Island Finds
Smokin'!
The cigar craze is alive and well on Sanibel and Captiva. A recent look around turned up several excellent sources for the sought-after stogie.
Disc Cafe, in Palm Ridge Place on Sanibel, installed a good-sized humidor in January. Stocked with a complete line of Arturo Fuente, the shop also carries Macanudo, Cuesta Rey, and Luis Martinez cigars, including one called 'Sanibel.'
Premium-quality cigars are hard to procure. "I have slept overnight in my van to get cigars for this store," says store owner George Lawson. Smokers will also find a variety of cigar accessories at Disc Cafe, including cutters, cigar savers, books, even a video on the rich history of cigars. 2330 Palm Ridge Road, 395-0446.
The island's largest humidor holds court inside The Grog Shop at Bailey's Center. A full seven- by eight-foot walk-in, it's filled with more than 60 cigar varieties from countries as far flung as the Canary Islands and Ecuador to Mexico, Brazil, and Honduras.
Manager Joe Suarez knows his subject, having been raised in Tampa by a mother who hand-rolled cigars for a living. The names roll off his tongue like honey: Puros Indios, La Gloria Cubano, Arturo Fuente. Suarez will point out which cigars have leaves from Indonesia, which from Cameroon.
"Currently, the demand for cigars is high," he says. "Our goal is to get the best ones." The selection is dazzling; row after row of beautifully detailed boxes lure the eye. The Grog Shop also carries a large inventory of cognacs, single-malt scotches, and ports to accompany any cigar. Bailey's Shopping Center, 472-1682.
At Jerry's Grocery, at the Periwinkle Way and Casa Ybel intersection, you can find cigars of all types at the service desk just inside the front door. While a nearby display is filled with inexpensive cigarillos (mini cigars), the counter itself offers more than 20 cigars, ranging in price from $1.39 to $7.89.
The Chateau Fuente 'half size' is a good seller, as are the well-known brands Macanudo and Cuesta Rey. Smokers will also find tins of Don Diego Preludes, miniatures from the Dominican Republic. 1700 Periwinkle Way, 472-9300.
New to the cigar scene as well as the island is The Sanibel Wine and Coffee Company, located in Tahitian Gardens. Owners Ken and Linda Boyce opened this tempting emporium just last April, adjacent to their popular Sanibel Cafe. Cigar smokers will be pleased to find a four- by six-foot humidor, filled with hand-wrapped, machine-wrapped, and European cigars. The Dominican Republic, Tampa, and Miami are all well represented. The Boyces' 'medium-to-high-end' store will also stock personal selections of cigars and wine on request. 2007 Periwinkle Way, 472-1144.
Captiva Liquors, adjoining the Island Store in Captiva's Village, has a nice variety of cigars, especially considering the small size of the store. Partagas and Celestino Vega are but two of the offerings; origins of export include Nicaragua, Indonesia, Ecuador, and Honduras.
A new trend is
'sipping' tequilas, as a cigar accompaniment.
"We sell a lot of scotches and ports to complement these cigars," says owner Michael Gulnac. A new trend, according to Gulnac, is the emergence of 'sipping' tequilas, also an acceptable cigar accompaniment. Often sold in designer bottles, these tequilas, according to an in-store promotion, "are made to be sipped and savored, much as one would a fine cognac or single-malt scotch." 11500 Andy Rosse Lane, 472-5668.
Gourmet Captiva, upstairs and across the street from South Seas Plantation's entrance, has more than 60 types of cigars in stock. The pricey La Diva by Partagas joins all shapes and sizes of cigars by Troya, Macanudo, Astral, and others in a good-sized humidor. One of the more intriguing cigars there is called El Sublimado, imbued with 50-year-old Hardy Noces d'Or Cognac.
Gourmet Captiva carries Cigar Aficionado and Smoke magazines, as well as Cigar Aficionado's Pocket Guide to Cigars, for those who enjoy a good read with their smoke. Captiva Drive, 472-4200.
Located at Chadwick's Circle, just inside the South Seas Plantation entrance, C.W.'s Gourmet Deli also caters to the on-island cigar smoker. The full-service grocery has a handsome humidor, stocked with cigars by Punch, Cuesta Rey, CAO, the popular Arturo Fuente, Centennial, and more. You'll also find nearly 20 varieties of cigars at the check-out counter. Chadwick�s Circle, 472-5111.