Buster Inflation

p. 33

NOLA

Golf and Cigars

Black

wan

Buster

Excellent Cigars

p. 44

p. 72

p. 44

Ination

Under

June 2022

DISPLAY UNTIL 8/22/2022

May

MAY / JUN 2022

CIGAR SNOB

MAY / JUN 2022

New Orleans

By Vic Williams

Sticks And Swings In

Bayou Oaks at City Park

MAY / JUN 2022

CIGAR SNOB

MAY / JUN 2022

is, without fail, stocked with as stout

a selection of sticks as you’ll find

anywhere in the nation, curated by

folks who know how to pick ‘em and

keep ‘em in top shape. Cut and light up

that robusto or Churchill right there

or bring your Cigar Caddy and load

it up for whatever adventures await

you while in Louisiana’s loving and

lively arms — big food, deep drinks,

boisterous bumping about with the

buddies … and, of course, a round of

golf here and there.

Ah, yes, cigars and swings: They

go together like red beans and rice,

especially when it comes to dude

groups (or, sure, stogie-lovin’ couples)

out for their annual weekend-or-more

golf getaway. And while New Orleans

might not be the first town that comes

to mind when planning a tee-time-by-

day, lounge-time-by-night itinerary,

prepare to be enlightened to the Big

Easy’s surprising array of courses in

and near the city limits.

CUT AND FUN

Any conversation about lighting up

in New Orleans should begin with

three words: The Cigar Factory. A

Decatur Avenue staple since 1999, it’s

time of day but particularly in the late

afternoon and evening, the echoes of

laughter and celebration as couples

and groups settle in for a pause from

the non-stop partying and bustle

outside.

“We’re the only full-on cigar bar in the

Quarter,” says Andrew Wilson, who

has owned Cuban Creations since

2018 and also has an ownership

interest in The Bombay Club, a

popular bar and small plate eatery

with an outdoor smoking patio just

a few blocks away. “At Bombay we

have a good selection of cigars that

you can purchase and take out to the

patio, but here we have everything

— full bar, walk-in humidor and the

f course we all know

it as a tourist and

special event mecca

pretty much without

peer in the American

South, but if New

Orleans isn’t also considered one

of America’s greatest and most fun

towns for cigar lovers — and golfers

as well — it should be.

The Crescent City’s relationship with

tobacco goes back centuries and

continues to thrive today, focused on

the 78 blocks of alcohol-fueled revelry

that is the French Quarter.

A half-dozen top-notch cigar shops

and bars dot the city’s oldest and most

famous district, with several others

within a quick walking, streetcar or

driving orbit. Some have outdoor

patios for torching up; one boasts a

large lounge that, back in the day, used

to be part of a swanky bath house

— a black-and-white photo on one

wall shows a swimming pool where

leather sofas and hand-carved tables

now sit. Still other establishments

welcome expert rollers on the regular,

artisans who turn leaves into lovely

Parejos and Figurados in minutes.

Every walk-in or reach-in humidor

Churchill, Corona to Robusto.

Over its nearly 25 years on Decatur,

The Cigar Factory has gained a large

and loyal local client base, including

policemen, firefighters and other first

responders. “We probably get ten

NOPD and a half dozen firefighters

through the door every day,” Sharruf

says. “And we offer 30 percent off to

all military and first responders, with

no minimum. For instance, if you buy

a ten-dollar cigar, you get it for seven

dollars.”

In other words, you and your golf

buddies can fill your portable

humidors with all the fresh sticks you

need to enjoy on the links and beyond

after “road testing” them right there in

the presence of their creators.

“You can come in, hang out, smoke

a cigar, watch the guys making them

right there in the store, and just have

a good time. And while we don’t serve

alcohol, you can bring drinks in from

the outside.”

New Orleans’ array of retail cigar

shops boasts broad and deep

inventories of the brands you love,

and perhaps some you’ve yet to

discover. Walk-in shops of all sizes

and specialties abound throughout

the Quarter, with a few notable spots

elsewhere in the city.

Start a couple blocks north of the Cigar

Factory, on Toulouse Street, where

you’ll find Cuban Creations, home

to the aforementioned former spa-

pool that’s now a spacious, inviting,

full-service cigar bar, complete with

overstuffed chairs and sofas, cocktail

and cigar table service, sports on

big screens and, at just about any

the only game in town — or the entire

state of Louisiana — if you’re looking

for made-in-house Maduros.

Hopeful competitors quickly found that

ownership partner David Sharruf’s

license was grandfathered in, and he

had the cigar factory game to himself.

The state, in its wisdom, had created

a de facto monopoly and noted that no

one else would be allowed in. Sharruf ‘s

license is the one and only.

“So, I’m not giving it up,” he says.

Louisiana hasn’t always been so

stingy with its cigar licensing. In fact,

adds, Sharruf, “There’s a deep history

of cigar making in New Orleans that

most people don’t know about. Back

in the late 19th century there were

more than 130 cigar factories in the

city — most were in the Quarter but

some were in the Warehouse District.”

Sharruf pays tribute to that history by

maintaining a cigar museum at the rear

of the Decatur Street outlet. “[Other

museums and operators] come and

borrow my museum pieces. I’m the

only one who’s got the collection.”

New Orleans’ early cigar makers

were predominantly Cuban, but these

days Sharruf’s rollers are mostly

Dominicans. The tobacco they use to

roll 50,000 cigars per year, however,

is procured from fertile soil across

Latin America and as far afield as

Africa.

“We manufacture four lines of cigars,"

says Sharruf. "One is called Social

Club. That’s a blend of Brazil and

Nicaraguan filler, a Brazilian binder.

We do five different sizes in two

different wrappers — a Connecticut

wrapper from Ecuador or a Brazilian

Maduro. The other three lines are one

hundred percent Nicaraguan filler and

binder. And we have three different

wrappers; one is the Connecticut

again, a broadleaf Maduro, and a

Cameroon wrapper.”

The other lines are called Plantation

Reserve, Tres Hermanos and Vieux

Carre, in a variety of sizes and styles

from Café to Rothchild, Torpedo to

lounge in back, which is very popular.”

It’s the last vestige of a time before

most indoor smoking was banned in

the New Orleans city limits in 2015.

Like Sharruf, Wilson reveres this

city’s cigar history. He learned how

to take care of folks in Las Vegas as

a casino marketing honcho with MGM

Resorts. He also admired that town’s

sophisticated cigar culture, and has

carried some of it east, replacing the

high roller vibe with a less glossy,

more authentically New Orleans feel.

Though Cuban Creations specializes

in private events — definitely a plus

in a town like this — its public traffic

is robust. In a nod to its namesake

nation, business spills out onto

the street, with plenty of smokers

hanging out on a covered patio Wilson

put in place at the height of Covid

restrictions. It would feel right at

home in the pastel haunts of Havana.

But step inside and you get that heady

cultural mix so endemic to NOLA.

It’s both a classic, friendly French

Quarter bar, well-stocked with spirits

familiar and rare (including a diverse

selection of single malts, bourbons

and ryes), plus a sampling of Wilson’s

own sports memorabilia collection.

The walk-in humidor features an

expansive selection. Select the smoke

that suits your fancy, and a server will

bring it to you at the bar, where you’ll

find a cutter and torch within reach.

Snag an antique domino table in a

corner, light up, sit back and take it all

in as you imagine yourself hanging out

The terrace at Rosie's On the Roof

Braised beef short rib at Cochon Restaurant

Street view of the French Quarter

The Bombay Club

The Cigar Factory on Decatur Street

The clubhouse at the Golf Course at Audubon Park

MAY / JUN 2022

CIGAR SNOB

MAY / JUN 2022

is, without fail, stocked with as stout

a selection of sticks as you’ll find

anywhere in the nation, curated by

folks who know how to pick ‘em and

keep ‘em in top shape. Cut and light up

that robusto or Churchill right there

or bring your Cigar Caddy and load

it up for whatever adventures await

you while in Louisiana’s loving and

lively arms — big food, deep drinks,

boisterous bumping about with the

buddies … and, of course, a round of

golf here and there.

Ah, yes, cigars and swings: They

go together like red beans and rice,

especially when it comes to dude

groups (or, sure, stogie-lovin’ couples)

out for their annual weekend-or-more

golf getaway. And while New Orleans

might not be the first town that comes

to mind when planning a tee-time-by-

day, lounge-time-by-night itinerary,

prepare to be enlightened to the Big

Easy’s surprising array of courses in

and near the city limits.

CUT AND FUN

Any conversation about lighting up

in New Orleans should begin with

three words: The Cigar Factory. A

Decatur Avenue staple since 1999, it’s

time of day but particularly in the late

afternoon and evening, the echoes of

laughter and celebration as couples

and groups settle in for a pause from

the non-stop partying and bustle

outside.

“We’re the only full-on cigar bar in the

Quarter,” says Andrew Wilson, who

has owned Cuban Creations since

2018 and also has an ownership

interest in The Bombay Club, a

popular bar and small plate eatery

with an outdoor smoking patio just

a few blocks away. “At Bombay we

have a good selection of cigars that

you can purchase and take out to the

patio, but here we have everything

— full bar, walk-in humidor and the

f course we all know

it as a tourist and

special event mecca

pretty much without

peer in the American

South, but if New

Orleans isn’t also considered one

of America’s greatest and most fun

towns for cigar lovers — and golfers

as well — it should be.

The Crescent City’s relationship with

tobacco goes back centuries and

continues to thrive today, focused on

the 78 blocks of alcohol-fueled revelry

that is the French Quarter.

A half-dozen top-notch cigar shops

and bars dot the city’s oldest and most

famous district, with several others

within a quick walking, streetcar or

driving orbit. Some have outdoor

patios for torching up; one boasts a

large lounge that, back in the day, used

to be part of a swanky bath house

— a black-and-white photo on one

wall shows a swimming pool where

leather sofas and hand-carved tables

now sit. Still other establishments

welcome expert rollers on the regular,

artisans who turn leaves into lovely

Parejos and Figurados in minutes.

Every walk-in or reach-in humidor

Churchill, Corona to Robusto.

Over its nearly 25 years on Decatur,

The Cigar Factory has gained a large

and loyal local client base, including

policemen, firefighters and other first

responders. “We probably get ten

NOPD and a half dozen firefighters

through the door every day,” Sharruf

says. “And we offer 30 percent off to

all military and first responders, with

no minimum. For instance, if you buy

a ten-dollar cigar, you get it for seven

dollars.”

In other words, you and your golf

buddies can fill your portable

humidors with all the fresh sticks you

need to enjoy on the links and beyond

after “road testing” them right there in

the presence of their creators.

“You can come in, hang out, smoke

a cigar, watch the guys making them

right there in the store, and just have

a good time. And while we don’t serve

alcohol, you can bring drinks in from

the outside.”

New Orleans’ array of retail cigar

shops boasts broad and deep

inventories of the brands you love,

and perhaps some you’ve yet to

discover. Walk-in shops of all sizes

and specialties abound throughout

the Quarter, with a few notable spots

elsewhere in the city.

Start a couple blocks north of the Cigar

Factory, on Toulouse Street, where

you’ll find Cuban Creations, home

to the aforementioned former spa-

pool that’s now a spacious, inviting,

full-service cigar bar, complete with

overstuffed chairs and sofas, cocktail

and cigar table service, sports on

big screens and, at just about any

the only game in town — or the entire

state of Louisiana — if you’re looking

for made-in-house Maduros.

Hopeful competitors quickly found that

ownership partner David Sharruf’s

license was grandfathered in, and he

had the cigar factory game to himself.

The state, in its wisdom, had created

a de facto monopoly and noted that no

one else would be allowed in. Sharruf ‘s

license is the one and only.

“So, I’m not giving it up,” he says.

Louisiana hasn’t always been so

stingy with its cigar licensing. In fact,

adds, Sharruf, “There’s a deep history

of cigar making in New Orleans that

most people don’t know about. Back

in the late 19th century there were

more than 130 cigar factories in the

city — most were in the Quarter but

some were in the Warehouse District.”

Sharruf pays tribute to that history by

maintaining a cigar museum at the rear

of the Decatur Street outlet. “[Other

museums and operators] come and

borrow my museum pieces. I’m the

only one who’s got the collection.”

New Orleans’ early cigar makers

were predominantly Cuban, but these

days Sharruf’s rollers are mostly

Dominicans. The tobacco they use to

roll 50,000 cigars per year, however,

is procured from fertile soil across

Latin America and as far afield as

Africa.

“We manufacture four lines of cigars,"

says Sharruf. "One is called Social

Club. That’s a blend of Brazil and

Nicaraguan filler, a Brazilian binder.

We do five different sizes in two

different wrappers — a Connecticut

wrapper from Ecuador or a Brazilian

Maduro. The other three lines are one

hundred percent Nicaraguan filler and

binder. And we have three different

wrappers; one is the Connecticut

again, a broadleaf Maduro, and a

Cameroon wrapper.”

The other lines are called Plantation

Reserve, Tres Hermanos and Vieux

Carre, in a variety of sizes and styles

from Café to Rothchild, Torpedo to

lounge in back, which is very popular.”

It’s the last vestige of a time before

most indoor smoking was banned in

the New Orleans city limits in 2015.

Like Sharruf, Wilson reveres this

city’s cigar history. He learned how

to take care of folks in Las Vegas as

a casino marketing honcho with MGM

Resorts. He also admired that town’s

sophisticated cigar culture, and has

carried some of it east, replacing the

high roller vibe with a less glossy,

more authentically New Orleans feel.

Though Cuban Creations specializes

in private events — definitely a plus

in a town like this — its public traffic

is robust. In a nod to its namesake

nation, business spills out onto

the street, with plenty of smokers

hanging out on a covered patio Wilson

put in place at the height of Covid

restrictions. It would feel right at

home in the pastel haunts of Havana.

But step inside and you get that heady

cultural mix so endemic to NOLA.

It’s both a classic, friendly French

Quarter bar, well-stocked with spirits

familiar and rare (including a diverse

selection of single malts, bourbons

and ryes), plus a sampling of Wilson’s

own sports memorabilia collection.

The walk-in humidor features an

expansive selection. Select the smoke

that suits your fancy, and a server will

bring it to you at the bar, where you’ll

find a cutter and torch within reach.

Snag an antique domino table in a

corner, light up, sit back and take it all

in as you imagine yourself hanging out

The terrace at Rosie's On the Roof

Braised beef short rib at Cochon Restaurant

Street view of the French Quarter

The Bombay Club

The Cigar Factory on Decatur Street

The clubhouse at the Golf Course at Audubon Park

MAY / JUN 2022

CIGAR SNOB

MAY / JUN 2022

in the Buena Vista Social Club.

DUFFIN’ AND PUFFIN’

Once you’ve made your cigar choices,

you can look to the greens. New

Orleans is the logical starting point

and louisianagolftrails.com is a helpful

guide to the state’s links. You can also

choose to stick to the city, which has

nine golf courses within a 20-mile

radius, including six publics and a

private.

Within an easy drive of the city’s

compact core are three excellent

tracks.

In 2017 architects Rees Jones and Greg

Muirhead redesigned Bayou Oaks at

City Park’s South Course with a new

routing, bunkers and greens while

maintaining its classic wide-open feel.

Fairways are generous but old-growth

trees can block out an errant drive.

Water features sneak into play at the

right spots and frame greens well

even when they’re away from shot

lines. It’s no pushover and attracts all

kinds — weekend hackers, straight-

shooting regulars, sandbaggers, even

Super Bowl-winning NFL coaches like

Sean Payton, who was recently spied

going deep into a friendly match with

his buddies on the 17th hole. A shorter

North Course reopened in 2008 after

some post-Katrina repairs. Current

weekday rates range from $90-

$147, but last-minute deals are often

available. Check ezlinks.com for the

latest.

Par-62 Golf Course at Audubon

Park is the only course in America

where you can take a streetcar pretty

much to the first tee, straight down

St. Charles Avenue from the hotel-

studded Warehouse and Financial

districts (or the Quarter just beyond).

The Denis Griffiths design packs a lot

of action into 4,200 yards — tricky

bunkering and small push-up greens

that are always in great shape. Visit

www.audubonnatureinstitute.org/golf

for the latest rates.

But at the top of most New Orleans-

bound golf group's list is TPC

Louisiana, a public yet upscale

showcase just across the river in

Avondale. Home to the PGA Tour’s

sole regular team event, the Zurich

Invitational, it honors the late Pete

Dye’s genius for transforming

otherwise unremarkable terrain, in this

case a former swamp, into something

special. With input from tour player

consultants Steve Elkington and Kelly

Gibson, Dye conjured a stirring and

scenic test out of the bayou, flexing

his fool-the-eye muscle from hole to

water-lined hole.

The signature Dye touches include

bunkers from tiny to sprawling;

mounding that visually nudges you

toward the narrower side of a fairway,

greens that seem benign at first

glance leaving you scratching your

head at that three-jack or counting

your blessings that you avoided it.

The head pro calls the par-4 13th

his favorite, and it’s hard to argue —

huge bunker between tee and green,

a lone tree at the dogleg that visually

separates gamble from safe shot, and

a green that just begs you to go for

it. After the mid-distance par-3 14th,

it’s crunch time. No. 16 only plays 355

yards from the tips and 312 from the

whites, but water lurks, barely in view,

in dead-away left-centerfield, with no

bailout left and a big bunker straight

ahead; your knees may buckle before

Crescent City Cigar Shop on Orleans St. — One of

the largest walk-in humidors in the area.

Don Leoncio Cigars Bar — Actually just outside the

Quarter proper on Canal St., a block from the popular,

free and fascinating Sazerac Museum.

La Habana Hemingway Cigars — Wedged between

two taller Bourbon St. buildings, right in the middle of all

the raucous action.

Smoke on the Water Cigars, Conti St. just behind

the New Orleans Visitors Center — A half-block from the

Factory, narrow but inviting with a cool back patio.

The city beyond the Quarter has plenty of smokin’

charms, as well:

Don Villavaso on the Bayou, Just off Esplanade Ave.

— Located close to City Park and its wealth of museums

and green space including a golf course, this spot boasts

spacious outdoor seating for smoking, sipping something

from the whiskey bar or ordering a nosh from the food

menu.

Whiskey & Sticks, Bayou Rd. near Esplanade —

Another good place to convene after playing Bayou Oaks

at City Park South Course. The name says it all. They host

a trivia night and DJ’d music on occasion.

Mayan Import Co. — Two locations: On Magazine St. in

the Garden District and in Metairie, not far from the city’s

new Louis Armstrong International Airport. Mayan prides

itself on offering not only the city’s largest inventory of

cigar brands and smoking accessories, but also the best

of New Orleans ambiance. Both locations, which are open

every day, offer indoor smoking lounges and outdoor

patios.

Dos Jefes Uptown Cigar Bar, Tchoupitoulas St. — In

New Orleans, going “uptown” means heading south to the

area of West Riverside, Audubon (home to another golf

course) and Tulane University. If you want to take in some

top-shelf live jazz along with your smoke, this is the place.

It’s the deﬁnition of a smoke-ﬁlled Crescent City jazz joint,

with top name acts taking the stage most nights of the

week.

Keep strolling the narrow Quarter boulevards

in any direction and you’ll catch just the right

whiff:

more NOLA

CIGAR SHOPS

The 18th green at TPC Louisiana

MAY / JUN 2022

CIGAR SNOB

MAY / JUN 2022

taking aim at the green. Holes 17 and

18 are true Dye delights — a classic

green-on-a-cliff par-3 with railroad tie

buttresses and water up the left side

and the par-5 finisher with a swizzle

stick-shaped sand hazard separating

grass from a big lake on the right

and a well-bunkered layup zone left.

Whether you can carve a cut on the

approach will determine whether you

go for it or lay back and lean on your

wedge.

TPC’s clubhouse is spacious and well-

appointed, with a big grillroom and

stellar views of the course, especially

the lovely par-3 9th. Save a stick for

the 19th hole, grab a table outside if

the weather’s amenable, and replay

your duel with your buddies (and Pete)

on one of the state’s best layouts.

Non-resident greens fees start

around $220 depending on season.

Another top-ranked New Orleans

course and a former Tour stop, Jack

Nicklaus’s English Turn, is private,

but you can snag a tee time by staying

in one of the property’s golf villas.

Some non-resident tee times are also

available via EZ Links; recent morning

rates started at $89.

Care to expand your Louisiana Golf

& Smoke/Eat/Drink/Enjoy horizons

beyond New Orleans proper? You

don’t have to drive far to rack up

worthwhile rounds in Baton Rouge, on

the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain

or south of the city in the Atchafalaya

Basin.

BEDDING DOWN

New Orleans rolls out the lodging

buffet like few other American cities.

There are French Quarter favorites like

Hotel Monteleone with its famed

Carousel Bar, corporate high-rises

along Canal Street or in the Financial

District, funky hideaways Uptown,

and chain outfits near the airport. But

what might be the most golf-friendly

venue of all is located right across

the street from the National WWII

Museum, walking distance from the

Quarter and waterfront and a half-

hour-max drive from all four main New

Orleans courses.

Owned by the museum, operated

by Hilton under its refined Curio

brand, and named for a New Orleans

industrialist who built boats for

the war, Higgins Hotel offers

230 rooms and suites on the edge

of the Warehouse District, blocks

from the Caesars Superdome

and a short walk to restaurants like

Cochon and all-world saloon The

Rusty Nail. You can catch the Saint

Charles streetcars at Lee Circle,

with the Lower Garden District to

the southwest and the Quarter to the

northeast. The rooms are decorated

with vintage WWII photos. The food

at Higgins features Chef de Cuisine

Virgile Brandel conjuring pure magic

out of Café Normandie’s kitchen

— straightforward but cut-above

breakfast dishes, dinner specials like

Pan-Seared Redfish with Maitake

Mushroom, Leeks Fondue and

Horseradish Crème Fraiche, Stuffed

Quail with bourbon molasses and

kumquat marmalade, and a “Floating

Island” dessert that’s somehow both

rich and light. Rosie’s on the Roof

(for Rosie the Riveter) on the top

floor gives way onto a rooftop patio

boasting 270-degree views of the city

skyline, including the Superdome; it

might be the city’s outdoor smoke-

and-sip sleeper. Louisiana sunsets

are free for the ogling.

EATING UP

New Orleans is home to 1,300

restaurants, and it’s easy to assume

that all of them are, in some sense,

above average; if you don’t put out

solid fare from that kitchen, you won’t

hang around long.

If you’d rather stick with the

tried-and-true, the big names are

there, in various parts of town.

Commander’s Palace in the Lower

Garden. Emeril’s between the

Waterfront and the Financial District.

Brennan’s in the Quarter. All are

great. But there are other names, both

well-established and up-and-coming,

that deserve a look and a taste.

Pêche is the hottest seafood spot

in the Warehouse District, two

blocks from the Higgins. With the

Mississippi River right there and the

Gulf of Mexico an hour or so south,

fresh fish and shrimp are part of New

Orleans’ culinary DNA, but the chefs

at this open-format, bustling spot find

ways to brighten traditional methods

and presentations while breaking

new ground of their own, drawing

inspiration from South America and

Spain as well as the Gulf Coast.

Chef Ryan Prewitt won a James

Beard Foundation Award for Best

Chef: South in 2014. Standout dishes

include the fish sticks with Urban

South beer batter appetizer, classic

seafood gumbo, baked drum with

mushroom broth and calas. There

The Higgins Hotel lobby

Dos Jefes Cigar Bar

Brennan's Alligator Cove Oysters

MAY / JUN 2022

CIGAR SNOB

MAY / JUN 2022

are a couple of whole table options

— whole grilled fish fileted tableside

and a 22 oz Brasstown ribeye. Don’t

forget the brussels sprouts with chili

vinegar or the pepper-infused hush

puppies.

Pascal’s Manale in the Lower

Garden District, a couple blocks off

the St. Charles streetcar line, is a

family-owned in-the-know gathering

place for more than a century. Its

signature dish is barbecued gulf

shrimp, though its combination pan

roast, fried oysters and key lime pie

are winners too. Dozens of framed

photos of actors, politicians and other

notables in the bar announce this local

joint’s bona fides, but savvy visitors

know their way here; Pierce Brosnan

was recently spotted at a corner table

while filming a movie in town.

Down French Quarter way there’s

always Brennan’s for dinner

(several locations run by various

family members), Court of the

Two Sisters on Royal Street for a

Southern-flavored brunch (everything

from made-to-order omelets to

shrimp and grits to king cake), and the

original Café du Monde for beignets

and café au lait.

TAKING IN THE SIGHTS & SOUNDS

Originated as the National D-Day

Museum, the National WWII

Museum has since grown into

one of the most impressive, well-

curated and well-designed historic

showcases — or museums of any kind

— in the United States. Every exhibit

elicits emotions that you didn’t realize

you had.

The journey begins on a replica of

trains that carried soldiers to boot

camp, and the visual and visceral

drama just builds from there. You’re

immersed in the horror and valor of

Omaha Beach and the entire D-Day

campaign, then the lens widens to

encompass the war’s every major

battle and development on the

Pacific, European and North African

fronts, enhanced with personal

stories told through multimedia via a

digital “draft card.” It all crescendos

with a stirring and heartbreaking

section dedicated to the atomic

bombs dropped on Hiroshima and

Nagasaki, and the political and

military decisions that precipitated

them. The U.S. Freedom Pavilion:

The Boeing Center is a high-flying

thrill, with full-sized bombers and

fighters suspended from the ceiling

and multimedia displays filling us in

on the brave pilots and commanders

connected to each vessel. The

museum’s latest addition is “Beyond

All Boundaries,” a 45-minute “4D”

movie experience narrated by Tom

Hanks, and construction is underway

on a new “Peace Pavilion” and an

exhibit dedicated to the Holocaust.

At the corner of Canal and Magazine

streets, and designed by the same

folks who did the WWII Museum,

is the Sazerac House Museum,

which pays tribute to the city’s

fascinating cocktail culture, from the

old rum distillery days, through the

speakeasies of Prohibition, to today’s

craft cocktail renaissance. There’s

a working distillery onsite, stations

for sampling famed cocktails such as

the rye-based Sazerac and bourbon-

based Teresa, with virtual bartenders

mixing up those drinks and others,

and a huge retail shop selling every

brand of spirits in the house, from

Buffalo Trace bourbon to Myers’s

Rum to liqueurs and special stuff

like Herbsaint (a fragrant stand-in

for absinthe) and Peychaud’s Bitters.

Sazerac’s place in New Orleans’ spirits

scene dates back two centuries. If

you’re given to enjoying an expertly

concocted libation alongside your

premium cigar — it’s a must.

Sensory delight abounds in the music

realm, too, with a menu of jazz-blues-

Creole-Cajun-ragtime that no other

American city can match. Mardi Gras

never ends in certain pockets of the

city. Jazz bands fill the French Quarter

air year-round, bar bands crank it

up as the sun descends, and music

festivals large and small crowd the

calendar. Pick a month or even a

week, and your musical appetite is

sure to be sated.

Same for your cigar, golf, fine food

and flat-out fun appetites, in the other

city that never sleeps.

“Things are just more open down

here,” said the Cigar Factory's

Sharruf. “It’s getting to the point you

can’t smoke anywhere, but hey, this

is New Orleans, a town that was

established by thieves, slaves and

pirates. They’ve changed a lot but

they’re not going to change everything,

and there’s no place like it.”

Vic Williams is a golf, travel, food and

lifestyle writer based in Reno, Nevada. He’s

partial to mild, mid-length cigars that will

get him through several holes in style.

Sazerac House Museum

The National WWII Museum

MAY / JUN 2022

CIGAR SNOB

MAY / JUN 2022

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CIGARS

1. Cigar Factory New

Orleans

415 Decatur St

cigarfactoryneworleans.com

2. Cigar Factory New

Orleans - Bourbon St.

206 Bourbon St

cigarfactoryneworleans.com

3. Cuban Creations Cigar

Bar

533 Toulouse St

cigarbarnola.com

4. Crescent City Cigar

Shop

730 Orleans St

cccigarshop.com

5. Smoke on the Water

Cigars

510 Conti St

6. Don Leoncio Cigars Bar

430 Canal St

7. La Habana Hemingway

Cigars

518 Bourbon St

8. Mayan Import Co

3000 Magazine St

mayanimport.com

9. Dos Jefes Uptown Cigar

Bar

5535 Tchoupitoulas St

dosjefes.com

10. Whiskey & Sticks

2513 Bayou Rd

whiskeyandsticks.com

11. Don Villavaso on the

Bayou

3111 Grand Rte Saint John St

BARS

12. The Bombay Club

830 Conti St

bombayclubneworleans.com

13. French 75 Bar

813 Bienville St

arnaudsrestaurant.com

14. The Rusty Nail

1100 Constance St

rustynailnola.com

15. Rosie’s On The Roof

1000 Magazine St

higginshotelnola.com

RESTAURANTS

16. Cochon Restaurant

930 Tchoupitoulas St suite A

cochonrestaurant.com

17. Pêche Seafood Grill

800 Magazine St

pecherestaurant.com

15. Café Normandie

1000 Magazine St

higginshotelnola.com

18. Commander's Palace

1403 Washington Ave

commanderspalace.com

19. Emeril's

800 Tchoupitoulas St

emerilsrestaurants.com

20. Brennan's

417 Royal St

brennansneworleans.com

21. The Court of Two Sisters

613 Royal St

courtoftwosisters.com

22. Cafe Du Monde

800 Decatur St

cafedumonde.com

HOTELS

15. The Higgins Hotel New

Orleans, Curio Collection by

Hilton

1000 Magazine St

higginshotelnola.com

23. Hotel Monteleone

214 Royal St

hotelmonteleone.com

ATTRACTIONS

24. The National WWII

Museum

945 Magazine St

nationalww2museum.org

25. The Sazerac House

101 Magazine St

sazerachouse.com

26. Caesars Superdome

1500 Sugar Bowl Dr

caesarssuperdome.com

27. Ernest N. Morial

Convention Center

900 Convention Center Blvd

21 22

NEW ORLEANS