Deedra Allison

Erudite, urbane, and nattily attired, Avo Uvezian is the consummate cigar smoker. Or more precisely, he represents the romanticized version of the cigar smoker. A performer nearly all of his 78 years, Uvezian, the creator and spirit of Avo cigars, understands how to play a role and how to cultivate an image: His eight white […]

Helmut Bührle espouses some radical ideas. Contrary to almost every tobacconist and connoisseur in the United States, this German businessman believes that storing cigars in an airtight humidor is as ill-advised as leaving them on a bureau. “If the humidor or the cigar case is as airtight as a diving bell, the cigar lacks oxygen to […]

Unless a restaurant is especially busy, most chefs are willing to accommodate a patron’s special request. One dish, however, is often craved but seldom provided: an ashtray. As he steps outside a London restaurant on a blustery night to light a Partagas Serie D, Italian importer Enzo Natali says he is becoming accustomed to the proliferating […]

When Julio Eiroa and his son christian reach for a smoke, rest assured that they will select a strong cigar. Both seasoned aficionados—the forces behind Caribe Imported Cigars, a vertical operation based in Miami that grows its own tobacco and produces and distributes 13 million cigars a year—crave the powerful taste reminiscent of the Cuban […]

Diamonds are forever, but not so the patriarch of a diamond house. When Harry Winston, founder of the prestigious diamond jewelry business, died in 1978, he unwittingly provoked a bitter legal struggle, first between his two sons and ultimately between one son and the trustee that the father had chosen to administer his estate. According […]

Jim Bolton knows every inch of unused space in a Ferrari. “Some of the tighter cars are Ferraris,” says Bolton, the owner of Performance Sound & Security, a car audio aftermarket specialist near San Jose, Calif. “There’s barely room for a coat or a small bag.” He should know. Bolton has designed and installed some […]

Long after the age of Al Capone and the speakeasy, when well-heeled imbibers would pony up for cheap bathtub gin served in teacups, the very best spirits continue to elude the worthy seeker who does not know where to look. Procuring vintage cigars proves an even more trying task. Following is a short list of […]

With the introduction of Blue Ocean, we may be witnessing the emergence of a new product category. The transparent acrylic screen is such a standout that it likely will silence any potential buzz around an impressive assortment of soon-to-debut audio gear. Deep Blue See If picture quality is your theater’s outstanding feature, imagine the aesthetic […]

Finally, this magazine has a reason to add some T+A to its pages. The German company, which, it should be noted, pronounces its name T plus A (an abbreviation for Theory plus Application), had been building speakers, amplifiers, preamplifiers, and digital components exclusively for Europeans since 1978. Now it has entered the U.S. market with […]

Victor Rommely and his siblings, fourth-generation members of a successful family, are the beneficiaries of an irrevocable trust established in 1920 by their great-grandfather. The trust instrument provides that all income (interest from fixed-income securities and dividends from equity-type securities) be distributed equally among the current beneficiaries, and that a portion of the trust principal […]