Field Trip: Cigars International Superstore [Hamburg, PA]

Although I buy most of my cigars online or in bulk via an auction, sometimes the mood strikes me to visit a cigar shop. In general, prices are usually higher in a retail store, but there's a couple of advantages to going to a brick-and-mortar: you can feel, smell, and touch the cigars you want; you can buy as many or as few as you like (buying online is usually only in bulk, like 5-, 10-, or even 20-packs); and you can usually smoke inside and partake in the cedar-scented ambiance that a cigar shop has to offer. I was traveling in Pennsylvania recently, and when I discovered that my trip would take me only be thirty minutes away from the Cigars International superstore, I had to check it out. 

Cigars International is my preferred outlet of choice. And no, I am not paid to say this. Out of all the cigar websites, I've found CI has the best blend of fair prices, wide selection, and good customer service. They also do not nag you constantly to join a cigar-of-the-month club, unlike another competitor who will remain nameless. 

Primarily a booming online business, CI has three retail outlets - one in Hamburg, PA, and two in Bethlehem, PA, where their corporate headquarters is. I visited the one in Hamburg, which according to their website is likely the largest cigar store on the planet. Sounds like a winner to me.

The store is located right near Cabela's (another fun place to shop!) and looks very impressive from the outside. It was very easy to find the place, and it's easy-on, easy-off the highway. Outside there's ample parking, an outdoor roof deck, and plenty of benches to sit on and smoke. They also have a putting green, although I didn't see it.

Inside is really stunning. The whole place is an open humidor and the sheer volume and selection of cigars is enough, to quote John Hoynes, to stun a team of oxen in its tracks. The islands in the middle of the store are registers; the entire perimeter of the store is wall-to-wall shelves of cigars. They are organized by brand, and have pretty much any major brand and selection someone would want. They sell cigar supplies, a ton of pipes and pipe tobacco, accessories, cutters, lighters, you name it. There's also a sale area called the "value vault" which has tons of cheap and off-off-brand smokes. Almost all the cigars sold were available in singles and boxes.

A note about "open humidors" - this is a term I use (and probably made up) to describe how cigars are stored at a retail outlet. There's basically two ways to do it - you can have the cigars tucked away in a freestanding humidor (or in their own room), in either case sealed from outside air; or you could have the cigars sitting out uncovered and the whole shop would be humidified. Some places, like J&R Tobacco in downtown DC (and this CI Superstore!) are the latter. Puros, my hometown tobacco shop in Glastonbury, has a walk-in room that's sealed off from the main shop floor.

While it's fun to have a huge open humidor, this approach concerns me because the smoke from people milling about may settle on the open cigars. While there are smoke-eating machines and fans and whatnot, the smoke from all those people puffing away may cause flavors and smoke aromas to settle on the open cigars. To what extent this is actually true, I don't know. Just my two cents!

They had nice little baskets to cart around one's purchases. Here's another view of some of the shelves, this time featuring Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, and to the lower left, Caldwell Cigar Co.

There's also a humidor section...how about this one for size? Only eight hundred bucks. That doesn't include the two thousand dollars worth of cigars you need to put in this thing...

One major attraction to this store is the Drew Estate stuff the have. As I've discussed before, Drew Estate is probably one of the most popular brands of cigars out there and I've reviewed them extensively on this blog. While much of Drew's cigar catalog is easily found online and in retail stores, some of their rarer stock is so popular that some people pay hundreds of dollars per box to get them. The below picture is just one of two freestanding aisles full of Drew stuff, so hopes were high that I might find some of things I have been unable to get my hands on.

And case in point - the Drew Estate "ACID Opulence 3", the only current entry in the ACID series I have not tried. That was my first stop! Grabbed this 6x54 parejo toro off the shelf, went over to the cutter shelf, and lit up using a triple-torch lighter they had at the counter.

This cigar combines Nicaraguan tobacco from three different years (hence the "3" in the name) and topped with a Mexican San Andres wrapper. II could definitely tell this was part of the ACID line - lots of semi-sweet infusion notes. The flavor profile reminded me of the "ACID Kuba Kuba" when it comes to the spice blend - sandalwood, some sugar, some cedar. Notably, there's a "darkness"from the San Andres tobacco that's really quite nice. It adds a darker, coffee bean / cocoa bean flavor note that counters well to the natural essential oils in the filler and binder.

On the other side of the shelf, they had a wide selection of Drew's "Liga Privada" line - their most sought-after - and so of course I had to take a look. At the Connecticut Barnsmoker event last year, I was able to try the "T52" as well as the "Ratzilla", and got one of the "Unico Serie 'A'" - not sold in stores - which I smoked on Christmas Day last year. Although I'm familiar with the label, and like it, they are extremely expensive and I wasn't planning on grabbing any in quantity with one exception: the Liga Privada "Papas Fritas", which would have been located on the top shelf of the photo below had they not been sold out. The overturned box tells this sad story.

I admit I was tempted to get a few of the ones I hadn't tried (except for the "Flying Pigs", a short format which is inexplicably expensive) but I only chose one: a "Liga Privada UF-13", a robusto-sized smoke made from inky black tobacco. Like my other experiences with this line, they were bone-dry so it'll be quite some time before I can enjoy it.

Also of interest - the new ACID candelas! Grabbed a 5-pack of the short-format "Blondies" and also two of the new candela "Kuba Kubas." These are new and if I recall, the first entry into the candela wrapper from Drew. More on candela wrappers later...

All this shopping had me peckish so I headed over to their bar area at the opposite end of the store. Situated near some pool tables and a fearsome Chuck Testa'd mountain lion, the bar area had about fifteen stools and some televisions. They had a decent menu of beer and liquor, with about six taps and a whole bunch of premixed cockatai. Since I had an hour's drive ahead of me, I didn't drink anything, but I did order some food - the offerings weren't extravagant, but quite affordable bar classics like hot dogs, mozzarella sticks, and fries. Just the kind of food that I'd want watching the game over a cigar and a beer.

This fearsome beast doesn't have a name, so I'll call him Fred. He looks like a Fred.

If you ever find yourself in that part of Pennsylvania, stop on by. It's a pilgrimage that any cigar smoker should make, and the ample social spaces they have would make this a great place to hang out with friends and grab a drink. Their selection can't be beat, the staff is great (thanks Scott!) and if I lived nearby, I'd be here every week!