Michael Strahan • November/December 2014
Features
A Giant Second Act
The crowd lined up out front on Manhattan’s Columbus Avenue mills restlessly, as Michael Strahan—fresh from a twice-weekly stint on “Good Morning America” at its studio in Times …
Ladies of the Links
There’s something up with the Ladies Professional Golf Association. That’s “up” as in upturn, uptick, or more appropriately, upswing. More people are tuning in to the ladies …
The Making of Billy Baxter
At 2:00 on a sunny weekday afternoon, Billy Baxter assumes a familiar position: Leaning back in his chair, occupying the head of a poker table. It’s situated at the rear of …
Perrenial Rivals
It was May 20, 1976. A game between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium was about to turn nasty. With Ed Figueroa and Bill “Spaceman” Lee locked in a stingy …
Cigar Diplomacy
In September of 1980, President Jimmy Carter dispatched a special envoy to Havana to meet secretly with Fidel Catro and negotiate a resolution to a major immigration crisis—the …
The New Age of Muscle
There wasn’t much left but rust when Tim Cooley found the remains of the old ’34 Ford three-window coupe. He spent the next few years hammering out the dents, fixing the broken …
Rum At Its Finest
Bar Centro, on the patio overlooking the sleek pool at Miami Beach’s SLS Hotel, is the kind of place that serves impeccable cocktails and fills up with an ultra-chic crowd as the …
Split Seconds Count
With this year’s unveiling of the RM 50-01, a manual winding tourbillon chronograph with a mechanical G-force sensor in a case made of light and resilient NTPT carbon paired with …
Cigars
A Cigar Brand Blossoms
Matt Booth’s young and nonconformist Room101 brand has been embraced by cigar smokers
High Speed Hero
Cigar lover Chip Ganassi is the only race car owner to win each of the five most renowned races in America
Vegueros Appears at Last
Patience is a virtue, especially in the cigar business. Cigar tobacco doesn’t like to be rushed, and going from seed to smoke takes years. But if you’ve been waiting on Cuba’s new …
Ratings from this Issue
Up Front
Bon Voyage
It seems like only yesterday when I walked down the hall and into Gordon Mott’s office here at M. Shanken Communications. I barely knew his name. He looked up, startled. I asked …
Out of the Humidor
Dear Marvin, I appreciate Brian McCallen’s excellent article on the Omni Bedford Springs Resort and Spa in the October issue of Cigar Aficionado. His article was exceedingly …
The Good Life
A Taste for Bitters
Talk about reversals of fortune. For centuries, bitters were used as medicinal tinctures. Suddenly they got a promotion when the first-known printed definition of a proper …
Otahuna Lodge, New Zealand
On the eastern edge of the Canterbury Plains the land gently rises in the face of a rocky crag. Here sits Otahuna Lodge. The gate opens and the sweeping drive through the property …
Bomber Jackets
Leather bomber jackets are so often associated with movie characters—e.g., John Wayne (pictured), Jimmy Stewart (he actually was a pilot) and Tom Cruise in cockpits, Marlon Brando …
Sachertorte
When a cake is so celebrated that pastry-obsessed Austria awards it with a national holiday (December 5), dispute is bound to follow. Such is the history of the Sachertorte (if …
Mercedes-Benz C-Class
It was small, underpowered and, if it hadn’t been for the tri-star hood ornament you might never have guessed the little 190E was a Mercedes-Benz. But what critics somewhat …
Bowflex SelectTech 1090 Dumbbells
It’s no secret that a complete physical fitness regimen balances aerobic activities such as running or cycling with some form of strength training. For most of us, strength …
Technical Pilot Watches
As the horological legend goes, the adventurous aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont complained to his friend Louis Cartier about the difficulty of checking his pocket watch …
Fitness Trackers
Everyone I know is getting in shape, and I feel left out. Given that I’m unwilling to adjust my sybaritic diet or lifestyle, I reasoned that technology must be the solution. So I …
Siglo Fingerprint-ID Humidor
Admit it. At one time or another, you’ve fantasized about being a secret agent. Whether you saw yourself as 007 or Maxwell Smart, Siglo Accessory’s Biometrico fingerprint-ID …
Platform Tennis
Imagine tennis remade by the minds behind mixed martial arts. The surface is as rough and gritty as sandpaper. The court, shrunk to about a third the size, is enclosed in a …