Cigar & Spirits Magazine

What Cigar & Spirits Magazine does

Cigar & Spirits Magazine is an independent lifestyle print and digital publication founded in 2012 and headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California, operating with a small team of 1–10 employees. The company produces a quarterly print magazine (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall) that bridges mainstream celebrity culture with the cigar and spirits hobby by featuring high-profile cover subjects including athletes (Stephen Curry, Carmelo Anthony), musicians (Rod Stewart, Scotty McCreery, Riley Green), and comedians/actors (Bert Kreischer, Jim Gaffigan, Michael Chiklis), alongside expert cigar ratings, spirit reviews, and industry news.

The core product is the magazine itself, offered via annual subscription at $49.99 for four issues or as individual issues at $19.99. Ancillary revenue lines include a paid Cigar Rating Submission Service that evaluates brand-submitted blends for $75 per submission, advertising and sponsored placements with cigar and spirits brands (Nolet's Gin, Cigars in Paradise, 1000 Stories Wines, Cigar Oasis), branded merchandise in the form of canvas wall art prints of cover artwork at $129–$150, and membership/exclusive content via Patreon and a Spotify podcast. Distribution is direct-to-consumer through the Squarespace-hosted e-commerce site at cigarandspirits.com, with audience reach extended through a C&S Insider email newsletter.

The customer base comprises two primary segments: enthusiast consumers interested in premium cigars, bourbon/whiskey, and lifestyle content who buy subscriptions, single issues, and merchandise; and cigar and spirits brands that advertise, sponsor, or pay for editorial review services. No outside funding, parent company, or institutional ownership has been disclosed, indicating founder or closely-held independent ownership.

Name

Cigar & Spirits Magazine

Legal name

Cigar & Spirits Magazine

Website

https://cigarandspirits.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cigar & Spirits Magazine is an independent quarterly print and digital lifestyle publication that serves cigar and spirits enthusiasts through celebrity interviews, expert reviews, and branded merchandise, monetizing via subscriptions, advertising, and a paid cigar rating service.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Lifestyle Magazine Publishing

NAICS

Other Publishers (51319)

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer Lifestyle & Fashion Magazines (MPAJAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Business, Finance & Industry Trade Magazines (MPAJAEAM)

Keywords

• Lifestyle magazine publishing
• Cigar enthusiast content
• Premium spirits coverage
• Celebrity interview magazine
• Men's lifestyle publication

Headquarters

HQ city

Aliso Viejo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Magazine Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions providing 4 issues per year delivered to subscribers. Subscription model with recurring annual billing at $49.99 per year.
2. Single Issue Sales: Individual magazine issues sold at $19.99 per copy. Issues feature celebrity covers including athletes, musicians, and actors from the cigar and spirits lifestyle space.
3. Cigar Review Services: The magazine accepts cigar submissions from brands for review. Each submission costs $75 and includes evaluation by the panel and detailed PDF rating report.
4. Advertising & Sponsorships: The magazine features sponsored content and advertising from cigar and spirit brands including Nolet's Gin, Cigars in Paradise, 1000 Stories Wines, and Cigar Oasis.
5. Merchandise: Sale of merchandise including wall art prints featuring magazine covers with celebrity images. Canvas prints priced at $129-$150.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cigar & Spirits Magazine is a bi-monthly lifestyle magazine (four issues per year) covering cigars, premium spirits, celebrity interviews, fashion, sports, travel, and cuisine for enthusiasts, available via annual subscription, single-issue purchase, and through a companion podcast and C&S Insider newsletter. The brand also sells canvas/wall-art prints and offers a paid Cigar Review Service for cigar brands.

Product overview

Cigar & Spirits Magazine is a print and digital media publication focused on the cigar and spirits lifestyle. Its core offerings consist of a quarterly print magazine (available via annual subscription at $49.99/year or single-issue at $19.99), individual print issues covering celebrity interviews, industry news, cigar ratings, and spirits reviews, and ancillary merchandise including canvas wall prints of cover artwork. The magazine also operates a paid Cigar Rating Submission Service through which brands can submit blends for professional panel evaluation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• C&S Insider Newsletter: Newsletter providing insider updates on cover releases, special events, product reviews, and exclusive content.
• Cigar & Spirits Podcast

Products and services

• Cigar & Spirits Magazine Annual Subscription Subscription product that delivers four issues per year of the Cigar & Spirits lifestyle magazine to subscribers, priced at $49.99 per year, targeting individual cigar and spirits enthusiasts.
• Cigar & Spirits Magazine Single Issue One-time purchase of an individual issue of Cigar & Spirits Magazine for $19.99, allowing non-subscribers to buy specific editions.
• Cigar Review Service Service through which cigar brands submit products to be editorially reviewed and featured in Cigar & Spirits Magazine, priced at $75 per submission.
• Cigar & Spirits Canvas Wall Art / Prints Branded canvas wall art and prints sold to readers and enthusiasts via the Cigar & Spirits website at premium price points of approximately $129 to $150.
• C&S Insider Newsletter Companion email newsletter from Cigar & Spirits that delivers ongoing cigar, spirits, and lifestyle content to the brand's enthusiast audience between magazine issues.
• Cigar & Spirits Podcast Companion podcast produced by Cigar & Spirits covering cigar, spirits, and lifestyle topics for the same enthusiast audience as the print magazine.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cigar Aficionado: Cigar Aficionado is the dominant print and digital magazine covering premium cigars, spirits, and the cigar lifestyle. It is the closest direct competitor to Cigar & Spirits, serving the same enthusiast audience with a similar combination of celebrity interviews, cigar reviews, and spirits coverage, though at much larger scale.
• Smoke Magazine: Smoke Magazine is a lifestyle publication dedicated to cigars, featuring reviews, industry news, and celebrity/entertainment content. It directly competes with Cigar & Spirits in the enthusiast cigar media space and serves an overlapping advertiser base of cigar brands and tobacconists.
• Cigar Journal: Cigar Journal is an international cigar-focused publication featuring ratings, interviews, and industry coverage. It is a comparable niche trade/enthusiast publication to Cigar & Spirits, though with more of a cigar-trade orientation versus Cigar & Spirits' celebrity-lifestyle angle.

Emerging players

• Whisky Advocate: Whisky Advocate is a leading spirits-focused magazine covering whiskey reviews, distillery features, and lifestyle content. While focused on whiskey specifically, its target enthusiast audience, premium subscription model, and brand advertising base overlap materially with Cigar & Spirits' spirits coverage.
• Wine Spectator: Wine Spectator is a major consumer wine publication with a subscription model, expert reviews, and brand advertising. It is adjacent and comparable as a premium beverage lifestyle publication with similar revenue mechanics, though at vastly greater scale and narrower beverage focus.
• The Spirits Business: The Spirits Business is a trade publication covering the global spirits industry with reviews, brand news, and features. It is comparable to the industry-news component of Cigar & Spirits' coverage, particularly for the same brand advertisers and trade audience.

Broad incumbents

• Maxim: Maxim is a long-running men's lifestyle magazine known for celebrity covers, sports, and premium-lifestyle content. While broader than Cigar & Spirits, it shares the celebrity-cover monetization model and competes for the same advertising dollar from spirits and lifestyle brands.
• GQ: GQ is a major men's lifestyle and fashion publication featuring celebrity covers, style content, and premium brand advertising. It overlaps with Cigar & Spirits in celebrity-cover mechanics and as a vehicle for spirits/lifestyle brand advertising, though its scope extends well beyond cigars and spirits.
• Complex: Complex is a digital-first media brand covering culture, music, sports, and lifestyle. Its entertainment-driven celebrity coverage and brand-sponsorship model make it comparable to Cigar & Spirits' celebrity-driven cultural content, though at much broader scale and digital-native delivery.

Others

• Hodinkee: Hodinkee is a niche enthusiast media brand covering watches that built a successful subscription, e-commerce, and advertising business around a single hobby vertical. While not in cigars/spirits, its business model (niche vertical, content + commerce + brand partnerships) is highly comparable to Cigar & Spirits' diversified monetization approach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CigarSpiritsMag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cigar & Spirits Magazine