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I am the European editor of Cigar Aficionado, as well as European bureau chief of its sister publication, Wine Spectator. I have worked for M. Shanken Communications, owner of both magazines, since 1981. It was a trip to Cuba that I organized in 1991 for CA's editor and publisher Marvin Shanken that was the impetus for the creation of Cigar Aficionado. I was a longtime aficionado of Cuban cigars since picking up the regular habit while living in Paris in the mid-1980s. I still live in Europe, about 45 minutes south of Florence in the Tuscan countryside.
We adapted Wine Spectator's 100-point system for rating cigars, and I have been a regular member of the tasting panel of Cigar Aficionado. I have a column in the magazine, "Cigar Diary," as well as "Havana Corner" online and I direct editorial coverage on wristwatches. I also write feature stories as well as personality profiles. A large part of "Connoisseur's Corner," which reviews rare and aged cigars, comes from my smoking experiences.
My primary responsibility for the magazine and the web site, however, is covering Cuba and its cigar industry, but I also have been on a number of high-level interviews, including Marvin Shanken's 1994 Cigar Aficionado exclusive with Fidel Castro. I have traveled regularly to every major cigar-producing country as well as to such faraway tobacco-growing countries as Indonesia, Cameroon and Central African Republic. Habanos S.A., the global distribution organization for Cuban cigars, awarded me the Habanos Man of the Year Award for media in 2006.
I began my career as a daily reporter following Graduate school in journalism at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. I smoked a Dunhill pipe during my graduate school days, but soon after learned that a cigar was easier and more satisfying to smoke. My favorite smokes remain Cuban Robustos, from Cohiba to Partagas Serie D No. 4, although I like anything that's outstanding quality from anywhere in the world. I argue that great cigars are like great wines, so they can come from anyplace in the world as long as the quality is in the product.
I am single, with two children who live with my ex-wife in Yorkshire, England. I enjoy motorcycles, sports cars, tennis, food, wine and, of course, cigars. Recent blog posts by James Suckling Recent web features by James Suckling Recent magazine articles by James Suckling
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