Local cigar bar serves as social nexus for Berry

"Old Havana" a favorite hangout among students

The light chatter of customers competed with jazz music wafting over the loud speaker. Clouds of cigar smoke rose toward the ceiling, perfuming the bar with a relaxing scent.

In the middle of the dimly lit main room of Old Havana Cigar Co., the Broad Street bar and cigar shop, Berry College freshman Eric Alburl was enjoying his first cigar.

"I like the flavor," Arburl said. "Mine tastes like honey."

Arburl, like many other students, have become part of the noticeable incline in cigar enthusiasts at Berry.

Located on Broad Street, Old Havana Cigar Co. opens its door to cigar enthusiasts.
Photo courtesy of Old Havana Cigar Co.

The gathering spot
Old Havana, the only premium cigar shop and bar in downtown Rome, has become a meeting place for many of these students.

“I was so worked up about schoolwork,” Alburl said. “One of my friends got me to come here to sit down and have a cigar with some of the guys, and now I feel so much more calm. I just love the atmosphere here.”

And that was exactly the type of mood Steven McDowell, owner of Old Havana Cigar Co., tried to provide.

“I wanted to create a warm and inviting ambiance, a place where [students] can get away from their strenuous schedules, with midterms and finals, and relax over a cigar,” McDowell said.

Inside Old Havana Cigar Co. the cozy environment promotes relaxation.
Photo courtesy of Old Havana Cigar Co.

McDowell, a Berry alumnus himself, bought the store in 2003. He attributes the increase in younger cigar smokers to the changes in the cigar industry.

“When I was at Berry, I had to pay $10 for a half-decent cigar, which isn’t the case any more. You can buy a premium quality cigar for much less today,” McDowell said. “Plus, with the advent of flavored cigars, younger, less experienced smokers can enjoy a cigar without feeling like they’re smoking the big-old nasty cigar that their granddad smokes.”

Students bring cigar smoking to Berry
Interest in cigars at Berry has grown so much that a student-initiated cigar club is undergoing the approval process by the Student Activities Office.

The cigar club’s advisor, Eric Sands, a government professor at Berry, said that the club will present its constitution to the SAO on Nov. 26, 2007.

“Because smoking of any kind has been so demonized by the media, and because Berry would not likely want to be associated with the support of smoking, we made sure to only propose off-campus [cigar] get-togethers in our constitution,” Sands said. “That way we have a better shot of being recognized.”

Renewed interest
Sands said that he believes the revived interest in cigar smoking has both economic and cultural origins.

“America has become a nation of affluence that carries over, in many cases, to college students,” Sands said. "I think that because college students have more money today, obviously they are more willing to spend it on life’s finer pleasures.”

Also, after the Cuban trade embargo, many Cuban cigar companies had to relocate their tobacco fields and factories, Sands said.

“It takes a long time to adjust the quality of the crops when moving to unfamiliar climates," he explained. "Plus, there is at least a five-year aging process with premium cigars. In other words, the big cigar companies may have just now figured it out—again.”

But to Alburl, whatever the companies have done, they’ve done it right.

“The whole experience was just incredible,” Alburl said as he exhaled his last puff of the night.

“I can guarantee cigars will be a big part of my future,” Alburl said, “I’ve tasted elegance, whatever that is, and damn, did it taste good!”

{M.W.}