OSI Tobacco

If you take cigars seriously, OSI Tobacco in Canton is the kind of place you clear an afternoon for. The word around town is that this is the largest walk-in humidor in Ohio, and people who have wandered through it don't disagree. Locals talk about the selection the way other folks talk about a great library: seemingly endless, deep across the big names, and stocked with cigars you won't find just anywhere. On the shelves you'll see Davidoff, Arturo Fuente and its coveted Opus X, Padrón, Liga Privada, Ashton, Oliva, Rocky Patel, Cohiba, Montecristo, Perdomo, Alec Bradley, Diamond Crown, JC Newman, Punch, Foundation and more rare offerings like Meerapfel and Byron. Smoking accessories round out the shop.

Ask anyone who shops here and the owner, Aaron, comes up fast. Regulars say he gives newcomers the full rundown on quality, strength and pricing, and he's just as happy steering a seasoned smoker toward something new as helping them stick with a familiar favorite. The staff remembers your preferences too, which is rare and part of why people keep coming back. Big John gets his own shout-outs for hospitality. One out-of-state visitor stopped in on a friend's recommendation and left saying he'd return every time he's in town.

The lounge is a big part of the draw. There's an indoor smoking area plus a porch setup with couches, chairs and a grill, and people love settling in to watch a football game with a good smoke. We hear a bar is in the works too. On value, the general feeling is that prices land on the fair-to-lower end, which surprises folks given the caliber of the inventory. Fair warning: a handful of visitors have run into a less-than-warm welcome depending on who's behind the counter, so service can feel uneven on an off day.

That's the exception, though. For most people who make the trip, OSI Tobacco is easily one of the best cigar shops in Canton and, by plenty of accounts, in Ohio.