The Battle At The Bridge
New Yorker Jay Steinmetz stood up during the Cigar Stars panel at the 2023 Big Smoke Meets WhiskyFest seminar to ask a question—a tough question. It was aimed at all of the cigarmaker panelists: Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, Carlos Fuente Jr., Litto Gomez, Jorge Padrón and Rocky Patel. “Do you try each other’s brands?”
Steinmetz asked. “And if you do, do you have a favorite one?”
The audience loved it—the panelists not so much. They smiled nervously. Cigar Aficionado editor and publisher Marvin R. Shanken, who was moderating the seminar, considered it perfect. “What a great question!” he said. “Do you play golf? Do you want to come out to the Hamptons and play golf with me this summer?”
A few minutes later, another question came from the crowd, this one from Joost Ueffing, from Nova Scotia, Canada. “A lot of people drink wine with their cigars,” he said, then asked when the magazine would hold a wine and cigar pairing. “Probably, since you asked the question maybe we’ll have one in November in Las Vegas,” answered Shanken. (One has been scheduled.) Shanken asked the audience if they liked the idea and invited Ueffing to play golf as well.
The invitation was a solid one. On a sunny July day, the two cigar fans joined Shanken and executive editor David Savona for a round of golf at The Bridge, in Bridgehampton, New York.
Steinmetz, who is 66, has been smoking cigars for nearly five years. The Big Smoke he attended was his first. “And it won’t be my last,” he says. He began reading Cigar Aficionado after his son-in-law sent him a subscription to the magazine.
Forty-eight-year-old Ueffing has been smoking cigars for about 11 years and has been to eight Big Smokes. “Two Vegas smokes ago I was able to convince four or five of my friends to come with me,” he says. “I started smoking on my deck on my own, but what’s kept me in it is the social element.”
The day was a perfect one. A friendly match ensued with each reader spending nine holes in Shanken’s cart. The greens at the Bridge were slick as ice that day, making putts challenging for the visitors. Still, they shared their thoughts on the magazine with Shanken as they learned more about him—and vice versa.
Good shots were celebrated. Bad shots were booed. Jokes were made. In all, it was a great outing, with many cigars smoked. The foursome went through nearly as many stogies as golf balls, lighting up H. Upmann No. 2s from Cuba (Cigar Aficionado’s Cigar of the Year), Oliva Serie V Melanio Figurados and Padrón Family Reserve No. 95s, among others.
In the end, over refreshing beverages on the patio overlooking Long Island, more cigars were handed out, photos were taken and smiles abounded. A few $10 bills changed hands, but the entire foursome was a winner on this day.
