Reports and travelogues, interviews and insider knowledge, along with many other stories, await you in the fourth Cigar Journal issue of 2025.
Below you’ll get a little taste of more stories that will enrich your summer feeling with many good cigars.
Once again, you can listen to audio files of four stories from this issue of the print magazine via QR code; in the digital magazine, there’s a direct link to the audio. The “Listen” symbol indicates the stories that have been recorded. Enjoy listening!
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COVER STORY – Hendrik “Henke” Kelner: Chosen By Tobacco
At 80 years of age, Hendrik Kelner is an undisputed icon in the international tobacco industry and a character of unquestionable reputation. He could also have done something quite different with his life, but fortunately, the world of cigars didn’t let him go that easily.
CIGAR KNOWLEDGE: Pricing
CIGAR INDUSTRY: Who earns how much from a premium cigar? We delved into this, from tobacco seed to the shelves in the US, and explain how the prices in 2025 are actually put together.
PAIRING – Japanese Whiskies & Cigars: Smoky Sayonara
Do Japanese whiskies go with cigars? Our seven-person pairing team comprehensively tested how fruity and mild it can get with a cigar.
CIGAR DESTINATIONS: Greece
Athens is astonishing with its mixture of neon lights and antiquity as well as a vibrant cigar scene. Here, passionados will find this the perfect place to celebrate indulgence.
ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF: Geneli Quiroz
Our author Simon Lundh spent a day accompanying Geneli Quiroz. For the principal of a school in Estelí, working with children is a labor of love. Getting there, however, her path was characterized by crises and her remarkable resilience.
TASTED CIGARS
An international team of 96 cigar experts blind-tasted 60 cigars. Read the test results, including a description of the cigars, here. In this issue, three cigars were awarded an outstanding 93 points: the A. FUENTE HEMINGWAY SUNGROWN OSCURO SIGNATURE I, the PLASENCIA ALMA DEL CIELO CELESTE, and the ROCKY PATEL EMERALD ROBUSTO. If you’re interested in cigars with a particularly good price-performance ratio, look out for our Best Buy seal: 14 cigars received the award in this tasting.
Enjoy tasting– and reading!
