B&M Appreciation (or Hate) Thread
bacon.jay
Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 718
I'm not sure if this has been done before, but this morning I got to thinking about my local B&M and the trip I made there yesterday, and I realized how much I really, really love the place. So, I decided I'd start a thread centered around everyone's love (or hate) of their local B&M.
Some general guidelines, just to keep the clutter down and then I'll start:
1. Say the name(s) of the B&M, and the region (for other BOTLs in the same area that may not know about it)
2. List all the reasons you like it (or dislike it)
3. And just for kicks, name one thing that you feel could make it much better
I have two in north-central Ohio, but I mostly go to Sandusky Bay Cigars in Sandusky.
Before opening his shop, the owner, Darrin Hildebrand, spent 8 years rolling cigars and studying tobacco and blending techniques in both Honduras and Nicaragua under some of the biggest names in cigars. After his time there, he obtained a master roller/blender certification at the Bobalu Cigar Rollers School, where he studied under the supervision of two Cuban defectees in order to operate here in the states at his shop. Some pictures I snapped while I was there yesterday, I apologize for the quality:
Darrin rolling:
A culebra he rolled:
He makes several trips during the year to buy cured tobacco stock from plantations in many of the tobacco growing countries in Central and South America including Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, Brazil, and Ecuador, as well as the Cameroon growing region in Africa. He uses the same rolling and blending stock used by the industry's best boutique cigar manufacturers in his sticks, and let me tell you, I've had some of his blends and they are on par or better in both flavor and construction than a lot of the cigars on the market today.
On top of the great locally-rolled boutique cigars he produces, his prices are more than fair, at times undercutting online prices of certain cigars and brands. His selection is also top-shelf, and he hosts several cigar events throughout the year, including Oliva, Camacho, and CAO to name a few.
You're always welcome to light up in his cigar lounge where the chairs are nice and comfy, and the many other people that frequent his shop are always friendly. You can come in, have some coffee or a soda, and sit and chat with Darrin or his other customers.
The only negative thing I could ever say about the place (though largely unimportant in the grand scheme of things) is that the guy needs to get a new TV for his lounge, BAD. Lol
Some general guidelines, just to keep the clutter down and then I'll start:
1. Say the name(s) of the B&M, and the region (for other BOTLs in the same area that may not know about it)
2. List all the reasons you like it (or dislike it)
3. And just for kicks, name one thing that you feel could make it much better
I have two in north-central Ohio, but I mostly go to Sandusky Bay Cigars in Sandusky.
Before opening his shop, the owner, Darrin Hildebrand, spent 8 years rolling cigars and studying tobacco and blending techniques in both Honduras and Nicaragua under some of the biggest names in cigars. After his time there, he obtained a master roller/blender certification at the Bobalu Cigar Rollers School, where he studied under the supervision of two Cuban defectees in order to operate here in the states at his shop. Some pictures I snapped while I was there yesterday, I apologize for the quality:
Darrin rolling:
A culebra he rolled:
He makes several trips during the year to buy cured tobacco stock from plantations in many of the tobacco growing countries in Central and South America including Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, Brazil, and Ecuador, as well as the Cameroon growing region in Africa. He uses the same rolling and blending stock used by the industry's best boutique cigar manufacturers in his sticks, and let me tell you, I've had some of his blends and they are on par or better in both flavor and construction than a lot of the cigars on the market today.
On top of the great locally-rolled boutique cigars he produces, his prices are more than fair, at times undercutting online prices of certain cigars and brands. His selection is also top-shelf, and he hosts several cigar events throughout the year, including Oliva, Camacho, and CAO to name a few.
You're always welcome to light up in his cigar lounge where the chairs are nice and comfy, and the many other people that frequent his shop are always friendly. You can come in, have some coffee or a soda, and sit and chat with Darrin or his other customers.
The only negative thing I could ever say about the place (though largely unimportant in the grand scheme of things) is that the guy needs to get a new TV for his lounge, BAD. Lol
Comments
Fairview Heights, IL.
Way over priced, Noone has any idea about cigars in the place, 3 different times I have gotten a cigar out of their smoke room Humidor, 3 times the sticks were dried out and burst down the middle looking like Bugs Bunny had just stuck a carrot in Elmer Fuds Shot gun right before he took his shot ! The last time this happened we told the guy to turn up his Humidor so we watched him turn it down then turn it right back to where it was and then he says there its at about 75.....My guess is that there is a fan in this room that ventilates smoke so it is also sucking the humidity out of the humidor. He has it at 70 but that definitely isn't working so it needs to be about 75 to make up for the suction of the fan. If you are going to smoke and watch some TV nice place. Don't go to get any answers however.
The Cigar Inn
St. Louis, MO
I love this place ! Hugh selection. Lots of room to sit and smoke. The staff is very knowledgeable and will sit down and have a smoke with you. The owners are in there almost everyday and will chat away with you and if you didn't know any better ( a lot of people don't ) you couldn't even tell that this was the guy running the whole thing.
1) Central Cigars in St. Petersburg, Florida
2) Like it because it has plush chairs and plenty of flat-screen HD TV's; also serves alcohol. During "First friday bloc party", the cops block off a city block for a city-party, and Central Cigars has a cuban who comes in and you can watch him roll cigars; guy uses mostly long-filler, but isn't shy about using short-filler to make the cigar look fuller or plumper
3) Hate it because the selection is terrible and overpriced. They have about 10 brand-name cigars, everything else is their own house boutique; they have a space that's only about 20-30 ft long to store the cigars, and 5 feet is brand-name stuff like Ashton or Fuente, and the other 15-25 feet is all house-rolled stuff. Now, this wouldn't be so unforgivable, except their house cigars start at $8 a stick and only go up from there; they're nice, but not $10 nice
4) How to make it better? Lower prices on house cigars and get more selection - choosing between Arturo Fuente, ACID and a house cigar isn't much of a choice; give breaks if I ask about buying a box too. Though I doubt they'll do this - they're pretty much the only cigar place in all of St. Pete, so they have no competition, and no incentive to lower any of their prices
His prices are good and very often when you are browsing in the humidor, he'll stick a smoke in your pocket and tell you it's on him.
The only thing that would make it better is the addition of a smoking lounge. He had a deal going with Montecristo to defray part of the cost of adding one to his shop, but I guess that did not go through. You can smoke in his shop and he has coffee available, but a lounge would be great!
1. "Utopia Cigars" in Chicago on the NW side and "Cigar King" in Skokie, IL a Northern Suburb of Chicago
2. I like them both for different reasons..... Utopia is a small neighborhood joint with a modest selection and decent prices. The shop is cozy and the staff is friendly. It's "old school". Lots of 50-somethings hanging out busting balls. At 32, I'm one of the "young bucks". Plus, their home blend is one of my favorite smokes. They really have a nice selection of home blends.
Cigar King is definitely more upscale but not too pretentious. Their prices are a little better because they deal in more volume. The staff is friendly but not too attentive. But I think that has to do with their volume of customers. It's a big shop that has 20-30 customers at any given time. And there's usually only 2 people manning the shop, so you have to wait if you need specific help. Their selection is top-notch. I have yet to try their house blend, but I hear it's decent. They have regular events and parties, which Utopia doesn't do very often.
I really can't say which one I like better because the pros and cons of each balance them out.
3. Utopia definitely needs a makeover. But that's no big secret. They could use updated TVs and furniture. Plus, their inventory is kind of sporadic.
My only beef with Cigar King is that they don't have free parking. It's metered street parking only. Granted, it's cheap meters, but getting change is a hassle and the cops around their are like vultures with the expired meters. So, not really a beef with Cigar King, but more with Skokie.