Nice Ash

Nice Ash is one of the highest-rated cigar shops around Sandusky, Ohio, and it earns every bit of that reputation. Locals will tell you this is a proper cigar store with a smoking lounge, the kind of place built for sitting a while, lighting up a good stick, and settling into some genuine conversation. The word around downtown Sandusky is that the atmosphere and the company are half the reason to come. The selection runs deep for a shop this size, and folks say it keeps growing.

On the shelves you will find Ashton, ACID, Perdomo, Rocky Patel, Tabak Especial, Tatiana, My Father, Camacho, Crowned Heads, Padron, Arturo Fuente, CAO, Pappy Van Winkle, Diesel, Espinosa, and Aging Room. Alongside the cigars there is a solid lineup of top-shelf whiskey and bourbon, and more than one visitor has walked out with a fresh recommendation from behind the counter and a pour to go with it. Ask anyone who has spent an afternoon here and they will point to the comfortable chairs, the clean and spacious room, and a space that stays free of heavy smoke odor. What really keeps people talking is the crew.

The owner and the staff know their cigars cold, and they will happily steer a first-timer toward something new. One visitor came in for a couple of sticks and left with what he called maybe his new favorite. Another mentioned buying two on a recommendation and wishing he had grabbed more. That knowledge, paired with easy hospitality, is why regulars come back.

Travelers passing through, whether on a motorcycle loop around Lake Erie, a Cedar Point trip, or waiting on the Pelee Island ferry, tend to find their way here too. As one out-of-towner put it, if you are in the area you will not find a better place to enjoy a cigar and good conversation. Well worth a stop.