How are we celebrating?

Here’s what you can expect to find in the latest issue:

Rooftop Cigar Havens: For those looking for places to smoke in New York City, try looking up. While many sky-high drinking holes have become hotspots for visitors and Instagram photoshoots, a handful of upscale, cigar-friendly venues remain.

The Cigar Bars: It’s difficult to match the immersive cigar experience found in a cigar bar, and the cigar bars of Manhattan are the most comfortable places in the big city to enjoy a smoke in style.

The rooftop cigar havens sound like a really cool place to kick back, relax, and enjoy a smoke. I’m a Florida man, and the entire state is flat. We don’t get many opportunities to head to the sky. I’m jealous of everyone who gets to check out those amazing bars.

More smoky cigar lovers content to look forward to

The fun doesn’t stop there. This is Cigar Aficionado we’re talking about here, and these guys always do things right. There’s a lot more to love in this issue, like:

Smoking to Sinatra: A look into the Saturday nights of Steven Maglio, the voice behind Sinatra Saturdays at Manhattan’s Carnegie Club, an institution for cigar smokers and Sinatra enthusiasts alike.

The Shopping Scene: New York has a reputation as a shopper’s mecca. That extends to the city’s cigar stores, which maintain expertly curated selections that outstrip many of the shops you’re likely to find in smaller towns.

Rolled in Manhattan: Found on West 29th in Manhattan is Martinez Cigars, a handmade-cigar operation selling New York-themed, Dominican-inspired cigars. The small space has a definitive workshop feel, where you can watch the rollers make cigars—hopefully, their only lounge chair isn’t occupied when you arrive.

Steak and Cigars: In 2018, Long Island cigar retailer Boris Grossman partnered with Davidoff of Geneva to set up a cigar shop and lounge in Brooklyn, just steps away from one of the most iconic steakhouses in the country, the original Peter Luger.

Arthur Avenue Cigars: Arthur Avenue, which some call New York’s true Little Italy, is home to La Casa Grande, a working cigar factory located inside the famous block’s retail market. Founded in 1995 by Paul “Pauly Cigars” DiSilvio, the factory rolls nearly 600,000 cigars a year.

Smoking on the Sly: As anyone who has spent more than a few minutes in New York City knows, this is a city where rules are made to be bent—and enjoying a cigar on the sly is included, if you know where to look.

As this is a standard-issue, despite the libations, you’ll also find a bunch more. Examples include NFL content, golf hijinks, a feature on American-Made brandies and much, much more.

If you have a chance to pick it up, enjoy! It looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun. Especially for cigar lovers in the greater New York area. Wink wink.

The post Cigar Aficionado’s next issue celebrates 400 years in the Big Apple appeared first on The BS Lounge.

I struggle with depression and mental health decline. I very likely have ADHD, but my depression is more deeply rooted than that. For reasons I won’t get into, my mental health and self-esteem have long been tied to my past. There’s a chance I may even deal with CPTSD or complex PTSD, a mental health condition that’s sustained over prolonged periods, usually due to repeated trauma, domestic violence, or abuse from someone you trust.

Why am I talking about all of this? While May is Mental Health Awareness Month, June is actually National PTSD Awareness Month. I suppose you could argue they are very similar, but either way, it’s a prescient time to talk about the subject. It’s also important to understand that men typically resist talking about not just mental health but problems they are facing.

We should talk about mental health more often

Source: Gadiel Lazcano / Unsplash

But it’s very important to talk about mental health and even more important to seek help when you’re struggling. While I’m not a doctor, uniquely qualified to say this, I do have first-hand experience. Sinking into a depressive episode is extremely taxing and exhausting. The world around you seems to go dark, it seems as if no one cares, and as if life is hopeless.

It’s so easy to go lie down, in the dark, alone, and block out everything. Turning off your interactions with the outside world, especially with those you care about, is dangerous. That’s when you need support the most. However, most people avoid discussing these issues. The internalized pain. The despair. The weight of all. It’s all yours to bear and yours alone — except that’s not entirely true.

The community has your back

Source: Evan Wise / Unsplash

Cigars, in general, are a great equalizer and an excellent social activity. Even if the people you’d spend time around seem brazen or brash from the outside, so many are open to helping one another, even just through raw conversations. I’ve never met a more welcoming, more supportive community. Maybe not so much on X (Twitter) — slight jest there, maybe, possibly — but as a community in general, cigar-enthusiasts are always willing to share, support and guide.

That’s also the reason why we see some great causes in the space. The League of Fat Bastards is an excellent example. They make some great cigars, but also they’re focused on improving mental health awareness for men. Cigars for Warriors are about donating cigars, and sending support to our active troops. The entire industry has a history of substantive charitable contributions, which can really make a difference.

So, what’s the point here?

Source: Vinicius Low / Unsplash

The point is just to start talking about it more. That’s all. That’s mostly what building awareness is. It’s to normalize the experience, eliminate stigmas, and tell those folks who are struggling it’s totally okay to talk about it all and to seek out support and guidance.

I’m of the mind that this world should be predicated on love, not hate. Call me a fool. Call me a hippie. But I’ve been there deep in the mental solitude, struggling, gasping for air and I wouldn’t wish that on even my worst enemy. It’s time we found a way to be more compassionate about mental health issues and we found a much better way to deal with the problem — rather than forcing each other to cope alone.

At the very least, if you’re out there and you’re struggling, find me. I’m willing to talk about it. If you’re fortunate and you don’t struggle with these issues, maybe help a brother or sister of the leaf out when you have a chance?

Okay, I’ve said my piece. Now I’m going to light up. Stay smoky y’all.

The post June is PTSD awareness month, and that’s important for all of us appeared first on The BS Lounge.