Cohiba

In the world of wine there is Champagne, in the world of whisky there are single malts and, in the world of cigars there is Cuba. Many, if not most, products have their stars but it is rare that within that category there is one clear leader. Unusually, Cuban cigars have that flagship brand that…
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The Rafayel Luxury Boutique Hotel Launches in Battersea

Situated within Battersea’s award-winning Falcon Wharf Development, the 65-room, three storey, five-star Rafayel on the Left Bank is the low emission luxury boutique on the banks of the Thames. Unique to the capital, every aspect of the Rafayel carefully marries the finest in high-end hotel living with the very latest technology in an environment designed…
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Make My Day, Monk

If you’re a connoisseur of wine – or just simply a wino – chances are you’ve bored someone silly at a party with this factoid. The Tempranillo grape is a derivative of the Spanish word ‘temprano’ – meaning ‘early’. It’s a cheeky young thing, an early riser – coming to fruition a few weeks before the…
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Los Angeles

There is a strong sense of deja vu when visiting LA. It begins during the long, slow approach into LAX, with a glimpse of the Hollywood sign standing bleached-teeth white against the sun browned hills and continues with the cracked, crumbling concrete of the freeways. That the City of Angeles elicits such a response, even…
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Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Palace

They say that the US and the UK are divided by a common language. If that’s the case, then Abu Dhabi and Dubai are divided by a common love of building. The old joke it’ll be lovely when its finished applies equally well to these neighbouring states, with cranes a common sight in both. The…
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The Lancasters

Not every London buyer with £20 million to spend wants to live in a glass and steel postmodern new build, kitted out to look like an Oxford Street nightclub, wherever the location. However, the chance to enjoy classic architecture with the best of 21st century technology rarely arises. Fifteen Grade II listed houses, dating from the mid-19th…
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LUSSO Interviews Master Watchmaker Roger Smith

Some categories of people are rather rare. Italian war heroes, vegetarian cowboys, drunken nuns and English watchmakers are all hard to find. Roger Smith certainly comes into this category. He is not a vegetarian cowboy but he is an English watchmaker; probably the second finest English watchmaker working today. The finest, as I am sure…
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Feline Good: The C-X16 Rear Weel Drive

Sometimes it’s best to let sleeping cats lie. Yet for the last 40 years, Jaguar’s legion of devotees has been waiting, praying for a second generation E-Type. The XJS, classic though it is, didn’t qualify. The XK, on launch, was heralded as the car to carry the mark. It didn’t. Obviously, it would be impossible for Jaguar Land Rover to create a car with the revolutionary impact that the E brought to the world…
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