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Places to Smoke Archives

Mahogony on Walnut

Mahogany on Walnut opened in Philly just after the apex of the cigar boom. It was probably fueled by the success of Holt's at the same time. Holt's has in the back of it's walk in humidor a little lounge for cigar smoking. A sweet little old lady sells coffee and bottled water. However, the hours were limited to the store hours, and there was no alcohol. Enter Mahogany, located one story up from Holt's.

Mahogany is very upscale with rich leather chairs and sofas, beautiful wood paneling, and a fine spirits menu thicker than the food menu. They have a decent supply of higher end cigars, at an inflated price. Additionally the literal atmosphere is highlight by a great air handling system that clears up smoke faster than you can produce it.

The one thing that always shocked me was the lack of pretension. The staff are all very decent to you whether you're in a business suit or shorts. Sure they have Fox News on, but I think that's more for the clientele than the staff. I always try to face away from the TV as to avoid that unpleasantness.

The bill will hit you. I can't sugar coat that, but I'd contend that you're not there to get drunk, you're there to enjoy your cigar and company. They do have a good range of drinks too, so you're not stuck buying a $12 glass of water. Prices start at $4 for a beer and up to the mid hundreds for Cognac touched by Jesus or something.

By all means I highly recommend this place. Grab some friends. Time it right to hit Holt's before it closes, and grab a good cigar there at a good price. Bring them up to Mahogany at Walnut, and stay there until your cigar is done. Then go drink somewhere else. You won't be sorry.

September 20, 2005 Posted by Terrence Ryan at 1:34 AM

Cigars, Philly, Places to Smoke,

Bars in Which to Have Cigars

Cigars on my porch are fine but nothing is quite as good as sitting on a comfortable couch and having cigars in well-ventilated room. Since I graduated from Penn, and no longer could justify spending large amounts of time in the Pine Room at the KA lodge, I been looking for a good place indoors to smoke a cigar. The search intensified when I moved in with Janice. Occasionally I used to smoke in my apartment, but that's a non starter in our house. For all these reasons, I've looked to bars where I could smoke.

Consequently I'll be highlighting a couple of my favorite places to grab a smoke in Philly over the few weeks. I say "Bars in Which to Have Cigars" instead of "Cigar Bars," because most of the bars are just places that happen to let you smoke cigars, not full fledged cigar bars. The first bar I chose to highlight is perhaps the highest quality place to go (and the only real cigar bar on the list). It might not be a great value, but I will get to good values in later entries.

If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know.

September 20, 2005 Posted by Terrence Ryan at 1:22 AM

Meta Blogging, Philly, Places to Smoke,