A few days ago, Jeff Lipton, owner of Bobalu Cigars in Austin, posted up a promotion that Bobalu was running. I noticed he had only a few posts in the time he has been a registered user of CG, so I sent him a pm, suggesting that he post a greeting and tell us about Bobalu. Jeff is a busy man (more on that later), and he answered back that as much as he would like to be more active on the site, his work schedule did not allow much interaction on our site, or any other cigar site (there are others??? :shades: ). I offered to meet up with him and see what his shop was all about, and he graciously offered me some time to hang out, check out the shop and tell me about Bobalu. I called Jeff to let him know that I could be up at the shop earlier on Saturday than we had planned, and he invited me to lunch with him and his marketing guru, Steve Rosenbaum. Lunch? Well alright then! The three of us had a great lunch, got to know each other a bit, and then headed to Bobalu's new shop on Burnet Rd. in Austin. Steve and Jeff gave me a grand tour, showed me a limited production cigar called the Elluminati that they were about to release, and gave me a Bobalu Sun Grown grand toro to smoke while we sat down to chat some more. We discussed Bobalu Cigars, which has been around for 20 years, and produces over 26 different blends, all their own. Jeff has tobacco stored here in Austin, and in warehouses in Pennsylvania and Miami. The shop only sells their brand of cigars, and they roll a selection of the lineup right there in the shop. They also roll cigars for over 200 events around the country every year, and wedding parties are very popular with Bobalu. I watched the Elluminati being rolled (a video link is included here), which is a boxed cigar, with a torpedo head, and a figurado foot, which is very difficult to produce (see pics below). Jeff has rollers from Cuba, most of whom rolled cigars for Romeo y Julieta. I knew about Bobalu before this day, but I did not know that they were actually producing their own cigars, rolling a good portion of the lineup here in Austin, and that they only sold their brand. There is so much more that I am leaving out, but this post is long enough for now! More will be coming from Bobalu for us Cigar Geeks, as Jeff and Steve are very interested in doing promotions designed just for us geeks! I bought a bunch of cigars, and after having the Red Sun Grown, I am looking forward to trying them all. If you are looking for a boutique cigar, made by a small, honest and genuine cigar manufacturer, then Bobalu Cigars should definitely be on your list. Check out their site, and give em a try!
Elluminati video...WATCH THIS!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYIwoEUD7MY
Nice. I heard they opened a new shop on Burnet Rd but I haven't made it by to check it out. Thanks for the update.
Looked like a cool day. Thanks for letting us know about this place
Looks like you had a good day Brian!
looks cool
All their own cigars??!!!! That's astounding. It's great to hear about such operations especially in our beloved cigar industry.
QuoteThe Burn Ward - 1/11/2015 5:37 PM
All their own cigars??!!!! That's astounding. It's great to hear about such operations especially in our beloved cigar industry.
Yea, I was amazed by that! Jeff is proud of his cigars, and he's producing some great stuff. To only sell his own cigars, you know he's gotta be doing something right!
Looks like you had a great time Brian. It's cool to see them getting rolled right in front of you. I amazed she can roll them with those daggers on her fingers.
Fun day! :bigthumbs:
Very cool, sounds/looks like a great day.
:bigthumbs:
:bigthumbs: Looks like you had a great day with some cool Geeks!
Thanks for posting this, Brian. When I'm Austin, I make an effort to stop in their store on 6th street. I still have a few of their Box Pressed Brazilian Maduro Robusto that I bought back in 2012 and they are a treat to smoke with a little age on them! Looking forward to seeing their new shop in North Austin! :thumbsup:
Great pics and thanks for introducing some of us to them. :thumbsup:
Quotebmac7754 - 1/11/2015 6:03 PM
Looks like you had a great time Brian. It's cool to see them getting rolled right in front of you. I amazed she can roll them with those daggers on her fingers.
I thought the same thing! :biggrin:
Thanks for sharing :biggrin:
Thanks for sharing. Looks like a great time.
Awesome!.
Very cool
Thanx for sharing. I am going to have to do some shopping I guess.
Here's a better picture of the stuff I picked up. Gonna smoke something from Bobalu tonight, just not sure which one yet!
Glad that you made new friends, Brian! I've had the Sun Grown out of a pass, and enjoyed it.
Very cool, and that barber pole Culebra looks awesome!
Very cool indeed. I don't get to visit places like that here, not much in way of a cigar industry in Canada.
Thanks for the 1st hand info, I'll check them out.
QuoteMojo66 - 1/12/2015 2:59 PM
Very cool indeed. I don't get to visit places like that here, not much in way of a cigar industry in Canada.
Thanks for the 1st hand info, I'll check them out.
I asked Jeff about shipping to Canada, and he is more than willing to do that. Call Jeff direct at Bobalu (512-469-5877) to arrange shipping to the Great White North! :bigthumbs: :bigthumbs:
Also, check out their Buyer's Club. It's a $50 annual fee, but that gets you a free cigar with every one you buy. So, you can mix and match all the different blends, and get 50% off every time you order. I am signing up next month when the budget should be thawed! :biggrin:
Quotenirab - 1/12/2015 2:22 PM
Also, check out their Buyer's Club. It's a $50 annual fee, but that gets you a free cigar with every one you buy. So, you can mix and match all the different blends, and get 50% off every time you order. I am signing up next month when the budget should be thawed! :biggrin:
That is a great deal. I might have to look into picking some OT up so I can join that club. :biggrin: