The PH Cigar Thread

[Miguel Alvarez]

Actually Mitchell I was going to message you guys off facebook but it's probably a better question here. Do you have a list of places that allow cigars to be smoked?

[smokeymo]

I don't have a list as such but if you shoot me an email with your location I may well know local cigar friendly locations

best

Mitchell

Miguel Alvarez said:

Actually Mitchell I was going to message you guys off facebook but it's probably a better question here. Do you have a list of places that allow cigars to be smoked?

[jinkster]

http://www.sauttercigars.com/cigar-friendly-establ...

[Mastodon2]

The relentless efforts of the legislators to stop people enjoying a smoke really irritate me. I understand that public smoking was an issue and generally our establishments are a lot better for not having foul cigarette smoke stinking the place out, and for not having your daily carcinogen intake increased just by standing in a bus shelter with a cigarette smoker. I also appreciate that people should be allowed to work in a smoke-free environment.

However, I do not see why cigars and pipe smoking should fall under the same remit; of course there are ways to have indoor smoking lounges but it's no doubt a hassle for the businesses that run them to jump through the hoops to have their lounges open to the public.

If there was such a thing as a cigar and pipe-friendly bar where you could take your own cigars and just buy drinks on site, I'm sure they would do an absolutely roaring trade, however this is not possible under UK law, which is a shame.

[BigBen]

I found a shop in Cambridge today where you could buy cigars then smoke them in their lounge area, not sure if booze was possible but they certainly sold it.

[Mastodon2]

Yes, lounges are allowed in tobacconist shops but there are stringent rules in place to stop them being free for all smoke easys. I'm not an expert, but my understanding is that they are allowed to be installed on a business premises where >50% of revenue is from the sale of tobacco or tobacco products, with the intention being that the lounge is provided for the sampling of the wares, hence anything being smoked must have been bought from the tobacconist providing the lounge. As far as I'm aware, if they wanted to sell alcohol they'd need the relevant licence, which would probably be difficult to obtain - I expect trying to get a tobacco sampling lounge and an alcohol licence for the same premises would pique the authorities interest in the business being a smoke easy.

What I am wishing for, but will never see again in this country, is a bar with comfortable seating and a selection of drinks and cigars for sale that can be consumed within the building. The provision of comfortable outdoor smoking areas is welcome, but still a massive compromise, albeit the best most hotels, bars etc can provide. If I'm having a couple of cigars I can easily sit for 4 hours. Even on the warmest of summer days, 4 hours in an outdoor smoking area, even a comfortable one, would be tiresome.

[jinkster]

I can highly recommend the Cafe De Paris, Monaco for sitting outside for a smoke. I was there last week. The climate down there is fantastic, long sleeve shirt in the evenings at this time of year. I paid about 6 euros for a Romeo Y Julieta No. 1 and sat outside for a good couple of hours with a coffee at 6 euros watching the cars and the atmosphere go past. There is no rush feeling at all. PH heaven if you ask me.

I'm not sure why the cigars were so cheap but its certainly the cheapest place in the world i've seen them.

[smokeymo]

Sounds like my Robert Graham shop on Sussex street :-)

BigBen said:

I found a shop in Cambridge today where you could buy cigars then smoke them in their lounge area, not sure if booze was possible but they certainly sold it.

[smokeymo]

More or less correct - the main point being that you can 'sample ' in our specialist cigar shops and lounges but if we feel that you are enjoying the cigars we will have to throw you out :-)

Mastodon2 said:

Yes, lounges are allowed in tobacconist shops but there are stringent rules in place to stop them being free for all smoke easys. I'm not an expert, but my understanding is that they are allowed to be installed on a business premises where >50% of revenue is from the sale of tobacco or tobacco products, with the intention being that the lounge is provided for the sampling of the wares, hence anything being smoked must have been bought from the tobacconist providing the lounge. As far as I'm aware, if they wanted to sell alcohol they'd need the relevant licence, which would probably be difficult to obtain - I expect trying to get a tobacco sampling lounge and an alcohol licence for the same premises would pique the authorities interest in the business being a smoke easy.

What I am wishing for, but will never see again in this country, is a bar with comfortable seating and a selection of drinks and cigars for sale that can be consumed within the building. The provision of comfortable outdoor smoking areas is welcome, but still a massive compromise, albeit the best most hotels, bars etc can provide. If I'm having a couple of cigars I can easily sit for 4 hours. Even on the warmest of summer days, 4 hours in an outdoor smoking area, even a comfortable one, would be tiresome.

[hacksaw]

I have a charity golf match coming up in the next few weeks and I'm wanting to take a few cigars along. Much as I enjoy the odd smoke, my exposure has basically been Romeo y juleitas and cohibas and so forth so I'm certainly no expert!!
I thought I would ask here for some recommendations of what to take along, something easy smoking and inoffensive that, hopefully, everyone will get along with. All the others in my group are similar to me, enjoy a social smoke but beginners.
Thoughts?

[The Black Baron]

Thanks for that Mitchell (and mods).

I will undoubtedly bundle up an order soon.

Cheers.

smokeymo said:

Okay so hopefully this will not break forum rules as I won't post any website url/email address/ prices but just general advice which may be helpful .

So if you are enjoying Montecristo No. 4 in terms of the size of the cigars I would suggest that you try Por Larranaga Petit Coronas. The blend is excellent and construction very good and currently they have beautiful golden brown wrappers.

Other additions/alternatives to consider that are smoking well at this time include:

Partagas Serie D No.6 - a new and funky size ( short and fat!)

Montecristo petit Edmundo

Hoyo Petit Robusto

H Upmann Majestic ( light but great day time Havana)

or for a change of pace ...consider new world Nicaraguan cigars such as :

Oliva Chubby, Skinny or Shorty

Regius Petit Robustos or robustos

or from Peru :

Inka Secret Blend robustos or Half Coronas

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

The Black Baron said:

Hi Mitchell.

As above, I think a few of of us may be regular customers (myself only a high-days and holidays partaker, so maybe only twice a year).

We had a big BBQ this bank holiday weekend: a few friends stayed late, got a bit loose on mojitos and emptied my humidor, so expect an order fairly soon. What great weather for a bank holiday!

I'm fairly new to cigars and have enjoyed your sampler packs for some differentiation over the last 5 years, so what would you suggest for the next order to refill the box? I'm not the most monied spender, so think 10 x Monte no. 4s as a base with another 10 recommendations thrown into the mix.

Mods, will this break PH ad rules? If so, please PM me Mitchell.

[BigBen]

smokeymo said:

Sounds like my Robert Graham shop on Sussex street :-)

BigBen said:

I found a shop in Cambridge today where you could buy cigars then smoke them in their lounge area, not sure if booze was possible but they certainly sold it.

That would be the one. So can you sample booze in there at the same time? The staff were very helpful BTW.

[Mastodon2]

hacksaw said:

I have a charity golf match coming up in the next few weeks and I'm wanting to take a few cigars along. Much as I enjoy the odd smoke, my exposure has basically been Romeo y juleitas and cohibas and so forth so I'm certainly no expert!!
I thought I would ask here for some recommendations of what to take along, something easy smoking and inoffensive that, hopefully, everyone will get along with. All the others in my group are similar to me, enjoy a social smoke but beginners.
Thoughts?

My personal recommendation would be the Gurkha Royal Challenge, they're relatively cheap at about £10 a stick, not too fat or long so you won't be standing around or throwing away half smoked cigars. They're a "mild-medium" according to Gurkha, but imo they've closer to mild. Very nice, creamy smoke and plenty of it. There is little point going into too much detail on flavour profile, suffice to say it looks like a cigar (it's big enough - another new smoker on this thread had a friend who wanted cigars of a certain size, likely in order to entertain a masculine appearance), it smells like a cigar and it tastes like a cigar, but the smooth, cool smoke and mild flavours mean it's unlikely you or your friends will struggle with them.

If you want to see the difference a strong, rich cigar can make, give one of the group an Alec Bradley Nica Puro. Photos of these on the net make them look dark brown, but I've had a Nica Puro Rough Cut Diamond (a diamond shape, rather than round cross section) and the wrapper was very dark, more a maduro shade, and they were heavyweights, dark and rich, my fellow smokers agreed they were right up at the full-bodied end of the scale. Maybe we just got a really strong batch! A new smoker would really struggle with one of these I think, so if you want some cruel fun give someone one of these and watch them become pale, clammy and uncomfortable looking, their golf will probably suffer too! But you wouldn't do that, would you?

Seriously though, Gurkha Royal Challenge, can't go wrong.

[hacksaw]

Thanks for that, I'll take a look and try and find some!!!

[Miguel Alvarez]

smokeymo said:

I don't have a list as such but if you shoot me an email with your location I may well know local cigar friendly locations

best

Mitchell

Miguel Alvarez said:

Actually Mitchell I was going to message you guys off facebook but it's probably a better question here. Do you have a list of places that allow cigars to be smoked?

Cheers Mitchell,

I'm happy to travel anywhere in the Thames Valley area. I'm Basingstoke/Reading based.

[red_slr]

Following my question about 70% humidity I never managed to get it over 61% even leaving it for a week closed.

So I am now trying one of these



Put it in yesterday and after 24 hours I am at.... 61%...

Will leave it a few days and see where it goes!

[EJH]

red_slr said:

Following my question about 70% humidity I never managed to get it over 61% even leaving it for a week closed.
So I am now trying one of these

Put it in yesterday and after 24 hours I am at.... 61%...
Will leave it a few days and see where it goes!

Have you checked your hygrometer for accuracy?

[red_slr]

I don't think its adjustable as its a digital one - its a humi-care one so I would have thought fairly accurate.
I do have an analogue one also and it reads about 1-2% higher than the humi-care.

[Mastodon2]

How full is the humidor? Do you have any cigars in it yet? They might be getting a bit dry if you do.

Is it a new humidor, and have you seasoned / conditioned the inside of it? New humidors can benefit from allowing rubbing distilled water into the ceder liner. It might be the case that your humidor is parched, and the wood is sucking up all the moisture - it should eventually balance out, but if your humidor has been sitting for a year in a warehouse in Guangdong province it could be pretty dry.

However, if you've tried two hygrometers and have taken reasonable steps to ensure they're working properly, I do wonder if your lid is sealing properly. A humidor needs a good seal to prevent moisture loss, when you shut it you should hear a slight whoosh as the lid goes down and makes the seal. If the seal isn't working, it could be the case that the humidor is effectively open to the room and has just acclimated to the relative humidity of the room you're keeping it in.

It seems almost daft to ask, but presumably you're keeping it away from direct sunlight and storing it in a cool location?

[Baryonyx]

Cuchillo said:

Had a Punch petit corona ... Blurgh does not even begin to describe it. Too tight on the roll. A hard draw. Rather dry (even thought it was bought at the exact same time and stored in the same humidor as the Diplomaticos. The smoke at best was weedy and what came out was very muddy. Tasted of nothing special and (thankfully) had no finish. If I did not know any better I would swear that the cat had managed get into the locked humidor and curled one out in there!

This is probably the 3rd of 4th Punch I have had over the years. I have yet to try one that did not make me want to, um, punch something!

Colour me surprised. The first cigar I ever had was a Punch, and since then I have always found them highly enjoyable, consistent cigars.