Tinder Box

The Tinder Box is a tobacco aficionado’s dream. A longstanding store in the Tri-​County Mall, The Tinder Box is full of all sorts of tobacco that you didn’t even know existed. My friend got a gift certificate to the store and we stopped in recently.
The assortment is staggering and would be overwhelming to anyone not familiar with the ins and outs of tobacco, like me. My friend, much more knowledgeable in the area. My friend was opting for some choice cigars and checked out the humidor to see what was available. He also noticed a certain brand of cigarettes that had been recently discontinued in the states and quickly snagged a pack.
I left empty handed but I couldn’t deny the aromas that filled the Tinder Box. Cigarettes really bother me, but I see that there is some tobacco that is worth the time, in fact there’s so much you can fill a whole store with it.

The Tinder Box popped my tobacco cherry. At the mall as a youngster, I had often been entranced by its Punch statue and sweet, smoky aromas wafting into the atrium across from Cinnabon. Alas, my mother was too responsible and only permitted me to attack my heart with the artery-​clogging cinnamon sweets. But once 18 rolled around, I was free to assail my lungs as well.
The Tinder Box does a great job of labeling their pipe blends so you know exactly what you’re getting. The staff is generally knowledgeable about it and able to recommend something as long as you can tell them what your tastes are. I, of course, tried to act mature and experienced, ashamed of my tobacco virginity. And still they steered me toward mild, sweet blends that satisfied my craving for vice.
An adequate selection of pipes if you need an implement for destruction, too, and a wide range of cigars, from the typical ones to rarer stogies that are too expensive for me to look at (hence having them reserved in a humidor).
Tons of paraphernalia, too — statuettes, model cars, walking sticks, lighters, and so on. Pretty cool place to find something useless but stately for your grandfather.
It was my first and I’ll always cherish it for that, but it remains good on repeated visits.