THE BIG IDEA A WELL-LIGHTED PLACE
ON AUGUST 11, 2023, a group of likeminded guests in Santa Barbara, Calif., watched the Perseids meteor shower streak across the night sky. It was a stellar display that happened to coincide with the launch of the Cohiba Experience at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara. Fittingly, the event marked the reopening of a smoker-friendly venue that had been snuffed out by the pandemic.
Call them cigar bars, terraces, or smoking lounges, these spaces—which first flourished during the cigar boom of the 1990s—are a modern (and more inclusive) answer to the chummy gentleman's clubs of the 19th century. While many shuttered during the Covid-induced lockdowns of 2020, the past year has seen an increase in highend debuts both in the United States and abroad. The spike reflects a pent-up desire for the social atmosphere that comes with enjoying a good cigar. And the basic appeal is self-evident: an enviable selection of premium cigars, and the premium
