Beer, Motorcycles and Cigars — Beer, Bikes and Butts

I was invited by a buddy to join him at a beer tasting at the Diamond Crown Lounge in Fullerton, California.  Beers from the Alaskan Brewing Company are among my favorites, and this happened to be a tasting of beers from that brewery.  I’ll rate the beers some other time, but I wanted to talk about the lounge.

This was my second trip to the 8Eightyeight Diamond Crown Lounge, and I remain suitably impressed. I’ve noticed that many cigar stores tack “cigar lounge” onto the name, but it’s a total joke when you go inside. I recently did an abrupt u-turn when I spotted a previously unseen “Cigar Store and Lounge” in Tustin, California. When I entered, I discovered that the lounge consisted of a couch facing an old television in a corner of the store.

Not so with the Diamond Crown Lounge. From what I see at the website, there are a number of Diamond Crown Cigar Lounges, each with it’s own name. The one I visited in Fullerton is the 8Eightyeight. This is not a store with a lounge, it is a true lounge that just happens to sell cigars. You enter into the reception/store area, pass through a very large cigar display room, and enter a huge bar/lounge. There is a bar that seats perhaps 12 people, and numerous tables around the room. My favorite spot is in one of the reclining theater chairs that face a huge center screen, surrounded by six more large screens – all displaying various sporting events. There is also an additional room, as large as the main area, beyond the bar.

The bar is a full bar (not just wine and beer), with four impressive tappers. Look at the photo, and what may appear to be foamy beer flowing from the tappers is actually ice. The tappers are kept so cold that ice forms around them.

The last time I visited this lounge there were just a few people, but on the night of the tasting the place was packed and the cigar smoke was thick. For just twenty bucks I got two good cigars, a taste of four Alaskan beers (not full beers – around five ounces of each) and a raffle ticket for the door prizes (various humidors, ash trays, and an Alaskan Brewing Company golf bag). Quite a deal. Again, from the website, it appears there is one such event every month.

http://www.diamondcrown.com

After my last visit I was hot to join (membership is very reasonable), but Fullerton is a little too far for me to get much use out of a membership. If you happen to be closer, you’d do well to give this place a look.

Posted on December 15th, 2008 by Aaron Morris
Filed under: Beer, Cigars, Micro-Breweries, Reviews