up front

14 CIGAR HIGHLIGHTS

19 EDITORS’ NOTE

letters 23 out of the humidor

the best 29 the good life guide

31 TECH A radar detector that connects to GPS.

34 STYLE Safari jackets—even if you don’t hunt.

37 PLACES Portofino’s Hotel Splendido delivers splendidly.

40 CIGARS Zippo Outdoor Utility Lighter performs on the go.

43 GOURMET Mozzarella bar: a tasty winner you can create.

44 S PO RT The exciting world of kayak fishing.

48 TIME Bell & Ross, the hip watch with functionality.

51 WHEELS Mercedes SL63 AMG blends sport and comfort.

54 DRINK A cocktail that spotlights cacha^a.

56 FUN Tents as smokers’ retreats.

features

cover

golf

60 KEVIN’S HEAVEN?

Kevin Costner’s next flick is a political satire that showcases his musi-

cal talent and cleaves to the film work ethic he’s carried through such

triumphs as Dances with Wolves, Field of Dreams and Bull Durham as well

as some misfires: tell a good story and have fun.

82 THE RISE OF THE HYBRIDS

Leave your long irons in the closet. The hybrid club, a cross between a

fairway wood and an iron, is taking the snap slices, the duck hooks, the

ego-deflating shanks and the terror out of those 200-yard shots.

gambling 94 WEB POKER’S WUNDERKINDER Who needs college when you can make thousands of dollars playing poker on the Internet? Meet the new generation of poker pros who cash in anonymously by sniping poor players on the Web, while juggling as many as 10 hands at a time.

cars 108 jaguar’s NEXT JUMP Ford’s sale of Jaguar to an Indian company best known for selling affordable cars to the subcontinent’s emerging middle class creates an odd couple and has the industry wondering if the big cat can land on its feet once again.

technology 122 WHAT TO TAKE ON SUMMER VACATION We review the coolest gadgets for summer, a com- pendium of gear from a camera you can take water- skiing to a GPS that talks to the Internet and wireless outdoor speakers that really kick the bass out.

travel 132 CUSTOM TRAVEL Want to travel off the beaten track? Can’t fit your plans into the cookie-cutter tour packages? Have spe- cial needs when you globetrot? Bespoke travel is the fastest-growing niche in luxury trekking. cigars

tasting 146 We rate 77 cigars in six sizes: Churchills (146), coro- nas (148), corona gordas (150), figurados (153), lons- dales (156) and robustos (158). Plus, our vintage cigar tasting (162).

industry 164 what do they smoke?

We ask three dozen distinguished cigarmakers what

size and shape they go for when they are smoking for

pleasure—and why.

industry 175 the rise of the lancero

The long, trim cigars born in the Cuba of the 1960s

are starting to take off globally as a go-to size and

shape. Is it that the lancero lends itself to a wrapper-

heavy blend or that it’s just so elegant in your hand?

cigar diary 178 traveling with james suckling

Our man in Havana “smuggles” some cigars into

Cuba to see what the island’s cigar experts might

think of what the rest of the world is smoking.

l8o A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

The Blues Brothers, Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belusi,

kick out all the stops to raise money to contribute to

a cure for prostate cancer at ClGAR AFICIONADO’S

annual black-tie charity event.

l86 MOMENTS TO REMEMBER

Photos from our readers enjoying themselves and

their cigars.

I92 MADE FOR YOU

Items from around the world that become personal to

the user: chocolate made for summer consumption;

buckling up in style; cigar armoires; an exercise regi-

men for your muscle car; gourmet English-style; and

lost-wax pens.