Smoke on this
When asked to name his favorite cigars, Franklin says his top three are the Padron 1964 Anniversary Series, Long Live the King by Robert Caldwell, and My Father The Judge. “There’s no bad cigar,” he adds. “Everyone has their own palate. It’s also about the environment you’re in when you smoke a cigar.”
Many consider kicking back with a good cigar to be one of life's great pleasures, especially if it's in conjunction with a celebration.
So when Mark Franklin tied the knot back in 2016, he reached out to a friend who was a local cigar rep to bring some to his wedding.
"The whole atmosphere about it was just great," says Franklin, who along with friend Chris Abernathy had been looking for a way to share his passion for cigars with others.
The two had started a private Facebook group centered on cigar smoking, and they wanted to bring the culture and pleasure of cigar smoking to a wider audience.
The idea for Chattanooga Cigars for Gents, which provides cigar bar services for special events, grew from there.
"It's all about education and preserving the art of cigar smoking for the next generation," Franklin says of their roughly 2-year-old business.
Franklin and Abernathy create a custom cigar bar for each event, including weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, golf tournaments, bachelor parties and baby showers. "Anything our client has to celebrate," says Franklin. "Cigars are a celebratory symbol."
They explain to event-goers the cigars' subtle nuances - the wrap, the tobacco blend comprising the fill, the binder, and the country or region the cigar comes from.
They also instruct the uninitiated on cutting and lighting cigars.
"It's kind of an art; you can't just light a cigar with a Bic lighter," Franklin says, explaining that cigars need to be lit with a smooth, continuous flame, and that there are several different ways to cut them. He and Abernathy also talk to guests about palate and explain the complexity of flavor in the selected cigars. Chattanooga Cigars for Gents has two cigar rollers on staff to provide that service at events, and the business also prepares cigar gift sets for clients.
A cigar smoker for about 13 years, Franklin enjoys it for more than just the flavor.
"Cigar lounges are an environment where you're not judged based on how you look, who you vote for, what religion you are. It's about the cigar, camaraderie and taking the time to enjoy each other's company," he says.
In the future, they plan to travel to Nicaragua to create their own tobacco blend for a limited-edition Chattanooga Cigars for Gents cigar, of which they plan to create a version every three years.
They're also about to launch a new offshoot of the business, Chattanooga Cigars for Ladies.
"Women have really embraced the art and culture of smoking cigars," Franklin says, naming Demi Moore as a celebrity example. "We want to include the ladies as well, because they're a big part of this industry we've grown to love."