Medina business debuts 2 of its own brand of cigars

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 April 2022 at 6:07 pm

Vintage Cigar welcomes “Grover” and “Sandstone”

Photos by Tom Rivers: David Burd, co-owner of The Vintage Cigar in Medina, holds the Grover, a medium-full cigar that has a spicy taste with a hint of pepper. The cigar is named for former U.S. President Grover Cleveland of Buffalo, who married Frances Folsom, a former Medina resident. He is the only president to get married while he was the president.

MEDINA – A business that opened in October selling cigars and offering a smoking lounge debuted two of its own cigars today.

The Vintage Cigar introduced “Grover” and “Sandstone” today in the business at 513 Main St.

The Robinson and Burd families opened the county’s first cigar store and smoking lounge in October. Business has steadily grown, said Joe Robinson, one of the co-owners.

Vintage Cigar worked with Santiago Cigar Factory in Rochester to develop its own brand of cigars.

“It’s something we always wanted and it distinguishes us,” Robinson said.

The “Grover” is named in honor of former U.S. President Grover Cleveland who married a Medina girl, Frances Folsom. The two were wed while Cleveland was president. In one of his visits to Medina in the 1870s, he was arrested on suspicion of stealing a horse and buggy. He was actually borrowing a friends with permission.

“He is the only president to be put in jail in Medina,” said David Burd, one of the Vintage Cigar’s co-owners.

The Grover is a medium plus cigar with a thick, creamy smoke.

The Sandstone is mild and medium bodied. It has a barber pole design with alternating colors of tobacco leaves. Burd said that design is intended to honor the different shades of color in Medina Sandstone.

Today’s cigar release party included brandy served by North Ridge Distillery in Lyndonville. That business also has its own brandy-infused cigar that is sold at Vintage Cigar. Vintage Cigar carries about 100 brands of cigars.

Henry Amadiz, a cigar roller with Santiago Cigar Factory in Rochester, rolls a Sandstone cigar at The Vintage Cigar in Medina this afternoon. The in-house rolling was part of a cigar release celebration for two new cigars at the Medina business.