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/

Baranows Lounge, Melbourne, Australia

July 4th - 6th, 2006
348 Burwood Road
Victoria 3122
Melbourne, Australia

I had been a customer of these guys when they were at the Preston Market in Preston, Victoria. They had moved into a new location in the last couple of years and I wanted to checkout their new digs which appears to be a renovated old bank building. I was not disappointed in making the trip over to Hawthorn.

This has to be one of the most impressive cigar establishments I have visited, a veritable monument to habanos! It's understated, functional and a place one would want to hang out and spend some time. The lounge is almost finished with lockers being planned in the next couple of months.

The lounge is large, probably can accommodate around 30 people. On one of the walls is a retracyable big screen, where I'm sure there have been many screenings of the recent socceroos matches during the World Cup. There is a full-service bar with a respectable selection of single malts and tequila's.... and then there is the humidor. The humidor spans the entire length of one side of the building.

On display is every brand that is produced in Cuba. There is also a wall where Wal has stacked some impressive red wine, including Grange Hermitage and other great Australian Shiraz.

There is not much in aged cigars in this humidor and there is an impressive variety of new inventory. Wal Baranow (on the left), is the owner of this great establishment, tells me however that he has a substantial selection of aged product elsewhere. Spencer, who is quite knowledgable, walks me through the selection. I ask him to show me his aged large gauge selections. He opens a box of Hoyo double coronas.... they are damp and one cigar is covered with plume.... he hastily moves me onto some sublimes.

He's raving about sublimes and then shows me a Ramon gigantes. It looks great and I decide to purchase it along with a sublime and a siglo VI. I will sample those before I leave Melbourne and have tasting notes on them later.

Wal takes some time to light up a smoke and have an espresso with me to chat about the business. His knowledge comes from being in the business for many years. We chat about cuban Davidoff's, and his aged collection, much of which he will never release. I have to end my visit to meet my Mom for lunch... until the next time I am in Melbourne, I'll need to be patient to enjoy the ambienve of this great venue.

+61 3 9819 6699
http://www.baranows.com/