down to the …
Tables of Dreams
Las Vegas is a city built on myths. Lies, really. They range from the innocuous--"Certain slot machines are 'ready' to pay off"--to the inane--"You can beat keno with the right …
On Doctor's Orders
Sigmund Freud was wrong. A good cigar is not just a cigar. A student once chided Dr. Freud about his smoking 20 or more cigars a day, relating it to the symbolic …
On Track
Walking by the Cahuenga Electric Shop triggered a wave of lost memories, memories of childhood evenings sitting on the floor fitting together pieces of track and playing with a …
By His Own Rules
On December 31, 1898, August Mencken, successful owner of August Mencken & Bro., a thriving cigar factory in Baltimore, suddenly collapsed in his living room with a kidney …
Grand Bay Hotel, Miami
The valet runs toward the car. The bell captain in a white uniform emerges from his kiosk and heads toward the car, too. Within seconds of stopping, the car door is pulled open …
Hotel Crillon, Paris
Designed by Jacques-Ange Gabriel for Louis XV in 1758, the Hotel de Crillon on the Place de la Concorde has lost little of its 18th-century splendor. Behind Gabriel's perfect …
St. Regis, New York City
At New York's most expensive hotel, you get what you pay for. Despite the money, the St. Regis is, hands-down, one of the world's top hotels, and it has a very nice address--just …
Cigars
Puffing Along
New Haven Family Sells 7 Million Muniemaker Cigars a Year
Members Only: Cigar Clubs
The Privileges of Membership
The Art of Cigar Boxes
Four-Square Masterpieces Cigar-Box Labels Once Served as the Ultimate Image Makers for a Good Smoke
King of the Garden
With a cigar in his hand, Red Auerbach guided the Boston Celtics to 16 NBA Championships.
Ratings from this Issue
Up Front
A Late Night With Fidel
It was nearly midnight. Rain and stillness filled the air. After nearly two years of unrelenting letters and phone calls with Cuban diplomats in the United States, Europe …
Out of the Humidor
Dear Marvin: I wish to thank you and your wonderful publication for bringing my father and me closer together. How, you ask? Please let me explain. I have been a …