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Endless Possibilities "The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible." - Arthur C. Clarke
One thing you can be certain to find at a Dominican Republic baseball stadium are cigars ... and plenty of them. Travel deep into cigar country as we talk to the manufacturers producing your favorite brands. As stronger blends are now being made on this island nation long-known for mild cigars, we discover just how many companies are producing the sought-after Dominican puro, page 40. The answer may surprise you.
Rounding out this issue, in SMOKE Undercover, we take you inside a NASCAR pit crew, where mere seconds spent in the pit can make or break a winner. On page 34, daredevil Jason Reed discovers sometimes it is simpler just to stay out of the way. To whet your collective appetite, our gourmet editors, the Walkers, have focused their column on a cigar lover's guide to port, page 30. The perfect accompaniment to an after-diner smoke, port has a rich warmth that can only truly be appreciated in the colder months. We provide several delicious suggestions to satisfy even the most discriminating connoisseur.
Over the past year, we've received numerous communications asking us for more pipe editorial, so in this issue we proudly introduce our Pipe Tobacco Review, a new section to complement our popular Cigar Review. For our lovers of the briar, four blends of pipe tobacco are reviewed; we are certain that at least one selection will make it to your list of favorites to begin the New Year.
SMOKE - Winter, 2002/2003 |
As you enjoy this Anniversary Issue, , somewhere in the tiny city of San Pedro de Macoris - in the heart of the Dominican Republic - there are thousands of boys playing baseball, all dreaming of someday following in the footsteps of this city's favorite son, Sammy Sosa. This special place, a field of dreams if you will, has churned out the largest number of professional baseball players per capita in the world. But what is it that makes this remarkable city, described by many as the "Dominican Mecca of Baseball," such a fertile spot for spawning all of this raw talent? We sent sports scribe Paul Gutierrez on a mission to uncover the mystery behind this amazing city and explore the great players born there, page 48.