cigars and tiki

If smoking was legal inside bars, would cigars fit inside the tiki bar...fit well in the culture of tiki? Were they ever prevalent in tiki bars?

What cigar(s) go best with tiki drinks???

To me, Cigars are distinctly linked to CUBAN culture, just like the Daiquiri

...and the Mojito.

Being that these are rum-based, tropical drinks, there's no reason why not to discuss this matter on this board as related, but the "Tiki Drinks" section would be more appropriate for that, since it is specifically reserved for connoisseurs of all sorts of tasty tropical delights :)

On 2007-05-10 09:16, sandiegodan wrote:
If smoking was legal inside bars,...

What do you mean "if"? At the Tiki Ti it's perfectly okay (and legal) to light up a cigar or cigarette.

Nice Nice

for me is it cola whit malibu drinks[white rum]and last but not least a perfection Cuba cigars

keep on smoking

That's a great picture BigBro! Heh heh!

On 2007-05-10 10:27, Hakalugi wrote:

On 2007-05-10 09:16, sandiegodan wrote:
If smoking was legal inside bars,...

What do you mean "if"? At the Tiki Ti it's perfectly okay (and legal) to light up a cigar or cigarette.

That's what screws up the great experience about being there. The place is too small for cigars. I need to get some fresh air between drinks.

Nothing like a fat Cuban or Rum Corona....outside of course, and a delicious MonkeyPod.

In Cuba and in the tropics in general, many bars are open to street, with glass-free wooden shutters or screens as windows, so there is a steady tropical breeze flowing through them, thus avoiding the build up of thick cigar smog and making it less of a problem for non-smokers

ya I guess on the TV's new patio bar you could light up....I wonder how a nice stogie would taste with a scorpion..hmmmm

Head on over to Forbidden Island on the last Sunday of every month (2pm) and join Martiki as he pairs a cigar with a rum from a particular tropical region. He's done Cuba, he's done Honduras...What's next?

Cigars do go well with Tiki bars. Martin at Forbidden Island has a monthly cigar and rum event, on the last Sunday of every month - we smoke out on the back patio. He's been pairing rums and cigars from the same country of origin. Very nice.

As to what cigars go well with tiki drinks, well... there are tons of cigars out there, so it's a matter of personal preference. Personally, I prefer smoking thicker ring gauge cigars, like robustos, churchills, and figurados. If my drink was on the savory side, I'd probably smoke something on the spicey side, and if my drink was sweet, I'd smoke something smooth and creamy, like a Monte Cristo #2 torpedo.

I'm in agreement with Unga that the Tiki Ti can get too smokey at times, even with only a ccuple of people smoking just cigarettes, and cigars can overpower the place. But I guess that's also part of the appeal, a retro bar with the throwback to when smoking was still allowed inside.

Conga Mike, you must have snuck in that post while I was still typing mine up. I guess great minds think alike!

I concur!

I try to pair the cigar I am enjoying with an appropriate tropical libation when in the mood. I was just down in Nassau for a wedding and we hung out in an airy cafe dring mojito's or Anejo & coke's with our Cuban Partagas Series R's and Graycliff's.

Interestingly enough on a historic note, I recently purchased a Trader Vic's cigar holder on the Bay. It seems to be a single use disposable convenience for smokers who didn't want to have their fingers touching the tobbaco while enjoying the cuisine.

I will have smokes at both Hukilau and Oasis, puff on!

Here in Holland I do not have the ingredient's for such a nice picture[Cuban cigars]
It is always raining here nothing tropical...
Only I can do is smoking Dutch cigars!

On 2007-05-10 09:16, sandiegodan wrote:

What cigar(s) go best with tiki drinks???

Because it's tiki, the cigars need to be big, thick, and enjoyable to kiss... and puff away on. Remember... it's all about the tiki.

This is my tiki that I carved the 2006 Oki Oki.

Signature? I ain't signin nothin!

[ Edited by: Mr. NoNaMe 2007-05-10 16:42 ]

On 2007-05-10 10:27, Hakalugi wrote:
At the Tiki Ti it's perfectly okay (and legal) to light up a cigar or cigarette.

WOW! You can still smoke in CaliFornIa? I thought tobacco smoking was illegal there! :lol:

On 2007-05-10 10:17, bigbrotiki wrote:
To me, Cigars are distinctly linked to CUBAN culture, just like the Daiquiri

Love the pic Sven but I think actually some Mexicans might disagree with you as San Andreas, Tuxtla is apparently the place where tobacco was first cultivated by the Maya over a thousand years ago. :D It was just that the Spanish first encountered it in Cuba where the comparatively primitive Taino, Arawak where also growing it......but I understand what you are saying and love Cuban culture :wink:

Back in the 90's I had a line of perfectos that I developed with a small family owned Honduran factory in Danli. At one time we offered the largest variations of perfecto shapes and blends in the world

This was my pride and joy the 'Huevo de Cuba' which had a fat 60 ring gauge but was only 4 inches long!

So personally I'll say I prefer coffee based drinks for cigars. Try one of my favorites an iced Cafe con Leche (well sweetened expresso with scalded milk) shaken with a shot of creme de cocao and a shot of cherry brandy :P

Rattiki,

That Huevo de Cuba is awesome. That is the tiki cigar. End of discussion!

Demerara Dry Float.

Not to be judgemental but why would you even ask this question? If everyone says no will you not smoke a cigar in your tiki bar so as not to offend the tiki-police? If you like 'em, smoke 'em.

Cigars and tobacco in general are an immediate migriane headache for me.
I'd much rather be able to smell the drinks and food, and perhaps a tropical flower or two.

That said, many people mileage obviously varies.

In fact if I were going to smoke anything, I'd rather smoke something that enhances the flavours of food and drink... iffin you know what I mean. But if the drinks are truly first rate, you don't need that kind of enhancement.

Smoke em if yas got 'em, especially if its your own bar!

I always find it odd that many who find tobacco smoke repulsive can on the other hand enjoy "iffin you know what I mean" smoke...... having said that I'll agree that all smoke producing substances should be enjoyed in a separate area from food and those who find it disagreeable. :wink:

Reason #69 why men enjoy cigars;

because it repulses their wives :lol:

On 2007-05-12 16:24, Rattiki wrote:
I always find it odd that many who find tobacco smoke repulsive can on the other hand enjoy "iffin you know what I mean" smoke...... having said that I'll agree that all smoke producing substances should be enjoyed in a separate area from food and those who find it disagreeable. :wink:

Reason #69 why men enjoy cigars;

because it repulses their wives :lol:

Just a brain chemical thing. Tobacco smoke cuases an instant migraine headache. I have no idea why this is. But certain other substances do not have this effect on me. Kinda like how the taste of black liquorice and the smell of roofing tar on a hot summers day induce the exact same stomach turning response. And migraine headache.

Go figure.

Like I said, smoke em if you got em, I won't get offended. But don't get offended if I get up and move to clearer air.

"Do you mind if I smoke?
No, do you mind if I...Fart?"
George Carlin.

That said, the funniest smoking rant I love is...

"Tell you, the worst kind of non-smokers' the kind where you're smoking and they just walk up to you … [starts coughing in the naggy-I-want-you-to-stop kinda' cough] I always say, "S^*t, you're lucky you don't smoke. That's some cough you got there, dude. I'm smoking, you're coughing. Wow." That's kind of cruel, man, going up to a smoker and coughing. S^t! Do you go up to crippled people dancing too, you f&ks? "Hey, Mr. Wheelchair. What's your problem? Come on ironside, race ya!"

Is there any cross-reference to the urban myth that Cuban cigars used to be rolled on the bare legs of Cuban wahinees?

Ya, ya, some people like 'em and some people don't. Drinking is a vice, and if it's squeezed down tight enough it destroys those around you who love you the most. Smoking too is a vice and is a little more equal opportunity in how it offends - yet in a bar all sorts of offensive things are going to happen. I think to rail against smoking in one of the only bars where this type of vice is permited and encouraged is a bit...

This said, I have smoked cigars for over 30 years and enjoyed savoring a drink with them for almost as many. I find a strong, powerful drink enhances and is enhanced by the calming effect produced by the slow rhythmical breathing brought on by the pacing it takes to smoke a cigar. In fact, a good drink of Scotch, brandy, or aged rum really enhances some cigars... it becomes a marriage, a three-braided cord of smoke, drink, and one's own mind and thoughts. It is symptomatic of today that in a bar there are those who would care to censor another's vices instead of enjoy the pleasure of their own in the safety of a tiked-out pleasure nest. Sandiegodan, try a Macanudo - and by the way, a big shout out to Michael of Tiki Ti for giving Dan and me each one of his own personal cigars last Saturday. It made our eight drinks together go down even better.