For anyone who loves cigars Nat Sherman is Mecca. And as if a masterly selection of quality tobacco, lighters, and accessories weren’t enough of a reason to visit the Fifth Avene flagship store, Esquire Home Collection has collaborated to meld the needs of the modern man with traditional Americana style.

The opening party was a celebration filled with good conversation, refreshing cocktails, and outstanding cigars. To add to its Gentlemen’s Club ambiance, the billiards humidor room was filled with rich, dark wood furniture and accessories by Esquire Home Collection. It will remain decorated as such until April 15th.

In honor of this collaboration, Nat Sherman has created the Limited Edition Reserve cigar featuring a corojo wrap, Mexican Binder, and Honduran blend. The cigar is smooth, well balanced and aged to perfection, but extremely rare: there will only be 2000 of these individual cigars produced.

They will only be given to Johnson Club Room Members, guests in attendance at invite-only Esquire Home @ Nat Sherman events, and a select few individuals; if you can get your hands on one (like we did! ) consider yourself lucky!  

HOMBRE also had the pleasure of speaking with Nat’s grandson Bill Sherman, who when it comes to tobacco is the ultimate man of passion.

 Larry Sherman * Joel Sherman * Bill Sherman

H: Your store has been around for more than 80 years now. To what do you attribute its success? 
Bill Sherman: It’s still a family business; my brother, my sister and I are the third generation. Succinctly, we have a great passion for what we do, and we love each other. We have great values that we’ve kept as the hallmark of the brand, and we’ve always stayed true to that hallmark. And I think that’s key to making us successful through the generations and for years to come.  

H: What do you think most people look for in a cigar? 
I don’t think there’s any right answer. The cigar you like best is the right cigar for you. We’re lucky to have family members and sales associates who’ve been with us for a long time, and they know the questions to ask to help direct someone into finding theirs. I might like a medium bodied, you might like a full bodied cigar…it’s all good. That’s part of what’s fun about the exploration of cigars, and that’s also changed over the years. My grandfather smoked one cigar and that  was his all the time. Now people like to try different things. it’s a journey. 

H: Tell us about this project you’re working on with Esquire Home Collection; how did it come about? 
I talked earlier about our values, and that’s really at the core of everything we do. When you look at Esquire, they are true to their core values and tradition. We look at ourselves as a quintessential gentleman’s emporium; they’re the essential gentleman’s package and they express it through things such as their furniture and home accessories. They started in 1933, we’ve been around since 1930. If you look at where they’re coming from and where we’re coming from, there’s alot of good synergy. And what they’ve done with their home collection is beautiful. I couldn’t think of a better place to sit down and have a good cigar.  

H: Does your home have the same “Gentleman’s club” feel?
I’ve got a wife and three kids at home; I wish it did! But we are blessed to have a little house in the mountains, and we got it because the front porch is a great place to sit down and smoke a cigar. It’s a beautiful porch, it overlooks the mountains. So I don’t have the furniture but I have the front porch! I’d like to put one of the chairs on the porch though. 

H: What is your home decor must-have? 
I don’t think it’s much different than what’s around here [the store]. I’m really into early Americana and antiques. The feel around the store is really country and elegant. That’s the environment that I’m most comfortable in.  

H: What’s your favorite cigar? 
The last one I smoked!  

H: What do you see for the future of Nat Sherman? 
As I said earlier, we have a lot of passion, and we’re very excited; how can you not be excited when you see the amount of people and the enthusiasm here tonight? There are people who appreciate the heritage and tradition that we have, and we’re going to continue to grow.  

Nat Sherman International – 12 East 42nd at Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10017  1-800-mycigar www.natsherman.com