Hudson Bar and Books: West Village Cigar Lounge Open Late

Hudson Bar and Books, at 636 Hudson Street on the corner of Horatio Street in the West Village, is a cigar bar where you can still smoke indoors with a proper cocktail, and Cigar Aficionado has called it the oldest cigar bar still operating in Manhattan. It opens at 4 pm Monday through Thursday and at 3 pm Friday through Sunday, with a 3 am close on Friday and Saturday. Plan on a two-drink minimum, and if you bring your own cigar there is a $12 cutting and tobacco fee, waived when you buy tobacco at the bar.

Bar and Books was founded in New York in the early 1990s by Raju S. Mirchandani, who also owns the French bistro Le Bateau Ivre. The company dates itself to 1990 on its website, while the Hudson menu prints "EST. 1991" beside the claim that these were New York City's first dedicated cigar bars. Either way, the Hudson Street room has outlasted almost every other cigar bar of that era in Manhattan.

Its survival rests on law as much as loyalty. As Cigar Aficionado put it, any cigar bar in New York City with a liquor license is only here because of a grandfather clause, which means no new competitor can open with the same freedom. The brand has since spread to Prague, with bars on Týnská and Národní, and to Warsaw on Podwale, but this corner of the West Village is where the formula began.

The company describes the look as inspired by Anglo-Colonial style, and Cigar Aficionado singled out the vintage monkey-print wallpaper. The effect is closer to a gentlemen's club in old Bombay than to a sports bar, which suits the cocktail list and the name on the door. Solo visitors usually do best at the bar itself, where the bartender can talk you through the house cigars.

It is the kind of place where a slow drink and a long cigar are the whole plan. If you want a big game on a big screen, Casa de Montecristo on Second Avenue in Midtown is the better call. If you want conversation and a Churchill that lasts two hours, Hudson Street is exactly right.

Bar and Books rolls its own private-label line, named after its locations. The Hudson is a 6 x 54 toro with an all-Nicaraguan filler and a sun-grown Nicaraguan wrapper, and the menu bills it as full-bodied, so pair it with something strong. Sister blends include the Lexington, Týnská, Podwale, Mánesova and Warsaw, plus a 25th Anniversary Churchill for a long evening.

If you prefer established names, the humidor list includes the Davidoff Millennium, Montecristo No. 2, Partagás No. 2, Hoyo de Monterrey No. 50 and Rocky Patel Grand Reserve Sixty. Our honest suggestion: try the Hudson toro here at least once, since it is the one cigar on the list you cannot easily buy anywhere else in the city.

The cocktail list leans into Ian Fleming. The Vesper 007 follows Fleming's original recipe of gin, Belvedere vodka and Lillet, shaken, not stirred. The Goldfinger mixes Woody Creek rye with honey, ginger liqueur and lemon, and there is also a Smoked Blood and Sand and the house Raj Martini, a nod to the founder.

Whiskey collectors will find depth behind the bar, including Macallan 25 Year Sherry Oak, Pappy Van Winkle 15 and 20 Year, and Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year, plus Rémy Martin Louis XIII cognac for a celebration. Tasting flights come as six half-ounce pours, 3 ounces in total, which is the sensible way to sample the rare bottles without committing to a full measure.

The food menu matches the colonial theme with Commonwealth samosas, Scotch eggs, mini Lenox sliders, a cheese and charcuterie plate and a thin-crust pizza. None of it is meant to be a full dinner, but a plate of Scotch eggs and a round of sliders shared between two will carry you through a second cigar.

If you are planning a proper meal, eat first in the neighbourhood and come here for the nightcap, which is how the room tends to be used on weeknights.

There is a two-drink minimum per person, so budget for two cocktails even if you only want one cigar. Bringing your own cigar costs $12 per person, while smoking a cigarette costs $5, and both fees are waived if you buy tobacco from the bar. A 20 percent gratuity is added for parties of six or more.

Hours run Monday through Thursday from 4 pm to 2 am, Friday and Saturday from 3 pm to 3 am, and Sunday from 3 pm to 2 am. The early weekend opening is the best-kept advantage here, since a 3 pm Saturday arrival gets you in hours before the late crowd. If it is full late on a weekend, Soho Cigar Bar on Watts Street is a short taxi ride south and stays open until 3 am Thursday through Saturday.

Hudson Street is one of the prettiest stretches of the West Village, lined with low brick townhouses and small restaurants. Walk two blocks north to Abingdon Square Park, a small triangle of benches and gardens where Hudson Street meets Eighth Avenue, for a breath of air between drinks.

For something to eat before or after, Corner Bistro on West 4th Street has been serving its famous burgers to the neighbourhood for decades and is a short walk away. The station at 14th Street and Eighth Avenue, served by the A, C, E and L lines, is the closest subway stop.

Address: Hudson Bar and Books, 636 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014, at Horatio Street in the West Village.

Hours: Monday through Thursday 4 pm to 2 am, Friday and Saturday 3 pm to 3 am, Sunday 3 pm to 2 am. Two-drink minimum. Smoke-your-own fee of $12 for cigars, waived with a tobacco purchase. Bar and Books serves alcohol and tobacco only to guests aged 21 and over in the US.