As the only cigar lounge in the Midwest that exclusively spins vinyl, we feel it is only right to share a list of our favorite albums to play in the lounge at night. Whether it's jazz, country, soul, hip-hop or rock 'n roll, we usually dig for the classics. Here's your go-to list next time you're searching for an album to start the weekend off right. 

1. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue

Release date: August 17, 1959
Label: Columbia Records
Genres: Jazz, Modal jazz, Hard bop, Cool jazz

No matter the night, you can never start off wrong if you pull Kind of Blue from its sleeve, pour a glass of your favorite single malt scotch and light up a Durango 2010 Classic Turkish Stout. This jazz standard goes over well with any crowd in any cigar lounge, and for good reason. Miles has several great albums, but Kind of Blue is at the top for us. 

2. Johnny Cash - Live at Folsom Prison

Release date: May 1968
Label: Columbia Records
Genres: Country music, Outlaw country, Folk rock

Ah, the great times we've had in the lounge listening to Johnny tell the story of a "Boy named Sue." His 27th album, Johnny Cash's Live at Folsom Prison features the man in black performing several of his greatest hits to a room full of prisoners inside California's Folsom State Prison. Pour a bourbon, light up a Durango 2010 Elmer's Burnt Peach and play this one all the way through. If you're burning it right, the cigar should last right through 'til the end of the album.

3. Curtis Mayfield - Superfly

Release date: July 1972
Label: Curtom Records
Genres: Soul music, Funk

Written for the 1972 crime film Super Fly starring Ron O'Neal and Carl Lee, the Super Fly Soundtrack made more money than the actual movie. Curtis Mayfield struck gold with this album, creating a soundtrack that's lived well beyond the film it was written for. 11:00 PM in the lounge, with a glass of cognac in-hand, is just the right time to put this one on.  

4. Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters 

Release date: July 1972
Label: Curtom Records
Genres: Soul music, Funk

Seriously, let us know when you find a groovier track than 'Watermelon Man.' Hancock's funkiest album is also his best...With more than one million copies sold upon its release in 1973, Headhunters the largest selling jazz album of all time. Even more impressive: Herbie was 22 years old when he wrote it. Recommended smoke: Durango 2010 Three Cherry Cavendish.

5. A Tribe Called Quest - Hits, Rarities and Remixes

Release date: June 17, 2003
Label: Jive Records
Genres: Jazz rap, Alternative hip hop, East Coast hip hop

Every cigar lounge should have, at least, a few great hip hop albums. This compilation features some of ATCQ's greatest hits including 'Award Tour,' 'Electric Relaxation,' and 'Buggin' Out.' It also includes some previously unreleased remixes and a couple of songs from different soundtracks. Throw this album on and raise your glass to Phife Dawg. One of the most influential hip-hop artists of our time, Phife passed away last year. RIP. 

6. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Release date: June 1, 1967
Label: Capitol
Genres: Rock music, Pop music, Psychedelic rock, Pop rock

We don't need to over-explain The Beatles to anyone, but we will reiterate why this particular album is such a great one. The band's 8th Studio Album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band won 'Album of the Year' at the GRAMMY Awards in 1968, it spent 15 weeks at number one on the charts in the United States, and Rolling Stone has called it "the most important rock & roll album ever made." Need we say more? Best track: "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"

7. Buena Vista Social Club - Buena Vista Social Club at Carnegie Hall

Release date: October 13, 2008
Label: World Circuit Records
Genres: Bolero, Guajira, Descarga, Danzón, Criolla

Perhaps our favorite album to play in the lounge. Buena Vista Social Club's performance at New York City's Carnegie Hall on July 1, 1998 elevated the group of Cuban musicians from world renown players to international stars. Today the album has sold over eight million copies, making it the best-selling world music album ever. 

8. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced?

Release date: May 12, 1967
Label: Track Records
Genres: Rock music, Blues, Psychedelic rock, Blues rock, Acid rock 

Hendrix created a whole new dialect for electric guitar with this album. But it wasn't just the guitar chops that got people paying attention; four of the album's songs are featured in Rolling Stone's 500 greatest rock songs of all time. Pretty impressive for a debut studio album. Jimi is to this day perhaps the only musician to capture the word 'Fire' so well. 

9. Al Green - Greatest Hits

Release date: April 1975
Label: Motown/Universal Records
Genre: Soul music

This album features nearly all of The Reverend Al Green's greatest hits, including perhaps the greatest soul song of all time, "So Tired of Being Alone." There's something about this album that captures the nightlife of our Saint Louis lounge so well...we couldn't imagine leaving it off the list. Order a bottle of wine, pick a side and enjoy the ride.

Here at Durango HQ, we keep delicious beer in reach at all times because long work days are best rewarded with cold beers and Durangos. Today, we present a list of the beers we'll be popping open when we're off the clock this summer. Think we're missing a few beers on this list? Leave your suggestions in the comments and we'll try them out.

1. North Coast Old Rasputin

Brewery: North Coast Brewing Company (Fort Bragg, CA)
Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 9%
Bitterness: 75 IBUs
We're not afraid to drink stouts in the summer and this particular brew is our favorite all year round. It's black and gold label is the best looking label on the shelf (and that might be because it reminds us of our Perique's Rose). Looks aside, North Coast Brewing Co's Old Rasputin has been receiving gold medals at the World Beer Championships for years, and that's because it's great. Tip: pour in a half-shot of Four Roses Bourbon for a little pep in the beer's step... just know it won't be 9% ABV anymore. 

2. Urban Chestnut Urban Underdog

Brewery: Urban Chestnut Brewing Co. (St. Louis, MO)
Style: American Lager
ABV: 4.7%
Bitterness: 12 IBUs
Light lagers are a necessity at summer cookouts. When we go to the store, we reach for local favorite Urban Underdog from Urban Chestnut Brewing. First, it comes in a great looking 16 oz. silver can. Second, it's a clean, creamy American lager that drinks well with our Fox & the Hound.

3. Logboat Snapper

Brewery: Logboat Brewing Co. (Columbia, MO)
Style: American IPA
ABV: 7.2%
Bitterness: 68 IBUs
Recently introduced to the St. Louis market, Logboat's Snapper is a well-balanced, crisp IPA and we can drink more than one in a session. We can't say that for some other IPAs, many of which are over-hopped and unbalanced. If you get a chance to try it, we recommend pairing this beer with one of our spicier, heartier blends, the 2010 Turkish Stout.

4. Saison Dupont

You've ordered your first shipment of Durango Cigars. They've arrived at your door, and now you're ready to light one up.

That's great! But before you do, let us give you a couple of tips to ensure you get the best Durango Cigars experience possible.

Keep Them Fresh, And Separated From Other Cigars

A Great Toast Ensures A Great Burn, Every Time...

We’ve made a half a dozen or so brands over the 23 years of being in the cigar business, but no cigars take as much time and effort to make and age as Durango Pipe Tobacco Cigars. These cigars like to get around.

This is how the journey unfolds. We source and blend our favorite pipe tobaccos and then ship them off to the Dominican Republic. The blends are placed in small individual rolling rooms so there’s no cross-contamination. The cigars are then rolled with long filler premium cigar leaves but kept in the separate rooms until they’re packed up to be shipped back to the US.

Once they arrive in Miami, they’re again stored in large separate containers. They remain in Miami for anywhere from 6 months to three years. We then send them on to St. Louis to finish the aging process with herbs, spices, tea leaves and liquor in smaller humidors. This process takes another 3 to six months and then, and only then, are they shipped out to our customers. We estimate the average Durango travels close to 2,500 miles over at least 5 years before it get into a customers hands.

Don’t forget to take your Durangos on your adventures. The journey is never over. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

In December, we hosted a large dinner with James Beard Nominated Chef Rob Connoley, the author of Acorns & Cattails: A Modern Foraging Cookbook. The dinner was great but the cocktails certainly held their own. That’s because, in order to create the cocktail pairings, Connoley teamed up with Patrick Abalos, a talented barkeep at Side Bar in The Woodlands, Texas. Patrick introduced some incredible cocktails to the meal that night, one of which was the “Portside Express” [pictured right]. This drink combines two of the best spirits to enjoy with any cigar: whiskey and port. We think you’ll also find it goes extremely well with our blend this month, the 2010 Bourbon Stave.

"The Portside Express" (AKA Red Rooster Variation)

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Angels Envy Bourbon
• 1 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1 oz House Rich
• .75 oz Egg White
• Float LBV Port

Tools:

• Cocktail shaker
• Ice
• Blender
• Lemon squeezer

Glass: Low Ball

Garnish: Housemade Brandied Cherry

Build: Dry/Dry Shake/Wet Shake

Method

Combine everything but the bourbon in the shaker. Close shaker. Dry shake (without ice) vigorously for 10 seconds. In a clean large tin, add fresh ice to the top. Pour entire mixture including bourbon into ice. Top again. Shake vigorously for 5 seconds. Double strain into lowball glass. Pouring a small amount of port of the back of a spoon above the drink, float the LBV port on top of foam.