Why are a majority of the cigars on the market today wrapped in cellophane and what, if anything, does that mean to you? The primary reasons manufacturers go to the expense and trouble to wrap each cigar in it’s own cellophane cocoon is mostly based on protection of the cigar from damage. On the journey that cigar takes from the…
Personally Selected & Expertly Curated
I get a lot of people asking me “You don’t carry ________?” With tens of thousands of cigar choices available on today’s market, we can’t carry everything AND, even if we did, it really would be a disservice to our customers. You see, the average consumer has to make a whopping 35,000 choices each and every day. That’s a lot…
XIKAR XO™ Double Guillotine Cutter
The NEW XO from XIKAR is a cigar cutting machine! Inspired by timeless design principles, the dual stainless steel blades operate on a patent pending planetary gear system, ensuring the blades open and close in perfect harmony, providing a guided and clean cut every time. The distinct, round aluminum body of the XO is built for relentless durability and exceptional…
We’ve Added Lane Bulk Pipe Tobaccos To Our Stock
As I’ve said in other recent posts, the Annapolis area lost two great pipe destinations in the last couple of years. We’re trying to fill that void by expanding our pipe department here at Chesapeake. I’m happy to announce that we’ve added seven of the most popular bulk pipe tobaccos from Lane Limited. Several of these plainly named tobaccos are sold…
Pairing Cigars With Beer
Of all the questions I get while helping customers in the humidor, the question of what cigar pairs well with “beer” is sometimes the most difficult to answer. The reason it’s difficult is that it depends — depends on the beer. While it’s hard to stray too far off the mark when pairing the typical cigar with the typical beer,…
Perdomo Habano Bourbon Barrel Aged
For those that have been fans of Perdomo for a while, the name Perdomo Habano isn’t new. But, the Perdomo Habano Bourbon Barrel Aged is! Perdomo introduced this latest iteration of their Habano line at the IPCPR Tobacco Show in July 2015. They began to ship to a handful of retailers in October of 2015 and have been steadily increasing…
The “Snake” Method Of Smoking Meat On A Weber Kettle
I’ve been posting a lot of homemade food porn on social media of late and several people have asked me how I’m getting such great results from a simple Weber Kettle grill. The “secret” to low-and-slow grilling is temperature control. While you can buy lots of fancy (expensive) gadgets to control the cooking temps in your grill, you don’t need…
The Art Of Tasting Spirits
A few years ago, I had the pleasure of attending a class on the Art Of Tasting Scotch given by The Dalmore’s Master Blender, Richard Patterson. The primary thing I remember from that class is that you “hold” the spirit your tasting in your mouth, as Patterson describes in this video, for one second for every year of aging. So,…
Pipe Department Reboot
After seven years, we’re almost completely updating our pipe department — a reboot of sorts. When we opened our doors, pipes were a small part of our business. With The Smoke Shop (opened around 1947) and Fader’s firmly and successfully serving that market, we felt that our pipe department should, at best, augment their efforts. But now, seven years later,…
NEW! La Aurora 1961 & 1987
La Aurora, the Dominican Republic’s oldest cigar factory, has just released two new cigars that we’re very excited about — La Aurora 1961 and La Aurora 1987. La Aurora 1961 The 1961 features a Dominican corojo wrapper over an Ecuadorian binder and fillers from the Cibao Valley in the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. These tobaccos come together to produce a…