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| "GOVERNMENT CREATED THE MOBSTERS" |
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Page 1 of 2  Highlights from the Summer issue of Cigar MagazineLos Angeles, May 19 – “You know, the government created the biggest mobsters. The government created Capone and Dutch Schultz. Why? Because they made it illegal for people to enjoy themselves.” That’s a little bit of wisdom from actor Vince Curatola, this coverboy of the new Summer issue of Cigar Magazine. Famed from his role as the New York crime boss Johnny Sack in “The Sopranos,” Curatola appeared in 32 of the 87 episodes. “He was a big character,” said Curatola to writer Steve Nathan. “He was on of the few people Tony Soprano ever feared.” Although he’s a fan of many cigars, Curatola says the Montecristo White Label is his “go-to” cigar. But he made it clear that he’s no fan of past and current government attacks on so-called “vices.” “Can you imagine if they made [cigars] illegal? These things would be forty to fifty dollars a pop! Then they would blame you if you tried to buy or sell one. You did not make yourself a criminal; they made you a criminal.” A scary thought, but one worth remembering . . . not from a mobster, but for an actor who played one for seven seasons. There were plenty of other highlights in this issue, including: In the pricey group, the top overall scorer was the La Aurora Preferidos Sapphire No. 2 ($17.00), a Connecticut-wrapper perfecto of five inches and 54 ring. It had the best score for taste (88) and construction (90) and had an overall total of 89.3 points. Second overall was the Diamond Crown Maximus No. 5 Robusto (5 x 50, $10.00) from the Tabacalera A. Fuente, at 87.5 and third place was the Camacho Corojo SE 11/18 (6 x 54, $10.00) with 86.8 points. The latter tied for the top score on taste, however, at 88. The lowest scorer in this group was the Playboy by Don Diego Gran Corona (6 3/4 x 48) at 84.5. Among the less expensive brands, there were a lot of choices, but the top scorer had just 82.3 points, 2.3 points less than the lowest-scoring expensive brand. The big winner in the inexpensive category was the Jose Marti Magnum Toro (6 x 50), the most expensive of all the cheap brands at $2.75 each. It led the inexpensive group tasting in appearance (82), taste (82) and construction (83). The Riata No. 500 (6 5/8 x 44, $2.00) tied for the top score in appearance (82) and was second overall. The Consuegra No. 30 Robusto (5 1/4 x 50, $1.50) also scored an 82 for appearance. |
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Did you know?
“An underrated contributor to the 1990s Cigar Boom was Paul Garmirian's 1990 classic "The Gourmet Guide to Cigars".
