In a few days, the summer edition of the Cigar Journal will be published worldwide. Here’s a brief preview of what awaits you in the new issue.
Casa Turrent Creates a Furore
Since its launch, the new cigar from Mexico, the Casa Turrent, has created waves across the world in specialist magazines and blogs. Katja Rauch met with Alejandro Turrent in order to find out what makes this cigar from Mexico so special and how the Mexican created the special blend. In the lively Mexico City she visited Turrent shops with integrated lounges and found out what plans Alejandro’s has for his company in the future. Over several days in the tropical paradise of San Andrés, near the Gulf of Mexico, she was able to experience how tenacious and focused on detail the Mexican is when working on his tobacco blends. Father and son Turrent, who work successfully hand in hand, guided her across the fields, through the barns, tobacco warehouses, and the manufacture itself.
A Clear Stance against the Nanny State
It’s not every day that a politician allows himself to be filmed while enjoying a cigar and then posts it on social media sites. But at the beginning of April, that’s exactly what the Liberal Democrat Senator David Leyonhjelm did. With a Romeo y Julieta No. 3 in hand, he explains that his party is the only choice for smokers who no longer want to pay exorbitant prices for tobacco. Cigar Journal’s Asia-Pacific-correspondent, Sam Spurr, met Leyonhjelm in his office in Sydney and spoke to him about libertarian philosophy, the nanny state, and cigars.
The Liberal Democrats are neither pro- nor anti-smoking. “We don’t recommend it or endorse it, but we believe it’s a personal choice for adults to make,” says Leyonhjelm. “We don’t think it’s legitimate for the government to harass you or tax you excessively.” Australia will vote on July 2, 2016.
José O. Padrón Interviewed
On the occasion of his 90th birthday in June 2016, chief editor Reinhold Widmayer spoke with José Orlando Padrón. The celebrant-to-be reminisces about the history of Nicaragua’s cigar industry. Hardly anybody knows that Padrón was the first manufacturer outside of Nicaragua to use Nicaraguan tobacco for his cigars.
“The first time I saw tobacco from Nicaragua was in March 1967, when Mr. Roberto Martínez, a business partner of President Anastasio Somoza of Nicaragua, visited Miami. As soon as I saw it, I rolled a cigar. It tasted like the tobacco from Cuba and had the flavor that I’d been looking for to make my blend,” José O. Padrón recalls.
Barbados – Cigars, Rum and Fantastic Beaches
Diving, surfing, and now also cigars. The opening of a Casa del Habano in Barbados has increased the level of awareness about cigars in the island state. Simon Lundh explored the island, which is only 40 x 30 km, visited the Caribbean Cigar Company, rum distilleries, the most beautiful beaches, and the Casa del Habano. His conclusion: It’s not only beaches that constantly surround you in Barbados but also rum and cigars. If that’s isn’t an unbeatable combination!
Pairings: What Happens When …
… Cigars are combined with wine or coffee? The Cigar Journal editorial team organized two exciting crossover tastings for this issue. Combining wines and cigars proved to be more complex than one presumes the simple opening of a bottle and the lighting of the tobacco to be. That is why the experts, comprising top vintners and cigar smokers, addressed the following questions: What do we consider harmonious? What influence does a cigar’s country of origin have on the harmony? And how do Austria’s best wines match up in a pairing with premium cigars? A total of 36 pairings shed some light on the subject.
On the other side of the globe, together with Australian connoisseurs, Sam Spurr tested the combination of cigar and coffee. The summary of the testers: There’s no greater pleasure in this world than the search for a good cigar-coffee combination. The interplay of leaf and bean is a simultaneous pleasure and rewards our senses with a moment of peace.
Tasting: 60 Cigars
With 97 points, the new cigar by Davidoff, the Nicaragua Box Pressed Toro, is the best-evaluated cigar of the current tastings. Close behind it, with 96 points, is the Cain Daytona 646, which additionally garnered the Best Buy title. Among the 60 blind-tasted cigars, are, as always, many classics from the portfolios of manufacturers, but also new cigars such as the Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series Hermoso Maduro, the Davidoff Winston Churchill Gran Toro Limited Edition 2016, the Partagás Añejados Corona Gorda, or the La Galera Habano Bonchero No. 4. This time, 21 cigars scored an excess of 90 points!
