cuban cigars in northern ireland!

[senor_robusto]

i know it's a long shot, but is there any users here from northern ireland (or even ireland)? belfast only has 1 proper tobacconist that i know off, miss moran's! leckey's is a newsagent that sometimes stocks romeo y julieta's (tubos no. 2)! i haven't been to havana house in lisburn yet, i'll have to take a wee drive there since it's only about 30mins away! other than these, the yellow pages only has 5 entries for tobacconists in the whole of northern ireland, and 3 of them are newsagents!!!!

help!!!!:confused:

alex

[matt257]

Check www.cigars.co.uk

They have a section that lists all the "Official Habanos Dealers" in GB and NI

[Gary]

Hi Alex, I think I'm the only other forum member from Northern Ireland (Belfast) mate.

I am quite certain Miss Moran is the only cigar shop in the country :(. I know others are listed in the Yellow pages etc as tobacconists, but like you said they're just newsagents that sell packets of King Edward's and so can fall under the "Cigar" category.

Miss Moran's selection has certainly improved in recent years ever since it was taken over about 4 or 5 years, although he's quite expensive (although not as expensive as the 3 down in Dublin). Haven't visited the one in Lisburn, not sure if it's a newsagent either, although I heard something that the guy who own's Miss Moran also own's the one in Lisburn, whether it's true or not I don't know?

[senor_robusto]

hey gary, hello and thanks for the info! i call into miss moran's every couple of weeks, the owner's a pretty decent guy, always happy to talk! i used to find the place intimidating, because it's so small! now, i actually look forward to calling in! as you would expect from the only tobacconist in the city, i find they're quite expensive! i bought a couple of bolivar no. 2's at £7, then the price shot up to £10! the cohiba maduro secretos also went from £10.50 up to £11 each! still........since the missus and i don't 'go out' that much due to the fact we can't get babysitters, i'm happy to buy a couple of singles from him!

what about yourself? do you buy from miss morans?

alex:41:

[Gary]

Yeah Alex, I call into Miss Moran every now and then, sometimes just for a look to see what he has, sometimes to buy something if I'm feeling flush lol :biggrin1:. Another reason he's probably so expensive is because he's the only cigar retailer in the country, another store would add much needed competition. Yeah he's a decent sort of guy, have got talking to him a few times when I've been in. He has some nice things under the counter, ie, not on display like limited edition boxes of Hunter's and Frankau cigars from 1998, think the box he showed me was HdM double corona's.

I was like you when I was a bit younger (30 now) and didn't know a whole lot about cigars, but seeing I've more than 10 years of knowledge that's a thing of the past thankfully :smile:. Have you built up a wee collection or anything?

Just back to Las Vegas/Hawaii and brought back a nice selection of Non cuban singles and a box of Pete Johnson brown label Novellas (the American's have been going nuts for his cigars for the last 24 months or more.

[senor_robusto]

hey gary,
you're dead right about why he's so expensive, he's the only man serving all of northern ireland! another thing, he normally has all sorts of deals on, but he doesn't advertise! i asked about a box of 10 cohiba maduro secretos after seeing a customer buy a box, and he told me it was the last one, it was on offer at £80, reduced from £116 i think!

as i said, i've only been smoking cigars for the last year or so, i came to it a bit late in ife, lol! i'll be 30 on my next birthday! i just bought myself an adorini deluxe humidor last month! it holds 75 supposedly, though mine seems more than half filled! so far i have 6 ryj mille fleurs, 12 ryj no. 2 AT, 3 ryj short churchills AT, 4 montecristo no. 3's, partagas culebras (2 still in tact, 1 opened with 1 smoked), 2 hdm epicure no. 2, 2 bolivar tubos no. 2, 1 PSD4! i'll hopefully pop down to miss morans tomorrow, if i have time, to get a couple of singles!

alex

[celsis]

I work in dublin and there's the Decent Cigar Emporium, Petersons and JJ Fox (where I just picked up some Partagas D3 2001 for €17.49 each - also Royal Coronas for €11 each!)

[niall-mc]

Hi Alex, I think I'm the only other forum member from Northern Ireland (Belfast) mate.



I'm 20 miles up the M2 :p

Haven't been to the one in Belfast yet didn't know it existed! Only place in the city I've ever got cigars was Laverys or the Vineyard offy on the Ormeau Rd, I still get my R & J minis outta there. I even got an Upmann Junior and R & J No.2 the other day in my wee village when I went in for some juice of the barley. :cowboyic9:

Haven't been in Havana House in Lisburn in a couple of years. Decent selection but since I found www.cgarsltd.co.uk (http://www.cgarsltd.co.uk) and their service is as quick as (usually arrives 2 posts after you order) and plus you can buy near any cigar in singles I use them, or if I'm in an offy and get seduced I'll buy.

Havent tried any European mainland sites yet I thought you had to pay extra customs or something? Must find this Miss Moran's shop on monday and all. :rock:

[Liono]

Hi guys, just joined here today ,i'm from Belfast myself.

I mostly use the shop in town and rely on presents from overseas when family & friends travel! Whereabouts is the shop in Lisburn, i'm getting some cigars today and Lisburn is quicker for me to get to.

Also what do you lads buy in Belfast? Any suggestions?

[Gary]

Hi Niall / Liono, glad to see another couple of guys from Northern Ireland join the forum.

Did you guy's find Miss Moran then in Belfast. The store has definately inproved loads over the last couple of years in terms of their selection, although they can be a little on the pricey side, although tehy're definately worth a visit.

Niall, the shop is located at the side of the High Park Centre / Multi Storey Car Park in the city centre.

I'd usually buy the odd single of two from Miss Moran but boxes are too expensive and I'd usually just get my boxes when on holiday.

Anyway, look forward to your posting.

[Liono]

I was in yesterday to get a couple of cigars for the weekend.

I'm going to head up to the new (new to me anyway:smile:) shop in Lisburn.

[senor_robusto]

hey liono & niall,
nice to see someone else from belfast on here!!!!

one word of advice though........read the forum rules! don't want you getting into bother with the moderators so early on.........

i've been doing my research on cigars in northern ireland! so far, i've turned up very little except:
1. miss moran's (belfast city center habanos specialist)
2. havana house (lisburn habanos specialist)
3. lecky's newsagent (belfast, a few doors up from miss morans, normally stock RyJ (no. 1, 2 3, sometimes short churchills and churchills) and cohibas (siglo 2)
4. the vineyard (belfast, ormeau road)
5. asda (anywhere, normally stock punch coronations and h upmann corona junior)

also, here's some info from hunters & frankau, type in your postcode and see what comes up:
http://cigars.co.uk/locations

as far as COSA' s are, there's not much except the grotty space provided by your local pub or a couple of chairs outside a cafe (where you can sit an be frowned at by passers by), check out this, bottom row, third across (the crawfordsburn inn)!
http://cigars.co.uk/category/gallery/comfortable-outdoor-smoking-areas

also, if you appreciate history etc, the londonderry arms hotel in carnlough up the antrim coast was once owned by winston churchill (he sold it around 1934)! though there's no smoking room or anything, it's a nice, quiet wee place where you can sit with a guinness or coffee outside and have a smoke!
http://www.glensofantrim.com/

hope this helps,

alex:849::rock::41:

[senor_robusto]

just noticed this from the hunters & frankau COSA gallery.........maybe we should start posting suggestions of our own or share experiences of where's good to buy good cigars and smoke them since there's no information on the web about this past time in northern ireland!

http://cigars.co.uk/category/gallery/comfortable-outdoor-smoking-areas?page=1
row 1 pics 1 & 3

http://cigars.co.uk/category/gallery/comfortable-outdoor-smoking-areas?page=2
row 1 pic 3, row 4 pic 1

http://cigars.co.uk/category/gallery/comfortable-outdoor-smoking-areas?page=4
row 3, pic 4

http://cigars.co.uk/category/gallery/comfortable-outdoor-smoking-areas
row 4 pic 3

all the best,

alex:849:

[Liono]

I don't know if there is a newbie section as i couldn't find one so i'll ask you lads....

I had a cigar on the golf course over the weekend (means when i play bad it's still an enjoyable day!!) and halfway down the cigar started to peel on the outside, exposing the inside of the cigar. would there be any reason for this?

Back to local cigars, i used to buy a cigar from Asda, not sure of the name, but it came in a yellow tube and was c£6, they don't seem to sell it anymore which is a shame as they were quite good.

[Dixie1982]

Hi Guys, havent been on for a while, last time I was on I thought I was the only Belfaster on here. Glad to see there are a few more.

Miss Morans was always my first stop, but once you are smoking even a couple a week £12/13/14 for one cigar is just too expensive.

I tend to go in there for the odd lunchtime cigar or some minis but if you're smoking more than the odd one you gotta go online and order, I now have a fully stock humi and overflow humi with MonteCristo specials, Number ones, bolivar, cohiba and R & J's and the hole heap hasn't cost more than about 200 quid over the last year.

Miss Morans is great, but not cheap.

[Gary]

Dixie, what about some photo's of those humidor's of yours, everyone loves to see other members stash.

[ballyboy]

Hi all, I came across the site a while back but only just joined today. Nice to see other cigar smokers here. I live in Belfast but am originally from the Dungannon area.

I must admit that while I've been smoking cigars for a number of years I'm by no means an expert and don't smoke cubans that often. I call into Miss Morans once in a while and I agree it's a great spot, though pricey. The owner is very helpful though and really knows his stuff (must say though that the woman who works there isn't quite as friendly...). He always says how business is booming.

I see people have mentioned Havana House in Lisburn. This shop sadly closed down over a year ago, as I recall. The owner had moved premises within the town (city I should say!) and after that his selection became even more limited. By the end he just had some pipes, a lot of cheap-looking lighters and a few cigars. I remember seeing Guantanamaras in there for £7 or £8! (were about £5 in MM at the time). A lot of money for a lower end cigar. No wonder he went out of business then. Anyway, thought I'd mention this shop in case people didn't realized it had closed.

Looking forward to learning from everyone here. Take care, Martin.

[Gary]

Hi Martin, good to see another cigar lover from Northern Ireland has joined this great forum.

You might want to introduce yourself to other forum members in the "Newbie" section.

[senor_robusto]

hey martin,
great to see another member from northern ireland!!!! welcome to the forum!!! btw, cheers for the info on havana house........i'll update it in the cigar travel......cigars in northern ireland thread i started, check it out!!!
http://www.ukcigarforums.com/showthread.php?t=5134

if there's anything else you've experienced in northern ireland to do with cigars (where to buy/ smoke them), please let me know so i can add it to my list!!!

take care pal,

alex:849::rock::smile: