5月28日，第二届大烟熏遇见威士忌盛会（Big Smoke Meets WhiskyFest）将在佛罗里达州好莱坞的塞米诺尔硬石赌场酒店（ Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino）举行。活动上午开始，安排了一系列研讨会。会议由《雪茄爱好者》杂志社的编辑们主持，邀请了雪茄制造行业的一些知名人士。研讨会将介绍一系列顶级雪茄，还安排了会场观众参与的品鉴内容，年度第一名雪茄将和《威士忌倡导者》（Whisky Advocate）杂志评选出的年度第一名威士忌搭配。

几个研讨会的议题如下。

1、尼加拉瓜：最热门的烟草国家

地球上没有哪个国家的手工雪茄生产量能超过尼加拉瓜。每年美国进口的雪茄有一半以上是尼加拉瓜制造的。它不仅是雪茄生产大国，也是烟草种植大国。研讨会上将探讨是什么使得尼加拉瓜如此特别，会有一些著名的雪茄制造商介绍他们公司的雪茄如此出众的原因。出席的嘉宾有小卡洛斯·富恩特（Carlos Fuente Jr.），来自富恩特雪茄公司，这是一家总部在多米尼加的雪茄制造商，在尼加拉瓜有一家大型雪茄生产厂。还有塔图阿赫（Tatuaje）雪茄的品牌所有人皮特·约翰逊（Pete Johnson），他的大部分雪茄是在尼加拉瓜生产的。还有洛基·帕特尔（Rocky Patel），他的雪茄也基本是在尼加拉瓜卷制。

2、蒙特的世界

蒙特是世界上最著名的雪茄品牌之一。1935年在古巴哈瓦那创立。我们将回顾蒙特品牌漫长而传奇的历史，从卡斯特罗执政前的由梅赛德斯家族出品，一直到如今这个品牌的非古版本在美国烟草旗下的遍及多个国家和地区的雪茄厂生产。为了理解如今的蒙特，我们将现场品吸蒙特1935周年尼加拉瓜2号，这款评分为95分的雪茄当选了《雪茄爱好者》杂志2021年度评选的第二名。和我们一起点评这款雪茄的是拉斐尔·诺达尔（Rafael Nodal），他是美国烟草的产品能力负责人。

3、家族趣事：亚历克布拉德利的故事

亚历克布拉德利雪茄公司的创始人艾伦·鲁宾将与他的两个儿子亚历克、布拉德利一起聊聊家庭企业出品雪茄的故事，聊聊孩子们如何追随父亲脚步进入雪茄行业的故事。鲁宾用两个孩子的名字来命名雪茄公司，如今他们自己研究烟叶混合，包括他们将和观众分享的这款雪茄：得分92分的金津木大皇冠，2021年度的Top25雪茄。

4、年度雪茄遇上威士忌

作为研讨会的压轴戏，没有什么比用最好的威士忌和雪茄搭配品鉴这个环节了。帕德龙雪茄公司的豪尔赫、《雪茄爱好者》杂志执行编辑大卫·萨沃纳将一起品鉴帕德龙1964周年系列鱼雷，这款雪茄是2021年度雪茄，评分97分。我们将用乐加维林的一款11年奥弗曼限量版（Lagavulin 11-year-old Offerman Edition）来搭配这款雪茄，来自乐加维林的酒类专家也将出席。

随着研讨会的临近，也可能会安排更多的参会嘉宾出席。购买研讨会门票的，可以登录https://www.bigsmokewhiskyfest.com/。

附参考文章：

The second-ever Big Smoke Meets WhiskyFest will take place on Saturday, May 28, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida—the one with the giant guitar. That morning, kicking off the event, will be a series of seminars featuring some of the biggest names in the cigar world, hosted by the editorial team at Cigar Aficionado. The seminar features a host of top-rated cigars, and will culminate in a very special tasting of the No. 1 Cigar of the Year paired with Whisky Advocate’s Whisky of the Year.

Nicaragua: The Hottest Tobacco Country

No country makes more cigars by hand than Nicaragua. The Central American country is responsible for making more than half the premium cigars shipped to the U.S. every year, and it’s not only a cigarmaking powerhouse but a major source of serious tobacco as well. We will have a panel of prominent cigarmakers on stage to discuss what makes Nicaragua so special, along with cigars from their companies: 

• Carlos Fuente Jr., Arturo Fuente Cigar Co., a leading Dominican cigarmaker who is in the process of opening a new, large cigar factory in Nicaragua

• Pete Johnson, owner of the Tatuaje brand, who has most of his cigars made in Nicaragua

• Rocky Patel, Rocky Patel Premium Cigars, who makes many of his cigars in Nicaragua

The World of Montecristo

The Montecristo cigar brand is one of the world’s most famous, founded in Havana, Cuba in 1935. We will look back at the long and storied history of Montecristo, showing it in the pre-Castro days of Cuba when it was made by the Menendez family, and take us to the present where the non-Cuban version of the brand is made in a host of countries under Tabacalera USA. To get a true feel for where Montecristo stands today, we will smoke the Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Nicaragua No. 2 (95 points), Cigar Aficionado’s No. 2 Cigar of 2021. Leading us in a description of the cigar is Rafael Nodal, head of product capability for Tabacalera USA.

A Family Affair: The Alec Bradley Story

Alan Rubin, the founder of Alec Bradley Cigar Co., will be joined by his sons Alec and Bradley for a discussion about making cigars as a family, and how the sons are following in their father’s footsteps. The elder Rubin named his company after his sons, and today they are making blends of their own, including a cigar they will share with the audience, the Alec & Bradley Kintsugi Corona Gorda (92 points), Cigar Aficionado’s No. 25 Cigar of 2022.

Cigar of the Year Meets Whisky of the Year

What better way to conclude this seminar than with a tasting of the very best cigar and the very best whisky? Jorge Padrón, president of Padrón Cigars Inc., joins Cigar Aficionado executive editor David Savona in a tasting of the Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series Torpedo, our 2021 Cigar of the Year, which rated 97 points. And we will be drinking the Lagavulin 11-year-old Offerman Edition: Guinness Cask Finish, Whisky Advocate’s Whisky of the Year, joined by a spirits expert from Lagavulin. 

More speakers may be added as we get closer to the seminar date.

Last year the seminars sold out well in advance of the show. To buy tickets, visit https://www.bigsmokewhiskyfest.com/