Cuba • May/June 2007
Features
Cuba's Future: An Interview with Julia Sweig
Julia Sweig is simply in the right place at the right time. She has devoted parts of her career to understanding and writing about Cuba, a natural extension of her interest in …
A Republican View
I recently came across two news reports that I placed copies of in my files. One was titled "Portugal Concerned Young People Will Forget Coup of 1974." It read: "Bloodless Act…
Cuba Today: An Interview with Ricardo Alarcon
Ricardo Alarcon is president of Cuba's National Assembly of the People's Power. The 70-year-old is one of the most public and outspoken individuals in the Cuban government and a …
A Democratic View
I first met Cigar Aficionado publisher Marvin Shanken over lunch at his New York office in 1998. The meeting had been arranged by John Kavulich to discuss the status of …
Cuba Travel Guide
While it is still difficult for Americans to travel to Cuba, Cigar Aficionado provides a guide to the best hotels, restaurants and cigar stores on the Caribbean island. From …
Travel Ban Update
If you're thinking about sneaking off to Cuba for a few days of sunbathing and cultured cigar smoking, then you should probably know how the travel laws work and how they've …
Cuba's Stars
Cuba has made many great cigars since I first wrote about the island's "star cigars" in 1992. Sure, there have been some ups and downs in quality, and the worst period ever—from …
Trying Harder at Number Two
In a golf world dominated by Tiger and commanded by Phil, Ernie, Vijay and Goose, let's not forget about Jim. That would be Jim Furyk. Sure, Tiger Woods is the best player in the …
Viva Like Vegas!
If you spend enough money gambling in casinos, the weeks leading up to Super Bowl Sunday will come to resemble a prelude to Christmas. Every day, the mailboxes of high rollers …
Web TV is Here
Just last week, a TV-reception snafu denied my wife and me our weekly jolt of "Heroes" on NBC. If you're a fellow addict, you know that missing one episode is a big deal—it's a …
The Top-Down Hardtop
A white dusting dapples the peaks that fence in Phoenix, the result of the city's first snowstorm in a decade. It's an odd and disorienting apparition: snow piled atop the giant …
Cigars
The Oscars of Cuban Cigars
From the June 2007 issue of Cigar Aficionado I walked into the bar at 9 a.m. on the executive floor of the Meliá Cohiba hotel in Havana and I could barely see across it because of …
My Last Cuban Cigar
A noted photographer recounts a high-level clandestine smoke
The Tommy Bahama Boys
Tommy Bahama's three creators rhapsodize about making their fantasy a successful reality
Litto’s Twist of Fate
How Litto Gomez’s La Flor Dominicana was spawned from disaster—and other things you probably didn't know about one of the industry's hottest brands.
Ratings from this Issue
Up Front
Buy Cuban Cigars, End up in Jail?
The last time we looked, the U.S. government was involved in a war in Iraq. President Bush has asserted that it is part of a wider war on terror that we have been engaged in …
Out of the Humidor
Dear Marvin, I usually make a practice of staying away from places where my presence is not appreciated. When the city council of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was considering …
The Good Life
HP TouchSmart IQ770
Most home computers today look and feel like office equiment, even though the business at hand is usually listening to music, watching DVDs, organizing and printing photos, and …
Martin Dingman Weekend Bags
For all intents and purposes, America invented the weekend getaway, with its Monday holidays and abbreviated vacations meant for instant rejuvenation. That's why it's so fitting …
Palacio Duhau - Park Hyatt Buenos Aires
It's the 1930s and Buenos Aires is a gateway for grain and cattle that bring wealth to the city's elite. Among the most majestic of the opulent mansions that line Avenida Alvear …
Barbecued Ribs
Regional barbecue enthusiasts will argue every point of America's only original culinary art form—from meat choice to recipes to wood fuels to acceptable side dishes—but when …
Square Drivers
To swing the hottest drivers in the ever-evolving world of golf equipment, you need to be square—by wielding one of the new square-headed drivers, that is. Nike and Callaway both …
Girard-Perregaux ww.tc-Finaancial
When you're wheeling and dealing in the global stock market, timing is everything. Doesn't it make sense, then, that your wristwatch should give you an edge? While Girard-Perrega…
Porsche 911 Turbo
Yes, Porsche has been racing and winning at Watkins Glen, New York, since the course was 6.6 miles of local road, and the German automaker did introduce the iconic 911 Turbo here …
Hot Air Balloning
Compared with every other form of flight, a hot-air balloon ride is the model of sweet-tempered motion. The accent is smooth and silent as the gondola lifts off the ground, yet …
Top-Shelf Tequila
If you're thinking that the terms top shelf and tequila don't reconcile, consider this: the whimsical silver-and-glass decanter that stands atop the wicker box in the photo, …