Editor’s Note: At first glance, it would appear that I’ve been quite lazy with George’s interview.  That’s largely a correct assumption – I’ve published the entirety of George’s answers without shaping, altering, abridging, or otherwise editing beyond the bare minimum.

If you’re wondering why, it’s because George Brightman’s account is an otherwise impossible look into history (or glimpse behind the curtain) for most cigar enthusiasts.  Surely the well-read, seasoned Aficionado has heard his story before, but I’m willing to bet that it’s a new one for the majority of our readership here.  I know it was for me!

If you’d like to know more, please join us in the Virtual Lounge tonight (Saturday, June 20) at 7:45pm EST to chat with George himself at this link. 

What’s the George Brightman story?

In the early 70s I went to work, part-time at first, for Georgetown Tobacco & Pipe, which at the time consisted of 3 stores in the greater Wash DC area. Despite the fact that I had other plans for my life, I became more and more involved in the industry. It was 1986 before I left GTP, and the tobacco business as well, but only briefly. By December 1987 I was interviewed and hired, as director of retail operations for Davidoff Of Geneva, the newly established US arm of the legendary Swiss company.

To begin with, that meant most of my focus was on building a successful store at 535 Madison Ave, in NYC. That was the flagship, but also the touchpoint for many exclusive projects, several of which laid the groundwork for the November 1990 launch of the new generation of the White Label, after Davidoff & Cubatabaco had severed connections. I was instrumental in the search for a new home, as well as eventually helping to assemble the initial group of 33 retailers who would become the inaugural class of Appointed Merchants.

During my time in NYC with Davidoff, I became friends with Marvin Shanken, at that time known best for being publisher of Wine Spectator magazine. He contacted me immediately after his first trip to Cuba and told me he was going to start a cigar magazine. I told him to come see me when he returned so we could discuss how to avoid making the same mistakes others had. That led to many hours of discussions, which were more or less Marvin's way of figuring how to steal me away from Davidoff. Eventually he succeeded, and in late spring of 1992, I did in fact, leave Davidoff and join M Shanken Communications. 

At that moment, there was only an idea – no name, no format, and certainly no market research to indicate whether or not there was a market for such a publication. In a wild burst of creativity, a small group of true believers like Gordon Mott and James Suckling, myself and a mostly unwilling art department drafted away from other titles in the MSC portfolio – had produced not only a remarkable media kit and a serviceable mockup of the magazine. This led us to being able to write and edit, print and get ready to distribute our premiere issue JUST in time to show off at the RTDA show in Chicago that year.

That date changed the entire industry in ways large and small, but trust me when I tell you, it has never been the same. The explosive boom years offered up one surprise after another, all kinds of brands and players came and went, but the industry managed not only to survive being a fad (Mania? Craze?) but to thrive as the boom subsided. Since that peak year of 1998 the trends that took form during the early aughts are mostly still with us today.

I left M Shanken Communications, and Cigar Aficionado in 2003, but once more I couldn't stay away from the business too long: I reconnected with my old Swiss friends at Davidoff to boost the faltering launch of the Zino Platinum brand. After spending the better part of a year on the road, virtually non-stop, it was time for me to take a step back.

When you first started with Cigar Aficionado, what was the focus and intent of the magazine?

As I touched on briefly, in ‘92 when we were working to shape the entire concept (at an unheard-of pace) what was most important was to place cigar smoking as one element of an epicurean lifestyle. I realize that sounds hopelessly snobby and elitist, but the point was to show that cigar smokers weren't all gangsters, NYC cab drivers, or crooked politicians.

We wanted to be the place where people who enjoyed wine, whisky, craft beer, and fine dining could come to learn more about another interesting hand-crafted, agricultural product with deep roots – but nowhere to go to find reliable information, as opposed to marketing hype or just plain BS.

Good or bad, what’s different about smoking cigars now versus when you first started?

Cigars and cigar smoking, now vs then is pretty easy to define. Back in the 70s, when the focus was still on finding some combination of tobacco that could offer a "Cuban" experience, blends and styles were much simpler, and easier to sort out. Sophisticated, prestigious (read: expensive) cigars came from the Canary Islands. Jamaica and Honduras offered different flavor and strength profiles, Mexico simple tastes and low prices, the Philippines and Brazil even lower prices but far less consistent construction. 

There wasn't a lot of variation in the styles that came from each country – but prices were a bargain overall and mostly unchanging (our biggest seller from Honduras was the Punch Rothchild, which cost 40 cents when I started).

Most different was the fact that you could smoke almost anywhere (especially if you lacked manners or common courtesy) usually without strong objections. Restaurants were only too happy to accommodate smokers of all stripes, including pipe-and-cigar lovers. Compare that with our present day circumstances.

I found an article of yours with Cigar Aficionado from 1993 discussing Cigar 101 topics.  If you were to give just one bit of advice to a new cigar enthusiast, what would it be? 

My first step with new or inexperienced smokers is to remind them (or inform them) that a cigar isn't a cigarette or a joint, you don't need your lungs! Believe it or not, that fact is not evident to rookies or newbies. The other thing I try to share is to stay hydrated and go ahead and take a full mouthful of smoke, roll it around and play with it just a bit, before exhaling. Texture and weight of the smoke is very different from cigar to cigar. 

If you could go back in time and snag any two boxes of cigars, which would you choose and why? 

I can only grab TWO boxes of cigars now that I've mastered time travel??? 

Ouch, that's a tough one, but here goes... a 1958 box of Montecristo No 1 and a 1985 box of Davidoff Chateau Latour – similar sizes I know, but they are both among the most memorable flavors I have ever experienced. 

The '58 Montes were produced using tobacco grown the year I was born (1955) and given to the last US ambassador to Cuba, prior to the revolution. I still dream about the smell, touch and feel, and the depth of flavor of those cigars. 

The Davidoff Chateaux series were the only other Havanas I ever smoked that rivaled those, despite being quite a bit younger. At the time, given how much more costly they were than typical Havanas, each one that I smoked felt like such an indulgence, yet they were so rewarding, with a finish that seemed to last for hours! 

What is your favorite cigar memory? 

In nearly 50 years in the business, I have made so many great friends and had such incredible times with them, it's impossible to single out just one... but I will tell you that I will never forget at trip I took to Canada in search of Havana cigars – I had been inspired by reading the first edition of Zino Davidoff's Connoisseurs Book of the Cigar. 

I had a list of cigars I absolutely had to taste – and I found about 70% of them in one shop in Windsor Ontario, about 1975. The ensuing days of smoking changed my life. 

We often hear about cigar myths and marketing hype.  If you could dispel one such myth today by shedding knowledge on the subject, what would it be? 

Despite everything I have just told you, the single cigar myth I always seek to dispel is the universal notion that Cuban cigars are somehow innately superior to all the absolutely incredible non-Havana cigars that surround us today.

This is truly the golden age – we have never had such an amazing array of choices, blends and styles, excellent construction, and at remarkable prices!

You’ve seen the cigar industry from so many angles over the decades.  What can we do as consumers to be better stewards of our favorite hobby?

My advice to cigar lovers everywhere is to never take any aspect of your pleasure for granted: support your favorite cigar makers and reward your local cigar merchant(s) with your money. The privilege of being able to gather and enjoy a smoke among friends is under attack – and the absence of that kind of contact is no doubt being keenly felt by all of us during the pandemic.

So, support the CRA and take action – always write, text or email your local elected representatives and inform that you are a cigar smoker and that you vote!!!!

If there was a George Brightman theme song, what would it be and why?  

Never thought about a George Brightman theme song, but how about a medley: Tobacco Road by Lou Rawls, Better Run Through the Jungle by CCR, and Sweet Virginia by the Stones.