MN brother what's a good B&M neat St. Paul?

[jpasser4]

I am from north central MN and will be down in St. Paul on the 4th. I don't have a B&M where I live and would like to pick up some good cigars along with look at so cutters. I am wondering if any of you have any recommendations on a good B&M to visit. I have been to the Golden Leaf, but that is it.

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Rupe]

I guess it all depends on where you are at and what's convenient for you. My 2 favorte spots in the Twin Cities are Tobacco Grove (Maple Grove) and Burn (Burnsville). Both have nice lounges, great selection in the humidor, offstreet parking (in strip malls) and are easy to get to. They are both in suburban locations though so if you are in downtown St. Paul though you are probably going to be about 1/2 hour away from either one. Tobacco Grove is Nortwest of St. Paul and Burn is Southwest.

 

[jpasser4]

I will be at the Excel Energy Center and will be coming in from the north. The drive south is 2 hours so another 30 minutes ins't a big deal.

 

[Rupe]

Actually a better alternative may be to take a quick ride over to Hudson WI which is also going to be 1/2 hour (or less) from St. Paul. Tobacco taxes are 70% in MN and almost non-existent in WI so it will definitely be a LOT cheaper. doing a quick search the 2 places I found in Hudson are:

Smokedale - http://smokedalecigar.com/locations

Saint Croix Cigar Company - http://stcroixcigar.com

I cannot personally vouch for either place but maybe one of the other MN brothers could chime in and give their opinion.

 

[njstone]

Golden Leaf isn't too shabby. Tobacco Grove is probably the best lounge I'm been to in MN, comfy couches and nice folks. Impressive humidor as well.

 

[JDog]

I would second Tobacco Grove in Maple Grove and Burn in Burnsville.

 

[mwlabel]

Everybody else has nailed it.
Do NOT go to Stogies On Grand (which is actually in St. Paul). Horribly over-priced, and the worst customer service I've ever encountered in a B&M.

 

[jpasser4]

Thanks for your help! I think i will head down 35W and hit Burn it is only a little bit out of the way. I am heading to the Dells at the end of the month so I will hit up the ones across the river then.

I'm also trying to convince my wife I need to come down on the 9th so I can join everyone at the HERF!!

 

[jmvcp]

Burn seems like the place I hit up too. Haven't had the greatest experiences at stogies been their a handful of times they seem to be out to serve the Summit Ave. But didn't like Golden Leaf when I went their once. Has anyone here ever tried Perfect Ash?

http://www.perfectash.com/directions.html

 

[Mickeymorris626]

Actually a better alternative may be to take a quick ride over to Hudson WI which is also going to be 1/2 hour (or less) from St. Paul. Tobacco taxes are 70% in MN and almost non-existent in WI so it will definitely be a LOT cheaper. doing a quick search the 2 places I found in Hudson are:

Smokedale - http://smokedalecigar.com/locations

Saint Croix Cigar Company - http://stcroixcigar.com

I cannot personally vouch for either place but maybe one of the other MN brothers could chime in and give their opinion.

St Croix Cigar is a great shop, I went to college with the manager, super nice guy.
Their lounge is a bit small, but their selection is good. A fair amount of Tats, Opus, Anejos and Illusione. They also have all the typical General Cigar, Fuente and Oliva lines.

Their prices are much better than the MN shops (due to taxes) but their selection lacks Ligas and a few others people might look for.

 

[mwlabel]

Actually a better alternative may be to take a quick ride over to Hudson WI which is also going to be 1/2 hour (or less) from St. Paul. Tobacco taxes are 70% in MN and almost non-existent in WI so it will definitely be a LOT cheaper. doing a quick search the 2 places I found in Hudson are:

Smokedale - http://smokedalecigar.com/locations

Saint Croix Cigar Company - http://stcroixcigar.com

I cannot personally vouch for either place but maybe one of the other MN brothers could chime in and give their opinion.

St Croix Cigar is a great shop, I went to college with the manager, super nice guy.
Their lounge is a bit small, but their selection is good. A fair amount of Tats, Opus, Anejos and Illusione. They also have all the typical General Cigar, Fuente and Oliva lines.

Their prices are much better than the MN shops (due to taxes) but their selection lacks Ligas and a few others people might look for.

Hey now! You never mentioned the first four, you just told me they had Fuente and Oliva and such.

Guess I'm making a quick run over the river.

 

[Mickeymorris626]

Don't get me wrong, they don't have a super diverse selection of Tats or Illusiones, but they do have quite a few different Opus and Anejos. Even had a box of Anejo Sharks last time I was in there (months ago).

 

[mwlabel]

Eh. Still sounds worth the trip to me.

 

[DanDEman]

I am orginally from Minnesota, Burnsville specifically and The Burn is a great store with a great varity, the owner James is very helpful and a great guy to deal with.

 

[Rupe]

Burn seems like the place I hit up too. Haven't had the greatest experiences at stogies been their a handful of times they seem to be out to serve the Summit Ave. But didn't like Golden Leaf when I went their once. Has anyone here ever tried Perfect Ash?

http://www.perfectash.com/directions.html

I have never been to Perfect Ash but it looks like it would be a lot closer to the X than Burn or TG. Maybe 10-15 minutes away?

 

[jpasser4]

Burn seems like the place I hit up too. Haven't had the greatest experiences at stogies been their a handful of times they seem to be out to serve the Summit Ave. But didn't like Golden Leaf when I went their once. Has anyone here ever tried Perfect Ash?

http://www.perfectash.com/directions.html

I have never been to Perfect Ash but it looks like it would be a lot closer to the X than Burn or TG. Maybe 10-15 minutes away?

I can hit Burn on my way down and possibly Perfect Ash when I'm there. My goal is to hopefully find a Liga or a My Father because I've never had either of them.

 

[jpasser4]

I went to Perfect Ash and to Golden Leaf. The selection at Perfect Ash was better than the one at Golden Leaf, but the service was far better at the Golden Leaf and the lounge was quite a bit larger at the Golden Leaf as well. I can't wait to see what Burn has to offer next weekend!!

 

[Rupe]

Were you able to find a Liga or a My Father?

If not you may just find one on Saturday :wink:

 

[jpasser4]

I wasn't able to find a Liga, but I did find a My Father La Bijou at Perfect Ash. Perfect Ash also had a huge selection of Illusion and a fair selection of Tatuaje cigars.

 

[mwlabel]

God my memory is awful. I don't remember Burn carrying Liga. It's probably cause I'm usually up to my neck in Epernays as soon as I get in their humidor...