Cigar lounges always excite me. Although I can always smoke a cigar within the comforts of my home, there is something about a cigar lounge that makes the experience quite different. I am sure that a lot of you feel the same way.

If you live near Redlands, California, or if you find yourself in that area, then you might want to pay a visit to The Humidor. The Humidor is a cigar store in this area, about 45 miles from Palm Springs. It also has a cigar lounge in the back, if you want to immediately smoke the cigar that you buy.

I have not had the pleasure of visiting The Humidor yet but Alejandro Benes’s write up is enough to make me want to:

The store is busy. Customers come through the door, comment on how hot it is — and dry, did you hear? —and tell Hughes that they want something like “a 30-minute mild cigar, a Garcia Vega or a Punch.” I’m sure that’s the first time I’ve ever heard those two brands uttered in the same sentence. Hughes is surprisingly tolerant of this kind of request. He helps the guy and finds him an appropriate cigar.

The Humidor is kind of an oasis on this and most days. There’s a guy on the computer in the lounge, which has WiFi. A football game is on the TV. Another visitor is in town for his son’s college soccer game and has a couple of hours to sit and enjoy a smoke, listen to the blues on the sound system and then hear Hughes play a mean blues harp (harmonica).

“I can’t do this where I live,” said the guest, the stress melting away. He’s from Calabasas, a California city that banned outdoor smoking.

If you are living in a place which has banned outdoor smoking you would certainly appreciate something like The Humidor. Anyone been there?

Originally posted on June 14, 2011 @ 6:59 am