Episode 61 started rough. Mics were cutting in and out, somebody’s coffee nearly went over, and we spent the first few minutes just trying to get everyone’s audio sorted before a single cigar got lit. That’s how a lot of nights in the garage go. Once we settled in, it turned into one of the better weeks we’ve had in a while, and most of that comes down to a shop up in Glenmoore called Chartwell Cigar Club.
Table of Contents
What We Were Smoking
Canimao sent us their Refinados for this one. It’s a big 6×60, and I haven’t had a Canimao in probably fifteen years. I met the brand owner, Mel, at my very first trade show in Vegas and always liked the cigars, but they’re a small boutique brand you rarely see on shelves. Everyone lit one up first, except Eric, who got to his on his second smoke of the night.
The tasting notes on the box mention leather, spice, and chocolate. Nobody at the table got much chocolate. What we did get was something tangy, almost citrus, and it sent half the garage into a story about the frozen orange juice logs we used to thaw out as kids because Tropicana was too expensive. That’s the kind of tangent this crew will chase for ten minutes without blinking.
Eric smoked an Arturo Fuente Añejo Shark alongside it. Rob had the Ezra Zion Choco Taco, courtesy of Golf Stogie. I lit up an HDA Descending Shadows and fought it the entire time, a stiff draw and some tunneling that never really cleared up. Jim closed the night with a Black Label Trading Company Macabre.
What We Found at Chartwell Cigar Club
I made it out to Chartwell this week, and it was a genuinely nice experience. Bruce moved his membership there and told us the new owners cut its humidor in half, and I went in expecting that to feel like a downgrade. It doesn’t. They organize the whole thing alphabetically, so you can walk the room and know exactly where you’re headed, and every cigar gets a color-coded sticker for strength. Yellow, orange, or red, right at a glance.
My one gripe is the pricing. The stickers are down near the bottom of the shelf, and I was nearly on my knees trying to find out what the red meat lover was going for..
I hung out for two cigars. It was a busy day, a dozen people in a room that isn’t huge, and it was a little loud trying to talk across the aisle to Bruce. But it never felt cramped or hazy in a bad way. It’s the kind of shop that doesn’t try to carry every facing of every line. They bring in what works. Bruce has pointed Will, the owner, toward a handful of releases over the past few months, and Will’s gone out and gotten every single one. When something sells, Will knows the recommendation was good. That’s a smart way to run a young shop.
Will Already Knew Jim’s Name
Here’s the part of the night that stuck with me, and it’s really Eric’s story to tell. Jim walked into Chartwell for the first time, got two steps past the door, and Will stopped him cold. “You’re Jim from the Smoke and Steel podcast.”
It’s a small thing. It’s also the kind of small thing that tells you a lot about a shop.
One Cigar and a Little Grace
Eric had his own moment at Chartwell worth mentioning. There’s an unspoken rule in a lot of lounges that if you want to use the seating, you buy at least two cigars. Eric went in for one, a Padron Anniversario, paid for it, and sat down. Halfway through, he realized his mistake and went back up to grab a second one and cover the difference. Will waved him off. Told him not to worry about it, that the rule exists to stop people from taking advantage, not to nickel and dime a regular customer over one cigar.
Eric offered again. Will said they were good. That’s the whole story, and it’s a good one.
What Giving People Water Actually Means
I finally finished an episode of the HDA Lounge series I’d started a few days back, this one with Dave Imber from Creekside. He talked about something Creekside does that stuck with me. No matter what you walk in with, coffee, a water bottle, whatever, they bring you a glass of water without you asking. His point was that plenty of customers will never ask for something because they don’t want to be a bother. So you don’t make them ask.
Think about the lounges you’ve actually loved sitting in. A lot of them have this in common. They don’t charge you a dollar for a bottle of water that costs them ten cents.
Then There’s The Other Shop
Eric had a story that lands on the opposite end of that spectrum. He was at a different local lounge, having just spent close to two hundred dollars in the humidor. He grabbed an energy drink out of the cooler, and the owner told him not to worry about paying for it. A few minutes later, the owner’s kid came over and asked, in front of Eric, whether he’d paid for that drink. When the owner said he’d just given it to him, the kid said something to the effect of, this is exactly how we lose money, guys like him knowing they’ll get a free drink.
Eric got up, put a five down on the counter for a drink that cost about two dollars, told them to keep the change, and never went back.
That’s the contrast right there. Chartwell gave Eric grace over a simple mistake and turned it into a story we’re still telling on the podcast. Goose’s turned a free energy drink into the reason a paying customer walked out for good.
A Little More From the Garage
We got into our usual argument about draw tools this week, and I’m firmly on the side that hates them. They punch an artificial tunnel straight down the center of the cigar and channel all the heat right into your mouth. If a cigar’s drawing tight, I’d rather recut it a little deeper first and go from there. Not everyone agrees, and that’s fine, but I stand by it.
On the business side, we’re sitting at just under 8,000 watch hours over the last year, which is close to the new YouTube monetization threshold, even though a tobacco show like ours won’t qualify regardless. What’s meant more to me than any number has been the private messages from people telling us what the show means to them. That is truly amazing.
New Releases and What’s Coming
A few things worth flagging from this week’s list. The Room 101 17th anniversary is officially hitting shelves. Diesel Uncaged is now arriving at retail. Rocky Patel’s American 250th is set to debut nationwide in September. Tradecraft’s Gladius Box Press should be in stores in the next couple weeks, and we’re hoping to have someone from that brand on the show down the road.
Ferio Tego released a cigar called Milestones, a tribute to Miles Davis timed to the centennial of his birth, blended by Michael Herklots, who has a background as a jazz drummer himself. That connection makes a lot more sense once you know it.
On the LA Cigar Collective front, the green light finally came down on Le Flambeaux. Rob and Kyle have been smoking them daily and giving the go-ahead for people to dig in if they want, though the full experience is still developing.
Rob’s Trip to the Poconos
Rob told a story tonight about a golf trip to the Poconos with a group that includes our buddy Jay. They stayed in a cabin where the wildlife situation was no joke, bears wandering right up to the porch, and Jay, an early riser who normally walks the property before sunrise, wasn’t going anywhere near that trail once he found out. There was also a golf course straight out of Deliverance, a lightning delay, and a go-go bar across the street that the kid working the counter personally warned them away from. Rob didn’t get many details out of him beyond that, which honestly says enough.
Khong, Living the Dream in Saigon
Eric caught up on a video of our buddy Khong, who’s originally from Vietnam and recently moved back with his wife after years away. He said the kindness he’s experienced since returning has been overwhelming, and the cost of living lets you go a long way on very little.
Stay in the Conversation
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