Cigar enthusiasts consistently are on the search for cigar shops and lounges when travelling. On a recent visit to Manhattan, I had the pleasure of spending some time at the flagship location of Davidoff of Geneva on the glorious Sixth Avenue. The address is 1390 Avenue of the Americas. It stands across my favorite espresso bar in New York City, Zibetto Espresso Bar. With great Italian espresso, proceeded by a visit to the Davidoff shop, a walk on this part of town is always a highlight of the day.
ABOUT THIS LOCATION
This exact location was once home to the famed “De La Concha” for over 50 years. Since December 2006 ,the shop was purchased by Davidoff, and later re-christened “Davidoff of Geneva” in 2014 after much renovation. It prides itself as “A store internationally recognized for its pipe and pipe tobacco offerings and expertise, along with a wide assortment of premium cigar brands”. The shop also holds an impressive array of cigar accessories, although mostly from the higher end of the accessory’s spectrum. Brands like Dunhill, Elie Blue, S.T. Dupont and of course, Davidoff line the interior boutique with beautiful pieces. The humidors that were on display at the shop during my visit were just outstanding in quality, construction and design.
During my recent visit, I had the privilege of catching up with the Assistant Manager of the shop, Christopher Hamel. The next few paragraphs contain excerpts from an interview conducted with Mr. Hamel.
THE WALK IN HUMIDOR
The walk-in humidor located on the left side of the shop is stocked from floor to ceiling., and was filled with a well curated selection. While in the humidor, more than one client stopped to discuss and take in the recently released 52 ring gauge “Year of the Rat” in boxes of 10 from Davidoff.
Christopher notes, “A good part of our cigar selection includes the various Davidoff family of brands. These include Davidoff, Avo, Griffin, Zino and Camacho among others. The third-party brands (Non-Davidoff) that are present on our humidor shelves are thoughtfully and carefully chosen by our team. We like to bring in brands that will appeal to a broad spectrum of cigar smokers.” Amongst those brands are Arturo Fuente, Tatuaje, Zino, Jaime Garcia, Ashton, La Gloria Cubana, L’Atelier, L’Aroma de Cuba, and many more.
Having walked into the walk-in humidor at La Casa del Habano Montreal almost every day for the last 9 or so years, I am accustomed to the experience in which the aromas jump out at you, making you want to try one of each cigar in the room! I imagine because of the fact that (almost) each cigar in the Davidoff humidor is wrapped in a cellophane wrapper, I can’t say I had that same feeling in the otherwise impressive humidor on Avenue of the Americas. Perhaps a price to pay for the convenience that the cellophane wrapper gives.
PIPES!
Out of the humidor and on to the right side of the shop, there is a wall full of pipes. There was also an impressive selection of pipe tobacco, for which the Christopher Hamel was quite knowledgeable about. A great plus as all the aluminum tins are hermetically sealed.
TALKING CIGARS WITH MR. HAMEL
Christopher’s journey in the cigar world began in the early 1990s, when he worked in the South Street Seaport selling cigars out of a, what he calls, modest pushcart. “Over time business was so great that we were offered a storefront on the main boardwalk. Once again, business was fantastic. We were then offered another location in Midtown Manhattan. We built out the store and had a number of very profitable years. It was some time after that all involved decided to go their separate ways.” After earning some valuable experience in the business, Christopher’s journey in the world had just begun. “I wanted to stay in the business and decided to join the incredible sales team at De La Concha Tobacconist, a store with over 50 years in the tobacco business.”
Mr. Hamel has been working at the Sixth Avenue location for close to twenty years. “The first six years of those years were with De La Concha. In December of 2006, Davidoff of Geneva had purchased De La Concha. I have been with Davidoff since and enjoying every minute of it! One of the greatest joys is meeting people from all over the world that share their passion of cigars with you! There is nothing like it!”
Some of Christopher’s favorite go to cigars include the Davidoff Double R, the Davidoff Winston Churchill Late Hour Toro and the Davidoff Box-Pressed Nicaragua Toro. “Outside of Davidoff, I love to smoke the various Pardon Anniversary cigars. With both brands you get a consistently well-made cigar with perfect draw and perfect burn.”
Keeping in mind that the only cigars I have had the experience of selling have been Cuban cigars, I had to ask Mr. Hamel,
“Do you ever smoke Cubans?” “I have indeed smoked many Cuban cigars.”
Putting things into perspective, Mr. Hamel has two decades worth of selling only Non Cubans, and, selling them from what is perhaps one of the prime cigar locations in the USA. My next question was of course, “…what do you experience when you have a Cuban vs a non-Cuban?”
“In my opinion they are either fantastic (well constructed with a perfect draw and burn) or terrible (horrific draw and very young). Unfortunately, Cuban cigars are very inconsistent. When you buy cigars, Cuban or otherwise, you expect each and every cigar to be as good as the one you just finished. Consistency is very important to me.”
Honest answer, and one hard to argue with, although construction has been more consistent over the last couple of years on sticks coming out of the Havana factories.
When it comes to Davidoff, Christopher’s all-time favorite is a very elegant sized cigar. “Without a doubt, my favorite Davidoff cigar is the Double R. It is a 7.5 inch by 50 ring gauge beauty. It has a silky Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, Dominican binder and Dominican fillers. It is a creamy, nutty and subtly spicy cigar. My philosophy when it comes to cigars, smoke less but smoke the best!”
SMOKING CIGARS IN THE DAVIDOFF LOUNGE.
For patrons to smoke in the famed Davidoff lounge, a client is required to purchase a cigar from their humidor. “If people just came in and smoked their own cigar, our store as well as most stores would not be in business for long. With that being said, upon purchasing a cigar from us, you could smoke one of your own.”
Having visited cigar shops in many European and Canadian cities, walking into a humidor in Manhattan is always a nice sort of escape and an opportunity to open up the cigar palette. The US is the only country where we can be inside a retailer’s humidor, and not see a Cuban cigar. In that of itself, it provides an opportunity for non cuban brands to gain access to shelf space that would otherwise be used, at least in part, by Cuban cigars.
Thank you to Christopher Hamel for taking time to show me around the shop and answering questions for this article.
Have you been to this shop? How does it compare to other Davidoff shops? Leave your comments below!
Credits: Photographs by Antonio Marsillo for CubanHouseOfCigars.com. Pencil Drawing featured in feature image was taken from the book “New York Line by Line” by the German illustrator “Robinson”. Check out the book here
Have you been to this shop? How does it compare to other Davidoff shops? Leave your comments below!
