Any Great B&M Stores Near S/A or Austin?

[judd]

I live about half way between San Antonio and Austin am would like to know of any nice B&M stores on the North side of S/A or the South side of Austin. I order mostly on the web, but it would be nice when I travel to either city I would have a place to visit. Thanks in advance.

 

[rigmedic1]

B&B Cigars in Marble Falls. Has a large pipe tobacco selection, and has open tins to sample from.

 

[cgrd]

I'll be in San Antonio next week, and will have a rental car for one day. I've convinced my wife to take a trip out to San Marcos to visit the Hill Country Humidor. In San Antonio itself, it looks like there's three places:

1. Club Humidor: email from their Menger Hotel location states they carry "a small selection of Dunhill and McClelland tinned pipe tobaccos". There are several around town, seems they've taken over El Humidor.[/*]
   
2. C.I.G.A.R.: No information about pipe tobacco on their current website. Email from the company states their "Blanco store is well stocked." in regards to tinned tobaccos.[/*]
   
3. Finck Cigar Company: Their website shows a collection of RYO, bulks, and Erinmore Flake.[/*]
   

I'll add to this page with more information, and any personal reports when I visit.

 

[topd]

While at the Hill Country Humidor, try a couple ounces their "San Antonio Rose" blend if you like English. I tried to get more after I got back home (Arkansas) but they don't do on-line orders. I plan to get 3 or 4 pounds next time I'm down there....

 

[pylorns]

Austin is pretty crappy when it comes to pipe-centric stuff. Pipe World has a small selection of pipes and an un-friendly atmosphere. Heroes and Legacies has a great place to meet, and smoke, but small selection of crappy pipes and the staff that normally handled the pipe portion has either quit or was let go, so they don't have anyone running the pipe and pipe tobacco department that really gives a crap about it. I'd say Club Humidor in San Antonio are considerably better tobacconists when it comes to Pipes.
@Judd, you should swing by a pipe-club meeting in Austin one of these days. www.facebook.com/austinpipeclub

 

[judd]

pylorns, thanks for the information, I will check out the pipe-club on facebook.

 

[cgrd]

San Marcos' Hill Country Humidor was worth the trip! A nice selection of bulks, a few tins and a very friendly, welcoming atmosphere. There were a couple guitar players trading songs in the lounge...the feel of the entire place was "Welcome, now relax." On TopD's recommendation, I picked up a couple ounces of Texas Rose, and it's very enjoyable.
If you visit, pop over to The Taproom for lunch, the owners are heavily involved and very friendly. The beer selection and food are top notch.

 

[msandoval858]

I haven't been down to Hill Country Humidor in years. Last time I was there, I picked up my first taste of SG Brown Rope they had in bulk. Do they still carry stuff like that or is it mostly just house blends now?

 

[cgrd]

Mike, from what I could tell it was all house blends...I did not see any rope tobaccos in the jars.

 

[carytobacco]

Sad to hear about Heroes and Legacies. When I worked for Savinelli their staff was great, and enthusiastic about pipes and pipe tobacco. One of the nicest stores I went into.

 

[msandoval858]

Heroes & Legacies used to be one of the best pipe retailers around. About 10-12 or so years ago, they had a guy working there who was a real pipe enthusiast. The display case always included some fantastic briars from Castello, Ferndown, Dunhill, Mastro de Paja, Joura, etc. I picked up several of the nicer high end pipes in my collection there. Unfortunately over the years the pipe selection dwindled down to baskets and a few basic Savinelli and Peterson here and there. They still have a nice assortment of tins, some McClelland, Macbaren, and a few others as well as a decent assortment of bulks. There were a handful of Sam Gawith tins but those have since been bought up (quite a few by me) and not restocked. I inquired to what types of bulks they have now but honestly I don't even think the current staff knows. I identified the obvious Lane blends here and there as well as a few that I assume are McClelland.
How I do miss those old days though. I spent hours in that store smoking and chatting about everything pipe related while drooling over some amazing briars on display.