What are you going to light up for the World Cup festivities tomorrow? I'll be on the road, unfortunately, but I know many of my friends will be gathering at our local cigar shop and digging into their usual favorites. If you want to do something a little different, follow the advice of Vin Lee, CEO of the Beverly Hills Cigar Club. He has a decadent pairing that will help turn the game into a memorable occasion, regardless of who comes out on top.

Start with the club's Louisxs cigar. At $50, it's truly an investment in happiness. You'll plunk down a fistful of dough, but at least you'll get a lot of time out of it, thanks to the cigar's slow burn. You'll taste the rare Rosoda leaves from start to finish and enjoy the "pure magic [that] is meant to linger all evening." What could you possibly pair with a cigar of this caliber? Only Moet, of course.

The International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers annual show is right around the corner, and you can expect some new product to be unveiled in New Orleans, this year, as usual. The plans for the year run the spectrum. EO Brands unveiled its new cigar labels, the first visible change following the company's merger with Rocky Patel, and Drew Estate will reveal that it has something big coming out this year. But, why listen to me talk about it? I've had the chance to catch up with a number of cigar industry personalities recently. So, watch the videos below to hear it straight from the source.

Drew Estate
There's always something interesting brewing at the Drew Estate factory in Esteli, Nicaragua, and this summer is no different. Marvin Samel, co-founder of the company, hints that something interesting is coming his year.

Read more →

If nothing else, you can expect a $20,000-a-night villa to deliver a few surprises. Eden Rock's Villa Rockstar, among the most ostentatious of the accommodations on St. Barths, does not disappoint. The resort demonstrates a clear commitment to art, with an on-property gallery that has hosted some impressive artists, but you have to dig a little deeper to find the truly unusual.

Works of art are littered across the resort, from the in-villa gallery at Villa Nina on one end of the property to the top-of-the-rock lobby on the other. Villa Rockstar, the largest and newest spot in Eden Rock, has a seemingly endless supply of canvases hanging, visible from the moment you pass through the front door.

The biggest name, however, is tucked away, far from common view.

Descend into the villa's basement, en route to the recording studio that house the deck used to record John Lennon's "Imagine," and step into the bathroom. As soon as you open the door, you're face-to-face with a small piece by Richard Prince.

And let's face it: nothing screams decadence like being able to keep a piece by Prince in the bathroom. It's a sign that you've come too far in life to care.




Eden Rock picked up the tab for this trip, as it would have been unaffordable otherwise. My opinions are my own.

Cigar Reader Summer Cigar Cheatsheet
When you crack open a cold one this summer, what are you going to cut and light to go with it? Vin Lee, CEO of the Beverly Hills Cigar Club, has put together a list of cigar and beer pairing recommendations for your Fourth of July festivities, with eight ways to celebrate the birth of our nation. My favorite is the My Father #1, but I've always been a fan of Pepin Garcia's work. What's your choice for the best barbecue weekend of the year? Leave a comment, and let us know.

[spreadsheet courtesy of John Biggs]

There is no shortage of choices when you step up to the bar. An endless array of gins, vodkas, rums and other spirits can almost be intimidating ... yet disturbingly similar. If you want to stand out while sipping and socializing, skip the norm and ask for an absinthe. Edward III, a new product on the market, distinguishes itself in many ways. A clear absinthe – so technically you aren't dancing with la fee verte – it's produced locally, with organic ingredients. And rather than prepare it traditionally, with sugar and water, it can be used as the foundation for a number of unique cocktails, as co-founder Mark Maurice explains.

There's a new spirit in town ... and it's spirited, to say the least.

Republican gubernatorial candidate John Stephen almost had a brilliant fundraiser. Running in New Hampshire, he was set to benefit from a July 11, 2010 fundraiser hosted by cigar distributor Victor Vitale, who planned a bikini contest for the event. And, let's face it: there's nothing like a handful of hotties to get guys to pry open their wallets (just visit any strip club if you need proof of that!

According to Vitale, the bikini contest portion of the barbecue fundraiser was his idea alone, and Stephen didn't know it was coming. The fundraiser is still going to be held, but without this particular aspect. I'm sure it will still be fun ... but it's a shame about the contest.

I had the chance to catch up with Vitale in Easton, Pennsylvania, at Cigar Expo, and he told me about plans for the Ortsac brand ("Castro" backward), particularly in the run-up to the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers show this summer.

[video via Cigar Reader]

You can't experience the Eden Rock resort in St Barths without running into art. In addition to an on-property art gallery with an exciting artist-in-residence program, there is carefully selected artwork throughout the resort. When you get into the villas, however, a new level of care and attention is attained. One of Eden Rock's premier accommodations, Villa Nina comes with a five-figure a night price tag and is adorned appropriately. In this video, gallery director Natalie Clifford takes us on a tour of the unique Villa Nina art holdings.





Disclosure: Eden Rock picked up the tab for this trip, and it didn't influence my coverage.

I sipped a glass of rum as the plates were cleared. To my left was Christian Langlade, half the husband-and-wife team that owns and runs Hotel Christopher on St. Barthelemy and my host for dinner. After talking about his property, the conversation turned to my hometown, and I was amazed to learn his regular hotel on jaunts up to Manhattan: On the Ave.

I spent several months at On the Ave in 2004, first on consulting assignments during my white collar travel days and then to facilitate my move to New York from Boston. Just the mention of this hotel brought a flood of memories so powerful that I had to put my glass down for a moment.

On the Ave isn't glamorous, but is far better than sufficient – frankly, it was a business traveler's dream. Tucked away on W. 77th St. between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue, it's rarely the first choice of visitors looking for access to Times Square or Wall Street. Nonetheless, I fell in love with the property quickly. It offered easy subway access, simple accommodations that I found comfortable for late-night work and, best of all, a sixteenth-floor terrace with a north-facing view.

Read more →

There aren't many ways to get to St. Barthelemy, and your range of options shrinks with season and income. So, if you're heading out to this Caribbean island for a few days or more in the warmer months, you have only a handful of choices that don't include private aviation or yachts. On my recent trip to St. Barths, I flew St. Barth Commuter, an experience I won't soon forget.

I stepped out on the tarmac in St. Martin, fully expecting to find a small plane waiting for me, but I wasn't prepared for the tiny six-passenger contraption into which I would climb (note: it is safe). The pilot smiled comfortably, putting me and the other passengers at ease as we pulled ourselves into the plane for a flight that would last only 10 minutes or so. He was an old pro: during busy season, he'll make this run up to 17 times a day.

Read more →

It didn't take me long to feel like I was at home in La Casa del Habano. Every inveterate cigar smoker knows the importance of having a great cigar shop to call home, and one of the travails of traveling is that you leave yours behind, not knowing where (or with whom) you'll smoke on the road.

If St. Barths is in your future, there is no better place than La Casa del Habano. Look for the traditional wooden Indian out front; you should be able to see it as you're entering Village Creole in St. Jean, where the tobacconist is located.

Inside, put yourself in the expert hands of Sandrine, the store's owner and managing director. Many Americans are familiar with only the major Cuban cigar brands; it's tough for us to keep pace with the new products being released from the "island south of Miami." Sandrine will acquaint you with the old and new of what we aren't permitted to have here in the United States.

Read more →