Bar: Cigar Especial

Some rooms are designed to impress. This one is run to be lived in. Tucked into SoBro, Cigar Especial is the owner's room — small, personal, and warmer for it.

The host, Tony, is usually the man behind the bar, and the place moves at his pace: a living-room feel where regulars are known by name and a newcomer is one visit away from becoming one. It's the antidote to the polished franchise — a spot, in the truest sense.

The Humidor

Well-kept and well-chosen rather than sprawling — the selection of someone who smokes what he sells. Ask what's good tonight; you'll get an honest answer, not a sales pitch.

The Bar

A bourbon-and-scotch program that punches above the room's size, poured by someone who cares which glass it goes in. This is a whiskey town, and Cigar Especial keeps up.

Becoming a Regular

There's a VIP membership for the devoted — extended, near around-the-clock access for the people who've made this their room. Which is rather the whole idea: come enough, and it becomes yours.

Why We Picked It

Because a city needs one of these — the small, owner-run room where the ritual is personal and the welcome is real. Go for the seat, stay for the company.