VUE

Smoking a cigar is about time. Cultivating the tobacco. Aging the leaves. Rolling the cigar. All these take a painstaking amount of patience. So, as I ignited my Grand Cru No. 4, seated comfortably in Davidoff of Geneva's brand new Brookfield Place smoking lounge in Manhattan, I realized that what I was perceiving as the beginning, is really the end. From farm to the humidor, this cigar had reached its final act and I lit the fuse, only this fuse had no urgency. For the seasoned cigar smoker, this is no great revelation. The cigar is a very deliberate object with each blend, length, gauge and style determining the duration and flavor of the smoke. Therefore, the act of smoking a cigar is also very deliberate because you are surrendering yourself to that time. But considering the era in which we live, where time is placed at such a premium; sitting back, indefinitely puffing on my cigar and engaging in casual conversation felt significant. "Over the years, smoking has become less of something one would just do during the day, to become more of an occasion," Jeffrey Stone, U.S. Brand Ambassador for Davidoff, told me over the phone. "I think people have learned that the occasional moderate enjoyment of cigars is something that's very pleasurable to do. They tend to have less time in which to do it, so this has brought the aspect of quality and complexity to the table more." Davidoff of Geneva is perhaps the largest luxury cigar brand in the world and according to Stone, while the cigar industry as a whole has been more or less stagnant, Davidoff has experienced 20 percent annual growth and doubled its business in the last four years. Smoking a Davidoff cigar, you can tell why. That quality and complexity Stone talks about is analogous to the way we appreciate a fine wine, spirit or creative microbrew. It can even be compared to a well-constructed meal. Seated across from me in the lounge was Luis Torres, U.S. Director of Retail for Davidoff. When I got there, he was already smoking a Davidoff Chefs Edition, one of the brand's limited edition lines. This cigar is the outcome of a collaboration between Davidoff and five Michelin Star chefs in Europe to create layers of flavor that develop as you smoke. "The cigar is supposed to be a journey," said Torres. "In order for it to captivate you and keep your attention, the flavors have to change, they have to get a little more robust, and the expectation is that if it's a good cigar you're going to taste different things as you go along." VUE ON LIFESTYLE V U E N J . C O M 61

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