Tag Archives: Lounge

by CigarCraig | November 14, 2012 · 7:04 pm

A 1502 Black Gold, an East India Trading Co. Red Witch and a Visit to Goose’s Lounge

It’s a special treat when I get to smoke two spectacular cigars in a row. I thought Saturday’s La Aurora Cameroon was as good as it got, and it was a fantastic smoke. Sunday afternoon was stunningly gorgeous so I grabbed a larger cigar, which turned out to be a 1502 Black Gold Torpedo that Gary Griffith had recently sent my way. Somehow I managed to miss this booth at the Delaware Cigar Festival, which is a great disappointment to me. The 1502 line is named for the year that Nicaragua was founded officially, and the cigars are all Nicaraguan puros. The cigar is visually beautiful, the maduro wrapper glistens with oils. The wrapper is cut a little long and folded over the end of the cigar, giving a nice burst of wrapper on the light-up. I spent the afternoon sitting in the sun thoroughly enjoying this cigar.’s deep dark, rich flavors. As I was smoking it I kept thinking that I am very happy that Gary sent me two of these torpedos and I really am looking forward to trying the other lines in the 1502 portfolio. Another darned yummy cigar!

Monday evening I ran across the Red Witch from the East India Trading Company arm of Gurkha. I find myself with a growing collection of Gurkha cigars where my experience with them is limited to a few lines, the Seduction being a personal favorite. I still haven’t tried the Wicked Indie, perhaps I’ll grab a couple the next time I see them. This toro sized cigar was very handsome, the Habano wrapper was quite nice. For a cigar that should set you back right around $5, this was an enjoyable smoke. the first few inches give you the impression that it’s going to be a butt-kicker, but it mellows out into a nice, smooth smoke. Gurkha has so many lines it’s dizzying, which is one of the reasons I’ve tended to steer clear, just because I can’t wrap feeble head around all the variety (much the way I feel about Rocky Patel’s cigars). I am going to make a conscious effort to pick up more of their cigars as they have proven to be well made, beautifully presented and generally tasty. Any suggestions?

Tuesday I got wind of an event going on at a local shop that I’ve been meaning to visit. Goose’s Tobacco Outlet is only about 15 miles from home, and I found out through the grapevine that Willy Herrera and Chris Stone from Drew Estate were doing an event there. I like to catch the Drew Estate events when I can. It gives me the opportunity to catch up with the local rep and usually score a good deal on some smokes I like. This time I was able to score another Joya de NicaraguaCabinetta lancero! I picked up a few of the Antaño Dark Corojo El Martillos and couldn’t get one lit fast enough. Delicious cigar! I ran into a couple of guys I had met at another recent event who are members, as well as Rob and Mike (?) the two DE ambassadors, one from New Jersey and one from Ohio. These guys travel considerable distances to help spread the word about cigars they love, it’s a pretty cool thing. Anyway, I got to hang out with Willy Herrera a little bit, but I got there too late, he had already stopped rolling his new Hererra Estelli cigars. I look forward to trying one when they come out in January. The store is huge, I actually drove past it once because I was looking for a smaller place. They have a neat walk in humidor that’s “U” shaped, and I look forward to going back to explore it further as I said, I was late and wanted to get a cigar lit, but it looks to be well stocked. The lounge is a Montecristo Lounge and is probably the same size as the retail area, which is enormous. I spoke with John Sr., the owner, and he gave me the grand tour, and his son, John Jr. provided excellent service in the humidor. If you find yourself in the shadow of the Limerick Nuclear plant’s cooling towers in PA, stop in and pay Goose’s a visit. It’s a really nice place to sit and relax with a smoke.

That’s all I have for this episode. I’m off to find a good cigar to smoke while I walk the dog, or she walks me, as the case may be. So, Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Filed under Events, Review, Stores

Tagged as 1502, Black Gold, cigar, cigar store, cigars, drew estate, Goose's, Gurkha, joya de nicaragua, Lounge, Red Witch

by CigarCraig | April 8, 2012 · 7:08 am

Cigar Lounge Visit: Kutztown Tobacconist and Lounge, a JdN, a Nub and a Gurkha

I took Friday off to take my youngest son to Kutztown University for a tour, and my wife suggested we seek out a cigar shop for a pre-tour smoke. I had recently bought the CigarPlaces app for my iPod Touch and it came up with Kutztown Tobacconist and Lounge, a few blocks from the campus. We were greeted by Todd, the owner, a very nice guy. One of those people you can talk to and you feel like you’ve known them for a while. He is just getting started with this, and he has a nice space, adjacent to a restaurant specializing in Bar-b-Que. I’d call the furnishing “unpretentious” to be diplomatic, but he seems to be concentrating on service, the fancy furnishings will come. As it is, it’s comfortable. He’s in the process of getting ready to build a walk-in humidor. Currently his stock is in a large display unit that he got from Kensington Tobacconist in Reading, PA when they closed. His stock is meager, maybe 15 or so boxes of assorted Joya de Nicaragua, Acid and Gran Habano, but he certainly has plans to expand that selection. He sells what he likes, can’t fault him for that. He needs to invest in some sort of signage for the outside of the building as it wasn’t readily apparent that we were in the right place (the sign in the picture was not there when we visited).

We had 2 hours to kill, so I picked up a Joya de Nicaragua Antaño Dark Corojo, a pair of Cabinetta robustos, a Gran Habano Reserva #3 on Todd’s recommendation, as well as a couple of Acid Blondies for my son and his friend. It’s no secret that I love the JdN Cabinetta, for me it’s a delicious any-time-of-the-day cigar. The construction is always perfect and I always anticipate getting down to that criollo part of the wrapper, and am always a little disappointed when it doesn’t want to stay lit! Still, a great smoke and it was nice to hang out and talk to the guys at the lounge. Todd has a great thing going, and I’m confident that he will grow and improve over time.

I usually take a walk down to the local convenience store on Fridays to get my Mega Millions ticket, so I grabbed a Nub Habano 460 for the walk. I wasn’t really too impressed with these at first, but they have grown on me. Great flavor in this one, and a perfect burn. It fit into the allotted time perfectly. I got a couple of these at an Oliva event with the purchase of a handful of assorted Oliva cigars. Good cigars for a walk, not a huge time commitment.

Saturday was another beautiful day, and after a day of yard work, and a less than ideal Flyers/Penguins game, I sat down with a Gurkha Seduction. I really enjoy this 5″ x 55 robusto, with it’s Habano wrapper. I think the Colombian filler gives it a little something special. It’s a really nice cigar, try some if you come across them. This particular specimen seemed to want to burn up one side, and required frequent corrections, but that’s the first one I can recall having a bad burn.

To all who celebrate, Happy Easter and Passover. I’ll be taking some cigars along to share with family today. It looks like the weather is going to be as spectacular today as it has been for the last couple.

That’s it for now. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Filed under Review, Stores

Tagged as cigar, cigar store, cigars, drew estate, Gurkha, joya de nicaragua, Kutztown, Lounge, nub, oliva, Take A Cigar For A Walk, Tobacconist

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.