cigar profiles

A Q&A With Pedro Balgañón, Owner Of HumidifGroup

A Q&A With Pedro Balgañón, Owner Of HumidifGroup

Cigar Insider’s managing editor Greg Mottola sat down with Pedro Balgañon, CEO of Humidif, to talk about his business and how he’s combining new interactive technologies with …

May 16, 2023
A Q&A With Cigar Veteran Eladio Diaz And Luis Torres of Freud Cigar Co.

A Q&A With Cigar Veteran Eladio Diaz And Luis Torres of Freud Cigar Co.

Veteran cigarmaker and tobacco man Eladio Diaz and Freud Cigar Co. owner Luis Torres recently paid a visit to Cigar Aficionado headquarters in New York City for a Q&A.

January 10, 2023
A Q&A With Zander-Greg Founder Arthur Berberian

A Q&A With Zander-Greg Founder Arthur Berberian

Cigar Insider’s Greg Mottola sat down with Arthur Berberian to talk about his distribution business and how it fits into the bigger picture of premium cigars.

November 22, 2022
The Magazine That Almost Didn’t Happen

The Magazine That Almost Didn’t Happen

The untold story of Marvin R. Shanken’s original cigar plan, and how it would have kept him from founding Cigar Aficionado 30 years ago.

November 18, 2022
A Conversation With Rocky Patel

A Conversation With Rocky Patel

Rocky Patel, 61, has cemented his legacy as a winning cigarmaker. He began selling cigars in the most modest of ways back in 1995, in the middle of the 1990s cigar boom. Now, …

July 21, 2022
Keepers of the Clock

Keepers of the Clock

For 127 years the Newmans have been making cigars. Now, America’s oldest family-owned cigar company opens its headquarters in Tampa, Florida, for tours.

February 2, 2022

the good life

Blatt Billiards: A Century Of Pool And Games

Blatt Billiards: A Century Of Pool And Games

Enter the Blatt Billiards showroom and warehouse in Woodridge, New Jersey, and your eyes will drift upward to the wooden frames of antique pool tables, stacked one on another, …

April 17, 2023
Top 25 Sweepstakes Winner Takes Home Three Boxes

Top 25 Sweepstakes Winner Takes Home Three Boxes

Our annual contest has ended and lucky winner Sean McCaffrey of Gastonia, North Carolina, received, not one but three boxes of high-scoring smokes from the Top 25 cigars of 2022.

March 29, 2023
NCAA Suspends Football Coach After Players Light Up Victory Cigars

NCAA Suspends Football Coach After Players Light Up Victory Cigars

Yesterday, the NCAA suspended Ferris State University head football coach Tony Annese for a future playoff game after two of his players lit up victory cigars in a smoke-free …

March 24, 2023
The Bob Parsons Project

The Bob Parsons Project

If you play golf, you know Bob Parsons—even if you don’t know Bob Parsons.

March 15, 2023
Irish Mix

Irish Mix

The spirit of Ireland offers many mixing possibilities, here are a few of our favorites.  

March 15, 2023
The Year In Football

The Year In Football

We turned to Danny Sheridan, our football expert, for his assessment on a dramatic 2022-23 NFL season.

March 15, 2023

celebrities

My Favorite Cigar

My Favorite Cigar

The former pro basketball player and current Illinois Secretary of State turns to cigars to help him slow down. 

May 15, 2023
My Favorite Cigar

My Favorite Cigar

Journalist Jeff Greenfield has high taste in cigars, see his preferred selections. 

May 15, 2023
My Favorite Cigar

My Favorite Cigar

Busey found appeal in long, dark Cuban cigars that has stuck with him for more than a quarter century. Today, lighting up a good smoke is one of Busey’s rituals.

March 15, 2023
My Favorite Cigar

My Favorite Cigar

He’s the greatest hockey player that ever drew breath, and he loves fine cigars. 

March 15, 2023
My Favorite Cigar

My Favorite Cigar

The former muscular scoring machine has now taken his efforts to the basketball front office, plus, he's picked up cigar-smoking along the way.

March 15, 2023
Master Of Metal

Master Of Metal

Metallica's James Hetfield made his name as a guitarist, but he likes to slow down with great cigars.

March 14, 2023