Table of contents for November/December 2019 in Cigar Aficionado

As with many cocktails, the origin story of the Manhattan cocktail tells many tales. The most logical says that it sprang from New York City’s Manhattan Club in the early 1880s. The most satisfying, yet unlikely, is that Winston Churchill’s mother introduced it at a political celebration. What isn’t disputed is that the Manhattan was the first cocktail to put vermouth together with a spirit in a glass—and that said spirit was straight rye whiskey. The addition would engender a slew of aromatized classics—the Martini, the Rob Roy, the Metropole—and you can be forgiven if you make your Manhattan with some other sort of whiskey. The fortunes of rye—once America’s favorite whiskey—would be lashed by Prohibition, and drinkers tended to make their Manhattans with Canadian whiskey, often called rye, although…

It wasn’t for honeymooners that Niagara Falls was chosen as a backdrop for September’s Porsche Taycan debut. The natural wonder, which generates nearly five megawatts of electric power a second, drove home a point to those who still think of battery cars as slow and quirky oddities. This was a performance vehicle capable of producing 750 horsepower from the renewable energy the falls were producing. While the very name, Porsche, might bring to mind high-performance gasoline power, the company’s founder, Ferdinand Porsche, designed one of the world’s first plug-in hybrids, the Loehner-Porsche Mixte, as a young engineer more than a century ago. In fact, more recently, the company has used various forms of hybrid power in both its race and street cars, due to the discovery that electric motors deliver…

Before electronic phone platforms lured hordes of kids to stare into their palms at lethal video games, a diversion that involved human interaction could be found in homes across America when cold weather kept people indoors. The old-school board game drew families into three-dimensional competition. Their trouble was that boards would inevitably tear apart, boxes crush and tokens and tiles lose themselves in nooks and crannies. But what if that diversion were more of a family heirloom than a pile of plastic pieces? Aspinal of London presents Scrabble (shown, $1,400), the classic word game of vocabulary, with letter values and bonus squares, in a deluxe edition based on leather. The hand-bound playing board sits atop an Italian-calf tray with felt lining, which neatly holds the tiles. The letter trays are…

The finish to the 3M Open in early July couldn’t have been a more revealing look at the way young players are taking their place on today’s PGA Tour. Matthew Wolff, all of 20, and Collin Morikawa, a ripe old 22, were both fresh out of college and playing on sponsor exemptions at the 3M. They had competed against each other for years, now they were in the last group on Sunday vying for the title. Each golfer smashed drives of 300-yards-plus on the final par 5, a 531-yard hole defended by water at the TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota. They followed that by lofting 5-irons toward the green, giving each of them a shot at an eagle. Wolff, calm, cool and collected, drained his 26-footer. Morikawa just missed…

They aren’t true steakhouses, but several cigar bars off er steak. Shelly’s Back Room in Washington, D.C., recently improved its beef. “We upgraded our steak selections from USDA Choice to Hartley Platinum Ranch USDA Prime,” says owner Bob Materazzi. Jamie’s Cigar Bar in Clifton, New Jersey, serves steak, as does Hearth & Tap Co. in nearby Montvale and Sofia in Englewood. Pívat Cigar Lounge in Rancho Mirage, California, allows smoke with its steak, as does Tel Aviv Waterfront in Providence, Rhode Island. Club Macanudo in New York off ers four types of steak to pair with its serious cocktails. (And despite the name, it’s open to the public.) You’ll need a membership or a connected friend to sample the beef at Grand Havana Room, a cigar-friendly restaurant and lounge with…

The most significant pilot’s watch in history wasn’t a pilot’s watch—or at least not what we’d think of as one today. While technically qualifying (because it was made for a pilot), the Cartier Santos lacked the features commonly associated with the category. In 1904, the year after the Wright brothers’ first flight, the Brazilian aviator, adventurer and bon vivant of Paris society, Alberto Santos-Dumont asked his friend Louis Cartier to create a watch that he could read on his wrist—instead of reaching for a pocket watch—while he flew his aircraft. Cartier delivered the square Santos featuring the brand’s now signature Roman numerals. It would be decades before aviators carried bells and whistles like slide rules or multiple time zones on their wrists. In fact, it was as a wristwatch (not…

Motorists turning westbound from Interstate 91 onto Connecticut Route 20 near the small town of Windsor witnessed a sight this past June that would break the hearts of agricultural appreciators and cigar enthusiasts alike. For as long as residents can remember, a series of traditional barns used to cure freshly picked Connecticut shade tobacco could be seen from this part of the state highway, a roughly five-mile stretch known as the Bradley Airport Connector. But on this day, the barns were gone—reduced to wood piles. While locals were surprised, many were not shocked. After all, it’s no secret that the state’s once-bustling shade tobacco industry has taken a sharp turn for the worse in recent years. Countries such as Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua and even Brazil now grow their own variation…

1 A HIT WITH YOUR MITT—FC GOODS Men finding it difficult to part ways with their old childhood baseball glove now have an option that allows their memories to live on. FC Goods has teamed up with Korchmar, a 102-year-old leather goods crafter, to offer a program that repurposes ball gloves from yesteryear into custom, one-of-a-kind leather products. Send them your treasured glove and in about three weeks the leather artisans will have transformed it into a highly personalized card case, billfold or money clip. Prices start at $75 and include shipping. fcgoods.com 2 RIGHT HEAT FOR THE MEAT—MEATER BLOCK You’re cooking holiday prime rib, but your crowd likes it rare, medium and well-done? Check out the Meater Block, a wireless cooking thermometer that charges four separate probes for separate…

Jonathan Rodebaugh lowers a skeletal, black contraption onto my head, its weight sinking into my hair. It looks like a medieval torture device, but thankfully it’s not dangerous. The Victorian-era headgear is called a conformateur—and it only measures the shape of your head. Though it may seem archaic, high-end hat makers like Rodebaugh, founder of Chapelo, believe that the conformateur is one of the most important instruments for creating perfect-fitting headwear for his clients. “It’s one of three tools we use, along with a measuring tape and head caliper,” Rodebaugh says. “The measurements we take are used to create a custom-fitting hat to your exact head shape.” Rodebaugh writes down your specifics, then sits with you to discuss the type of hat you’d like him to make. “We offer three…

Afond memory of early Thanksgivings past was waking up at dawn to help my mother with her first foray on the day’s feast: making cranberry sauce. If the thought of that condiment making its way around the dinner table doesn’t stir salivation, you’ve never had cranberry sauce made right. We’re not talking here about the molded mass that comes packed in a can and is often served simply dumped on a plate, the ribbed impressions of the tin still visible on the hunk of cranberry jelly, corn syrup and pectin that it held. We mean the kind made from fresh, whole berries boiled, with a combination of complimentary holiday flavors, all cradled in a serving bowl. While, for many, a traditional vision of the big feast might be based on…

The gates are massive, perhaps 20 feet high, and they slowly swing open, revealing a sea of green grass decorated with statues. They are among the many big items in the oversized world of their owner, Arnold Schwarzenegger. He’s sitting comfortably in a leather chair in the cabana behind his house in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Despite the heat—it’s warmer than typical for September—a fire burns in the stone fireplace in the back wall of the cabana, which is open on its other three sides. He reaches to his right and picks up a torch, relighting the toasted foot of the Montecristo 80 jammed in the corner of his jutting jaw as he begins to explain the appeal of his most famous character. “The biggest addition to my…

The waiter in the white shirt and black vest has delivered your cocktail, a Martini so cold you think your teeth might crack as you take that first sip. You move on to the oysters, shucked and on the half shell, then slice into a massive but tender bone-in rib steak, the meat seared brown on the outside but a vibrant red medium-rare in the center. It’s Prime beef—the USDA’s highest grade—and has been dry-aged for a month. This is an elite type of meat, something you will only find at a top-tier steakhouse. Sated after this luxurious indulgence of beef (along with the requisite sides like creamed spinach and hash brown potatoes), you sip the last of your trophy red while perusing the after-dinner drink list. It’s a near-perfect…

Banned in America for years, Japanese Wagyu was long nonexistent in the U.S., causing much fraud, even at fancy steakhouses. Wagyu deception and confusion remain rampant, but prized Japanese beef is now a fixture at better eateries. The easiest test is visual—if it looks like normal steak, it’s not Japanese. Wagyu refers to indigenous breeds of Japanese cattle, with markedly different marbling and fat distributed evenly all throughout in tiny bands, making it almost pink. It has a butter-like, melt-in-your-mouth quality that can be too rich for some. While only a handful of American restaurants get real Kobe, similarly stunning regional Wagyu such as Miyazaki, Sendai, Omi and Matsuzaka are more readily available. Many steakhouses also offer domestic “Wagyu,” Japanese cattle crossbred with Western breeds for a steak more marbled…

Camus Extra Elegance, $450 This beyond XO Camus has been popular in Asia for years, but it didn’t reach the United States market until earlier in this decade. While it contains eaux de vie from Cognac’s Grande and Petite Champagne regions, it also has wine grown in the Borderies cru, keeping up the Camus tradition of championing Cognac’s smallest region. A spicy nose, with nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon, welcomes sweet cherry and raisin bread on the palate. Cinnamon lingers on the long finish. Hardy L’Été, $16,000 Hardy is known to be the height of expense in Cognac, and the above price may have you gasping already. But built into the tariff is the spectacular Lalique crystal vessel that the firm creates for its seasonal releases, limited to a mere 400…

The distressing news came to Paul Huston from the Davidoff Cigar Lounge of Greenwich (Connecticut) in an e-mail: “Unfortunately, the lounge is closing at the end of the month.” That same night, half the membership had gathered at the club to commiserate. “Everyone was saying, ‘How did this happen? We should have figured out a way,’” recalls Huston. “It was like an Irish wake.” Relating his seemingly tragic story almost two years later, the chairman of a private equity firm, with his boyish platinum hair, angular face and dignified, patrician demeanor, is curiously upbeat. Maybe because of the plot twist that turned the tale around. As Huston sat among the mourners in the ill-fated club, an idea flamed. Adjacent to his home on his three-acre property in the toney suburb…

Alfred Dunhill, the great signifier of British luxury, has resurrected its classic Unique Sports lighter model from the 1920s, reengineering it for the 21st century as a jet-flame torch. At first glance, the new Unique Turbo lighters are virtually identical to the original models that first appeared during the economic boom following WWI when both England and the U.S. were prime markets for high-end goods. Historically accurate details like the horizontal flint tube and elongated snuff arm have been faithfully rendered, giving it the unmistakable elegance of proper Dunhill design. It even has the original windscreen around the base of the flame nozzle. Dunhill added the windscreen to its Unique Sports models nearly 100 years ago for better outdoor ignition. The old lighters produced only soft, natural flames. These new…

Canada’s massive Whistler Blackcomb is not the best because it is the biggest, but it helps—in skiing, size does matter. So does snow, and on average the merged ski areas get a whopping 458 inches, around 100 more than the top mountains in Utah and Colorado. At a full mile high, it’s also got more vertical than any U.S. resort, it’s the biggest ski resort in North America, it’s the most popular ski resort in North America and is perennially ranked the best. It is home to a world-class Nordic center built for the Vancouver Olympic Games and boasts a wide range of places to stay—the best of which is the Four Seasons Whistler. While that hotel is only 15 years old, it has had a top-to-bottom renovation that includes…

Pete Wagner was an engineer in the golf club industry at the time when technology-driven swing analysis, robotic club testing and computer-generated fitting recommendations transformed golf from off-the-rack to a highly customized sport. So when he was disappointed with a well-reviewed top brand ski and found there was no custom equivalent, Wagner invented it. Fourteen years later, Wagner Custom Skis is the world’s premier bespoke brand, and has designed, built and shipped more than 15,000 pairs—no two of them the same. Wagner takes great lengths to eliminate judgement calls and human error through data and technology. A precise questionnaire concretely measures “Skier DNA,” which reflects body type, ability level, skiing style, preferred terrain, conditions, goals, your current and past equipment and more. Then his sophisticated software spits out recommendations, and…

WHEN DID HOLLYWOOD INVENT the time machine? That’s the question you may ask when the camera moves in on Robert De Niro’s face as he speaks on the phone in a crucial early scene of Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman. What you see is not the age-weathered face of the 76-year-old actor, but the De Niro from 30 years ago—the Goodfellas De Niro, the Midnight Run De Niro. But the most anticipated film of the fall awards season didn’t use science fiction, but bleeding-edge technology to create an old-school gangster epic. Given his status as one of America’s greatest directors, any Scorsese film is an occasion. But this film—based on the apparent confession of the man who killed former Teamster head Jimmy Hoffa in 1975, a crime that officially has never…

Capital Grille, Scottsdale, AZ, and Naples, FL: Capital Grille in Scottsdale has a cigar-friendly patio where you can eat, drink and smoke. The Naples Capital Grille is located just a short walk from Burn by Rocky Patel, one of the world’s finest cigar bars. Chamberlain’s Steak and Chop House, Dallas: You can smoke and dine inside at Chamberlain’s cigar lounge, which has a cigar list with more than 20 selections. Dantanna’s, Atlanta: This very popular steak and seafood specialist in tony Buckhead has a cigar and dining lounge with a 200-square-foot-walk-in humidor. El Gaucho, Portland, OR: The Pacific Northwest offers few indoor smoking spots, let alone those where you can also dine. El Gaucho is a steakhouse with a cigar lounge that pre-dates the law, giving it grandfather status. Hal’s,…

96 HOYO DE MONTERREY EXCLUSIVO (1995) This big cigar comes from an intriguing box of 50: half of the cigars are traditional, box-pressed Hoyo Double Coronas, while the other half are Exclusivos, the same size as the Double Corona but presented in the round, and with a different band. The Exclusivos are flavorful from puff No. 1, redolent of coffee bean and truffles. There’s just a touch of copper in there, and plenty of sweet spice on the finish, which is quite long, and smacks of black tea. The draw isn’t perfect, but the flavor is spot on. —David Savona 97 MONTECRISTO ROBUSTO MILLENNIUM RESERVE (1999) A beautiful 20-year-old cigar filled with the entire range of flavors, from earthy and savory, to a solid dash of spiciness, all on the…

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