Your Cigar Den and Montecristo Lounge — Attraction in State College

First off, I want to say that the business should be ashamed it is diluting ratings by putting it's OWN ratings of itself online! Check the review below mine and it's user name!

I've been to this place over a dozen times in the past few years. Here's my thoughts:

----1) Selection----Pretty good. Lots of good brands, but the stock in general isn't that large. The cigars are kept in large cabinet humidors vs. something bigger like a walk-in humidor. The vitolas supplied are either fairly small or pretty large, not much in between. They also sell pipe tobacco and flavored cigars which is a nice touch.

----2) Prices----The prices here are horrible for PA. Back home in the Philly area I can find the same cigars for $1-2 less. It is somewhat insulting that they can raise prices so high simply because they are the only place in State College that sells premium cigars. Accessory prices are high too.

----3) Staff----From what I understand, there are 3 staff members: The owner, his wife, and another staff member. The owner is fairly friendly, but has been fairly condescending to my questions and comments. His wife and the other staff member are very friendly and warm. Perhaps the owner is better with older customers rather than college students.

----4) Location----The location of the shop is rather odd. It is in an alley way between Fraser and Allen Streets. I had a really hard time finding it my first time round.

----5) Lounge----The shop has 2 lounges. The first is in the main area with a large table and lounge chairs. Very nice. The second is a living room-type area. I haven't been in it but it looks nice.

Additionally, the shop also has cigar lockers which I assume you can rent. I'm not sure.

Overall, if you want some cigars, this is your only choice, but I try to avoid it these days. If your an older customer, you may enjoy this shop because older patron do seem to be enjoying themselves each...

Tony, the new owner of this cigar shop in downtown State College is a great guy and is pouring his passion AND money for cigars into this established shop. He has placed a digital Hydrometer in every cigar case and takes time every day to be sure the cigars in each display humidor is properly maintained. It’s nice to be able to go into a cigar shop and be able to pick out a cigar, sit down in the comfortable chairs in the lounge and smoke a cigar that is "ready to smoke", that is, moist enough to smoke right there. This store had some problems maintaining a high enough humidity, Tony is aware of that and is on top of it.

Tony has bought a LOT of new stock, has a great selection of cigar lighters and other accessories. If you don't have a lot of money, he has some of his own brand cigars for $5 each that are very flavorful and not too strong. They are medium body cigars.

Tony has been trying to stock some of the cigars that were in the top 25 cigars of the year in Cigar Aficionado, Excellent! I was able to try the number one pick for this past issue's list. He had the Oliva Grand V Grand Reserve Melanio. He had the same size that was reviewed in CA, and also a smaller size that was less expense and perfect for someone that wanted to taste it but did not want to spend big bucks on it. This cigar is smooth, not at all harsh. It’s great to be able to taste top of the line cigars without having to buy a box.

The prices are about 10 percent off the retail price, so it’s less expensive than under the previous owner with a much better selection in various price ranges.

There is an event the 3rd Thursday of every month in the early evening. I was not aware of that until I stopped in yesterday. There is a cigar industry guest every month and that could mean a few sample cigars and a nice social event with your peers.

Give this place a try. Now THIS is the way to run...

• EDITED * I received a message from the new owner Tony a few weeks ago saying that the original owner (referenced in my old review) had passed away and that he was now owner and operator of the shop. I'm amending my review to 3 stars based on the sole fact he reached out to me asking if he could win my business back and telling me of the updates and improvements he's made/planning to make to the establishment.

I'll further update this review when I have the opportunity to visit again (hopefully soon) and will update with my experience.

• ORIGINAL REVIEW *

Just having moved to State College, I went to Your Cigar Den to see what it was like compared to what I had grown accustomed to in Charlotte, NC. Upon entering, I could tell that the ventilation systems were sub par. A thick haze of cigar smoke hung about the room with only 4 people smoking at the time. The store is small, the entirety of it being a smoking lounge as well, but the selection was less than I was expecting. They only had house blends for pipe tobacco (the main reason I was going there) and even they were lacking. Their selection of cigars seems decent, but as primarily a pipe smoker, they had very little to offer me. I purchased a 2 oz. bag of their Fireside blend and while checking out, I inquired to the owner about use of the lounge space, and if outside blends were allowed. His response was a curt: "You can only smoke here if you buy it here". This was a major turn off for me. I have a rather extensive cellar of tobacco built up and having to buy their sub par blends to use the lounge space was the main reason I will not be returning to the...