smokingban

Nevada, like so many other states, has a smoking ban for establishments that serve food. This changed life for a lot of cigar smokers, a fact realized by Susan and Jeff Melvin. So, they opened Jimmy G's Cigar Bar in downtown Carson City last month, bringing a new alternative to those of us who enjoy a good cigar every now and then. Though Jimmy G's doesn't serve food, guests can order meals from Garibaldi's or Kim Lee Sushi, which are nearby and deliver.

In addition to serving a wide variety of spirits, the new cigar bar has 4,000 cigars available, representing a wide range of prices. So, there should be something on hand or just about every taste and budget. Televisions have been installed, along with wireless internet access, all at the request of customers. Hell, the proprietors even cut martini prices based on feedback from guests, so you can be confident that your opinions will be taken seriously at this lounge.

This is the second Jimmy G's Cigar Bar, with the first in Minden, Nevada, which switched from restaurant to cigar bar in 2006.

Cigar Aficionado readers know that there are some great lounges in Manhattan, though I hope they didn't suffer through that absurd video shot to accompany the article. The article did hit the major attractions, but there are some other hidden gems that only the devout locals know about. If you're looking to sit down and enjoy a cigar in the city, you have plenty of choices – take advantage of them!

Even with the smoking ban, there are more cigar shops and lounges than even most New Yorkers realize. In addition to the major stores like De La Concha and Davidoff Madison Avenue, boutique hand-rollers dot the city, and they are worth a visit from time to time.

So, the next time you set out for the quintessential Manhattan smoke, mix it up. Hit the major shops, but also stop by the places that are off the beaten path. You'll enjoy the experience.

Maybe, society has had enough. In Spokane, Washington, even non-smokers came to the defense of the cigar community when public golf courses tried to implement a ban. Other places are relying on creativity, such as tobacconist De La Concha's cigar dinners. In New Hampshire, the legislature is getting involved – a bill may legalize the sale of liquor in cigar bars.

In most places, it's tough to find a social setting where you can enjoy a cocktail and a cigar at the same time. The "live free or die" folks are looking to change that. If tobacconists are able to receive liquor licenses, the resulting store traffic could offset much of the damage being done by the financial crisis.

For Two Guys Smoke Shop in Salem, New Hampshire – where I used to go when I lived in northern Massachusetts – sales have fallen since the state banned smoking in restaurants two years ago, with particular effect in the winter. The ability to sell drinks would make the venue more enticing to customers, keep them in seats longer and likely result in an increase in sales.

There aren't many cigar venues left in New England or elsewhere in the country where you can smoke and drink at the same time. In Manhattan, we have a few spots, and Boston has Cigar Masters. Many cities have their hidden gems, but you have to find them. For the cigar smokers of New Hampshire, however, this could change. And, if you believe that Dixville Notch chooses the president every four years, expect to see similar laws pop up in other states.

The weather is getting warmer, and restaurants in cities across the United States are stretching out onto sidewalks. Why not bring a touch of Europe across the Atlantic and enjoy the fresh air? Well, for some, fresh air is what's at issue. Smokers, after spending a winter enduring the elements, are happy to enjoy a bit of comfort. With most cities passing smoking bans, outside has become the last option for a lot of us, and outdoor dining almost always leads to ill will.

I was out on my front stoop a few nights ago, cigar in hand – as I've done for the past two years at this location. Customers at Bistro Cassis, a few doors down, complained loudly and in shrill voices, "You can't do that! It's blowing right at us!" Well, I reminded her, it's a public place, and I can do what I want. I continued to enjoy my cigar, though I moved back a little bit, so the building would provide some cover. Routinely, staff at the restaurant has been unnecessarily rude, perhaps in an attempt to show some advocacy for guests. Routinely, the staff fails.

Had she asked nicely, of course, I would have gladly relocated to the benches on Central Park West, a block away. Most cigar smokers seem to share this attitude. Ask nicely, and we'll accommodate the best we can. Demands and rude tones tend not to yield the desired results.

Smoking bans are an easy target for cigar smokers (and, for that matter cigarette smokers), and I admit, our community gripes about them a bit too much. We're past the point of being productive, and dwelling on the injustice feels like a waste of time. The fight for outdoor spaces, however, is a very real outcome of the prohibition on indoor smoking. Without locations where we can partake of our chosen luxury, we're forced outside. Though the laws vary, most do not prohibit smoking on sidewalks. So, that's where we go, disrupting dining experiences as a result.

Not all golfers smoke cigars, and not all cigar smokers golf. Nonetheless, there is a hefty chunk of both groups that overlaps. Step out onto the links at any major course, and you're bound to find more than a handful of duffers with stogies lit while they fret about their backswings. Now, this tradition is in jeopardy.

Across the country, public golf courses are trying to ban what essentially is outdoor smoking where common courtesy dictates that you not get too close to the groups around you anyway. It comes as no shock that many golfers are resisting the trend.

The city of Spokane, WA is the latest to attempt a prohibition on lighting up while teeing off, only to back down in the face of immense opposition. It's already hard enough to enjoy a cigar in Washington, which has banned indoor smoking – not to mention puffing within 25 feet of a door or window.

The Spokane golfers' victory is an anomaly. Several public courses have succeeded in keeping cigars off courses, including San Francisco, Glendale and Pasadena, CA; Hawaii County, HI; Bloomington, MN.; Goshen, IN.; Abilene, TX and Arvada, CO.

So, it looks like you'll only see the most upscale of cigars at golf courses in the near future. After all, country clubs will be the only places that can make their own rules.

The City of Boston just can't seem to make up its mind. Back in December, officials were mulling an absolute smoking ban that likely would have led to the closure of several cigar-related businesses (such as Cigar Masters on Boylston St.). Now, the city sees tobacco as a way to bring some new cash into ol' Beantown's coffers – up to $13 million annually, actually. The tax increase would cover loose tobacco, small cigars and smokeless tobacco.

Having tapped the cigarette well dry with a recent tax increase from $1 a pack to $2.51 last July, the lawmakers have had to hunt elsewhere. Officials, with bizarre logic, believe that the cigarette tax has led price-sensitive teenagers to consume other forms of tobacco. Yet, there has been no report of an outbreak hoodlums smoking White Owls at Copley.

While this measure does not affect the luxury cigar market directly, the underlying thinking may signal future legislative ambition. Cigarettes, long the preferred tobacco product to tax, will eventually lose their value as a source of tax revenue, particularly if they are taxed out of existence. While the stated ambition of the proposed Massachusetts measure is to price tobacco out of the reach of minors, it also suggests that alternative sources of tobacco tax may be necessary.

We've seen this thinking in action with the SCHIP. The states may follow.

Worried about the future of your right to enjoy cigars? Join the Cigar Rights of America.

A bit ahead of the official tour, New York tobacconist De La Concha hosted an in-store dinner to celebrate the Avo Campanero. More than 20 guests filled the Sixth Ave. store to smoke, dine and savor the cigar legend's latest creation.

The dinner began promptly at 8 PM on March 19, 2009, with more than a dozen customers waiting on the sidewalk long before that. As the doors opened, they filed in, claimed the prized stick and began to smoke one of the most highly anticipated cigars of the year. According to Davidoff New York Sales Manager Brad Hammond, the Campanero is Avo's best limited edition cigar in the past three years – since the Avo 80, released in 2006. This claim was confirmed within the first two inches.

The robust cigar is not for novices of the leaf and would be preferred by experienced smokers. It consists of a Cuban seed, sun-grown Ecuadorian wrapper and Dominican binder. The filler is a blend of six different leaves, one of which is Peruvian. The Avo Campanero is incredibly well constructed, burns evenly and delivers a rich, powerful flavor.

If you live in Scottsdale, AZ, you're about to have a new place to smoke. Pat Mitchel, owner of 21 Degrees Cigar & Accessories, is expanding his store with a Rocky Patel-sponsored lounge. Smoking bans have made lounges more important than ever to the success of the cigar trade, as customers are running out of places to smoke.

The engagement of sponsors is starting to gather momentum, particularly given tough market conditions in which every brand needs to find every advantage available. Sources say that Cigar Inn, in New York, entertained offers from several manufacturers before finally giving the sponsorship opportunity to magazine Cigar Aficionado.

Mitchell's sponsor, Rocky Patel, is excited to be participating in its first lounge, saying "Scottsdale is a good location, with good clientele."

The store pulls its name from the temperature, 21 degrees Celsius (just off 70 degrees Fahrenheit) at which humidors are kept.

A split Legislature in Nebraska is struggling over whether to exempt cigar bars from a statewide smoking ban. The clock is ticking, as it takes effect on June 1. The measure, Legislative Bill 355, would limit smoking to half a dozen bars across the state – specifically, locations that have installed the appropriate humidors and air-handling equipment.

This is not a proposed repeal of the smoking ban. Instead, it's a small exception that would allow adults to consume a legal product ... and it would prevent several businesses from forced closure. In today's economic environment, common sense would dictate that the government doesn't need to put even more pressure on companies that are struggling to survive.

To qualify under the bill, a bar would have to show the State Liquor Control Commission that at least 15 percent of its revenue comes from the sale of tobacco. Few establishments would qualify, according to State Senator Scott Lautenbaugh. Any that tried to skew the results – e.g., by "selling cigars for $15 with a free steak dinner" – would prompt a movement to change the law.

Again, common sense suffers, as it would be tough for a "cigar bar" to stay open if it was giving away expensive meals.

[Photo by Steve Zak]

Graduations, weddings, business meetings ... it's getting harder and harder to have a cigar at these types of events. We like to celebrate, but we can't do it the way we'd like, with a cigar in hand. The Mobile Cigar Lounge thus solves an interesting problem. You can smoke inside while still being outside your venue. The smoking experience can follow you, enhancing any event for lovers of the leaf.

The Mobile Cigar Lounge is enormous, large enough to accommodate substantial crowds. The lounge has been used for as few as four people and to augment events of more than 100,000. At any time, up to 20 guests can sit comfortably. And, yes, smoking is not only permitted but encouraged. Leather benches provide for comfort, and humidors line the walls. A flat-screen television provides entertainment. This self-powered, self-contained environment provides everything you need to make cigar-smoking part of your event.

For amateurs and seasoned veterans, the Mobile Cigar Lounge comes with a "cigarista" – think Starbucks barista with a bit more style, and cigars instead of coffee – to provide a bit of guidance to newbies and generally help the experience along.

The Mobile Cigar Lounge is the most interesting angle I've seen on the cigar business yet. It's the first luxury smoking environment that can follow you. If you're looking for a way to undermine your local smoking ban, this one's tough to beat.

The 2009 Tobacconists' Association of America (TAA) Convention kicks off on Sunday, March 8. Tobacconists and manufacturers from around the world will converge on the CasaMagna Marriott for four days of reconnecting, deal-making and of course plenty of cigar smoking. I'm currently at this Cancun resort and am happy to give the attendees – and jealous onlookers – a few insights into the event's host.

Surprisingly, smoking bans have crossed the border, forcing the CasaMagna to be smoke-free. The lobby, restaurants, bars and guestrooms, for the most part, are off-limits for puffing. Fortunately, poolside smoking is fine, and you can light up in the bar that sits alongside the beach.

Igniting your cigar may be a challenge. With airlines frustrating efforts to carry torches, matches may be your only available option (unless you bleed your lighter and find someone to refill it for you in Cancun. The wind off the Caribbean is strong, so look for sheltered corners to use when firing up (there are a handful of them almost everywhere on the property).

A loophole in Mexico's smoking laws allows CasaMagna to welcome TAA's smokers into the Sa Si Thai restaurant, as it is a covered outdoor space. So, you'll be able to enjoy your favorite Avo, Fuente or Davidoff (or anything else) unmolested. The hotel has extended this restaurant's hours of operation to accommodate late-night indulging. After last call, you can retreat to your room's balcony to tie off the night with your preferred stick.

According to Gregory Mottola, of Cigar Aficionado, most of Chicago's cigar smoking takes place in local smoke shops. A smoking ban has whittled the field of options down, and there aren't any grandfathered establishments (as there, for example, in New York). Of course, lighting up on Michigan Avenue works for only part of the year, thanks to the city's brutal winters.

Mottola did find luck at Jack Schwartz Importer, a small shop on West Jackson Boulevard in the financial district. The store is small, but it does have a few chairs – for which there is considerable competition. Unfortunately, Jack Schwartz closes at 5 PM, leaving few options for an evening smoke.

When Mottola asks a store manager where people smoke after work, the reply was brutal and blunt: "They don't. This is pretty much it."

Iwan Ries, which also closes at 5 PM, has a 1,000 square-foot lounge on its second floor, with large windows that allow plenty of sunlight. Black leather chairs, televisions and wood floors adorn the lounge. Non-members have to pay a $10 fee (per day), and they, like members, are required to bring their own spirits. The store does not have lockers or personal humidors on site.

Planning to be in Manhattan on March 19, 2009? Check out the Avo Companero cigar dinner at De La Concha at 8 PM. The Copmpanero, new this year, is a limited edition product and will be the featured stick of the evening. This and several other cigars will be served with a three-course meal from Manhattan restaurant Rue 57 and an open bar. At $145, this is a pretty good deal (I'm speaking from experience).

The De La Concha in-store cigar dinners began because of New York smoking restrictions. Since restaurants and bars can no longer allow us to light up, this Mid-Town retailer periodically hosts up to 30 guests with a catered meal and a small live band. At each event, a particular brand is featured. Past cigars have included: Ashton, Don Pepin Garcia and Davidoff Millennium.

Tickets are available now at De La Concha.

Any cigar events coming up at your local shop or lounge? Let me know at tom.johansmeyer[at]weblogsinc.com.

[Photo by Steve Zak]

In Prince George's County, at least, cigars aren't as evil as they used to be. County council member Samuel H. Dean introduced a bill that would soften existing restrictions on cigar sales. The language currently in force is considered to be the strictest in the country.

If you find yourself short a cigar in Prince George's County right now, you wouldn't be able to buy one. You could buy an entire box, but not a single cigar. Dean's bill would change this ludicrous practice. Also included in the measure are clauses that define cigar products as controlled dangerous substances.

The current law took effect last November and was intended to keep kids from using "hollowed-out cigars to smoke marijuana." Because kids are smoking blunts, the rest of us can't buy an Ashton VSG (which you'd be crazy to split and refill).

While we'd all love to believe that the new bill is an effort to right a wrong, the reality is that litigation is behind the measure. Several cigar retailers, a wholesaler and an "enthusiast" have sued Prince George's county for $20 million in compensatory and punitive damages. They claim that the cigar ban is unconstitutional.

[Via The Washington Post, photo by Steve Zak]

Cigar Aficionado has long had a policy about news and retailers: it doesn't happen. Well, times are tough, and it looks like those walls are coming down. The magazine doesn't have much of a choice, particularly after word has spread of between 25 and 30 layoffs (heard it from two confidential sources). So, what happens next? The publication dives headfirst into editorial prostitution.

The newly opened Cigar Inn -- on Second Avenue between E 54th Street and E 55th Street -- features a Cigar Aficionado-sponsored smoking lounge, with leather chairs, a working fireplace and even a barber's chair (of little use ot me, thanks to mother nature. You can get your sartorial needs taken care of at the Brioni counter.

So, it's hardly surprising that this establishment is popping up regularly on the once sacrosanct pages of the cigar community's "bible." The good news, however, is that you'll be able to get a sense (however brief) of what your other options are in New York.