New York - New Jersey -Philadelphia cigar trip
Trip Start
Unknown
1
2
7
Trip End
Ongoing
Malmö, Skåne, Sweden
Monday, February 22, 2010
After a hard winter in Sweden it was time to go to New York. This trip was all about the cigars, the plan was to explore different cigars and cigar bars. When arriving at Newark Airport I was greeted with sun and mild weather. It was wonderful.
After a couple of days it started snowing but overall the weather was so much better than Sweden and it boosted my state of mind. On my way to the US I bought some nice AVO cigars at Copenhagen Airport. For those who have not been to Copenhagen Airport it is the best airport I have been to, there are lovely shops and restaurants, my favorite seafood and caviar bar is there. The cigar shop is great with a very impressive selection of Cuban cigars and competitive prices but could not buy any Cubans since I was flying into the USA
Meat and cigar time
. The dominant brand among the non-Cuban brands was Davidoff, since I have tried that brand many times before I opted for AVO Uvezian Maestoso XO Serie Trio; 19 mm, 178 mm; instead. The box was lovely with an "Artisan" feeling to it.Once in New Jersey (where I stayed) I started to cook some nice food and opened a nice bottle of Chateau neuf du Pape. This wine is one of the very good wines that you can find in most places for a good price. After dinner with my wonderful woman it was time for Remi Martin Cognac, Bacardi Reserva 8 years and a cigar. I opened my AVO box and the aroma was like that of young and fresh grass. It had a good and even smoke and the taste was smooth with flavors of coconut and cacao. Although mild in taste, the effect of the nicotine was strong. This was a very good smoke and AVO is now a favorite of mine. I got very relaxed and cozy as I watched the snow come down from the living room window.
I kicked-off my cigar exploration in New Jersey with a good NY strip and a bottle of wine for lunch at Smoke Chophouse & Cigar Emporium in Englewood. For “dessert” I had some Arturo Fuente Gran Reserva. The aroma was hay-grass and it had a medium body with cacao taste, it was a perfect ending to a good steak. I recommend Chophouse to all meat and cigar lovers
Arturo Fuente Gran Reserva
. On the way to the car, my girlfriend and I saw a cigar shop, Smokers World of Englewood. Smoker world is not too stylish, but it is a genuine cigar shop with good prices on some cigars and a nice everyday hang-out place for local cigar smokers. Next stop was The Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood. It is a very nice space with second floor seating looking down onto the main floor. I was greeted by the friendly, pipe-smoking owner who had lots of good stories to tell. A nice bonus for me was that they carried fresh Swedish snus General loose, so I bought 10 cans. The cigar room was very well stocked with all high quality cigars; I was like a kid in a toy store. I got a bit carried away and bought a lot of cigars! This is a place I will always make sure to go when I am in NY/NJ area. Last stop in New Jersey area was JR Cigars in Paramus. JR is HUGE and like a supermarket for cigars, they carried all high end brands but also a whole bunch of cheaper cigars. The coolest thing was that huge whole room was a humidor. The shop is a little bit too big and supermarket like for my taste. I bought some Auroras and a really cool book about Cuban cigars and brands (also the lesser known ones). The book is good basic information to have.For the next few days I sampled some of the cigars I bought. San Cristobal, Corona was a real power house of a cigar with aroma and taste of chili and pepper. Of the fuller/stronger cigars I like Padrón a lot
And good drinks...
. I like 1926 the most with its nutty lovely taste. I saw in the cigar shop Rocky Patel which looks a lot like Padrón and gave it a try, summarize aroma, taste and price with “Padrón light”. Illusione 888 is a beautiful cigar in a nice box that had a smooth nice taste with a hint of nuts. The price is moderate so it makes it a good budget cigar.La Aurora Edition 1903, Corojo Gold Edition has lovely packaging, both the box and the tubes. The packaging is feminine and warm. The aroma is strong honey and to my surprise, the taste is also like honey. I think the whole concept can appeal a lot to women cigar smokers. Gurkha was next on the list. The cigar was huge and brutal; it did not burn even and was flaky. The taste was not good. I think Gurkha has among the best ads and cool packaging, but at least he cigar I had was a disappointment and I do not recommend it. The day after I had a non-Cuban Punch and I was back to good cigars. Punch does not stand out in any way but is a decent good cigar.
After hanging out in New Jersey it was time to start exploring New York and then later Philadelphia. When checking out places on the internet, Velvet Cigar Lounge and Bar looked interesting so I went down to 7 St on Manhattan to check it out. It is a dark underground type of place that was not my cup of tea but probably great for the younger more punk like cigar smokers. I went uptown later to see more places. Barclay Rex has a great supply of cigar accessories and I bought a cigar case in nice leather for only 40 dollars. Next was their walk-in humidor, the staff was well educated and I wanted to try something new and for a good price. He recommended Cabaiguan Guapos which I later tried. The cigar is tight and nice and reminded a lot of Illusione with a smooth flavor
Cannot be better
.Next stop was Cigar Inn with a really cool concept: cigars, shaving and shoe polishing, all in the store. It is like going back in time. Their lounge was really nice as well. Their supply of cigars was decent. By now I wanted a drink and since I have done Macanudo on my previous trips I decided to go to Lexington Bar and Books. The bar was very warm and welcoming; as soon as I walked in the door all the stress of Manhattan was gone. Macanudo is a place to party and Lexington Bar and Books is a place to unwind and reflect. My girlfriend and I had a couple of drinks; I lit up a Nat Sherman Suave. It was smooth and silky and good for a long smoke. I got a little dry feeling in the mouth but overall good cigar well suited for a long smoke. I recommend Lexington Bar and Books for a date (who is OK with smoke), business meeting, reflect or to unwind after a hard day.
I decided to go to Philadelphia because I wanted to go to the CAO event at Holt´s Cigar Company and after checking it out in the internet I was very interested in Holt´s too. My girlfriend said Philadelphia was a really cool place and we decided to have a little get-away and stayed at Palomar Hotel in central Philadelphia. I liked the style a lot at the hotel. We only had to walk for 5 minutes to Holt´s and we were warmly welcomed
Smokers World of Englewood
. I checked out all the cigars they had and decided to have a smoke in the smoking lounge of the shop. I was always interested in Camacho Triple Maduro since it is a beautiful cigar that looks very rich. They did not serve alcohol in the lounge so I decided to have an Espresso. I was served by a nice lady and to my surprise the Espresso was full of “crema” and had great taste (and believe me, I am quite picky after all my time spent in Italy and Spain and having a Gaggia at home). I lit up the Camacho Triple Maduro but to my disappointment the cigar was flat and not very full body or taste. The cigar looked much better than it tasted. The experience in the lounge was good though. The CAO representative arrived into the shop and he gave me interesting information on how they make cigars at CAO. I am quite conservative in my cigars and love the traditional Cuban way of making cigars. CAO is scoring better and better in tasting and CAO is using innovative methods. It was interesting and inspiring, they had special discounts that day and I bought a whole bunch of different CAO cigars.It was now time for drinks and cigars, just upstairs over Holt's is a cigar bar called Mahogny on Walnut. We went up there and the place was dark, warm and stylish. We walked into a free whisky testing and then we ordered a rum sampler and a drink. I was so nice and I lit up CAO lancero and the cigar had perfect burn and well balanced taste
My "dessert"
. Then it was time for CAO Gold Vintage and the shape was round and feminine and felt tightly packed. The aroma was grass with a touch of honey and the taste was mild, rich and really good. I cannot really describe the taste better than to say it was damn good! CAO Gold Vintage was one of the best cigars I had during this trip and a really nice surprise. I will definitely buy more of the cigar when I get my hands on it. My girlfriend tried my cigars but also some flavored cigars. Some of the flavored cigars are getting better with better tobacco taste. We left Mahogany satisfied and headed to the Cuban restaurant Alma de Cuba and enjoyed very nice food. I had Lechon asado (young pork) nice and crispy on the outside and under that a layer soft like butter. It was sooo good.It was time to head home and basically my whole baggage was cigars. LOL. This trip has given me lots of inspiration and ideas for my own cigar meetings. Not only did I get to enjoy the cigars but also all the nice people I met. I will give updates on my future trips.
Big Papi
List of cigars – New York – New Jersey – Philadelphia
Short summary and notes
Arturo Fuente Gran Reserva
Aroma was hay-grass
JR
. Cacao taste. Good cigar.La Aurora Edicion 1903, Corojo Gold Edition
Lovely packaging, almost feminine. Aroma strong honey and taste mild and honey.
Avo Uvezian Maestoso XO Serie Trio; 19 mm, 178 mm
Aroma was like fresh grass. Taste smooth coco and cacao. Very good. A favorite of mine.
Cabaiguan Guapos
Smooth flavor. Good budget cigar.
Camacho Triple Maduro
Flat and not very full body or taste. Looked better than it tasted.
CAO Gold Vintage
Lovely shape and aroma
Inside JR store
. Taste was smooth but still very rich. Very good cigar.CAO Lancero
Perfect burn and well balanced taste.
Gurkha
Huge and brutal. Taste was not good.
Illusione 888
Very good budget cigar with smooth and nutty flavor.
Nat Sherman Suave
Smooth and silky. Good for a long smoke. A little dry feeling in mouth but overall good stuff.
Padrón 1926
Nutty lovely taste
The Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood
. Full cigar. Very good.Punch (non-Cuban)
Medium body and decent taste.
Rocky Patel
“Padrón light”.
San Cristobal; Corona
Aroma and taste chili and pepper. Powerhouse.
List of places – New York – New Jersey – Philadelphia
Barclay Rex
570 Lexington Ave (btw 51-52 St)
NY, NY 10022
212-888-1015
http://www.barclayrex.com/
Cigar Inn
1016 2 Ave (btw 53-54 St)
NY, NY 10022
212-750-0809
http://www.cigarinn.com/
Holt’s Cigar Company
1522 Walnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19102
215-732-8500
http://www.holts.com/home.html
JR Tobacco Outlet
184 Route 17 North
Paramus, NJ 07652
201-261-7988
http://www.jrparamus.com/
Lexington Bar and Books
1020 Lexington Ave (btw 72-73 St)
NY, NY 10021
212-717-3902
http://www.barandbooks.cz/lexington/
Mahogny on Walnut
1524 Walnut St, second floor
Philadelphia, PA 19102
215-732-3982
http://phillycigarbar.com/
Smoke Chophouse & Cigar Emporium
36 Engle St
Englewood, NJ 07631
201-541-8530
http://www.smokechophouse.com
Smokers World of Englewood
126 Engle Street
Englewood, NJ 07631
201-567-1305
http://www.smokersworldltd.com/
The Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood
10 Chestnut St
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
201-447-2204
http://fujipub.com/tobaccoshopofridgewood/
Velvet Cigar Lounge and Bar
80 E 7 St (btw 1-2 Ave)
NY, NY 10002
212-533-5582
http://www.velvetcigars.com
Comments
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