His death followed by only three months that of Will Weng, his predecessor and fellow cigar lover, at the age of 86.

"Getting them is the ultimate mission; any cigar lover would do anything."

Part of the delight for cigar lovers is socializing while smoking, said Dan Raser, owner of the cigar shop.

Mr. Shuster says the club has signed up 330 of New York's cigar lovers, including 15 women, and another 500 applications are being processed.

He inhaled deeply, his face aglow with a cigar lover's satisfaction.

Take note, cigar lovers: the closest store is in Toronto.

Volcker is not the only eminent cigar lover to yield to pressure from family, physicians and miscellaneous foes of tobacco.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is under pressure to ensure that well-heeled cigar lovers are held to the same standards as those who prefer skinnier forms of tobacco.

Palates and passions are stoked with anticipation, not unlike the cigar lover's or the oenophile's.

Afterward, cigar lovers will be tempted to light up.