Casa Fuente
October 4th, 2011 at 2:06:02 PM
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For those interested in cigars, I visited this place in the Forum Shoppes during my last trip. The reviews on Yelp are quite positive, although I'm pretty sure the majority of the reviews are from first time smokers who were looking to try something different. Hey, it's Vegas, and they have every right to keep the ratings for this place artificially high.
Anyway, as a regular cigar smoker myself, I decided to spend an afternoon there to burn some time. I was on a 9 day trip and needed some way to not be gambling all the time. The place (the name translates to "House of Fuente" for cigar legend Arturo Fuente), is tucked in the armpit of the connecting escalator on the 3rd floor of the Forum Shoppes rotunda. Supposedly, Arturo Fuente doesn't just allow ANYBODY to use the family name for a retail location, so this place is a diamond in the rough, or whatever.
It was the Friday before Mexico's Independence Day, so the crowds were building up. I arrived at around 3PM, and like most places in Vegas, I had no idea if I was supposed to wait for a hostess or just walk in. The store has a bit of a fenced in patio extension where patrons can sit and smoke and drink. I stood around at the hostess booth for maybe 5 minutes, watching the scantily clad tanned-skin cigar girls serving everyone drinks. I guess they don't notice when solo guys want to go in for a smoke, so I finally walked in past the patio to the front of the store where I was carded for my age. The gentleman helping me out took me into the humidor and asked what I was looking for and we spoke a bit about the maduro offerings and the OpusX which seems to be their most popular cigar. He surprisingly suggested I go with the cheaper alternative, the Anejo, which uses the same fillers as the OpusX but a different wrapper. Price? $18. It can be difficult to gauge if a cigar is overpriced, especially when it is a premium brand and in a place like the Forum Shoppes. The size was right for a 1.5-2 hour smoke, so I obliged and took it to the register.
Another scantily clad cigar girl rung up the purchase on the register and cut and lit the cigar for me. I inquired about where to smoke and I had the option of the bar inside the store or one of the small tables in the patio. The bar was rather.. uninviting for some reason.. so I wandered into the patio and sat at the only empty table, which was right near the stereo hidden in a fern, blasting very loud Cuban music. I found that I could seat myself to reduce the damage to my ear drums, and I wanted to sit and smoke as I had made a fairly long trek to CP from the Aria.
I am not a drinker, so when one of the waitresses inquired about a drink, I got an ice water. In the past I have attempted to drink while smoking and found that it is just too much for my senses. The nicotine buzz just doesn't mix with alcohol for my body. So there I sat, for probably 2 hours, puffing away at the Anejo cigar, occasionally angling my ear to reduce the damage from the blaringly loud stereo hidden in the bushes.
I noticed that a lot of folks came by only to get a drink, which sort of irks me since that means there are less seats for cigar smokers, but profit is profit and I guess most seasoned cigar smokers learned the lesson the hard way like I was about to. I smoked the Anejo down to about an inch and a half before I decided to call it quits. Overall, it wasn't bad --- fairly mild for a maduro, and less billowy than I like, but quite palatable and a good way to pass time. As I got up and left, one of the cigar girls gave me the rudest "bye" accompanied by a rather harsh facial expression. I guess my cigar and my glass of water didn't justify her presence?
Overall, I just felt like my presence was unwanted, mostly because it felt like I was in a bar that allowed cigars, not in a cigar store that allowed drinking. It looked like most of the patrons were drinkers who wanted to try a premium cigar for the first time, and this should have been a red flag for me. I frequent cigar bars in my home town that are more about allowing you to enjoy a smoke while watching TV or chatting with the store owner. I guess I was expecting a similar experience.
Will I go back? Sure, if I'm with someone who has never smoked a cigar and wants to try one by Arturo Fuente. Otherwise, I'd rather buy some of the same cigars at home for $5-$10 less, bring them with me to Vegas, and enjoy them while watching the Bellagio Fountains.
Anyway, as a regular cigar smoker myself, I decided to spend an afternoon there to burn some time. I was on a 9 day trip and needed some way to not be gambling all the time. The place (the name translates to "House of Fuente" for cigar legend Arturo Fuente), is tucked in the armpit of the connecting escalator on the 3rd floor of the Forum Shoppes rotunda. Supposedly, Arturo Fuente doesn't just allow ANYBODY to use the family name for a retail location, so this place is a diamond in the rough, or whatever.
It was the Friday before Mexico's Independence Day, so the crowds were building up. I arrived at around 3PM, and like most places in Vegas, I had no idea if I was supposed to wait for a hostess or just walk in. The store has a bit of a fenced in patio extension where patrons can sit and smoke and drink. I stood around at the hostess booth for maybe 5 minutes, watching the scantily clad tanned-skin cigar girls serving everyone drinks. I guess they don't notice when solo guys want to go in for a smoke, so I finally walked in past the patio to the front of the store where I was carded for my age. The gentleman helping me out took me into the humidor and asked what I was looking for and we spoke a bit about the maduro offerings and the OpusX which seems to be their most popular cigar. He surprisingly suggested I go with the cheaper alternative, the Anejo, which uses the same fillers as the OpusX but a different wrapper. Price? $18. It can be difficult to gauge if a cigar is overpriced, especially when it is a premium brand and in a place like the Forum Shoppes. The size was right for a 1.5-2 hour smoke, so I obliged and took it to the register.
Another scantily clad cigar girl rung up the purchase on the register and cut and lit the cigar for me. I inquired about where to smoke and I had the option of the bar inside the store or one of the small tables in the patio. The bar was rather.. uninviting for some reason.. so I wandered into the patio and sat at the only empty table, which was right near the stereo hidden in a fern, blasting very loud Cuban music. I found that I could seat myself to reduce the damage to my ear drums, and I wanted to sit and smoke as I had made a fairly long trek to CP from the Aria.
I am not a drinker, so when one of the waitresses inquired about a drink, I got an ice water. In the past I have attempted to drink while smoking and found that it is just too much for my senses. The nicotine buzz just doesn't mix with alcohol for my body. So there I sat, for probably 2 hours, puffing away at the Anejo cigar, occasionally angling my ear to reduce the damage from the blaringly loud stereo hidden in the bushes.
I noticed that a lot of folks came by only to get a drink, which sort of irks me since that means there are less seats for cigar smokers, but profit is profit and I guess most seasoned cigar smokers learned the lesson the hard way like I was about to. I smoked the Anejo down to about an inch and a half before I decided to call it quits. Overall, it wasn't bad --- fairly mild for a maduro, and less billowy than I like, but quite palatable and a good way to pass time. As I got up and left, one of the cigar girls gave me the rudest "bye" accompanied by a rather harsh facial expression. I guess my cigar and my glass of water didn't justify her presence?
Overall, I just felt like my presence was unwanted, mostly because it felt like I was in a bar that allowed cigars, not in a cigar store that allowed drinking. It looked like most of the patrons were drinkers who wanted to try a premium cigar for the first time, and this should have been a red flag for me. I frequent cigar bars in my home town that are more about allowing you to enjoy a smoke while watching TV or chatting with the store owner. I guess I was expecting a similar experience.
Will I go back? Sure, if I'm with someone who has never smoked a cigar and wants to try one by Arturo Fuente. Otherwise, I'd rather buy some of the same cigars at home for $5-$10 less, bring them with me to Vegas, and enjoy them while watching the Bellagio Fountains.
