Cigar Aficionado
July 4, 2010 by MBC Staff
Filed under Afficianado
Cigar Aficionado
CIGAR AFICIONADO is edited for successful, extremely affluent men. It covers information on fine cigars plus life’s other great pleasures: fine dining and entertaining, the finest wines and spirits, world travel and the arts.Unlike most of its counterparts in the men’s magazine ranks, Cigar Aficionado targets a classier, more cultivated man, the guy who’d rather smoke a Montecristo and savor the indulgence of a cherry-red ’65 Mustang convertible than read about what Hollywood stars have to say while they eat lunch. It’s the mature man’s Esquire, a magazine that’s more interested in yachts, rum, and golf than it is in this season’s new fashions. As the name suggests, at the heart of the magazine is the cigar, with articles investigating everything from California smoking laws to Cuban politics. It’s true that you don’t have to smoke cigars to enjoy Cigar Aficionado, but Cigar Aficionado is a magazine that will try its very hardest to get you to enjoy cigars. –Jon Groebner
Rating: 
(out of 15 reviews)
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Review by for Cigar Aficionado Rating:
This is one of my favorite magazines, however I must confess that I have been somewhat disappointed since the focus of the magazine changed from “CIGAR Afficianado” to “Cigar AFFICIANADO”. To those who don’t understand this, take a look at what is emphasized on current issues, versus the emphasis on previous deals.While the most recent issue (with Mayor Guilani) was great, other issues have reflected the magazine’s trend toward a more general circulation “lifestyle” format focusing on attracting the “female reader”. Earlier issues which contained profiles on J P Morgan, politicians such as JFK and handled weighty topics have given way to puff pieces on Kevin Bacon Raquel Welsh (OK, so the pictures in the latter article were good.I’d prefer more frequent substantive articles rather than just recylced “Wine Spectator” or “GQ” stuff.
Review by for Cigar Aficionado Rating:
When this mag started, it was the perfect (cigar) man’s read. Delightful mix of politics, travel, but we always got a full plate of Cigar info. In recent years, the mag has relied more on ‘puffery’ and doubled the amount of ads. It’s still a decent read, but hardly what it used to be, and barely worth the (discounted) subscription price. I almost gave this a 3, but the very recent issues might be showing an uptrend.
Review by Bobby Newman for Cigar Aficionado Rating:
Once upon a time, this was one of my favorite magazines. The reason was simple. I love cigars and this was a magazine primarily about cigars. The cigar content now, though, seems often to be an after-thought. The serious articles of the past have given way to more and more ads and articles about watches and shirts that cost more than the gross national product of much of the world. Too much now is about frivolous celebrity culture, devoid of any cigar-related content. If I had the slightest interest in how some actor/singer/athlete lives, I would read one of those magazines. While I will still occasionally pick this up, and still do find the occasional exceptional article, I have now turned to Cigar magazine for my cigar-related content.
Review by Bryan Carey for Cigar Aficionado Rating:
Cigar Aficionado is a surprising magazine that I have been enjoying now for the past six months. I rarely smoke cigars or any other form of tobacco so when I first heard about this magazine I was naturally skeptical. I wasn’t expecting much because due to my limited experience with smoking and the fact that I have limited knowledge about cigars. I figured this magazine would make its way into my `magazine mound’ in the corner of my living room- a place where I toss most of the dozens of periodicals I receive each month.
But after paging through the first issue, my opinion of this magazine changed drastically. The reason?- Cigar Aficionado is not strictly a magazine about cigars, like I assumed it would be. It is actually an entertainment magazine that devotes the majority of its pages to a wide range of topics like sports, cars, travel, fashion, and other like subjects. In one issue, you can read about all sorts of varied topics with article titles like “Best Ski Resorts”, “Winning at Poker”, “The New Face of Sports Management”, etc. This caught me completely by surprise and I’m sure I’m not the only reader out there who felt this way when he/she read this magazine for the first time. Its title leads one to conclude that it is strictly about cigars but that isn’t the case at all.
My favorite parts of this magazine are the travel and drink sections. I like to partake in an occasional beer and I love to travel so I naturally gravitate toward these two sections. But even in the areas where I wouldn’t normally have much interest I have found myself attracted to the articles anyway, thanks to the quality writing and photography. One such feature that I find myself accidentally enjoying is “Profile”- a two or three page monthly feature that casts the spotlight on a celebrity who enjoys puffing on a good cigar. The celebrity (who can be anyone in sports, television, movies, or music) will talk about his/her career and the smokes he/she enjoys the most.
Even though this is a multi- faceted entertainment magazine, cigar lovers will enjoy the ratings and buying guide information found in each issue. The magazine’s own panel of experts blind tests each of several dozen smokes in each issue and then assigns a rating from zero to one- hundred points. The cigars are then sorted by category in descending order based on score, complete with tasting notes on each; the size; and the price. At the end of the ratings, you will find the same list organized by country of origin followed by another rating list called “Connoisseur’s Corner” that includes more ratings of unique smokes. The only thing that could make this section better is more buying information. There is no web site, phone number, or other contact information provided. All you have is the name of the cigar and the price. It’s up to you to find the cigar if you want to make a purchase.
This magazine’s subtitle is “The Good Life Magazine for Men”. As such, there are only a few articles to be found that will interest the majority of women. Even the interviews (and the profile section) are usually written about men and from a man’s point of view. About the only thing missing from this magazine is sex. That’s right- you will find all sorts of things that are of interest to men in this magazine except for the most important one of all. I guess the editors of Cigar Aficionado decided that there are already enough magazines that cater to man’s natural animal instincts and they concluded that devoting the space in each issue to other indulgences was sufficient.
Overall, Cigar Aficionado is a very good magazine about entertainment. It costs more than other magazines but it is also much longer than most, with some issues approaching 350 pages. It offers a wide range of articles about living the good life, with excellent photography and entertaining writing that will appeal to the majority of men in all age groups.
Review by Bernard Chapin for Cigar Aficionado Rating:
This magazine is rather interesting as it should come with a socio-economic rating because you need to have a certain amount of wealth to appreciate it. It’s not for middle class guys like this reviewer as, even if I wanted to, I could never afford most of the stuff advertised in these pages. In the last issue, I read about vacation ideas which I may or may be able to afford in 30 years–provided I’m still alive. Ads for Porsches and the like are rather lost on me. It does keep its promise though as it focuses on the good life and all which this phrase encompasses. Unlike Maxim or GQ, it’s short on women and big on stuff. All the accoutrements of the playboy lifestyle are on parade here. One could spend a fortune even if they took seriously only half of these suggestions. I even saw a ski jacket for $2,500; it must be nice to have that kind of disposable income. Anyway, the cigar content is thorough and interesting. I do wish that there were more articles about cigars in general as opposed to ones concerning particular brands and ratings. Overall, the quality of the features and production is excellent even though it will have limited appeal for the average person.