Nice Ash, Houston, Texas
There are a lot of reasons to open a cigar lounge, but the three Texas A&M graduate engineering buddies behind Houston’s Nice Ash are brutally honest about theirs. “We were traveling and at a cigar bar and had one too many Bourbons and thought it would be a good idea to go open our own,” says co-founder Colin Brennan.
The result is Nice Ash, a three-year old retail store with a small lounge in front and large but private members club in back, with 90 lockers, 24/7 access and amenities such as poker tables and oversized King Cube icemakers. At first glance there’s not a lot to it other than the substantial glass walled walk-in humidor, and 10 leather easy chairs spread around the lobby for on site smoking. But there is more than meets the eye at Nice Ash.
For starters, there’s the “Backyard,” a large outdoor area that can hold about 50 people. It’s fenced for privacy, with two large, outdoor flat-screen televisions and cocktail tables. There are gas burners and heaters in winter and cooling misters and sun umbrellas in summer. This space is open to all, with a house party atmosphere, and is very popular on weekends in football season, college and NFL. Nice Ash does not have a liquor license, so you can bring your own, and many guests do, even full coolers to hang out for a day of games. If you don’t plan ahead, don’t worry, there’s a liquor store across the street, less than one minute walk from the humidor.
That’s another appeal of Nice Ash, the location. It sits on a tree-lined street in the quiet, upscale residential neighborhood known as The Heights, but this particular few blocks is lined with nicer bars and restaurants, most set back from the sidewalks with outdoor patios or covered decks. Many allow smoking, so a lot of visitors buy a cigar and then walk down the street and get food or drinks at any of several establishments. Nice Ash even supplies the smaller satellite humidor within Permission Whiskey & Service Co., two blocks away, which was named one of America’s Best Whisky Bars by Whisky Advocate magazine (which is published by M. Shanken Communications Inc., publishers of Cigar Aficionado.) Permission Whisky has around 700 labels including rare and “ultra-rare” specialty lists—you can smoke a cigar while trying any one of them, even splurging, say, on a $24,000 pour of 80-year old Glenlivet.
But back at Nice Ash you can smoke inside or out and bring your own whisky, beer, wine, Tequila or whatever you’d like. It’s a friendly, convivial place where locals engage visitors, and the 700-square-foot humidor stocks about 500 different cigars from many major brands, with bestsellers including Arturo Fuente, Avo and My Father. Among the more popular boutique brands sold here are Hooten Young, Warfighter, and K by Karen Berger. There are a lot of choices in the sub-$15 range including My Father Garcia & Garcia or Blue (both $13) and Quesada Oktoberfest ($13). The high-end is more limited, with occasional stocks of OpusX and the Atabey Ritos topping the price charts at $43.
Showing off their continuing love for their alma mater, Nice Ash also sells Texas A&M cigars by Bocock Brothers. You’ll also see the A&M logo on some of the lighters, cutters and ashtrays on display in the front smoking area, and some of the items were designed by the owners (after all, they are engineers). They also carry major brands such as Colibri.
The otherwise private lounge opens to everyone about once a month for “Cut & Light” evenings with partner cigar producers featuring special pricing. Also once a month is their popular Steak Night, open to the public, with a caterer setting up a grill tent and offering a slate of red meat options including Texas-sized tomahawks.
Nice Ash
3117 White Oak Drive
Houston, TX 77007
(281) 748-5019
www.niceashtx.com
Open Monday through Wednesday: 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Open Thursday and Friday: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Open Saturday: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Open Sunday: 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
