Tag Archives: Cigar Lounge

by Craig Vanderslice | July 4, 2021 · 10:07 am

A Plasencia Cigars Sampler and the LouLiga Lounge Grand Opening

At the end of last year when everyone was posting their top ten cigars of the year, I, being the rebel, posted my top cigars I hadn’t smoked yet. A little bit of me did it to test Halfwheel’s Consensus process, to see how closely they paid attention, and it appears they either do, or I’m just that far under the radar any more, I have made appearances on the consensus in the past though when I’ve done a list. Anyway, I had said that I hadn’t smoked any of the Plasencia Alma series last year, so I ordered a nice sampler from my friends at Fox Cigars, and smoked them this passed week. I had smoked the AlmaFuerte Sixto II not long ago and was thrilled to get my hands on another one. Somehow getting one as a part of a sampler felt better than buying one at

the store for $22, and I don’t see the sampler listed anymore, and I forget what I paid for it. It was five cigars, the Alma Fuerte in Robustus I and Sixto II, Alma Del Fuego in Concepciòn Toro and Candente Robusto, and an Alma Del Campo Tribu Robusto. I always joke that these are named after my grandmother, Alma Vanderslice, but I’m sure that’s not the case. I quite enjoyed the flavors in all of these, although I thought the Alma Fuego was just too darned strong for me, that is to say I became tired of it being so strong by the end. The Del Campo seemed to be to more medium bodied to me, and all three were excellent examples of Nicaraguan cigars. They all had rich dark tobacco flavors, with the Fuerte especially having a slight sweetness on the lips pre-light. The weird thing was that, and it might have been the weather or something unrelated, but I got migraines each night after I smoked one of these. Probably a coincidence, as I’ve smoked plenty of Nicaraguan puros before without issue, and gotten plenty of migraines before without having smoked Plasencia cigars! Anyway, Thumbs up on both Plasencia cigars and Fox Cigars for exceptional customer service!

Yesterday I took a drive into the Fishtown section of Philadelphia to visit the grand opening of the LouLiga Cigar Lounge. If you follow cigars on social media, I’m not sure how you could avoid having heard about this place, or at least it’s owner, Luis Rodriguez. Luis has been a long time cigar ambassador, and had realized his dream with this new lounge in a very cool area in the city. It’s in the same block of buildings as The Fillmore, which is a music venue, The Punch Line comedy club, and Philadelphia Distilling, with the Rivers Casino and Convention Center more or less across the street. When I arrived, the place was packed. To be honest, if I hadn’t seen my old friend Antonio Lam (Reinado Cigars, watch for his new cigar, the Grand Apex), I probably would have bought a handful of cigars, snapped some pics and gone home. However, I lit up a Stolen Throne Crook of the Crown Toro and hung out with Antonio and his fiancé for a few hours.

The Lounge is nice. The air handlers work well, it has an industrial feel which is consistent with the building. The furniture is comfortable, there’s plenty of TVs and the humidor is huge. While the humidor shelves were fairly sparsely stocked, what was there was very high quality and fairly pried for a city location. Luis knows his stuff and is very in tune with the boutique brands. I’m not sure how this will relate to the casual, fresh out of the concert, distillery, comedy club, etc, patron who is stopping in for a cigar and know Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta and Cohiba and that’s about it, but it’s going to be a great place for cigar geeks. Luis was an excellent host, greeting everyone who came in warmly. When I got home I tried one of Luis’ own cigars, from an undisclosed, yet prominent, factory. It was quite good, a robusto with some spice in the beginning, and some floral near the end. It’s certainly a place to visit if you find yourself in Philadelphia.

That’s all for today. It’s the Fourth of July, so, as with every year, it’s also my wedding anniversary (34), so I’ll be finding something good to smoke. Be careful out there! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Alma Del Campo, Alma del Fuego, Alma Fuerte, cigar, Cigar Lounge, cigars, Crook of the Crown, LouLiga, Plasencia, Stolen Throne

by CigarCraig | December 2, 2018 · 10:45 am

A Partagas, a Cornelius And Anthony Meridian and Thoughts on a Common Etiquette Question

I had another busy week, as will be the common theme for the next few weeks, I fear. This has resulted in coming home and defaulting to known good cigars, cigars I love and know will hit the spot. Often times I’ll find myself thinking of a cigar during the day and I have to smoke one that evening. This was the case this week a couple of times, most notably with the Partagas Legend. To recap, this was the Toro Leyenda, the 6 ¼” x 54 size. This cigar has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, a Honduran OSA binder and Dominican Piloto Cubano filler. I’ve likened this to the Partagas Limited Reserve in the past, I didn’t think of that on this go around, I think this cigar is best smoked in warmer weather or indoors, my 40something degree back porch while not too uncomfortable wasn’t ideal for the proper enjoyment of this particular cigar. It was still enjoyable, but the nuance was missing. This isn’t your typical heavy broadleaf offering, and if you’re looking for that kind of cigar, try the Partagas Black.

For some reason I’ve seen this come up a lot recently in discussions, and it continues to cause some dissenting opinions. Since I haven’t really got a lot of cigars to talk about this week, I thought I’d share my thoughts on the debate over whether it’s ok to bring outside cigars into a shop or lounge. I think the biggest problem with the argument is the definition of the establishment in question. If it’s a cigar shop with a lounge, I say it’s common sense to leave your personal cigars at home and buy cigars at the store. I admit that I used to be guilty of bringing my cigars to the shop and buying a few and smoking my own, but in the last several years I’ve abandoned that completely and always buy from the place I visit and smoke what I buy there, I think it’s the right thing to do. Let me tell you, as a cheap SOB, and someone who has a significant stockpile of cigars at home, I don’t need to buy more cigars, but I still do the right thing! There is also a twinge of CAD (Cigar Acquisition Disorder, a topic for another post) at play. There are other kinds of establishments where it’s OK to bring your own cigars though, places that may sell cigars, but that isn’t their bread and butter. This, it think, is where the confusion lies. These establishments are more bars or restaurants than cigar stores, and, many times, their cigar menu pricing is highly inflated. Some places might have a “cutting fee” depending on how much that is, it might be better to just buy one of their cigars anyway, but if your buying drinks or food many times it’s overlooked. I’ve personally been to places like Club Macanudo in NYC, which has ridiculous cigar prices, and never bought a cigar there, and never had a problem smoking outside cigars, the same with Mahogany in Philadelphia when it was where Ashton Cigar Bar is now. I would argue that those who vehemently argue one side of this debate or the other need to have all the facts, as there are many variables. It depends a great deal on what percentage of income a business depends upon cigar sales, versus liquor or food. Is it just a cigar store or a bar that allows cigar smoking and has a humidor? is it a cigar lounge with a bar? I think the best course of action is to ask the proprietor or manager first before being presumptuous, and if it looks like a cigar store, be prepared to make a purchase and smoke what you buy. No store owner wants a patron asking another patron what he’s smoking and having that person told that it’s something that the store doesn’t carry! who does that help? these stores aren’t cheap to operate, and if we don’t pay the rent on those seats in the lounge through our purchases, those seats aren’t going to be there for us the next time we are looking for a warm, dry place to relax with a cigar and the camaraderie that goes with it. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

Now that I got that off my chest, back to the cigars. Last night I got home late from work, watched the end of one of my very favorite things, which is the Flyers beating the Penguins in Pittsburgh, then when to the porch with a Cornelius and Anthony Meridian Robusto. I wrote a rare review of this cigar a year and a half ago (here). Some things remain the same, it’s still made at La Zona, it still has a rosado Ecuador wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican republic. It still comes in four sizes, the Robusto at 5″ x 50, Corona Gorda at 5½” x 46, a Toro at 6″ x 50 and a Gordo at 6″ x 60. At the time I said it was the strongest in the range, that, my friends, has changed. It still has some strength, and, admittedly, judging by the fact that I didn’t finish it until around 11pm and it was well after 1 am until I could get to sleep, then I had weird-ass dreams all night, it wasn’t the best choice for a nightcap. The Mistress has eclipsed the Meridian (and 90% of all other cigars) in the strength category. It’s still a very enjoyable cigar, and is solidly in my top five C&A offerings. It’s a satisfying cigar, if it weren’t for cigars like the Cornelius, Señor Esugars and the Gent, it might be my favorite in the line!

That’s all from me for today, Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, Cigar Bar, Cigar Lounge, cigar store, cigars, Cornelius and Anthony, Legend, Meridian, Partagas

by CigarCraig | January 25, 2018 · 8:03 pm

News: Best Cigar Prices Cigar Lounge, Store and Blog

Best Cigar Prices announced this week that it is opening a lounge and retail store at their Drums, PA location (looks like I’ll have to take a drive north one of these days!). Best Cigar Prices has been around a long time, I can remember getting their e-mail specials in plain text in the late 90s, under the name New Global Marketing. They’ve come a long way. CigarCraig.com is proud to advertise for Best Cigar Prices, and you can get 20% off orders of $125 or more with the code CraigDeal20. Here is the press release:

DRUMS, PA. (PRWEB) JANUARY 24, 2018

Established in 1997, Best Cigar Prices has come a long way from its starting point of operating out of the trunk of a car in upstate New York. Now based in Drums, PA at its 25,000 sq. ft. headquarters since 2011, the company has made leaps and bounds in becoming the premier cigar source on the web, and the retail space is the next logical step for this fast-growing business.

However, they’re not looking to be “just another cigar shop.” Far from it, according to BCP Director of Merchandising Jeff Brown. “Our vision is to deliver a state-of-the-art cigar lounge experience unlike any in the area,” said Brown. “We want our customers to feel like their every need has been taken into consideration when they step foot into our store, and so far I think we’ve hit that mark.”

In addition to the typical cigar store amenities such as a Spanish Cedar-lined walk-in humidor, large cocktail bar, and comfortable, smoke-friendly indoor and outdoor lounge spaces for patrons to enjoy, Best Cigar Prices’ retail operation will have quite a few accommodations that will set it apart from the pack.

Aside from the business’s high-tech approach to the traditional lounge environment with touch-screen browsing stations, monitors giving shoppers a direct view of orders being processed inside the humidor, and ample wireless charging stations throughout, perhaps the most obvious advantage is the fact that the store is directly connected to the company’s massive humidor warehouse. Customers at the store will have direct access to one of the largest cigar and accessory inventories in the country, with over 7,000 unique items from more than 600 top brands including flavored cigars, cigar humidors, lighters, and cutters from Padron, Rocky Patel, Montecristo, and many more.

Cigar and beverage Pairing Menus will be made available to visitors of the lounge and updated regularly to recommend specific cigars with particular brands or styles of whiskeys, craft beers, and other spirits that complement their unique tasting profiles. “Everyone knows that Romeo y Julieta 1875 is a great, classic cigar, but what is the best drink to go with it?” Brown remarked.

Plans to have a conveyor running from the warehouse to the store will guarantee that cigar-lovers in search of items that are not stocked on store shelves will have their order in under five minutes, complete with a countdown timer that will display real-time order progress.

The store will be fully staffed by educated cigar professionals who specialize in the often-difficult task of making cigar gift recommendations, but will also offer self-serve kiosks for those that know what they want and don’t need help from an associate. Alternately, customers will be able to place orders remotely via phone or online and then pick it up at a designated time, similar to a food “to go” order.

The Best Cigar Prices retail store had its official “soft” opening yesterday, with the official Grand Opening scheduled for September of this year. In the words of company CEO Greg Fox, “Our customers have a deep appreciation for the artisan nature of the products we carry and often form lasting bonds with each other that might not be possible without the unifying factor of a fine cigar. We’re beyond excited to bring this new level of comfort, convenience, and camaraderie to them,” adding, “it’s their support that has allowed us to thrive and this is the least we can do to say ‘thank you’.”

Fox also alluded to other “surprises” that Best Cigar Prices customers can look forward to, including the possibility of a large-scale cigar event held at the new store at some point in the near future.

Also this week on the Best Cigar Prices blog, they published their “Why Do You Smoke Cigars?”article, featuring myself and 10 of my fellow blogger types.

That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Best Cigar Prices, cigar, Cigar Lounge, cigar store, cigars, New Global Marketing

by CigarCraig | April 17, 2016 · 7:40 am

Avo Syncro, RoMaCraft Cigars at SMoKE Manayunk and a Tatuaje

There are so many cigars out there, it’s really hard to smoke them all, yet I keep trying! I’ve smoked the Avo Syncro Nicaraguan in the Short Robusto and Toro size and, like many Avo cigars, I found them enjoyable, but isn’t really get what the hype was. Perfectly good cigars, but nothing particularly special to me (I really liked the XO though). A couple of weeks ago my friends at Famous Smoke Shop send me some of the Avo Syncro Nicaraguan and I was excited as I really want to like these and appreciate the opportunity to try them in another size. The robusto is a box pressed 5″x 50, with a milk chocolate-brown wrapper, which is actually Ecuador Connecticut, and it has some Nicaraguan Ometepe, Dominican and Peruvian fillers. It’s a solid smoke, medium bodied with some balanced and interesting flavors. So far, this might be my favorite in the bunch, it’s got a little sweet, and a little spice, quite entertaining. I may try to sneak another one of these in today, the Short Robusto might fit my walk today from the Philadelphia Art Museum to the Kimmel Center for the Philly Pops concert. Thanks, once again, to Cory at Famous Smoke Shop for sharing the Avo Syncro Robusto with me.

Friday evening we went down to SMoKE Manayunk to visit with Skip and Mike of RoMaCraft Tobac as they have been on a tour of Philadelphia cheesesteak purveyors and have been taking breaks to have cigar events. First, a little about SMoKE and Manayunk. Manayunk is a very hip main street area in Philadelphia, with loads of bars and restaurants, so there were a ton of younger 20-something folks around, and it was pretty impressive how many came in to hang out and smoke cigars. SMoKE is BYOB, so many people brought in their own beer, wine or liquor and they have refrigerators behind the bar. Kosta is the owner, and has a very good staff headed up by Spencer McGuire, who recently left his post as brand manager of Emilio Cigars. The staff is attentive, constantly emptying ashtrays and seeing to the customer’s needs, as well as helping people in the large and well stocked humidor. The lounge is 3000 square feet, has a very industrial, distressed feel to the decor, and is welcoming and comfortable. The only downside is the parking. I found out the hard way that on street parking can cost $26 if you exceed the 1 hour limit, which I guess I was supposed to know without signing close by (oddly, the “Parking Enforcement” vehicle was parked a car ahead of me and was there longer than I was…I hate double standards!). So the $10 lot nearby would have been a better deal it turns out. It was starting to get crowded when we left, which is pretty cool for a cigar lounge.

So I perused the selection of RoMaCraft cigars they had, and settled on a couple of the Candela Fomorians (I spelled that wrong elswhere), a Neanderthal Shallow Gene Pool, and a couple of CroMagnon Atlatl lanceros, since I like lanceros and Kosta has probably the best selection of that vitola in the area, so when in Rome…anyway, I lit up a Fomorian (along with Mike and Skip) and proceeded to hang out. I’ve known these guys since 2011, which is about when they launched the CroMagnon line, and they make some outstanding cigars. The Fomorian is the CroMagnon blend of Cameroon binder and Nicaraguan fillers, with the Broadleaf wrapper replaced with a fragile Candela wrapper in the 5″ x 56 EMH size. The combination is really quite amazing, there’s the sweetness of the Cameroon, the depth of the Nicaraguan, with that refreshing flavor of the Candela. Along with the long ago discontinued Camacho Candela, this is the best representation of a Candela cigar I’ve had the pleasure of tasting. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed a few, but this one has some giddyup to it, great cigar. I followed that with a little Neanderthal Shallow Gene Pool, the smaller (4½ x 52) sibling of the Neanderthal HN, which I absolutely loved. This cigar has a San Andrés wrapper and a Pennsylvania Double Ligero, which is unusually high in nicotine. You wouldn’t know it, the cigar is very smooth with a great flavor. If these weren’t in the $11+ range, I would smoke these all the time, so good. Interesting to note, lots of nicotine before bedtime makes for a restless night with crazy dreams, at least that was my experience. It could be that, as Skip pointed out, I’m the oldest young guy he knows, which I took as a compliment since I’m pretty old…anyway, it was a great night, smoking great cigars and hanging out at a great place with great folks.

Yesterday was a beautiful spring day, and after getting some things done around the yard, I relaxed on the porch with a Tatuaje Reserva J21. These are made in Miami with a Habano Ecuador wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and filer. This is a 5″ x 50 robusto and is quite an attractive cigar, listed as a full strength offering. This was exactly what I needed after working in the yard and running errands. It started out with some spice and moved to espresso, which we all know I like. It was refined and elegant, and I really liked it. I smoke fewer Tatuajes than I really should, because whenever I smoke one it’s a treat. For some reason, in my mind, it’s a cigar that’s special, in much the same way an Opus or Padron Anniversary is. I don’t why I feel that way, but it’s in my head for some reason, and I don’t end up picking them up as often as I should. I’ll work on changing that.

That’s it for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Avo, cigar, Cigar Lounge, cigar store, cigars, Famous, Famous Smoke Shop, Fomorian, Neanderthal, RoMaCraft, Syncro, tatuaje

by CigarCraig | August 10, 2011 · 6:02 pm

Our Sunday Visit To A Hookah and Cigar Lounge

On Sunday my wife and I decided to visit the Cozy Hookah and Cigar Lounge in nearby West Chester, PA. We had only recently heard about this place, through Dealyo, one of the social shopping sites that are gaining popularity (Groupon, LivingSocial, etc.). Jenn had purchased a $30 coupon for $15 and we decided to check it out for lunch. The lounge is along one of the main, historic streets of West Chester, where a lot of the bars and restaurants are located, and they are open every day from 10 am to 4 am, so they get really busy after the bars close. There are couches with pillows, a VIP room in the back, and they have theme nights. A very comfortable place.

When we walked into the empty lounge we were greeted by Alex, who gave us a tour of the place, and set us up with a hookah and a plate of hummus and pita, which was delicious. We also had some Moroccan tea and a plate of Buffalo wings. As I had said in my last post, we were considering going on Saturday night, when they have a belly dancer and DJ, but I’m glad we went when it was quiet and we had room to relax and stretch out a little. As far as the smoking experience goes, smoking a hookah is not very different from smoking a cigar. Both are fairly social activities, and are about the flavor of the smoke. It was quite enjoyable and I was pleased to find that my wife thought it was as well.

The owner, Mahrous, joined us for a while and told us how he got started with a restaurant in Greenwich Village with his brother, and how a friend asked if he could smoke his hookah in the back yard (I’m envisioning a garden or terrace with seating) since he couldn’t smoke it at home. Patrons of the restaurant asked to try it after while and it caught on there, and the hookah lounge was born. Fast forward twenty five years and he opened the lounge in West Chester.

My wife and I spent about 3 hours, a couple hookahs of (don’t laugh) Cherry Coke flavored shisha, another pot of Egyptian green tea (delicious, by the way) and a La Gloria Cubana Serie N in the lounge and a few people came and went, but it was a Sunday afternoon and the local college isn’t in session. Certainly the name “Cozy” is appropriate, and it’s nice to have a place that you can take your wife and enjoy a cigar and everyone’s happy. I can see meeting friends here for a smoke (cigar or hookah), and a quiet evening of conversation, at least during the quieter times, and I probably will organize something in the not too distant future. Kudos to Mahrous for opening a “smoking” establishment in this day and age, and having the community’s support in doing so.