Marvin Shanken: The First Aficionado

If you’ve ever wondered where the term “cigar aficionado“ came from, it came from Marvin R. Shanken, the founder, editor, and publisher of Cigar Aficionado magazine. Marvin Shanken didn’t invent the cigar business, but he was instrumental in elevating its exposure and prestige, parlaying his passion for premium cigars into a successful magazine that let cigar lovers learn about cigars, as never before, from the cigarmakers and families who blend and produce them, as well as a team of cigar-loving critics.

Shanken put the spotlight on fine cigars at a time when they were falling out of favor with the public, and he brought in elements of celebrity and lifestyle to promote them, inevitably sparking a significant boom in the cigar industry in the 1990s. He interviewed several notable figures over the years, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Alex Rodriguez, Michael Jordan, Ray Lewis, Robert De Niro, Facundo Bacardi, Francis Ford Coppola, and Fidel Castro. Let’s look at the life of Marvin Shanken (October 4, 1943 – October 29, 2026) as we reflect on his five-decade, trailblazing career and his legacy as a titan of publishing.    

Becoming a Publisher: A Tale of Passion & Persistence

Doing what you love because you love it, not because it pays, sums up Marvin Shanken’s path into publishing. Born on October 4, 1943, in New Haven, Connecticut, he became infatuated with Cuba and cigars through a Cuban professor while a student at the University of Miami in the 1960s. He smoked inexpensive Hav-A-Tampa Jewels in college, but his fascination with Cuban cigars grew when his expatriate professor shared stories about Cuban culture and the country’s renowned tobacco-growing regions.

Shanken later earned an MBA from American University and began a career in investment on Wall Street. The firm he worked for had begun investing in California wineries. During visits to the burgeoning wine regions of the West Coast, Shanken fell in love with wine and decided that becoming a wine journalist, despite having no background in journalism, was paramount to his career in finance.

In 1973, Shanken bought a newsletter for wine lovers, Impact, for $5,000, with a modest circulation, and he believed he could grow it. He nurtured the publication on a shoestring budget with a staff of one or two others, and he refrained from taking a salary until about four years in, when Impact had reached annual revenue of $100,000. By the late 1970s, a fellow wine publisher on the West Coast, Bob Morrissey, insisted Shanken take over the industry tabloid he had started called Wine Spectator. Shanken loved Wine Spectator’s straightforward, digestible content but initially resisted buying it. Eventually, Shanken relented as Morrissey persisted, saying he would fold it if they couldn’t work out a deal. The two agreed to terms, and Shanken’s publishing footprint grew with Wine Spectator. Soon after, Shanken launched Market Watch, a trade publication for the wine and spirits industry.

Occasionally, Shanken wrote columns on premium cigars in Wine Spectator. He traveled to Cuba to research Cuban cigars in 1991, and the visit cemented the idea of launching a publication dedicated to cigars.

Launching Cigar Aficionado

Cigar Aficionado began as a small operation. In the early 1990s, Shanken pitched the idea of launching a cigar magazine to everyone he knew. Staff, colleagues, advisors, and friends all cautioned him against it. Collectively, everyone Shanken consulted believed he would jeopardize his reputation and lose a lot of money. Frustrated by their lack of support, Shanken doggedly decided he would prove them wrong. His determination became an obsession.

He settled on the name Cigar Aficionado, borrowing the term from an article he wrote about cigars years earlier in Wine Spectator, despite advice to the contrary from those who opined no one knew what “aficionado” meant or how to pronounce it. For Shanken, passion and ego are intertwined, and his number one reader is himself—the publication had to please himself first and foremost.

The first issue debuted in August 1992, and Shanken cleverly used Wine Spectator as a catalyst to grow Cigar Aficionado’s circulation, recognizing that many of Spectator’s readers shared a tangential interest in premium cigars. His initial goal was to reach a circulation of 20,000, but he wound up with 100,000 readers before the first issue came out because he had promoted it in advance in Wine Spectator. In its first year, Cigar Aficionado turned a profit—a rare feat in publishing—and today enjoys a circulation of 250,000 with a readership of 1.5 million worldwide.

The Fidel Castro Interview

One of the most pivotal moments in Cigar Aficionado’s history is Shanken’s 1994 interview with Fidel Castro. For decades, the top news organizations and armies of world-famous journalists dreamt of landing an interview with the elusive Cuban dictator. It took Shanken two years of back-and-forth trips to Cuba to finally meet Castro in person, despite numerous assurances that the interview would happen on each visit. He pitched his piece to Cuban government officials as an opportunity to promote the island’s only luxury export, handmade cigars, and to emphasize their significance to Cuba.

On a trip in February 1994, Shanken was summoned late at night from his hotel in Havana and driven to the Palace of the Revolution, where, after passing rigorous security checks, he was escorted with an interpreter into Fidel’s office to conduct the interview. After publication, major news networks worldwide picked up the story, magnifying Cigar Aficionado’s exposure.

Shanken’s coverage of Cuba wasn’t without controversy, though. Older Cuban Americans had been angered by the focus on Cuba, including prominent cigarmakers, who were forced to flee their homeland due to Castro’s oppressive regime. Shanken, however, made a distinction between the people of Cuba, whom he adored, and the inflexible policies of the U.S. and Cuban governments.

Marvin Shanken’s Cigar Collection

When it comes to collecting cigars, Shanken professed, “the limit is how much you can afford to buy.” That’s dangerous advice for diehard connoisseurs, but Shanken recounted acquiring nearly 4,000 cigars from the ‘21’ Club, a historic hangout for New York City’s elite, as a godsend. For decades, New York’s luminaries stored their private cigar stashes at the ‘21’ Club. When smoking laws restricted smoking in the restaurant, the owner reached out to Shanken and asked if he would be interested in purchasing the cigars, which he did after some sly negotiating.

He also owned, arguably, a few of the most prized humidors on earth—one that belonged to JFK, acquired at auction for $650,00; another was a humidor Winston Churchill received as a gift from the Cuban government in 1941; and Fidel Castro autographed a third humidor during his Aficionado interview. Despite the significant financial investment, Shanken drew plenty of media attention for his purchases and had no regrets.

Loving the Good Life

Athletes, actors, politicians, authors, generals, film directors, and celebrities from all walks of life have graced the cover of Cigar Aficionado issues over the past three decades, and many have sat for an intimate chat with the magazine’s editors. The publication covers a wide scope of related subjects, including vacations, gambling, golf, whiskey, professional sports, performance automobiles, watches, cocktails, and fine dining.

Of course, cigars, cigarmakers, ratings, tasting notes, and the magazine’s annual ‘Top 25 Cigars of the Year’ rankings are central topics of discussion. Readers consider Cigar Aficionado the world’s most authoritative source for all things related to premium cigars, and it has profiled every one of today’s top cigarmakers.

Giving Back

Marvin Shanken received the Lifetime Achievement Award for 2019 from the Association of Magazine Media for his longtime contributions to the print media industry and the many charitable initiatives he supports, raising more than $90 million over the past five decades. The New York Wine Experience funded over 800 scholarships for students in wine and culinary programs with $40 million. Cigar Aficionado’s Night to Remember has raised over $30 million for prostate cancer research. And the Els for Autism Pro-Am has raised $20 million and helped fund a school for 260 autistic kids in Jupiter, Florida. Shanken was humbled by the recognition of his achievements and proud to make an impact across numerous charitable causes.

Bringing Cigar Lovers Together

Marvin Shanken passed away at the age of 83 on October 29, 2026. He leaves behind an impressive legacy as a leading publisher in the cigars, wine, spirits, and hospitality industries. He aimed to share his love for the topics he covered and educate his readers. Shanken instilled in the editors at Cigar Aficionado the importance of connecting with readers who understand the camaraderie among cigar lovers. Despite restrictive smoking laws and infuriating government overreach, the writers at Cigar Aficionado continue to foster a community of enthusiasts who are as passionate about cigars as they are. The magazine’s annual Big Smoke events draw thousands of readers and consumers eager to meet their favorite cigarmakers and enjoy cigars with like-minded aficionados. And nothing creates a stronger bond than a good smoke.