Tony Santana Cigar Rolling Company

For about 1 yr prior to our wedding I knew I wanted a cigar roller. I wanted a very Latin theme & it would just “fit”. Well, MH hated the idea. For months I begged & begged & finally he agreed to it! We were referred to Tony by Primavera. He is their house roller. He was a HIT!!! We called around & nobody compared to Tony. Ok..here’s the deal. Tony owns a cigar store in Nutley. We met w/him & clicked in like 5 min. You can see the passion this man has. He told us, “its an honor for me to be a part of your day”. He just dosen’t roll cigars. He tells people the story about cigars & how they are made etc. He is straight from Cuba. He used to work for the gov’t but decided to follow his passion for Cigars & opened up his store & began to do weddings! He’s in this business for the long haul. Tina LaMorte came up to me & said, “My God – where did you find this cigar roller – He’s AMAZING!” My boss & co-workers are big cigar smokers as well as my mom’s friends. They were like – this was such a great idea! What a great classy touch! The best thing about Tony is that he rolled for THREE HOURS! Oh & what a great guy listen to this..we had him by the inside bar at Primavera so that he could see the party & people didn’t need to leave the room to see him. He had a blast at our party! The man rolled an extra 100 cigars because he didn’t want to leave! He said he felt like he was a guest more then a vendor. He is just great!!! Another thing w/Tony. He has a very beautiful tradition where we hand him the cigar leaf & he rolls it for us & it’s meant to bless us for 100 yrs of marriage. He also gave MH a special cigar to smoke w/the dads & GM. Also, we got 5 unique cigars that we smoke every 5 yrs of marriage! Lastly, in addition to your typical cigars, Churchill/Corona etc..he has ladies cigars w/vanilla, cherry, wine & some other type of high grade Cigars. He was such a FIND!! I gotta give thanks to Primavera for the referral. I would recommend him with my eyes closed shut! AMAZING guy just all around & vendor!!

What a lovely addition to the vianese. My husband figured this part out mainly because i know nothing about cigars but needless to see... allll of the gentleman were very impressed!

My husband is dealing with this part but he very picky person and loved the service that he has been getting with his question and types that are offered

Tony is the nicest guy. He went above and beyond for our wedding. He knows everything about cigars and he didn't just roll the cigars and leave them out for everyone. He explains every detail of what he is doing when he rolls them, a bit of history of cigars and what ingredients he uses. Everyone loved him! He rolled honey/cognac cigars... what a hit. He even rolled extra cigars and put them in bags for everyone to take home with them.

My sister and her husband used them too and were so pleased. Tony is a really nice, great guy who was happy to be apart of our special day. I'm so glad we decided to have a cigar roller!!

Testimonials

My experience with the Tony Santana Cigar Rolling service. I've been a cigar smoker for many years. I met Tony at his shop in Nutley, NJ and thought I'd miss his great cigars once I moved down the Jersey Shore. It was a pleasant surprise to spontaneously meet up with him and learn of his new shop in Toms River, NJ. Now I can continue enjoying these great cigars, with great company.. You gotta visit Boulevard Cigar shop in toms rivers. ~ Eric Chex Rios

About Me

Rekha Chedalavada
Disciplined Destiny is the philosophy of Rekha Chedalavada, a writer of cultural and feminine identity. She believes destiny is ours to control thro' equal parts discipline and magic. She lives in the Garden State where she is sometimes lured to write about food, identity & the co-existence of man with nature. She accepts payment in the form of legal tender and really good Tequila.
View my complete profile


FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2009
The Comedians

Only the comedians could induce me to such depths of depravity. Only forces as omniscient and (seemingly) punitive as the Gods could drive me to drink unholy amounts of liquor and smoke myself into oblivion. And not my usual swanky beverages of choice - Anejo Tequila, multi distilled Vodka and unoaked Chardonnays. No no, the brink of madness the Comedians drove me to caused me to nonchalantly sample Vodkas named after Polish composers, branded by rap stars, distilled from wheat, rye, potato, grape and even hemp. Ok, I didn't taste the hemp vodka, but if anyone knows where I can find it please give me ring...

Who are these Comedians and why do they torment Rekha, you ask? Ah, fine question my friend. Caught in the midst of the chaos that is my life these days all I can say is in the spirit of hammering new nuances into my writer persona, I've been forced to endure despair, rejection, depression and that fine old friend - rage.

Which is why last night found me in the company of my lovely friend Mariana who never fails to bring insight in dark hours. Even better, who can throw back booze like no mans business and loves the puff of tobacco products. Who better to accompany me to a wine and cigar tasting? To Jamie's Restaurant in Lyndhurst we went. The cigarman - Tony Santana was nowhere to be found so we moisied to the tasting table. My buddy Ryan was pouring a provocatively named Shiraz by the moniker of Layer Cake Shiraz.

Now Ryan is one of the wine assistants at Shoppers Vineyard, my favorite local booze emporium. Favored by me for their off the beaten Napa path selection of wines and decently priced spirits. Even closer to my heart is the fact that this wine shop allows pets. I know it sounds bizarre but it works. When Duke was a wee puppy I would pop him into my canvas bag and carry him around everywhere. When hitting the wine shop I'd pop him into the shopping cart and wheel down the aisles in pursuit of the perfect libation to accompany my latest dining creation. Now the wine assistants at this store are a convivial bunch, not over-pressured from sale quotas or domineering overlord managers. Upon spotting the dog in the cart, they'd relieve me of my Dog Mom duties and play with the pup till I was done shopping.

So here it was, years later. The dog stretched out on the couch at home and me being poured a tasting of an Australian Shiraz by Ryan, one of the guys. Small world, even my Comedian oppressed brain could appreciate the moment. The wine was poured and tasted, found to be deliciously deep-berried without harsh spice. Best of all, it finished with a flicker of dark chocolate. Gimme a case of that, baby.

By this time the cigarman - Tony shows up. Tony and his promoter - Rob Menaker do an upscale combo of cigar + beverage tasting once a month. Tony knows his stuff, descending from a proud line of Cuban and Mexican cigar makers. He swung into his demo of handrolling a cigar. The purity of tobacco based on location or terroir, just as important with tobacco as it is with the grape. Then Tony really got rolling, or dipping to be precise. Apparently Latinos of European and American descent have honored the art of dipping cigars in brandy to sweeten and compliment the leafy bouquet. Tony shared his family secret which involves soaking branding in a snifter of honey, then dipping the cigar in the mixture. It sounds sexy & decadent and tastes even better. Even the menfolk present - a macho handful of Italian-something guys who looked like they enjoy a weekly puff at Uncle Primo's house - got a kick out of the honeyed cigars.

Rob the promoter sidles next to me and hands a freshly dipped cigar with a flourish. "My compliments darling," He says. "Just do me a favor, smoke it in front of me." Glad Rob, gladly. Which is why hours later Mariana and I have chuffed down the whole freaking cigar. One each. Accompanied of course by glasses of the excellent wine. I could feel the Comedian yoke levitating off my body for a few breaths. Either that or I was blacking out from the heavy smoke. My friend Mariana, having no such burden to bear was displaying her comely left foot to a few men, at their request. She is voluptuous, flirtatious. All woman. I am heartened by our time fraternizing with friendly albeit aggressive men. (Yo, if I wanted to fly to Las Vegas for dinner I would!) By the chocolate-tinged wine - what will I make to bring out that note?! By the astoundingly unctuous lamb ravioli tricked out with slivers of mint in a demi glace. Or perhaps I'm just tongue dead and suffocated by smoking an entire Robusto in one shot.

In any case, for a few hours I forget about the Comedians.
POSTED BY REKHA CHEDALAVADA AT 1:23 PM 0 COMMENTS
LABELS: CIGARS, JAMIES RESTAURANT, LAYER CAKE SHIRAZ, SHOPPERS VINEYARD, TONY SANTANA