A Good Cigar, A Welcoming Community At Leaf And Barrel Cigar & Bourbon Lounge
Written by Kathy Witt
Here are a few truths about cigar smokers:
Cigar smokers are united in their passion for a good cigar.
Cigar smokers know no strangers.
Cigar smokers are a very welcoming community.
“Economic, racial and religious differences seem to disappear when two people are sharing a cigar,” said Larry Ledbetter, owner of the new Leaf and Barrel Cigar & Bourbon Lounge in Georgetown. “There are no strangers in a cigar lounge. You will find a warm welcome, every time.”
The vision for the Leaf and Barrel Cigar & Bourbon Lounge took root eight years ago. Larry dreamed of a place where cigar smokers could get together and enjoy their passion. In 2016, he and his wife, Jan, came close to purchasing a cigar lounge in Hilton Head, SC.
Luckily for Georgetown, that plan didn’t come to fruition, giving Larry the opportunity to begin working on a plan to create a cigar lounge from scratch.
In the meantime, 2020 rolled around, COVID hit, and Larry started building furniture. This led to his crossing paths with Charles Graves, the owner of Graves Lumber Yard, where Larry purchased supplies for his business.
“The Ledbetters and Charles and his wife, Joan, teamed up to form the partnership to make Leaf & Barrel Cigar and Bourbon Lounge a reality,” said Larry.
The cigar lounge opened first, in mid-February. The bar followed, opening at the end of March. Already, community is forming.
“Community is a huge part of any cigar lounge. People are forming friendships, regulars are coming in every day, sometimes multiple times a day.”
“Many people have come to the lounge having never smoked a cigar, and have quickly become regulars,” he added. “Husband and wives who came together and started sharing are now developing their own favorites.”
The interior of the lounge is relaxed, open and airy, with groupings of cushy leather sofas and oversized chairs scattered about a concrete floor cozied up with rugs, a smattering of flatscreen TVs and the bourbon bar anchoring the space.
“Cigar smokers like to have a warm place to smoke in the winter and a cool place in the summer,” said Larry.
All pair perfectly with the bar’s bourbon selections—currently numbering 30 and growing weekly—and a visit to Georgetown.
The brands in Leaf and Barrel’s humidor are constantly growing. In addition to well-known brands like Fuente and Oliva, the cigar bar carries many boutique brands.
“Boutique brands produce less than a million cigars annually,” said Larry. “This wide variety allows our customers a great range of products.”
Membership is not a requirement to smoke in the Leaf & Barrel’s lounge, although membership is offered for one of the 48 humidified lockers for storing cigars. Members also receive a variety of discounts, including 10 percent off cigars every day and 15 percent off boxes, plus a $200 humidor credit. This allows patrons to get the cigars to fill their locker.
“Every day is a perfect day for a cigar,” says Larry. “Sometimes it’s a stop-in and smoke after work; sometimes it’s a buy-and-go-home to smoke later in the day.
“On Saturdays we have live music so that has been a big draw as well.”
So come on in for a good cigar paired with a fine Kentucky bourbon. Share in the conversation, find new friends and join one very welcoming community.
Find events on Leaf and Barrel’s Facebook page. For more information, call 502-642-8044.
Author: Kathy Witt
Kathryn Witt is an award-winning travel and lifestyle writer, syndicated columnist and author of several books, including Secret Cincinnati, The Secret of the Belles and Atlanta Georgia: A Photographic Portrait. A member of SATW, Authors Guild and the Society of Children’s Books & Illustrators, she lives in northern Kentucky.
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Georgetown, a Baptist Minister and Kentucky Bourbon
12/20/18 Written by the Spirit of Elijah Craig
This guest blog was curated in the spirit of Baptist minister Elijah Craig, famous for discovering bourbon more than two centuries ago.
*The true birthplace of bourbon is one of the most disputed claims in the state, but you’ll never hear Rev. Elijah Craig admit that.
Georgetown, a Baptist minister and Kentucky bourbon
Many know the name, Elijah Craig, for the mellow bourbon with delightful hints of warm spice and smoke named in honor of the hot-tempered Baptist minister and produced by a major Kentucky distillery. Bourbon and the bible? It was a match made in heaven right here in Kentucky and it all started at the site of present-day Royal Spring Park in Georgetown.
Read this historic newspaper account The Kentucky Gazette might have published in 1799 to chronicle the story of a magic elixir in a barrel discovered by a man of the cloth.
Baptist minister sermonizes about bourbon, other discoveries on eve of new century
My dear brothers and sisters, I ask you to join me in marking the ten-year anniversary of a very important and successful discovery I, your humble servant, shrewd businessman and ever-eager entrepreneur, made in 1789 – that of producing bourbon whiskey at my cloth cleansing mill on the banks of Royal Spring here in George Town.
You may recall that this land was part of Lebanon, the little village I founded in 1787, and then petitioned the Virginia legislature to officially rename for our president, George Washington. That happened in 1792, the year our great state of Kentucky entered the Union. Praise be, we were able to mark this most auspicious occasion with a tipple of bourbon. So smooth, so complex – thanks to my discovery of the effects of aging bourbon in charred oak barrels. Can I get an amen for those rich caramel flavors?
In spite of bestowing bourbon on Kentucky and the New World, rumors continue to persist, even after five years and with evidence to the contrary, that I was forced to leave Great Crossings Baptist Church, where I had been the first official pastor. Not true. I chose to leave this small-minded parish in order to become the first pastor at McConnell’s Run Church. I am humbled when I recall the 35 righteous congregants who followed me to my new church, where we continue to grow and thrive. That’s worth lifting up a hymn or two.
Sometimes a fiery temper, as has been ascribed to me more than once, is a blessing – especially when it comes to getting the job done. And I have accomplished much since moving to this rugged frontier from Virginia.
Many of your sons attend my classical academy, opened in 1788, at the Royal Spring where young scholars learn “the Latin and Greek languages, taught together with such branches of the sciences as are usually taught in public seminaries.” So much knowledge gained by these eager young minds for a mere twenty-five shillings each quarter! My prayer is that one day this school will be recognized as the first Baptist college west of the Allegheny Mountains.
In 1789, I stepped in to take over the hemp and fulling mill my late son-in-law established. My Royal Spring Fulling Mill is now making cloth, with deliveries going monthly to Lexington.
You are reading this article in The Kentucky Gazette on good quality paper stock because of the paper mill I established the year after I discovered bourbon – the same year I built one of the first ropewalks in the state. The headlines of the day proclaimed, “Hallelujah! Hemp processing factory brings jobs to George Town.”
I know pride goeth before the fall, but I hope my friends can forgive me indulging in reminisces about ten years of dreams fulfilled. Let us raise a toast to all these achievements – with my discovery of bourbon topping the list.
I predict this sublime blending of local corn and grains (the exact recipe of which I shall take to the grave with me), mixed with Kentucky’s limestone-rich spring water and fermented and distilled, then aged to bring out deep and complex flavors, will go on to become a multibillion dollar industry that brings many good folk to our little corner of the world and much joy to refined palates everywhere.
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