A Sold-Out Show In Tampa
Cigars and whiskey go together like oysters and Champagne, Stilton and Port or peanut butter and chocolate. Big Smoke Meets WhiskyFest, held April 6 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa, Florida, brought these wonderful worlds together in a celebration like no other. The show sold out in advance, and when the doors opened for VIP hour, guests from all around the United States—some as far away as Alaska—and Canada began sipping and smoking. It was the first Big Smoke ever held in Tampa, which is known as Cigar City, for some 500 million handmade cigars a year were once produced here. The night before the event, two of Tampa’s cigar companies welcomed the participating cigarmakers to their city by hosting a dinner at J.C. Newman Cigar Co., where cigars are still rolled at the historic El Reloj factory. More than 35 cigars were given out on Saturday night, and guests could sample from more than 100 varieties of spirits, most of them whiskeys.
The next Big Smoke takes place in Las Vegas, November 1st and 2nd, and it will include cigarmaker seminars. Tickets just went on sale. To get tickets, or more information, visit thebigsmokes.com.
