“What can we do that’s super luxury to suit the VIP player at Vegas resorts and casinos?” That was the question Cigar Row was kicking around back in 2012, recalls owner Dave Brown. The young Charleston-based business was familiar with VIP tastes, distributing luxury cigars to top Sin City resorts, casinos, and hotels and providing cigar-rolling services for events ranging from six-figure weddings to corporate shindigs.
The razzle-dazzle-’em answer? The Black Tie: a cigar rolled in a Connecticut shade wrapper and 24K edible gold leaf. Priced at $240, it “has technical characteristics that people like, including a long ash. Reinforced by gold, the ash can get two to three inches long,” explains Brown. The indulgence has gained popularity among “very well-known cigar-friendly celebs,” notes Brown—in fact, partnerships with a few high-profile customers may be in the works.
Cigar Row hand-rolls The Black Tie, as well as madras and bourbon-aged house-blend cigars, for its own brand, London Cut. Brown created the shop at londoncutcigars.com because “often, after we roll cigars at an event, people ask how they can buy them,” he explains. These days, they are shipping the products around the world—just one indicator of this Holy City business’ smokin’ success.
On a Roll
More fun Cigar Row facts
➼ Owner Dave Brown graduated from College of Charleston with a psychology degree and worked in the cigar industry for five years before founding Cigar Row.
➼ Among Cigar Row’s nationwide accounts are local clients including Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Wild Dunes, BI-LO, and select Harris Teeter stores.
➼ The company runs cigar programs for nearly a dozen casinos, resorts, and hotels in Las Vegas.
➼ The coolest fêtes where they’ve stationed cigar rollers? The White House Correspondents’ Dinner After-Party (2012-14); in-store celebrations for Louis Vuitton, Ermenegildo Zegna, and Saks (2012-14); and Masters Tournament events (2012-13)
