A Cozy Cigar Den Near The Home Of The Masters
When you think of Georgia, you might not envision a place requiring refuge from the outside. The Peach State is known for its temperate climate; but the peak winter and summer months don’t always offer the most comfortable environment for smoking a cigar. Jason Alford, a resident of Evans, Georgia (just outside of Augusta), faced this dilemma for some time. Then Covid came around, and presented with an influx of spare time, Alford sprang into action. He converted the attic over his garage into a smoking den that’s the perfect getaway spot for cigar and Bourbon lovers who fancy the occasional card game.
Alford built his house about seven years ago. “A buddy and I were trying to figure out how to smoke inside because we were always banished to the back porch,” says Alford with a chuckle. It wasn’t until Covid hit, bringing on seemingly endless time at home, that Alford began to have a clearer vision of where the cigar room might go and what it would look like. That’s when he started looking at that attic space. “You sit around long enough, you come up with ideas,” says Alford. “We were talking about building an exterior building and we ended up taking that [attic] space and converting it into a poker, Bourbon and cigar room.”
Alford started on his cigar project in June 2020, and finished by October of the same year. With the help of his brother-in-law, who is a builder, and a small team of subcontractors, they turned that attic space into a cigar haven, roughly 30 feet long by 13 feet wide, just under 400 square feet. The floors, walls and ceilings are completely outfitted with pine, giving the feel of a rustic loft space in a cabin. As you enter, just off to the left sits a three-level-bar with loads of fine Bourbon and Scotch, constructed using repurposed wood straight from Alford’s property. Plenty of familiar, sought-after favorites line the shelves, including bottles of Blanton’s, Glenlivet 12, Macallan 18, Jack Daniels Bonded and Eagle Rare, to name a few. On the main counter of the bar, alongside an array of bottles, sits a table cigar cutter, often seen in lounges, and a gorgeous Daniel Marshall desktop humidor. Alford is considering adding a cabinet humidor to the mix so he can build up his inventory.
In the center of the room is a tan leather poker table with matching leather chairs. Beyond the table, two brown leather love seats, accompanied by a side table bearing an astray, sit facing the opposite direction towards a mounted flatscreen TV. An animal skin rug fills the space between the chairs and the TV and two large, Hi-Fi speakers are situated in both far corners of the room. An entertainment center holds the middle ground between the speakers and below the TV, and is loaded with the most recent issues of Cigar Aficionado magazine.
The two Klipsch Cornwall Floor-standing Hi-Fi speakers, favorites among audiophiles, are joined by a tube amplifier and offer a bit of serenity to Alford when he enjoys a smoke. “It’s old technology but it makes the sound from the speakers really warm and enjoyable to listen to and smoke a cigar,” says Alford, who’s particularly fond of classic rock, classic country and the blues.
For ventilation and filtration, Alford has two exhaust fans in the room along with a pair of Rabbit Air filters. “When you’re in there with one person or two people, it’s not too bad,” says Alford. “When you’re in there with six or seven, it’s going to get pretty smoky.” Thankfully, even the smoky nights are usually little issue given the room’s location isolated from the house above the garage. Temperature isn’t a problem either, as Alford has a Mitsubishi split system for air control in there, which is of notable importance during hot summer days and the cold temperatures of the winter months.
A quick glance at the decor on the walls reveals the love Alford has for the SEC powerhouse, Georgia Bulldogs football. Despite a slight road bump this year, it has been a passion Alford has been able to thoroughly enjoy in recent years up in his cigar room. Perhaps the best piece of wall art, however, is a classic photo of none other than Winston Churchill. In the framed picture, the cigar-loving statesman is sporting a pinstripe suit, a top hat and a huge cigar hanging from his mouth with a gangster-style Tommy Gun in hand.
Alford has been enjoying cigars for about 20 years now. A friend got him into the hobby, which soon grew into a serious passion. “Montecristo No. 2’s are some of my favorites, obviously Padróns, Melanios, My Fathers, Liga Privada No. 9’s, pretty much anything,” says Alford. “We’ll pick up a few from the store before we buy a box, see if we like them.”
Alford typically visits the cigar room about three to five days a week. “After a long day’s work, I like to come up, watch a football game, smoke a cigar,” he says. “Just get away from daily life a little bit and relax.” But he doesn’t just enjoy the spot on his own. “It could be anywhere from me by myself, to two guys and we’ve had up to eight or nine in there,” says Alford. “It gets used quite a bit.”
The room also gets used to host meetings of the Bourbon club Alford is a member of, along with a bunch of his friends. The group tries to meet at least quarterly, first enjoying a nice meal from the grill then tasting four to five Bourbons befitting a similar theme. One of Alford’s buddies usually spearheads the tastings, basing them on various themes such as “the best Bourbons under $50” or a selection from a particular distillery. With a room of this quality, it’s no surprise that cigars eventually come into the mix. “We’ll take some Bourbon, go upstairs, play poker and smoke,” says Alford. Now that’s the kind of club we all can get behind.
Do you have a cigar room worth sharing? Send us a note and some pictures at letters@cigaraficionado.com.
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