For cigar smokers in Northern Ireland........

[senor_robusto]

also, planning a campervan holiday around the north coast and donegal for sometime in the next few weeks, and i remembered this place, the famous bushmills inn!!! 5 minute's walk from the famous distillery.......

had a meal with the missus in here about a year ago, which was awesome!!! the bar was great.........with a great outdoor seating area!!! not sure about shelters etc..........so, again, i'll do a bit of re-con as soon as i can and report back!!!

also, the village itself has a couple of traditional type tea houses (not cafes!!!) which typically have tables and chairs outside, as well as the usual craft shops and stuff associated with a place popular with tourists!!!!

alex

ps: just read this, which states of the new developments & extensions to the hotel! sounds interesting.......

[travisbickle34]

Goood ooold NI.

I paid an tenner for a RyJ No.2 a couple of weeks back in a local bar.... Painful

But it tasted good nonetheless

[oldjabroni]

Seeking advice

Hello everyone....the wif and I are headed to Belfast mid-June for a wedding, and from everyone's posts, the only cigars available locally are the run of he mill type. Should I just bring enough of my own, to last for the week? Also, I saw postings on the smoking bans, etc.....I will be able to enjoy a stogie while on the golf course, won't I? Any comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[senor_robusto]

Hello everyone....the wif and I are headed to Belfast mid-June for a wedding, and from everyone's posts, the only cigars available locally are the run of he mill type. Should I just bring enough of my own, to last for the week? Also, I saw postings on the smoking bans, etc.....I will be able to enjoy a stogie while on the golf course, won't I? Any comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

hey oldjabroni,
miss moran's in belfast city center is northern ireland's only habanos specialist!!! you'll get a great selection of all sorts in there, LE's, RE's, h&f vintage (1997, 98, 99), as well as the usual suspects of cohiba, montecristo, partagas, bolivar etc etc!!!

i could help you out better if you could give me a rough idea of where you are staying and where the wedding is (PM if you want)!!!!

by all means bring your own, but decent cigars can be had in belfast!!! also, check my COSA section on the best places to smoke IMO!!!

alex

[oldjabroni]

Thanks senor

Thanks a bunch....we're at The Balmoral, weding is saturday the 18th....we'll be getting on Wednesday the 15th, and leaving the 21st

[senor_robusto]

hey all,
just read, in the local newspaper, a glowing review of the central wine bar in ballycastle!!! not only does it get rave reviews for it's food, drink and general ambience, it's 'beer garden' gets a good mention!!! by all accounts a great place to enjoy a cigar (it's sheltered & heated) if you're on the north coast!!!

also, for what it's worth, the ferry from ballycastle to campbelltown is running again, so it's easy to access from scotland!!!

also, for what it's worth, there's plenty of inexpensive places to stay in ballycastle and neighbouring ballintoy (home of the carrick-a-rede rope bridge)!!! there's a good choice of decent hostels, b&b's and hotels!!! it's a great base to explore the north coast from.......

alex

[Gary]

Just a we'd update for this thread, was in Laverys bar in Shaftsbury Square (Belfast City Centre) this afternoon with the wife for some good old pub grub. The bar has an adjoining off sales which had a Hunters & Frankau style bar/restaurant type humidor with a decent selection of tubos smokes including Bolivar, Cohiba, H. Upmann etc, as well as 3 or 4 boxes of Bolivar which I found surprising. On the down side they were selling Cohiba Silgo VI for ?38 each!!!

[NornIron]

Was walking past Miss Moran's today, and had to pop in!
Didn't buy anything, but I always have to have a quick look around when I'm in town.

[baccybert]

Very comprehensive mate, thanks for this! Moran's can be hit or miss. If the male owner is working at the time he is very helpful and pleasant to chat to, but I've encountered two women who were very rude ( one actually held my note up to the light and then consulted her co worker to check if it was real, in front of me) and they were not welcoming. They are also so overpriced. Until now it was my go to for pipe and cigar goodies, but I'll be trying these other shops

Crawfordsburn Inn is a 2 second walk from where I am and a brilliant place for a smoke. A nice sheltered seating area out back, almost like a bar with no windows and a roaring hearth fire is very pleasant, enjoyed a Churchill Lancaster there the other week and will be there more frequently from now on. I'd definitely recommend it, nothing better than to sit sipping your favorite tipple and working on a stogie, all the while being kept toasty by the fire, perfect.

[senor_robusto]

Just a we'd update for this thread, was in Laverys bar in Shaftsbury Square (Belfast City Centre) this afternoon with the wife for some good old pub grub. The bar has an adjoining off sales which had a Hunters & Frankau style bar/restaurant type humidor with a decent selection of tubos smokes including Bolivar, Cohiba, H. Upmann etc, as well as 3 or 4 boxes of Bolivar which I found surprising. On the down side they were selling Cohiba Silgo VI for ?38 each!!!

hey gary, how's it going mate? how's the little one doing?

that's shocking the price of the cohiba siglo 6! moran's sell them at ?35 each (i think), gap wines and the vineyard sell them for ?27 each! that's still expensive, and the very reason i still regard the cohiba siglo6 as a treat for special occasion......

alex

[senor_robusto]

Very comprehensive mate, thanks for this! Moran's can be hit or miss. If the male owner is working at the time he is very helpful and pleasant to chat to, but I've encountered two women who were very rude ( one actually held my note up to the light and then consulted her co worker to check if it was real, in front of me) and they were not welcoming. They are also so overpriced. Until now it was my go to for pipe and cigar goodies, but I'll be trying these other shops

Crawfordsburn Inn is a 2 second walk from where I am and a brilliant place for a smoke. A nice sheltered seating area out back, almost like a bar with no windows and a roaring hearth fire is very pleasant, enjoyed a Churchill Lancaster there the other week and will be there more frequently from now on. I'd definitely recommend it, nothing better than to sit sipping your favorite tipple and working on a stogie, all the while being kept toasty by the fire, perfect.

hey bert, that sounds like a good place to relax and burn off a good cigar in comfort!! as for miss moran's staff, i think anyone who has visited has come away with the same feeling about the staff!! to be honest, as much as niall is a decent guy, he can be rude as well (without realising it)! the old saying 'beggars can't be choosers' applies, since they're northern ireland's only habanos 'specialist'!

alex

[Gary]

Hey Alex, going ok mate, good in fact, just finished my degree on Friday past and I've finally got my life back, finished the final exam in the proper way with smoking cigars down at Jordanstown with some guys out of the class which I provided, which everyone enjoyed! The wee women is doing fantastic, getting big, 10 months and becoming a wee madame!

Just on Miss Moran, your correct Niall (don't know him personally) can be quite short without realising it I think, but the women with the short dark curly hair is a fucking ignorant pig, and I don't mind saying it, I've lost count of the number of times she's grunted at me, to be honest, the shop definately lost something when the previous owners sold up, two elderly brothers who were two lovely gentlemen who would always stand and chat, give advice and just be happy to shoot the breeze basically, pity it's changed, but I guess everything does, unfortunately not always for the better.

Anyway keep in touch chum, hope you had an enjoyable Xmas!

[senor_robusto]

found this picture of niall, the owner of miss moran's here in belfast!!! this is an interior shot of northern ireland's only habanos specialist!!
1aee9950d13c2423f6e9846a83.jpg



alex

[swmillar]

Bought the odd cigar in there over the years, but the prices (high) mean that the usual online retailers tend to get the business. It's not easy picking cigars up in Belfast, around the city centre the Hilton Bar has the usual small collection of tubed cigars as does the Ivory bar. Haven't really been anywhere else recently so not sure where else does.

Can't believe I've never made use of Crawfordsburn Inn for enjoying a cigar given I live so close - must change that!

Best cigar place in Belfast has to be with friends at home.

[philcigar]

Are there any cigar herfs or groups in Belfast? Recently have taken smoking cigars and looking to meet mates who had help me develop this new passion?

Cheers
Phil