by Tom Sullivan and Scott Hornstein
First, a bit about us:
Tom’s the pro – he’s got the professional chops. The educated palate. He’s been in the cigar business for 25 years. Scott is completely unqualified to professionally judge, rate or review a cigar, regardless of size, age, or ethnic origin. However, cigars are a passion. And, as his friends will attest, he is comfortable expressing his opinions.
Then, the grand design:
Scott: Ours was a great adventure, and all great adventures begin with the careful planning of strategic objectives and elaborate logistics.
Our strategic objectives were to:
Not necessarily in that order.
The elaborate logistics culminated in Thanksgiving week in St. Maarten, with two families and the 10th Anniversary issue of Cigar Aficionado.
Thus we hatched a plan – to smoke the absolutely best available All-Time Top Cuban cigars. The articles, Cigar Stars of Cuba and Top Cuban Cigars 1992 – 2002 were our bible. And with that good book in-hand we linked arms and strode off to see if the reviews from 1992 still stand up.
Tom: I can’t wait to see St. Maarten again. Peggy and I spent our honeymoon there. We took a breather, then started going again 13 years ago with our babies and we’ve been going ever since. And, I’m excited to see how the Cuban cigars have held up. I’ll be honest, last time I was down in the islands, the Cubans just didn’t knock me out like they used to. The gap is closing. If you take away the preconception, the anticipation and you don’t look at the cigar band, I think you’ll find that a lot has changed in the last 5 – 10 years. Some of the other countries have more than made up the gap in diversity and enjoyment of the smoke.
Scott: Last time I was in St. Maarten I was at the bar and a fellow was smoking a delicious smelling cigar. I asked what it was and he looked embarrassed. He said it’s good, but I’m ambivalent about supporting a dictator. I asked him what he put in his gas tank and where that came from. I am not ambivalent about bullshit.
Tom: St.
Maarten is a jewel in the middle of the Caribbean Sea.
Just 37 square miles in all,
with ownership divided between two governments, France and the Netherlands. Each
side has a very different ambiance. The
Dutch side feels like tourism and commerce (it has most of the large hotels).
The French side feels Mediterranean (it has most of the topless women).
Everyone we spoke
to was very nice to us no matter where we were. The cash registers are in
dollars and everybody speaks English.
The beaches are
breathtaking, the weather is perfect and we ate unbelievably well.
The clear warm water and sand mixed well with our daughters, who get
along well anyway.
Scott: You know, it seems like our kids have so much more pressure
on them then when we were growing up. Maybe
every generation says that when they become parents, but it doesn’t mean it
isn’t true. One of the best
things was not only our de-stressing, but watching the kids run into the water
and just play like kids. No
posturing, no primping and preening, just playing in the water until you get
pruney.
Tom: If you are in St. Maarten and you want tasty Cubans, you go
to the Cigar Emporium on Front Street in Phillipsburg. They are the principal distributor of Cuban cigars on the
Dutch side. I’ve been buying from
him for 12 years and he is reputable. He’s
got the variety of top quality Cubans and the most reasonable prices.
All the other stores have to buy from him.
Phillipsburg has been the capital of the Dutch side of St. Maarten since 1768. The main area in on a thin strip of land separating the ocean from a salt-water pond. There are, perhaps, three streets. Back Street is by the pond. There is a middle street, which we’ve never learned the name of. And Front Street borders the beautiful blue Caribbean. It’s a riot of duty free jewelry, electronics and liquor stores. Front Street is the one of the island’s primo shopping centers. It’s where the cruise ships dock.
Scott: Driving from the hotel to Front Street takes you from sterile American hotel accommodations to the loud, crowded, bright, big-signed, hot, aromatic Caribbean center of duty free shopping. A chaotic and mesmerizing trip.
The Cigar Emporium
is almost in bas-relief from the assault of Front Street, offering dark oiled
wood, lowered light and a cool, calm interior.
Go in, through a corridor of walled showcases on either side, to the back
and follow your nose up the stairs to their gallery of Cubans.
There are three walls of boxes of the cigars you’ve only read about.
If you’re looking for Cubans, you are going to find them here.
Tom: I’m convinced that the Cigar Emporium has the best Cubans around - representative of the best of what’s coming out of the Cuban factories. But you have to remember, the demand is endless and there is a ready market. Can Cuba produce this volume of cigars and maintain quality? The proof will be in the smoke. And I think it’s ok to judge based upon the cigar we buy today and smoke today. You expect to buy a cigar and enjoy it now. Not put it away for a year or two like wine. We all expect maximum enjoyment now.
Scott: Tom did the selections, focusing on the brands and the teachings of the good book we had brought with us.
Tom: I examined each cigar individually, looking for a wrapper that has life to it and a nice oily sheet. The wrapper should be resilient and the aroma enticing. And, of course, be free of borers. Not everything we saw was acceptable. For instance, the Hoya do Monterreys. The cigars on display were chipped and unraveling. However, the Cigar Emporium was happy to open a new box, and it was a thing of beauty.
So for about $50 each, we each walked out with a:
This cigar was rated 96, “no other (cigar) offers such a burst of flavor in such a relatively small size”.
Tom: On its own, the construction was flawless, the taste rich and full bodied. Not harsh, but powerful. But the cigar did not really change as we smoked it. No change in the taste profile – one-dimensional. That was throughout all the Cubans we smoked. Another 6 months – a fantastic cigar. Definitely not worth the money now. For my money (and all duties considered), the Fuentes Hemingways, Padrone Anniversario and Ashton VSG are all in the same price range and each offers more complexity and overall distinctive enjoyment.
Scott: Cohiba is the benchmark and robusto is my favorite size. I smoked this in front of our time-share, lying back in a chaise listening to the waves. It took me away and I thoroughly enjoyed the trip.
Tom: This was the most delicate smoke. It was fairly rich yet had many subtle properties, including a hint of cedar. It was the creamiest of all the Cubans, more medium-bodied. However, it too was one-dimensional. I’ve had this cigar before and I remembered it as one of the most enjoyable smokes I’ve ever had. But I remember it as significantly more complex. This lacked depth of character
Scott: This was an entirely new experience for me. A mystery cigar that turned out to be magic. It was rated a 94 and I think it holds up. The cigar was big, with strong tastes of earth and sun. When I used to think of Cubans, I’d think of Cohiba. This is my new standard.
Tom: I smoked mine on the porch of my room, watching the Eagles / 49ers game, overlooking Little Bay and the cruise ships of full of eager shoppers sailing on to the next free port. I should also mention the snifter of Cuban rum that kept me company. I’m embarrassed to say I couldn’t finish either. Halfway through the cigar I was launched to the planet Glue. I was overwhelmed by pure nicotine. I had to put the cigar down. It was not enjoyable. I got blown out of my shorts and I’ve got a heavy head for this. Next step, hallucination,
Scott: I
smoked mine at Orient Beach, noted for beauty, calm waters and nude beach at one
end. My first observation is that it’s amazing how all the women you
wish were naked on the beach, are suited, and the reverse.
Also, there was a real phenomenon – guys, singly or in pairs (not us),
walking buck-naked by the shoreline. From the naked beach, to the regular beach,
past the restaurants and the shops, along the shoreline, past the families and
the jet skis. And then back. What’s
that all about? Trolling?
Meagan’s law? I thought the cigar sucked.
Actually I thought I was sucking a tennis ball through a garden hose just
to keep it going. I was dizzy from
hyperventilating long before the charging rhino of nicotine flattened my sorry
ass. Low reward.
Tom: Before I tell you about the cigar, let me tell you about dinner at Mai’s.
Mai’s Vietnamese restaurant on Rue de Hollande in Marigot is a life-altering experience. You leave the busy streets and go up a flight to a calm, leafy garden terrace overlooking Saigon (Mai tells us her father was Governor of Saigon pre-French intervention). Mai is a gracious, beautiful hostess, who turns the dining experience into theater (no, not dinner theater) with her stories and explanations. Her accent may be the most beguiling thing on the island. The dishes range from what’s common to Western palates, to fragrant and fire breathing. Even the kids enjoyed this one (we brought them the second time).
This was the best of the Cubans. Always been a Partagas fan. It was a big-flavored cigar, most like the Series D No. 4s I’ve smoked over the years. The construction was flawless. The smoke was rich and flavorful. Not harsh but a lot of power, full of deep coffee and rich mocha undertones. Held an ash for the entire length of the cigar
Scott: This is a big cigar. I mean big. I suggest sitting down. The complex flavors and experiences of such a wonderful cigar I first found overpowering, but then relaxed into. It’s also a great looking cigar. The selection of tobacco and workmanship is evident. And I happen to like the design of the ring. But then came the large thumb of nicotine pressing down on me. I didn’t make it all the way through.
Tom: Liked it, but I don’t have a point of comparison with years past. Definitely not one of the top 5 I ever smoked. You can see and taste a drop off in the quality of tobaccos – is it quality control, aging or nature, I don’t know. Good but not a hall of famer. A good everyday smoke, but I’d take a CAO, Padron or Ashton rather than worrying about where to get the next Punch Punch.
Scott: This was overall the best Cuban (and second best cigar) I smoked all week. From the light I experienced deep rich coffee tones that became more distinct and swirled as the smoke went on. It was a unique flavor, a distinctive cigar. I really enjoyed it.
The best cigar I
smoked on the island was one I had after dinner at L’Alabama, a marvelous
French restaurant in the little town of Grand Case, where one excellent
restaurant sits elbow to elbow with the next.
This cigar was given to us by Larry Palumbo of US Cigar Sales, makers of
Don Tomas and Astral. US Cigar had
reformulated the Astral blend to be significantly larger and more complex.
The wrapper of this torpedo is Honduran, the binder Mexican and the
filler 1/3 Piloto Seco from the Dominican Republic, 1/3 Nicaraguan Ligero, and
1/3 Mata Fina Ligero from Brazil. It
was big, really tasty and was constantly changing as the smoke went on.
And, most of all, the second and third were as good as the first.
Consistency counts
with me. I don’t have regular
access to these fine cigars. And I don’t have a lot of time (or a lot of
capacity) to smoke my way through the line-up.
My opinion of a cigar is going to be based on smoking one or two of them.
And if I have the third, I’m counting on it.
The difference between what we smoked and what Cigar Aficionado smoked ten years ago is the aging of the tobacco. This resulted in primarily one-dimensional cigars lacking in the subtle complexities. The Cubans have a ready market with cash-in-hand. Why age? You can’t expect the average consumer to buy a cigar and then put it away for years. Their focus is more on production than quality.
A lot of things have changed in the cigar business. The Nicaraguans, Dominicans and Hondurans are manufacturing a better product. They’ve been more concerned with quality and development. There’s a big difference between what they’re producing and the inconsistent quality of the Cubans.