The 10 Best Cigars, From an El Septimo Bordeaux to Fuente Eye of the Bull
The Big Idea: A Well-Lighted Place
On August 11, 2023, a group of like-minded guests in Santa Barbara, Calif., watched the Perseids meteor shower streak across the night sky. It was a stellar display that happened to coincide with the launch of the Cohiba Experience at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara. Fittingly, the event marked the reopening of a smoker-friendly venue that had been snuffed out by the pandemic.
Call them cigar bars, terraces, or smoking lounges, these spaces—which first flourished during the cigar boom of the 1990s—are a modern (and more inclusive) answer to the chummy gentleman’s clubs of the 19th century. While many shuttered during the Covid-induced lockdowns of 2020, the past year has seen an increase in high-end debuts both in the United States and abroad. The spike reflects a pent-up desire for the social atmosphere that comes with enjoying a good cigar. And the basic appeal is self-evident: an enviable selection of premium cigars, and the premium spirits to match, in comfortably luxe settings that range from Victorian dens to upscale man caves.
In February, Macanudo more than doubled its portfolio of such sought-after boîtes by establishing clubs in Jakarta, Taipei, and Shreveport, La., which joined existing lounges in New York City and Kuala Lumpur. “By opening cigar lounges in strategic locations across the globe, we’re not just offering special places for enjoying handmade cigars,” says Régis Broersma, chief commercial officer of Scandinavian Tobacco Group, which owns Cohiba and Macanudo. “We’re cultivating unparalleled experiences with our brands.” And since 2022, El Septimo has opened 35 lounges globally, including recent locations in Las Vegas, Denver, and Erbil, Iraq. More are planned in Europe and the Middle East.
Put simply, cigar smokers like hanging out. But they aren’t the only winners in this scenario: More people going to cigar bars naturally correlates to, well, more cigar sales. “Brick-and-mortar [retailers] need any advantage to compete with mail order companies, and offering spirits is the best way to get people in,” says Michael Frey, who owns the Casa Fuente, Cigarbox, and Montecristo bars in Las Vegas. Provide a convivial atmosphere—the more, the merrier—and some of the finer things in life, and the current trend suggests customers will find you. Which may, of course, push the standards for service even higher. As Frey puts it, “Customers are looking for the complete experience.”
