Culture

No, it’s not the latest hare-brained experiment, there really is salt in your cigar, and in your wine too. Let me explain…   By Bernard Burtshy   SALTINESS is one of the four basic tastes (or five, if we count Japanese umami), and salt is, and always has been, a precious commodity. Salting is one of the oldest methods of

 By Philippe Hupp Rhum Mezan Trinidad 1996, 40°, 70 cl When Caroni, a State-owned distillery in Trinity-and-Tobago, closed down in 2002, there were still thousands of old American oak casks, full of rum, lying around in its warehouses. It turned out to be a real treasure trove – a bottle of Caroni 1985 Old Legend, for example, can go for

Chemically speaking, nothing distinguishes a pleasant smell from an unpleasant one. Why, therefore, do some people say that cigars “stink”? By Bernard Burtschy “Bad smells” are unclassifiable You barely need to perceive an unpleasant odor to elicit an immediate reaction of disgust. Whether the source be a dog, a toilet, or a cigar, the response to this type of stimulus will

It’s one of the biggest and best cigar collections in the world: 6,000 cigars, 1,500 objects, more than 5,000 books and historic documents, tens of thousands of cigar bands and vistas. It belongs to a rich Italian man who has devoted ten years of his life to it.  By Camille Sifer A fifty-year love story with cigars Paolo Jucker (Swiss

  By Philippe Hupp   Mezcal Meteoro, 45°, 70 cl   The two most emblematic Mexican spirits, mezcal and tequila, are both produced by distilling the juices of an oily plant named the “agave”. What differentiates them is the variety used, their region of origin and, of course, the production method. In this case, the agave espadín hearts are baked in

[pexyoutube pex_attr_src=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIQ2lt6lNNA&t=50s”][/pexyoutube] Before using it, wipe the inside of the humidor with a damp cloth then keep it closed for a day. Try not to overfill it, so the air can circulate properly. We advise you to keep a cedar leaf between the humidifier and the first row of cigars. Open the humidor regularly and move your cigars around. And

Par Bernard Burtschy Derrières les odeurs se cachent bien souvent des molécules de synthèse qui ont remporté la bataille sur les arômes naturels. Ne les confondons pas, et ne simplifions pas ce qui est complexe. Le nez chimique Il est prodigieux de penser que nous pouvons détecter jusqu’à 400.000 odeurs et en mémoriser environ 10.000 ! Les molécules naturelles qui constituent les

Philippe Hupp’ selection of the month… Squadron 303 Vodka, 40°, 70 cl A newcomer in the world of premium vodkas, Squadron 303 is produced in Essex and draws inspiration from the adventures of Polish pilots who distinguished themselves in English skies after joining the Royal Air Force following the Nazi invasion of their country. These hotheads famously produced their own

Box-pressed cigars, with their distinctive square form, were probably launched in Cuba to save space in smaller boxes. The cigars, packed tightly together when still moist, naturally adopt a squarer shape. Nowadays, using this format is a commercial decision for certain brands, the pioneers being Padron and CAO. The cigars are shaped in molds during the rolling process before being