I had a horrible experience at one of the many shops around here today. I've been searching for the little shop that I can call my own, and up until today I thought I had found it. However, after lunch today, I'm not really sure I want to go back at all.
I'm lucky to live in a place that has a ton of great cigar shops. Each one has their positives and negatives, as most things do, but last week I found a nearly flawless shop. It has an impeccable humidor, great accessories, a great group of regulars to talk to while you shop, and a lounge in the back to watch tv and enjoy a smoke.
In my previous visits to this shop the employees had pointed me to some solid, obscure cigars that really fit what I was looking for. The only thing that bothered me at the time was their odd negative opinion on CAO sticks. That all changed in today's visit.
I was followed into the humidor by a seemingly helpful guy that pointed me to a Illusione Epernay. I mentioned that I loved good flavors with a lower strength. Nicotine isn't my thing ever since I quite smoking cigarettes. I just don't handle the head rush/head ache well. Well, the Epernay is small but fierce... I pointed out that it was WAY stronger than I was interested in, and the guy just smiled... He said "You're in the wrong place if you're looking for weak stuff"...
I brushed this off and continued shopping. I was interested in buying a nicer cutter than the $2.99 job that I had been using, and this shop happened to be a Cuban Crafters retailer. I asked to look at the Perfect Cut, and the guy went on a rant about how big a pile of junk they were. The other guys in the shop said that they rely on that cutter, so they don't destroy their smokes, and they really liked it. The employee said that it's no different than the cheap double guillotine cutters that you can buy at any store, outside of eliminating the "idiot factor". Then he pointed me toward the Xikar XI3 as a more solid alternative... at $80...
After that, I was starting to get a bit perturbed. I wandered into the humidor to look for something interesting to throw into the humi, and found that they had a full box of CAO Brazilia Piranhas. I was surprised to see them, since they were discontinued, and I've been thinking about focusing more on smaller ring gauge, shorter length smokes. The guy said "I've never seen anyone get so excited about a box of cigars thrown together for the frat boy d-bag" gesturing to the CAO America/Brazilia/Italia display... By this point I was just done with the guy. I walked to the other side of the humi and noticed they had a new box of Art Decos. Without a hitch the guy mentioned that he heard they were alright, but "Number 1.) I'd never smoke something called an Art Deco... 2.) I'd sure as hell never smoke anything called an Art Deco and with a band that looks like it came out of the movie Cars".
I really like the owner, and like I said earlier, the shop is really cool, but this guy has completed soured me to every stepping foot in the place again. I'm still really green in this hobby, and having a name dropping assbag talking yang about every cigar I pick up, primarily because people have actually heard of the grower before (This dude even smack talked Padron... "They're just simple") just makes me want to punch squirrels.
I left and went to another shop (that these guys ran into the ground) and bought a Palio, Patel Olde World Reserve, and an Art Deco. Guess what, not only did the owner NOT talk shit about the Deco, he gave me an invite to come meet the owner of Miami Cigar this friday...
Ugh...
I'm lucky to live in a place that has a ton of great cigar shops. Each one has their positives and negatives, as most things do, but last week I found a nearly flawless shop. It has an impeccable humidor, great accessories, a great group of regulars to talk to while you shop, and a lounge in the back to watch tv and enjoy a smoke.
In my previous visits to this shop the employees had pointed me to some solid, obscure cigars that really fit what I was looking for. The only thing that bothered me at the time was their odd negative opinion on CAO sticks. That all changed in today's visit.
I was followed into the humidor by a seemingly helpful guy that pointed me to a Illusione Epernay. I mentioned that I loved good flavors with a lower strength. Nicotine isn't my thing ever since I quite smoking cigarettes. I just don't handle the head rush/head ache well. Well, the Epernay is small but fierce... I pointed out that it was WAY stronger than I was interested in, and the guy just smiled... He said "You're in the wrong place if you're looking for weak stuff"...
I brushed this off and continued shopping. I was interested in buying a nicer cutter than the $2.99 job that I had been using, and this shop happened to be a Cuban Crafters retailer. I asked to look at the Perfect Cut, and the guy went on a rant about how big a pile of junk they were. The other guys in the shop said that they rely on that cutter, so they don't destroy their smokes, and they really liked it. The employee said that it's no different than the cheap double guillotine cutters that you can buy at any store, outside of eliminating the "idiot factor". Then he pointed me toward the Xikar XI3 as a more solid alternative... at $80...
After that, I was starting to get a bit perturbed. I wandered into the humidor to look for something interesting to throw into the humi, and found that they had a full box of CAO Brazilia Piranhas. I was surprised to see them, since they were discontinued, and I've been thinking about focusing more on smaller ring gauge, shorter length smokes. The guy said "I've never seen anyone get so excited about a box of cigars thrown together for the frat boy d-bag" gesturing to the CAO America/Brazilia/Italia display... By this point I was just done with the guy. I walked to the other side of the humi and noticed they had a new box of Art Decos. Without a hitch the guy mentioned that he heard they were alright, but "Number 1.) I'd never smoke something called an Art Deco... 2.) I'd sure as hell never smoke anything called an Art Deco and with a band that looks like it came out of the movie Cars".
I really like the owner, and like I said earlier, the shop is really cool, but this guy has completed soured me to every stepping foot in the place again. I'm still really green in this hobby, and having a name dropping assbag talking yang about every cigar I pick up, primarily because people have actually heard of the grower before (This dude even smack talked Padron... "They're just simple") just makes me want to punch squirrels.
I left and went to another shop (that these guys ran into the ground) and bought a Palio, Patel Olde World Reserve, and an Art Deco. Guess what, not only did the owner NOT talk shit about the Deco, he gave me an invite to come meet the owner of Miami Cigar this friday...
Ugh...