Utah - The Hunt for a Worthy NC in the Mountains

[LaoFan]

Visiting family in Utah (SLC) for 6 weeks~

With a trip in the middle to Havana for the Habanos festival coming up next week I decided to leave my sticks at home. Thought I'd spend some time hunting some NCs that couple compete with CCs.

I've tried tons and my humidors carry some boxes. Had always been a fan of Arturo Fuente - my 1st box so have some nostalgic feels and some of the Opus X lines are brilliant, Davidoff (No. 2 was my favourite cigar for a long time when I started smoking), but for the most part once I started smoking Cubans I found that despite great consistency, even burns / solid construction... I always felt like I was smoking fancy cigarettes.

The tang that Cuban terroir brings to the flavour table is what I have not really been able to find.

I went to school here for a couple semesters so I'm used to the lay of the land. No online cigar shopping at all. Crazy tobacco tax. Odd drinking laws. Thanks to my Mormon brothers. 🤪 Outside of that though, Utah is beautiful and will have some great spots to smoke and test out the other side of the cigar alley.

Will be picking up a haul based on stuff I've found members have recommended, CA (& others top list), reco's from the shops, and obviously local availability.

Will post pics of the shops and smokes as I go along to keep track.

Any members in Utah? Favourite shops?

Any must try NCs that bring the tang?

[Palaka50]

Hey man, long time lurker first time poster. I am in Utah, a little east and around a mountain range from SLC. I would highly suggest Beehive and Tinderbox, both good places, but like the rest of Utah extremely pricey. If you are in Heber shoot me a DM, I have a lot of NCs I would part with.

[Wookie]

Love skiing the Wasatch range! You get more interesting every post. Did you do a mission to China and get addicted to the culture?

[jmhoff10500]

Palaka50 nailed it. Tinderbox and Beehive are the ones worth stopping by.

[LaoFan]

8 hours ago, Palaka50 said:

Hey man, long time lurker first time poster.  I am in Utah, a little east and around a mountain range from SLC.  I would highly suggest Beehive and Tinderbox, both good places, but like the rest of Utah extremely pricey.  If you are in Heber shoot me a DM, I have a lot of NCs I would part with.

Will holler if I head to Heber.

5 hours ago, Wookie said:

Love skiing the Wasatch range! You get more interesting every post. Did you do a mission to china and get addicted to the culture?

Mission to MTL but Chinese speaking. Dropped out of uni and moved to China to do stand-up in Chinese and never left.

[LaoFan]

Beehive Cigars:
 

Awesome dudes running the shop. Lots of advice. Friendly and good service.

Tinder Box:

Not as big of a selection, but still solid. Nice people inside but it seemed a bit more of a smoke shop than Beehive. Got a solid selection at both and will begin smoking.

[LaoFan]

Southern Draw - Rose of Sharon

Brilliant construction. Perfect burn. Consistent draw. Great looking cigar.

Taste: fancycigarette/100

[HenryMartin]

On 2/21/2025 at 7:12 PM, LaoFan said:

Awesome dudes running the shop. Lots of advice. Friendly and good service.

That shop looks stacked!! I miss shopping for cigars in the states. So much variety, spoilt for choice, like a chocolate factory. Unlike the rest of the world dominated by Cubans that are short stocked and inappropriately priced. Depressing.

[LaoFan]

19 hours ago, HenryMartin said:

That shop looks stacked!! I miss shopping for cigars in the states. So much variety, spoilt for choice, like a chocolate factory. Unlike the rest of the world dominated by Cubans that are short stocked and inappropriately priced. Depressing.

Definitely stacked w/ enough for decision paralysis. 

[LaoFan]

@Chibearsv @JohnS

Looked for the 1964 you posted, but no inventory. Got this 1926 instead: (or as @Chucko8 would say - 2026)

Fantastic. 1st & 2nd third were massive chocolate billowing smoke clouds. The 3rd/3rd got bitter.

92. Worthy/100. Will grab a box of this for sure. 

[Ayub]

On 2/21/2025 at 7:39 AM, LaoFan said:

I always felt like I was smoking fancy cigarettes

I said that exact words about Davidoff Signature No.2. Davidoff Churchill Robusto is however very rich with black pepper and cedar, even better than some CC, in terms of taste richness to me.

Enjoy your trip bro. Cheers

[Vetteman]

You might give Ashton VSG a try if you haven’t already. They, along with Padron 64 or 26 and Opus X which you are unlikely to find, are my favorite NC.

[Palaka50]

10 hours ago, Vetteman said:

You might give Ashton VSG a try if you haven’t already. They, along with Padron 64 or 26 and Opus X which you are unlikely to find, are my favorite NC.

Beehive had Opus X last time I went, also a lot of Ashton ESG. Don't sleep on the Utah based Apostate Cigars.

[Deeg]

On 2/21/2025 at 7:16 PM, LaoFan said:

Southern Draw - Rose of Sharon

Brilliant construction. Perfect burn. Consistent draw. Great looking cigar.

Taste: fancycigarette/100

A fitting post for National Cat Day (Japan).

[Chucko8]

On 2/22/2025 at 7:26 PM, LaoFan said:

@Chibearsv @JohnS

Looked for the 1964 you posted, but no inventory. Got this 1926 instead: (or as @Chucko8 would say - 2026)

Fantastic. 1st & 2nd third were massive chocolate billowing smoke clouds. The 3rd/3rd got bitter.

92. Worthy/100. Will grab a box of this for sure. 

That’s for sure a 2026 stick! I can see the not yet rolled freshness of it 🤣🤣

[Lucas Buck]

Is Jeanie’s Smoke Shop downtown still around? Loved that shop when I lived in the salty city. 

[Cigar Surgeon]

On 2/21/2025 at 7:16 PM, LaoFan said:

Southern Draw - Rose of Sharon

Brilliant construction. Perfect burn. Consistent draw. Great looking cigar.

Taste: fancycigarette/100

You should try it in the Toro. A lot of times with connecticut shade wrapper, the smaller ring gauges under perform. 

[teamrandr]

Try my father Le Bijou.

[LaoFan]

Tatuaje Havana VI Verocú Blue

@ Snowmobiling in the Uinta Mountains

Great construction. Beautiful combustion. Even smoke. 

Not a lot of flavours going on. Bit bitter.

fancycigarette/100

But can't beat these mountains...

 

[LaoFan]

Aladino Churchill. Sweet tobacco. White pepper retrohale.

I'd smoke it again, but not reaching for it excitedly.

 

[HoyoFan]

10 hours ago, LaoFan said:

Aladino Churchill. Sweet tobacco. White pepper retrohale.
I'd smoke it again, but not reaching for it excitedly.

Try the Aladino Corojo Reserva.

[LaoFan]

Arturo Fuente Gran Reserva Churchill 

Solid smoke.

The more NCs I experiment with, the more I realize:

1) There are lots of great NC smokes.

2) They are not gonna be Cubans.

The Padron was the only one so far that I would buy a box of.

[LaoFan]

Rocky Patel - Grand Reserve.

This was second best out of all the NCs Ive tried in Utah.

It probably would've been even better if I wasn't smoking it in the middle of a massive white-out.

Absolute bluebird of a snowboard day the next morning though.

 

[LaoFan]

I had another compound word that ended in house for this one. Boring.

fancycigarette/100