Bogart's House of Fine Cigars & Tobacco

July 8th - 9th, 2006
333 Castlereagh Street
Sydney 2000
Australia

Strange how you can live in a place and only as a "returning tourist" you discover a gem. I had never spent time at Bogart's when we lived in Sydney and it was about time I paid a visit.

Located in the Piccadilly Center, Bogart's is a small but very impressive tobacconist. The store is jammed with a wide selection of habanos and the accompanying accessories. The walls are adorned with old photographs of Hollywood icons from the 30's and 40's.

Before I arrived, I called the proprietor, Norman Stein, to enquire about aged habanos. He was very friendly on the phone and told me he might have some interesting product. I was not disappointed when I entered his store.
Norman had escaped corporate life about 9 years ago, "fell into" this profession. He was never a serious smoker, a fact you would never guess given his incredible knowledge and passion on habanos. In addition to the store, Norman is often asked to host corporate events that include lavish dinners and cigar evenings for major corporates like KPMG and IBM.

A very welcoming person, Norman showed me some aged product he was particularly proud of. Dunhill and H. Upmann cigars from the mid-1980's, as well as some excellent Cohibas from the late 1990's. We spent some time chatting about the business. Every so often a "regular" customer would wander in to pick up this or that and Norman would politely excuse himself to attend to business.

I settled on some aged Dunhill's, Bolivar's and H. Upmann's. He was kind enough to let me select a couple of each which I will review later in the coming weeks. As I progress through those cigars, I will assign Bogart's an evaluation.

I had to return to the hotel to meet up with Leslie and really wish I could have spent more time with Norman picking his brain on his views on the industry. The next time I'm in Sydney I will definitely devote more time at Bogart's.

+61 2 9267 1911
http://www.bogarts.com.au/