EAR: Best places in Canada to smoke a cigar?

[El Presidente]

EAR= Email assistance required. 

I received the following today. Any Canadian member assistance appreciated. 

 

 

 

"Hi Rob. My wife and I are heading to Canada for a 30 day trip. North to south, East to West. We are Georgia natives but it has always been a dream. I will be fly fishing along the way but I have no idea of existing lounges or alternatives that permit smoking. Canada is on my bucket list and I want to savor the best parts including whatever is remaining of their smoking culture. Can you post this on FOH? I just want to revel in whatever is left CC or NC smoking wise.where one feels welcome and has the opportunity to meet new likeminded friends "

 

[NSXCIGAR]

You can still smoke cigars in Canada? 

[JohnS]

I would smoke in @Bijan's backyard, with Bijan of course! 😉

[Bijan]

Montreal has some cigar lounges (I think the remaining ones might be grandfathered).

Not sure about Alberta but they'd be the next most likely province after Quebec to allow smoking indoors.

Aside from cigars, shisha/hookah is pretty common and accepted and there are lounges for that all over the place.

In Ontario (specifically in and around Toronto) there may be some speakeasy type establishments. "Maybe" 🫣

Edit: otherwise you can't even smoke on restaurant patios anymore. Though i think some royal Canadian legion halls have grandfathered patios.

[Puros Y Vino]

@Bijan has a good overview.  For some cities, it would be best to divulge over PM. 

Montreal has Stogies, Alexandres, Whiskey Club and several more. These are all Grandfathered lounges.  Cigars only.  No cigarettes.

Cigar Societe' in Quebec City is a great lounge with fully stocked bar.

Alberta has recently allowed cigar lounges to exist through a loophole.  I'll ping @Cigar Surgeon to fill in the details.

Toronto in the summer has some great outdoor spots (weather permitting). There are some "speakeasy" indoor lounges which I won't reveal here nor over PM if I don't know you.

Windsor Ontario has one too. Not sure if it has reopened.

Winnipeg MB has one.  Thomas Hinds.  You have to book a session and you MUST buy from them. Their gig is that it is a "sampling room" which I believe you can sit in for 3 hours per session.  That's how this is allowed. 

As for BC. I've heard there is a very nice private lounge in either Vancouver or Victoria. BUT.  Getting in is next to impossible. It's all based on members who know each other well and vouch for new ones. If you dont know someone in the circle,you're out of luck. 

So, to the traveler. If they're heading over this month, they'll enjoy some decent weather throughout the country up to the end of September. Come October, the outdoor smoking isn't as pleasant.

Edited August 13, 2022 by Puros Y Vino
Added Cigar Soceite to the list.

[Cigar Surgeon]

20 minutes ago, Puros Y Vino said:

Alberta has recently allowed cigar lounges to exist through a loophole.  I'll ping @Cigar Surgeon to fill in the details.

So my understanding is that two lounges have opened in Calgary and both of them are entirely members only.

https://winstonsmokeclub.com/ downtown on 8th ave.

The other is attached to a steakhouse owned by Jay Westman and it's by invite only. 

Other than that I haven't kept tabs throughout the province. I know there's the Q lounge https://qcigarroom.com/ on the Reserve near Edmonton. Bonnyville opened a lounge (if you want to drive up there 🤣)

[Bijan]

7 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

You can still smoke cigars in Canada? 

 

[bigfunkyg]

2 hours ago, Puros Y Vino said:

@Bijan has a good overview.  For some cities, it would be best to divulge over PM. 

Montreal has Stogies, Alexandres, Whiskey Club and several more. These are all Grandfathered lounges.  Cigars only.  No cigarettes.

Alberta has recently allowed cigar lounges to exist through a loophole.  I'll ping @Cigar Surgeon to fill in the details.

Toronto in the summer has some great outdoor spots (weather permitting). There are some "speakeasy" indoor lounges which I won't reveal here nor over PM if I don't know you.

Windsor Ontario has one too. Not sure if it has reopened.

Winnipeg MB has one.  Thomas Hinds.  You have to book a session and you MUST buy from them. Their gig is that it is a "sampling room" which I believe you can sit in for 3 hours per session.  That's how this is allowed. 

As for BC. I've heard there is a very nice private lounge in either Vancouver or Victoria. BUT.  Getting in is next to impossible. It's all based on members who know each other well and vouch for new ones. If you dont know someone in the circle,you're out of luck. 

So, to the traveler. If they're heading over this month, they'll enjoy some decent weather throughout the country up to the end of September. Come October, the outdoor smoking isn't as pleasant.

I could be wrong, but I'm fairly certain Thomas Hinds in the Peg doesn't allow the sampling anymore.  

Most outdoor patios have banned smoking.  

[Puros Y Vino]

34 minutes ago, bigfunkyg said:

I could be wrong, but I'm fairly certain Thomas Hinds in the Peg doesn't allow the sampling anymore.  

Most outdoor patios have banned smoking.  

They have a new spot they designed for this purpose.   My friend has gone several times.  

https://www.thsamplingroom.com/

And yes, outdoor patios are "smoke free".  In Toronto, there are some spots cigar smokers still congregate without incident.

[vladdraq]

Little Havana, near Montreal In Kahnawake, on the reserve, great place!

https://www.littlehavana.ca

[BrightonCorgi]

How sad is it that the whole great nation of Canada's cigar smoking lounges can be counted on both hands more or less.

[Puros Y Vino]

Just now, BrightonCorgi said:

How sad is it that the whole great nation of Canada's cigar smoking lounges can be counted on both hands more or less.

Very. 🥺 I suspect weed lounges will be a thing soon. 

[BrightonCorgi]

Just now, Puros Y Vino said:

Very. 🥺 I suspect weed lounges will be a thing soon. 

This is a blunt, not a Cohiba with a wink of the eye will be the only avenue left.

[Bijan]

1 minute ago, BrightonCorgi said:

This is a blunt, not a Cohiba with a wink of the eye will be the only avenue left.

Exactly...

 

[BrightonCorgi]

The irony that about 20 years ago or so we use to go to Montreal just to be able to smoke cigars at dinner.  The original La Queue de Cheval had a cigar and port wine /whiskey cart that would come to the table after dinner.

[Puros Y Vino]

12 minutes ago, BrightonCorgi said:

The irony that about 20 years ago or so we use to go to Montreal just to be able to smoke cigars at dinner.  The original La Queue de Cheval had a cigar and port wine /whiskey cart that would come to the table after dinner.

You can kinda do that at Rib n Reef steakhouse.  The cigar lounge is upstairs but it seems the staff will take your orders and bring them up to you there.  A bunch of us had dinner there at the lounges' bar. Our hostess set us up, took our orders and brought them up.  I don't know if it's a de-facto thing but given there was only eight us up there as a group, she overheard us talking about finishing off our cigars and going down for dinner and made the offer to take our orders.

[SCgarman]

5 hours ago, Puros Y Vino said:

They have a new spot they designed for this purpose.   My friend has gone several times.  

https://www.thsamplingroom.com/

And yes, outdoor patios are "smoke free".  In Toronto, there are some spots cigar smokers still congregate without incident.

Does this include patios at your private house (residence)? Or has the cigar police not gone to that extreme yet? 

 

3 hours ago, Puros Y Vino said:

Very. 🥺 I suspect weed lounges will be a thing soon. 

Quite the bizarre thing Canada is doing it's best to kill the cigar industry/lounges but seems to encourage everyone to smoke cannabis instead. I would not want to be on the same roads with a bunch of stoned drivers. Bad things sure to happen. 

[vladdraq]

"Canada" is not encouraging any of that. They just don't care about the cigar industry. Price is killing it! (not the goalie :-)) 

[Hammer Smokin']

1 hour ago, SCgarman said:

Quite the bizarre thing Canada is doing it's best to kill the cigar industry/lounges but seems to encourage everyone to smoke cannabis instead. I would not want to be on the same roads with a bunch of stoned drivers. Bad things sure to happen. 

I get more stoned from a heavy cigar like a punch or partagas than I do from 90% of weed. 

This board REALLY forgets what tobacco does to the average person. 

oh, and you are already on the road with a bunch of stoned drivers...you just don't know, because stoned drivers are fine drivers. (i know, i know, weed bad, lol)

[LLC]

7 hours ago, Puros Y Vino said:

They have a new spot they designed for this purpose.   My friend has gone several times.  

https://www.thsamplingroom.com/

And yes, outdoor patios are "smoke free".  In Toronto, there are some spots cigar smokers still congregate without incident.

Yes, I regularly go to the Yorkville area in Toronto and there is a “park” by the Starbucks you can sit at a table and enjoy a cigar. Then a quick walk over to where the closed LCDH is and there are benches people gather and enjoy cigars. 
 

[Rhinoww]

My wife was just talking about getting a summer place somewhere in Canada’s breadbasket. Toronto has a lot of family but is prohibitively expensive. Was kinda thinking maybe somewhere near Ottawa. Any cigar places in that area?  Probably 5 plus years off so who knows, but an exploratory visit to There and perhaps to Montreal May be in order at some point. 

[Hammer Smokin']

across the river I think there are some cigar places in Gatineau. 

[Puros Y Vino]

1 hour ago, Hammer Smokin' said:

across the river I think there are some cigar places in Gatineau. 

Bacchus is the place.  Part of the Casino in Lac Leamy. 

[Cigar Surgeon]

On 8/12/2022 at 12:53 PM, SCgarman said:

Does this include patios at your private house (residence)? Or has the cigar police not gone to that extreme yet? 

Once I move into my new place I'll be building a lounge / studio area in the basement.

[MrGinger]

let me know when you will be in Vancouver.