Cigar lounge plans at MGM up in smoke

Leave the Montecristo at home when you visit the new MGM Casino at National Harbor when it opens in July; it seems there won’t be any indoor cigar-smoking going on after all.

Language that would have permitted a cigar lounge inside MGM Resorts International’s $1.3 billion casino-resort was stripped from a Prince George’s County liquor license by the House Economic Matters Committee on Friday, according to The Baltimore Sun. Also taken out by the panel prior to the bill’s approval were provisions allowing free booze and off-premises liquor sales. The omissions were regarded as necessary to the casino’s opening.

What had the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network protesting was a provision in the legislation that “authorizes the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages … in a lounge that is no more than 2,000 square feet in which the holder of the license may serve and sell cigars, for smoking in the lounge, and food,” according to theWashington Business Journal. Aside from a few exceptions, Maryland is a smoke-free state within enclosed workplaces. The provisions were also opposed by associations representing liquor dealers and restaurants.

Last month, MGM said in a statement, “At this time, MGM National Harbor has no plans to include a cigar lounge in its design,” and, “We remain compliant with Maryland’s smoke-free law and are dedicated to ensuring a safe and healthy environment for our employees and guests.”

MGM’s plans for the mega-complex in Maryland include 125,000 square feet of gaming floor with 36 table games and 3,600 slot machines. Also included is a 308-room, 24-story hotel, with villas, 27,000 square feet of meeting space, a luxury spa, 5,000 square foot parking garage, 18,000 square feet of branded, six specialty restaurants, high-end retail, and for concerts, shows, and fights, a 3,000-seat entertainment theater.

Family-owned cigar lounge getting big makeover

A family-owned cigar lounge named one of the plushest in the U.S. two years ago is expanding this spring at Bridge Street Town Centre in Huntsville.

Vintage Cigar Lounge, formerly known as Vintage Wine & Cigars, is ditching its old wine shop and adding a tapas bar and restaurant to complement the walk-in cigar humidor and lounge near Pieology, Bar Louie and Cafe 153.

General Manager Alka Chain said the business launched because of her passion for wine and her father, Nick Chain's, love for cigars. Today, the family is teaming up with former Office Break Room and Bar Executive Chef Greg Glass to create a new experience for men and women.

The Cuban-inspired menu will focus on small, shareable plates, such as jumbo shrimp roasted in butter, garlic, olive oil and cilantro. Glass thinks the Cubano sandwich and turkey meatballs cooked in a red sauce with queso fresco and cilantro will also be a big hit with customers.

"I think that the menu's going to go over pretty well as far as the type of food we have because it will venture out and give people a look into what we're trying to do with the cigar theme and make you feel like you're in some other place," he said. Read More>

Hollywood Man Passes Out at Cigar Bar

A Hollywood man was arrested Saturday after he passed out at a cigar bar while his baby was crying in a stroller, police said.

Wallace Kahn III, 36, faces a charge of child neglect without great bodily harm.

Hollywood police Officer Jonathan Baluja was called to the Habano Bar Cafe on South Young Circle after receiving a report of a man going in and out of consciousness while a child was unattended in a stroller, according to a police report.

When Baluja arrived, he noticed the man, later identified as Kahn, sitting in a seat outside the business. Baluja said he smelled an odor of alcohol emanating from Kahn, who had bloodshot eyes, was sweating profusely, and had a difficult time keeping his head up and his eyes open. Read More>

Stories Behind 20 Cigar Brand Names

Mark Twain once said: "Every morning, as soon as I'm up, I smoke a cigar, and then have breakfast at eight o'clock. After breakfast, I smoke another cigar, and then go back to bed," solidifying his place in the cigar smokers hall of fame and ensuring a future stogie would be named after him. Here are 20 cigars and the stories behind their names.

1. 5 VEGAS

This popular brand, pronounced cinco vegas, is based on the plantation fields where tobacco for cigars is planted and cultivated.

2. ERIN GO BRAGH

Infused with Irish whiskey, this line of cigars takes its name from the anglicized Irish phrase whichtranslates to “Ireland Forever.”

3. GURKHA

The name Gurkha is derived from a town called Gorka in Nepal and was used by the British during colonial times to denote the fearsome soldiers who were called the “bravest of the brave.” The British, who later enlisted the Nepalese to fight with them all over the world, supposedly began calling their cigars Gurkhas, and when cigar maker Kaizad Hansotia began making and selling cigars in the late 1980s, he attached the name and symbol of the soldiers to his company. They now make some of the world’s most expensive smokes. Read More>

The Secrets of a Cigar Aficionado

Buddy Williams knows a thing or two about fine cigars.

At 17, Williams began working for his family's tobacco shop in the Eastgate Shopping Center.

More than 40 years later, the cigar aficionado has turned M.A.'s Smoke House on Pierremont Road into a destination for luxury cigars. Last year, he sold the business to local entrepreneur Matthew St. Amant, and it relocated from its Shreve City location to the Line Avenue corridor.

The humidor at M.A.'s Smokehouse.  (Photo: Henrietta Wildsmith/The Times)

 

Even with the storefront in new hands, Williams remains a steadfast, indomitable encyclopedia for regular patrons, some of whom have frequented the smoke house as long as he's been there.

"He knows cigars and he knows tobacco," said longtime customer Richard McCloud. Read More>

All You Need to Know About Cigars

Once a mark of status akin to the shoes you wore or the watch on your wrist, cigars today are — for most of us — more a hobby than a lifestyle. You've probably smoked one at special events or celebratory occasions, but do you know how to smoke one properly? And can you tell the good stuff from lower quality?

Turns out, cigars are a lot like wine: complex, full of variety, and with a whole world of rituals to discover. We spoke with Michael Herklots, vice president of brand and retail development of the historic Nat Sherman cigar brand and certified master tobacconist, to learn more. Herklots has been working in the world of tobacco for decades, and is an expert on the subject. 

What kinds of cigars are out there? Read More

Millionaire Lawsuit Against Swisher

Trendsettah USA had filed suit against Swisher, the world’s largest cigar maker, accusing the company of unfair business practices.

According to the lawsuit, the two companies entered a contract in 2011 under which Swisher would make cigarillos, a small cigar, which Trendsettah would sell under the name Splitarillos.

Swisher’s 16th Street factory in Jacksonville is the world’s largest cigar maker, producing 1.6 billion a year, said Mark Poe, who represented Trendsettah for San Francisco-based law firm Gaw|Poe.

Splitarillos are identical to Swisher’s own Swisher Sweets, Poe said.

“They were produced on the same machines, but with different packaging,” he said. “The catch was that we sold them three for 99 cents while Swisher typically sold them two for 99.”

Trendsettah claimed that sales increased rapidly, taking market share from Swisher Sweets. There was no maximum amount of cigars on the contract for the first two years, he said.

“It’s called a ‘requirement contract,’” he said. “The supplier has to provide as much as the buyer orders.” Read More