Happy days are here again, according to cigar guru James Leavey
Several months ago, I was invited to an exhibition in Paris to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the S.T. Dupont lighter. Arriving early, I nipped into a nearby café for a couple of espressos and Montecristo No.3s, which I shared with Martin Winters, Managing Director of the famous French company’s ...
Whisky and Cigars
from Issue 25 published on 16/8/2002
Expert James Leavey provides the ultimate guide to smoking pleasure.
Tobacco was native to the Americas long before it was discovered by Christopher Columbus in Cuba in 1492, and transplanted around the world.
In their original arm-length form, Cuban cigars were rough and harsh to smoke. Until the Europeans, notably the Spaniards, successfully applied the processi...
Whisky and Cigars
from Issue 11 published on 16/9/2000
Nothing befits a dram more than a fine smoke. James Leavey advises where to buy the best cigars.
On 9 March 2000 at Christie’s in London, the hammer fell on 416 lots of ‘vintage cigars’, which ranged in age from 1930s to a box barely three years old. By the end of the day, the pre-sale estimates for Christie’s first auction devoted exclusively to cigars were exceeded by some £150,000 in a tota...
Whisky and Cigars
from Issue 11 published on 16/9/2000
Like a fine malt, a good cigar will sooth the savage breast, says James Leavey.
Soothed or not, there are times when even the mildest of us are sorely tested. Take, for example, the cigar freaks who insist on extolling the merits of Cohiba Lanceros while pooh-poohing the underrated qualities of a Petit Punch, just because the former stick of Cuban tobacco is five times the pric...
Whisky and Cigars
from Issue 3 published on 13/5/1999
