Calgary’s Top Cigar Shops

It’s funny to think of cigars as having a particular season, but the smoking ban reality of life in Calgary means that warm summer evenings are a godsend for cigar lovers. In celebration of the cigar season, then, we present our favourite stogie shops in town.

Zigarren
Canada’s largest walk-in humidor (450 square feet) moved into new digs last month, and the selection is as vast as ever. (Cigars range from $2 to nearly $200.) If you don’t find it here, you won’t find it anywhere. Bay #6, 7112 Macleod Tr. S.E., 403-532-2442.

Emilio’s Humidor
With a freestanding humidor plunked in the middle of the Eau Claire market, Emilio’s offers treats from Nicaragua, the Philippines, Holland and more. Go for the top-of-line nine-incher, Cuba’s Montecristo A, and savour $76 of smoke. Eau Claire Market #144, 200 Barclay Parade, S.W., 403-264-6457.

Epicure Cigar + Pipe
Tucked in a basement near Calgary’s core, this dark, spacious shop claims to have North America’s largest selection of Cuban cigars ($5-55). Pipes and loose tobacco are also in abundance. Those in the know head to the discreet, members-only smoking lounge in the back. 620 – 8th Ave. S.W., Suite 101, 403-269-2716.

Willow Park Cigars
Visit this well-lit, family-run shop for Cuban, Dominican and Central American cigars, as well as cigarillos, pipes and loose tobacco. Cigar fiends on the move can grab an affordable, portable humidor with a hygrometer on top and a humidifier on the bottom. 442 – 10816 Macleod Tr. S.E., 403-225-4110.

Image courtesy of CM Bellman on Flickr.