The cigar guide to Kootenai County and beyond: where you can light up, where to drive, and what the words mean

Kootenai County sits on one of the sharpest lines in the cigar world. On the Idaho side you can sit in a leather chair and smoke indoors. A few miles west, in Washington, you cannot, anywhere open to the public. This is our guide to the cigar rooms on both sides, the ones worth a road trip, and the words you will hear at the counter.

Why the line matters

Idaho’s Clean Indoor Air Act bans smoking in most public places, but it lets two kinds of businesses allow it: bars, and stores that mainly sell tobacco. That is the door every Idaho cigar lounge walks through.

Washington’s law is shorter and stricter. It says no one may smoke in a public place or a place of employment, and it does not carve out tobacco shops. Spokane cigar shops sell inside, and customers light up outside.

The Racketeer Lounge, Post Falls

Paul Banducci opened The Racketeer at 605 E. Eighth Ave. in 2021. Nathan and Lauren Arakelian own it now. It is a cigar lounge and bar with more than 150 cigars, built to be sat in. Closed Mondays; open from noon the rest of the week. (208) 262-9622.

Stogies and Stories, Post Falls

Chris Johnson, Jim Fox and Mike Oertel opened Stogies and Stories: Cigars, Spirits and Friends in December 2024, the Coeur d’Alene Press reported. The centerpiece is a 400-square-foot humidor, and the owners said the goal was a place where people can relax. The business posts its hours on Facebook rather than a website, so check there before you go.

Coeur d’Alene Pipe & Cigar, downtown

Downtown Coeur d’Alene’s shop sits at 416 E. Sherman Ave., a few blocks from the lake, selling pipes, cigars and tobacco. (208) 664-0786.

Cigar House, Spokane

Solomon Braaten opened Cigar House at 7314 N. Division in 2024, the Spokane Journal of Business reported, after moving from the Tri-Cities on his 25th birthday. The shop carries premium cigars and pipe tobacco, and no vapes or cigarettes. By Washington law, the smoking happens outside.

Worth the drive

If you are driving to Boise for a game, to Seattle for a flight or to Portland for family, these are the cigar rooms worth planning a stop around. Each one is independent, and each one plays by its state’s rules.

Sturman’s, Boise

Mark Sturman opened Sturman’s Smokeshop on 10th Street in downtown Boise in 1994, and his son Ryan runs it now. It has a walk-in humidor. The family added Sturman’s Wine & Cigars in Garden City in 2021, with a 3,000-square-foot patio, and a third room in Eagle in 2024.

One caution: the city of Boise has its own smoking law, stricter than Idaho’s. Ask before you light up.

The Vault, Meridian

Josh and Lori Evarts opened The Vault in 2014 in a former bank building at 140 E. Idaho Ave. in downtown Meridian. It has since added rooms in Eagle and Caldwell.

The Cigar Silo, Sweet

About 45 minutes from Boise, Anderson Reserve turned five grain silos into a cigar and whiskey lounge beside its steakhouse at 7275 Sweet Ola Highway. It is a destination, not a quick stop; check the hours before you make the drive.

Rich’s Cigar Store, Portland

Rich’s has sold tobacco in downtown Portland since 1894. Its store at 820 SW Alder St. has a 30-seat indoor smoking lounge, open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A tobacco purchase is required to use the lounge.

Rain City Cigar, Seattle

Rain City has been in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood since 1997, at 5963 Corson Ave. S., with a large selection of premium cigars. Washington law bans smoking in public places and workplaces, so plan to buy inside and smoke elsewhere.

Cigar words, in plain English

Walk into a cigar shop for the first time and the vocabulary can feel like a test. It is not. Five ideas cover most of it.

Vitola

The cigar’s shape and size. A robusto is short and thick. A churchill is long and slim. A toro sits in between. Size changes how long you will sit with it more than it changes the flavor.

Ring gauge

How thick the cigar is, measured in 64ths of an inch. A 50 ring gauge is 50/64 of an inch across. A thicker cigar holds more tobacco and usually smokes slower and cooler.

Wrapper

The outside leaf, and a big part of what you taste. A Connecticut shade wrapper is light and creamy. Maduro and oscuro wrappers are darker, sweeter and richer. If you write down one thing about a cigar you liked, make it the wrapper.

Draw and burn

Draw is how easily air pulls through. Burn is whether the ash line stays even. Neither is flavor, but both decide whether the next hour is pleasant.

Strength is not flavor

Strength is the nicotine kick. Body is how heavy the smoke feels. Flavor is what you taste. A cigar can be full of flavor and still mild, which is good news for beginners.

Hours change, especially in winter, so call ahead before any of these trips.

ESPOstogie, the free cigar journal where this list started, is made by Accelerated Experiences LLC, the company that owns Kcounty.Media. No business here paid to be included. You must be 21 to buy tobacco.