A nice trip to the B&M, my new favorite cigar, and a dilemma

[fizguy]

Yesterday my wife gave me her blessing to head over to the B&M to enjoy a cigar indoors (it has been below freezing here for the past few days) and do some work on my laptop. I brought a Tatuaje (brown label) reserva J21 and planned to buy a cigar at the shop but smoke the Tat.

Wow! This was a great cigar! The flavors were awesome and never turned bitter. I could have smoke this for three hours. Too bad it is over $200 a box! I think I can say this is the best cigar I have ever smoked.

One of the other guys in the smoking room brought a bottle of scotch (speyside, I think) and was willing to share so about halfway through the cigar I had a nice drink to pair it with. I never did any work either, just read a little bit. That made it even nicer.

The dilemma is this: in order to use the smoking room one must first make a cigar purchase. I understand that and have no problem with it. The cigar I bought was a Joya de Nicaragua antono 1970, not sure of the size but looks to be toro. It was over $10. I bought it because it is something I have wanted to try for some time and if I am going to buy a cigar of course it will be one I will want to smoke at some point. I also bought it for the privilege of indoor smoking (here in maryland there is a new law to make the whole state "smoke free"). I want to support my local B&M but $10 for this stick seemed quite high. Excessively high.

What do you all think? Am I just too cheap?

Not to end on a down note I will repeat: the reserva J21 is an awesome cigar!!

[Mr.Maduro]

Same thing here. Most of the B&M's and cigar lounges here want you to make a purchase to use their smoking facilities or charge a $10 "cutting fee" if you bring your own.(I love that) It did keep you out of the cold, enjoying a nice cigar and scotch and you got a cigar that you wanted to try. I don't think the $10 charge for all that is too much!

Make freinds with the guy in the B&M and maybe next time he'll let you smoke without making a purchase!

[Addiction]

Originally Posted by fizguy

Yesterday my wife gave me her blessing to head over to the B&M to enjoy a cigar indoors (it has been below freezing here for the past few days) and do some work on my laptop. I brought a Tatuaje (brown label) reserva J21 and planned to buy a cigar at the shop but smoke the Tat.

Wow! This was a great cigar! The flavors were awesome and never turned bitter. I could have smoke this for three hours. Too bad it is over $200 a box! I think I can say this is the best cigar I have ever smoked.

One of the other guys in the smoking room brought a bottle of scotch (speyside, I think) and was willing to share so about halfway through the cigar I had a nice drink to pair it with. I never did any work either, just read a little bit. That made it even nicer.

The dilemma is this: in order to use the smoking room one must first make a cigar purchase. I understand that and have no problem with it. The cigar I bought was a Joya de Nicaragua antono 1970, not sure of the size but looks to be toro. It was over $10. I bought it because it is something I have wanted to try for some time and if I am going to buy a cigar of course it will be one I will want to smoke at some point. I also bought it for the privilege of indoor smoking (here in maryland there is a new law to make the whole state "smoke free"). I want to support my local B&M but $10 for this stick seemed quite high. Excessively high.

What do you all think? Am I just too cheap?

Not to end on a down note I will repeat: the reserva J21 is an awesome cigar!!

Curious which B&M, but at a guess sounds like Titan. B&Ms need to make a little money to keep thier doors open, no harm or foul meant in it. So what you really have to ask is does a Joya de Nicaragua antono 1970 cost $9-$10 everywhere or is your local shop exceptionally high. I have no idea because I can't recall ever having had one. And if your local shop is high is it so high that you aren't willing to pay to smoke there?

[fizguy]

Originally Posted by Mr.Maduro

Same thing here. Most of the B&M's and cigar lounges here want you to make a purchase to use their smoking facilities or charge a $10 "cutting fee" if you bring your own.(I love that) It did keep you out of the cold, enjoying a nice cigar and scotch and you got a cigar that you wanted to try. I don't think the $10 charge for all that is too much!

Make freinds with the guy in the B&M and maybe next time he'll let you smoke without making a purchase!

Good point. Was the experience worth $10? I think it was. Can I do it every week? Probably not, but that's OK. It makes it more special when I can.

[dunng]

The price sounds a little high, but over all it sounds worth while...

[dwhitacre]

It is all about relativity. I would do anything to live in a State (short of moving) that did not have the strict rules and heavy taxation that California does.

First off - In CA you can't just bring a bottle of anything with alcohol into a B&M smoke lounge unless they sell it, which means they have to have a liquor license and you would pay like a million dollars for the bottle.

Second - Yes. It sounds like your B&M inflated the price. But to sit indoors whilst not freezing anything off is nice. You don't have a cover charge. You can presumable stay as long as you like. If you went into a restaurant or a bar you would be expected to buy something and tip. It is worth the $10.00. That stick would probably cost you $15.00 at my B&M.

Third - You are keeping your local B&M in business. In California you would have to search everywhere to find a place like that. My B&M doesn't even have a place to smoke. The laws you speak of coming to your fine State have already decimated California. They are trying to pass laws to stop people from smoking in their own backyard. The closest lounge for me is nearly 100 miles away.

As bad as I make it sound... I am still thankful I can smoke my overly inflated stogies in my backyard.

Enjoy what you have!!! Thank God for your freedoms!!!

Smoke one for me!!!

[fizguy]

Originally Posted by Addiction

Curious which B&M, but at a guess sounds like Titan. B&Ms need to make a little money to keep thier doors open, no harm or foul meant in it. So what you really have to ask is does a Joya de Nicaragua antono 1970 cost $9-$10 everywhere or is your local shop exceptionally high. I have no idea because I can't recall ever having had one. And if your local shop is high is it so high that you aren't willing to pay to smoke there?

It was Davidus in Ellicott City. One of the things I chuckled at was when I sat down, someone else came in at the same time and turned on the overhead lights for reading. Prior to that the lighting had been from desk lamps around the room. The manager came in right after that and turned the desk lamps off, saying she wanted to save money on electricity. Now the overhead light did provide sufficient lighting for reading but they were fluorescent which is not as pleasant as incandescent, IMO. I guess I could have turned one of the desk lamps back on but for some reason it just struck me that they were charging a very high price for a cigar and couldn't even keep all the lights on.

Not to speak poorly of them, though. The cigars were all well maintained, no mold like I have seen in another B&M in the area, and the smoking room was comfortable and clean. They have a nice walk in humidor with a decent selection. Also lots of pipes and pipe tobacco. The place smells great!

[Addiction]

Originally Posted by fizguy

It was Davidus in Ellicott City. One of the things I chuckled at was when I sat down, someone else came in at the same time and turned on the overhead lights for reading. Prior to that the lighting had been from desk lamps around the room. The manager came in right after that and turned the desk lamps off, saying she wanted to save money on electricity. Now the overhead light did provide sufficient lighting for reading but they were fluorescent which is not as pleasant as incandescent, IMO. I guess I could have turned one of the desk lamps back on but for some reason it just struck me that they were charging a very high price for a cigar and couldn't even keep all the lights on.

Not to speak poorly of them, though. The cigars were all well maintained, no mold like I have seen in another B&M in the area, and the smoking room was comfortable and clean. They have a nice walk in humidor with a decent selection. Also lots of pipes and pipe tobacco. The place smells great!

I typically go to the Davidus in Urbana when I am up that way. Really like that one and the guy who is typically aroudn when I go in turns a blind eye towards what I'm smoking but I still buy something out of courtesy.

[Will_S]

JDN Antano Consuls are, I believe, 5-6$ at my local b&m. The price you paid sounds a little high to me.

[hdroadking]

tis a dilemma. the b&m has the outlay of cash for inventory, expenses like rent, utilities, payroll, taxes, etc. then they are certainly allowed to make a profit. so i'm thinking it is their right to set whatever price they think necessary to make a living. and it is your right to decide if you want to pay it in order to take advantage of their smoking room.
i don't like being gouged by b&m's, but as a small business owner, i know i can't compete just on price with internet sellers who have little to no overhead. i have to decide what a price is that will be close to the lowest price, but still allow me to make a living and be able to buy cigars myself. personally, i buy some from a slightly over priced b&m for convenience and some from online dealers for price. my choice. free market.

[Finfan]

First off--great title to your post. Made me want to click and read more. Maybe you should go into advertising, if you're not already there.

I'm not exactly sure what that JDNA would cost here in RI--maybe 8 bucks? so 10 sounds a bit high.

That being said a place to smoke indoors is hard to price, but IMO i think worth the $10, kindof like going to a bar and buying a pint for 4-5 bucks when you can drink at home for far less.

Great to hear you loved the Tat--havent had that one yet but have loved the red and brown labels. i've had my eye on this sampler:

http://www.newhavanacigars.com/Tatua...ed-sampler.htm

[Scud]

The price is a little high, but consider it as a cover charge like a bar, except you get to have a smoke and not freeze you ass off. $10 is high for a quick run-in run-out grab of a smoke, but considering everything else you got for your money, it wasn't bad at all.

[williegstyles]

Originally Posted by Mr.Maduro

Same thing here. Most of the B&M's and cigar lounges here want you to make a purchase to use their smoking facilities or charge a $10 "cutting fee" if you bring your own.(I love that) It did keep you out of the cold, enjoying a nice cigar and scotch and you got a cigar that you wanted to try. I don't think the $10 charge for all that is too much!

Make freinds with the guy in the B&M and maybe next time he'll let you smoke without making a purchase!

One of the lounges that I frequent charges $800.00/year for a membership or $20/day and i've sat in their at 20-25 times without ever being charged. However, I've become pretty decent friends with the owner and manager over the course of time.

How much would that glass of scotch cost? FYI....I'm not drinker!

[Munkey]

A movie that last 1.5 hours costs $9. The popcorn and soda $12.

I think you made out like a bandit.

[MeNimbus]

I always make a purchase to patronize the lounge I am going to smoke in. It helps the B&M and I have a spot to sit and enjoy a cigar.