How To Build & Design the Perfect Cigar Lounge

Make your man cave the ultimate sanctuary for you and your pals by collecting the most critical man cave essentials into one room. You may or may not have the dough to hook your cave up with a gargoyle-festooned billiards table or a vintage jukebox, but your pals at Holt’s know some surefire bets for putting together a man cave cigar lounge that’s guaranteed to impress. Before you get started, visit the best cigar bars in your area for inspiration.

For a lot of guys, cigars are already like kryptonite to a significant other, but that doesn’t mean they need to be overwhelming or unpleasant when you and your buddies simply want to kick back and relax in a place that’s comfortable to smoke while you watch a big game or reminisce over old times. As long as you prep your manly palace with a handful of vital accoutrements, enjoying cigars won’t be a problem at all – as a matter of fact, your cave may end up being so popular, you’ll have to charge a cover at the door.

Pick Out the Perfect Room

Whether you’re relegated to the basement, the attic, the garage, or a cargo van that’s parked a mile away, you want your man cave to be as welcoming as possible. Some guys can opt for opulent leather sofas and home theatre systems, while others make do sitting on lawn chairs or milk crates while they crank up the cassette deck. Either way, as bona fide cigar hounds, our #1 goal is to get your private shrine outfitted for all the joys that smoking fine cigars offers at the drop of a hat – and, that’s a goal you can easily accomplish regardless of your budget.

We recommend camping out in a location that’s got some access to quality airflow. That means if you plan to fire up in your man cave, it’s a good idea to choose a room with windows that you can open, or a door to the outside, so it’s easy to ventilate the place during or after a big herf. Pick up a couple of vintage fans that look cool, set out some smoke odor candles, or maybe you can go full-boat and install an air purifier up in the ceiling. The key is to keep the air moving around so the place doesn’t look a grenade went off when you get a bit of a crowd.

Furniture

Once you’ve decided on an ideal room, if you are choosing any furniture, keep in mind leather (or even vinyl) seats will absorb a lot less smoke than fabric upholstery. The same goes for hardwood or tiled floors, over carpet. We’re not saying we don’t like the smell of cigars, trust us. We’re simply making suggestions that will alleviate potential complaints from the other folks who live under your roof after your pals have gone home. Making a few logical choices when it comes to materials will guarantee that your maiden herf isn’t your last.

Get a Humidor

Invest in a humidor. Depending on how many pals you have who love cigars, or how gluttonous they happen to be, you may want to keep it simple by picking up a small or medium-sized desktop humidor for starters. If your cigar stash does a disappearing act every time your back is turned, perhaps it’s time to consider a coolerdor, son. Converting any oversized cooler that you would normally haul to the park into a humidor is a pretty rudimentary process. You simply need to add a humidification source, which can originate from a handful of traditional reservoirs, or you can even add several temporary humidity pouches. Once you’ve selected a humidity method, go to town topping off your cavernous new coolerdor, or better yet, bug your buddies to do some replenishing by bringing cigars over when they drop by. When your cigar inventory gets cleaned out, make a coolerdor your top priority and start shopping for affordable, but tasty, bundle brands from our immense inventory. You’ll never wake up in a cold sweat, worried you ran out of smokes again.

Ashtray Essentials

For many cigar shoppers, ashtrays are in scarce supply these days. About the best place to find one is right here at Holt’s, or your nearest specialty smokeshop. It’s great to have a nice big Stinky ashtray as a centerpiece on the coffee table if you do plan to host a herf. However, it’s easy for your cigar smoking pals to roam around, too, so you’ll want to make sure you’ve covered multiple corners of your cave with extra ashtrays to avoid unwanted burns in your furniture, or on the rug. Watching a hot cigar nub roll off the top of an empty beer can is a recipe for burning the house down, so just make sure your man cave is ashtray-equipped. You can even pick up a floor-standing model, or get an ashtray pedestal, which is a welcome cigar accessory next to any sofa or arm chair.

Cutting and Lighting Up in Your Cave

Let’s face it, you’ve come this far. You’ve got a great room with comfy digs and some space to recline. Don’t get caught red-handed having to saw the caps of your precious cigars off with a steak knife or having to flip through a dozen books of paper matches to fire up. Pick up a reliable cigar lighter and a razor-sharp cutter. Investing in a fancy table-top torch lighter and a one-of-a-kind gilded guillotine cutter is always a nice touch, but it’s also wise to keep a handful of plastic disposable cutters and lighters tucked away in a drawer in your man cave. This way, there’s plenty of cigar preparation on hand for all your pals to fire up at the same time. Plus, it’s no biggie if someone ‘accidentally’ pockets a disposable cutter on their way out the door.

Cigar-Friendly Activities for Your Man Cave

We all get a kick out of watching the fight or an entire day of football on an 85” plazma TV. That’s a no-brainer when your pals are jonesing for a place to do some spectating while they smoke. Puffing on cigars isn’t only about feeling like you’re in the stands, though. There are plenty of activities, big and small, that go hand-in-hand with smoking fine cigars. Maybe you didn’t factor in enough space to outfit your man cave with a bowling alley when you built the house, but so what? A standard deck of playing cards is an equally worthy companion in any man cave. Passing the time over a big stogie can be real treat during a game of poker or pinochle.

If you do have a bit of extra space (and maybe a nice cash bonus from work), a pool table often represents the ultimate beacon to cigar-obsessed pals. You might as well get the jukebox, too, and you’ll definitely want to make sure you’ve got a big refrigerator hooked up because your pals will likely be staying a while. Heck, hire a cocktail waitress, if you can get away with it. These may sound like items you would add to a pie-in-the-sky man cave wish list, but keep in mind, you can start small and work your way up. Simple extras like a chess board and a record player harbor just as much curb appeal and you won’t have to take out a loan to get them.

Your Man Cave is an Extension of You

Some man caves look more like a taxidermy museum, while others are a bit swankier, or perhaps more welcoming of fellas who wear their hair in a man bun. Either way, your man cave says a lot about you, and it should. Outfit your sanctuary for not only cigar smoking, but more importantly, camaraderie with your pals. Maybe your buddies bear a closer resemblance to the A-Team than the Rat Pack, but in all honesty, who wouldn’t kill for a few hours to lounge around with either of those crews. Your man cave is where it all comes together. Make it comfortable. Make it cool. And, make it a place your pals will remember.