on a Friday or Saturday night, you’re going to smell some cigars and you’re probably going to leave smelling like cigars.” To cut down on the smoke, Peace has an air cleaner in each room that sucks smoke up and ionizes it and five air purifiers situated throughout the bar. After a recent Thursday happy hour visit, and a short walk back to the office, co-workers couldn’t guess where a reporter had been. His wife, on the other hand, knew right away. Cigar smokers likely need less convincing. Peace said that he needs to attract plenty of non-cigar smokers to grow the business, but so far, much to his surprise, he’s making 45 percent to 50 percent of his monthly revenue in cigar sales. Some customers come merely to visit the walk-in humidor, which glows against one wall like the front window of a jewelry store. But most stay for a cocktail, Peace said. He and the cigar lounge clerks are always ready to suggest a pairing. Cigars go with drinks just like wine and food, Peace said. “Let’s say, for instance, you want something that’s rich and smooth. You might want to go with a San Lotano Maduro cigar and pair it with a Zaya Rum that has some vanilla notes to it,” Peace said. “We have cigars that are mild to medium to full-bodied. Some cigars are going to have spicy notes to them — black or white pepper spice or other kinds of spices. Some are going to have coffee notes or cocoa notes. Some are very earthy, or hay-like. There are cigars all across the board.” For serious cigar aficionados, Peace offers cigar lockers for rent inside the humidor. For a $100 a month, those renting lockers get five cigars selected by Peace and discounts on cigar accessories and drinks. Peace, 32, said he spent 10 years planning Maduro. He opened the bar in February with money socked away from years of IT consulting for utility companies, a “niche area where the demand is a lot higher than the supply.” Even with the bar, he’s still consulting, usually working, he said, “from as soon as I can wake up until 3 or 4,” when he comes to the bar, where he stays until midnight. “It’s stressful,” he said. “But I love having a unique kind of bar. It’s something I think Little Rock has needed for a long time, a fun place for people to come to, whether or not they smoke cigars or not.”
BRIAN CHILSON
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17
Arkansas Craft Distributors is proud to announce that
CORE Brewing & Distilling Co. from Springdale, AR, will be coming to central Arkansas in the near future!
The mission of Arkansas Craft Distributors is to be the most successful distributor of high quality craft beverages in Arkansas. We are dedicated to a close working relationship with our breweries and our retailers. We are not only distributors, we are brand builders, and we take great pride in this fact. It is a proven fact the people drink what they know, and we want them to know craft beer!
Building brands through distribution, education, and celebration!
Always enjoy your craft responsibly! www.arktimes.com
OCTOBER 24, 2012
33