Cigar Connection

Hey I have been coming for the last year and It’s wonderful place to smoke and relax after a hard week or work. But I am sad to say this place this closing for good because of the landlord! Good thing I stocked up on my cigars before they go out of business, I’m not sure where to smoke now around the DMV for Cigars that have a good selection like Cigar Connection did I usually smoke the sweet honey naturals brand. This was the best cigar lounge to chill at and watch Netflix when you wanted to, listen to music and bring food. I’m very sad Thursday February 26^th, 2015 is the last day for them ever! Good Bye! Cigar Connection such a wonderful smell before you entered the store and just a great workers who knew there Cigars.

Good selection. Good prices. Helpful when you want it, not when you don’t. I like this place.

I am fairly unfamiliar with cigars and a few of the places I have been into before have always seemed pompous when talking about them. David, however, was very friendly and took time to help me pick out some cigars as gifts. He gave me a variety of options and was very friendly. He ensured that I will take all my business to this establishment in the future.

The staff is always friendly and willing to answer questions, nice selection, good quality. I like this place and will make it one of my regular cigar shops. Only negative I will say is sometimes I feel like I’m being watched by some of the staff members here. I can understand with a new face they might keep an eye you. But all in all great cigar shop.

Does this place have TV’s blaring ESPN? Nope
Does this place offer any alcohol? Nope
Does this place have multiple chairs where one can smoke a stogie and chill. Not really
Do they have an Indian Statue by the front door? Yes!
What they do have here is a nice kid running the counter and few good cigars at reasonable prices.
I like to smoke my stogie, sit on one of the comfy but tattered chairs and chill in peace for 45 minutes.
yeah, I’m a fan

Great place to be at! Wonderful selection of sticks at a reasonable price. I would recommend this location to anyone! I’ll definitely be back at this store in the near future! Check out the smoking lounge and the workers, all are so knowledgable about cigars

I went in this place on a random weekday and they could not have been more put off or bothered by someone showing up at their store. Further when asked if they a certain cigar (that was advertised as being sold by them) they were indignant that someone would even ask such a dumb question. Further when asked if they had any kind of small run cigars they laughed and said that of course they didn’t and gave a very snarky response. When further asked about their personal recommendations they offered up some of the worst (and most marked up) cigars.
Not sure if most of their clientele is just novice cigar smokers and they feel like this type of customer service and behavior is cool but as someone that has some knowledge of cigars I was super put off by this place. With so many options in DC, I wouldn’t go back to this place if they all closed and this was the last place standing.
I highly suggest you check out another spot for your cigar needs.

This place really lacks in customer service. Maybe some businesses aren’t all that concerned about it, but to me, it’s huge, and that’s what has earned Cigar Connection two stars.
I’ve been in a handful of times, and most of these times, the service has been poor. I’ll give credit where it’s due and say that there’s occasionally times where the guys that are usually working are polite and informative, but for the most part, there’s been times where they look at me like a fool for not being a cigar aficionado (tip: you retain more customers by being patient with ones who are new, because then they’ll always come back to *you* for their future needs).
Most recently, I went to the store and pulled on the door at 11:05. It was locked, despite the sign saying the hours were 11 to 5. Now, foolishly on my part, I didn’t try the other door — and the employee came to the door and pushed it open making motions with his body language that I was an idiot for not trying the other door. His body language just really gave off a «are you freaking kidding me?» vibe. Okay, so I was silly for not trying the other door — but maybe unlock both doors — and don’t condescend to me for a simple human error. I’m the customer.
They also stopped carrying the brand I usually smoke. I only found this out at this most recent visit when the guy kind of curtly said «we don’t carry it anymore» (with an annoyed tone like I was bothering him with my question). Previously, it was a semi-​polite «if it’s not in the case, we just don’t have it now, but it might be back later.» This, unfortunately, wasn’t fully accurate information and kept me coming back for a product that was discontinued by their store, but the point is, there are nice ways to say things without being a jerk.
Cigars are cheaper at Total Wine and you’ll get better service. Maybe not as broad of a selection and you can’t smoke in the store, but I’ll sacrifice those options for decent service for my buck any day of the week.

This place is not what you’d call classy, but it’s good in all the ways that count. Cigar Connection has a large selection at reasonable prices and a little smoking area (although the ventillation leaves something to be desired). Also, the guy working behind the counter was attentive and helpful without bring overbearing. I’m definitely visiting again in the near future.

I live close by so i’m positively prejudiced. Its small, without a seperate lounge, so not as nice as some other dc area places. But the leather chairs are comfy, staff is very knowledegable and friendly (maybe gripes are due to occasional temps?) prices ok, selection thoughtful, pleasant atmosphere. I prefer reading to chatting or tv but can do all here. So not ideal, but perfectly fine and pleasant. I do wonder if they had a larger place with separate lounge, maybe slighly cheaper location the’d attract more busiess — make it more of a destination than convience choice? But still, A real asset for Arlington.

Decent selection. The man behind the counter when I was there was nice and very helpful to the guy he was speaking to who knew nothing about cigars.

Good selection at fair prices. The staff is nice. I’ve never had an unpleasant experience here.

good prices, great selection, pretty chill atmosphere, poker table available upon request, bathroom on premises, seating can be tricky on weekends but there are a few spare seats they can pull out from back.

Its interesting reading the reviews of this place because it seems that the people who don’t give it a good rating are people who are not regular consumers at cigar shops. I recently stopped in to this shop not having read anything that had been posted here, thus no preconception of anything.
I walked in, there were a few people sitting in chairs smoking, there are cabinet style humidors which line about ¾ of the store with the counter/​register area in the center. A gentleman asked if I needed help and I just told him I was new to the shop and wanted to see what they had. He told me great and let him know if I had any questions. Now I’m not a person who likes the sales staff in any place stand next to me or keep asking me if I need help as I’m browsing so this was perfect. I guess if people are expecting to be waited on hand and foot, they should go to Tiffany’s and you’ll get your shoes polished while you walk.
Selection was great, especially for a shop outside the city with many rarer/​small manufacturer offerings. You can tell that at least the person who does the buying knows his cigars as there were a couple of brands in particular that unless you know the business, a shop wouldn’t carry.
I gave this shop 4 stars plus the additional one for carrying a couple of brands which I can’t even get downtown in DC.

I don’t really understand what the negative reviews are talking about, I guess since my interactions have always been pleasant while at Cigar Connection. I’ve went recently to pick up some shisha tobacco and they had an excellent selection (pomegranate, melon). I don’t really know how much shisha is supposed to cost, but I wasn’t shocked or outraged when I was rung up.
I guess your experience in some way might depend on when you go (I went during the middle of the day) and your expectations (I didn’t have many).

One of those places where you feel like you’re causing them burden by giving them your business.
I came into the store with a particular cigar on my mind. I was asked if I needed help, replied «yes,» but a gentleman who arrived after me and was dressed more nicely was addressed first. When helped, I mentioned the cigar I was looking for, was told they didn’t have it, but «Try this, it’s very similar.» It was nothing like the one I wanted. There are tons of cigars out there; I can’t complain too much that a recommendation wasn’t spot-​on, but being helped out of order does irk me.
The biggest issue is the friendliness of the staff. There is none… Until the gentleman in nice clothes arrived, they sat in their armchairs as if I didn’t exist. No smiles, no greetings, picked up the phone while helping me, chatted with a coworker about something completely unrelated as I was rung up.
I don’t ask for much, but this isn’t McDonald’s; your customers deserve a bit more respect.
Old Virginia Tobacco Co. (
) is also in the area and far superior in every way.

Cigar Connection continues to be my shop of choice. Mike, the GM, is one of the best tobacconists I have ever met. He’s knowledgeable and polite and always makes people feel welcome. Events at this location have increased 10 fold since he joined and they are much better events as well.
The store has done a great job in the last year of bringing in more of the hot boutique brands that I enjoy like Tatuaje, Illusione, 7−20−4. I don’t get up there as often as I used to (I used to work across the street), but I try to get up as often as I can.
I’m glad Francis K was able to experience the store with Mike there. Although I can say I’m not sure about some of the previous comments. I’ve been shopping here for well over 3 years and not once have I experienced a dry cigar or even seen a beetle hole. As for the prices, some are higher, some are lower.
To my knowledge they don’t have any regular line opus in stock right now (I could be wrong). Last time I was in all they had were Opus sizes from the 22 Box and also the special ones like the 2005’s. The ones from the 22 box retail for about 45 — 50 each (MSRP on the box of 22 cigars being $ 950). They sell these right at MSRP. I have also bought many Anejo’s from this store, marked generally right within $ 1 of MSRP (I believe the 77 Sharks I bought were $ 13.95?) As for the Padron’s, I’ll admit they are a little higher than others. It balances out I believe tho, as I’ve been able to buy El Triunfador Limited Lancero’s (from Tatuaje) for about 50 cents per stick less than other places and the Illusione Epernays are also perfectly priced.
It will continue to be my go to shop.

I feel weird writing an update to my previous update, but it seems deserved.
I recently received a message from the store manager inviting me back to try Cigar Connection again, unhappy to hear that I’d had such a bad experience. Due to his politeness I decided to give the place another shot. I went by on two separate days in the past week, one day when the manager told me he’d be working and another when he wasn’t there. The experiences were night and day.
The inside store temperature was MUCH cooler both times I went in compared to the last time, when I’d had heat-​related issues with my cigars. This leads me to believe that there was some sort of extended problem with the ventilation system or some other reason for the heat. That problem appears to have been remedied.
The other major issue I’d with the cigars themselves the last time I’d gone in was the lack of them. That issue has also been taken care of, although a lot of the items that were on the shelves weren’t things that I’d smoke myself and so that puts me in an odd spot. Yes, they did have a good selection of cigars in the store but for my usual smokes I’d refer to it as average. Additionally, even though the majority of the cigars are approximately MSRP when taking into account that the VA state OTP tax is in the given price (this is posted by the register, so no complaints there at all), there are a few cigars which are still on the high side. The Opus X they had the shelves were almost double MSRP and cigars such as the Anniversario lines from Padron were several dollars above what other stores charge for them, even taking the OTP into account. Too bad, I really like Padrons.
The last thing I had issue with my last visit was the person working at the time. This was still a problem. When I went in there while the store manager was working (Michael) I noticed that he was very prompt in asking people if they needed help with anything, saying hello to people, and actually helping people with what appeared to be a more than sufficient amount of product knowledge. Unfortunately he doesn’t seem to be able to be there all the time as it would sure help.
The other time I went in recently the same person who was working the time I had multiple issues was working. He wasn’t as horribly dressed as the last time, but he still wasn’t anywhere close to being professional in any way. In every single way that I noted Michael as being a good salesperson, this person was the exact opposite. I don’t know if he’s incompetent or just lazy, but several people walked in and walked out while I was picking out my cigars. They weren’t greeted, asked if they needed help, or anything of the sort.
So I’m torn on this. When Michael is working I would put the shop at 3.5 stars. When the other person is working I’d be tempted to give the store another 1 star review just for them. I’ll settle on an average just because I noticed Michael’s attitude, behavior, and customer service skills were insanely good in comparison. I wish them the best of luck and I might drop by to buy a cigar if I’m coincidentally in the area, in need of a cigar, and Michael is working.

Not sure why the negative reviews. Cigar Connection is one of the best shops in the MD/​DC/​VA area and one of my favorites to visit. In fact I don’t get there as much as I would want to. Through my purchases and browsing their cigar selection I’ve never even seen the slightest indication of a bug problem. Their selection improves with every visit with the latest from big manufacturers and even the boutique manufacturers (Tatuaje, Illusione) as well.
Prices seem on par with other places. Can’t really compare them with shops in DC who have no tobacco tax.
Cigar Connection continues to offer a great selection, competitive pricing, enjoyable events with a knowledgable and passionate staff. They are a big supporter of Cigar Rights of America and offer CRA Members a 15% (I think) discount.
Jerry Cruz

Man, this store smells good.
I’ve never been in and don’t really plan on going in, but when a door swung open this afternoon, it was the nicest smelling breeze I’ve encountered in a while.
3 stars for that wonderful scent.