Birds of Baldwin Street

I’m not a full time smoker, however, on occasion (of the rare and special variety) I am prone to have a cigar. And god does this place cater for your cigar’y needs.
The selection is pretty vast for a shop that size! And the owner’s product knowledge is very extensive and he always seems happy to talk you through the range of cigars and cigarillos.
Anyway, if you are in need of some cigars for a wedding or something, but not sure what to get, come to this place and get some nice Cubans instead of whatever the supermarket has!

Obviously I don’t smoke, mum… but if I did I would buy my ‘gear’ from here.
It smells fantastic in this tobacconist, really incredible. I pop in occasionally for some celebratory cigars or presents for friends; you can get some great boxes or single cigars. It really caters for all smokers, even casual ones like me, they range from £2.40 each to about £30.50 each, but of course you could always get the box called Monte Cristo, priced at only £435.20 it’s a steal!
I mean we did experience some slightly less than friendly customer service yesterday, you know, no small talk, annoyed by a card payment, tutting and awkward silence. But don’t let that put you off, some would call it traditional and this shop serves a very important purpose that not many do any more, especially not in this country.
They have a huge range of cigar cutters, from very cheap (perfect) to top of the range.
They even sell snuff (that goes in your nose); I think I’ll give it a miss though.

Mum, if you’re reading this, then this is the testament of a friend of mine (anyone else, ssshhh it’s all me!) I used to be a bit of a social smoker. I started off on Marlborough Lights (because the lead singer of the Manic Street Preachers, James Dean Bradfield, smoked them, who says celebrity endorsement effect is a myth!) However, I have asthma and I found these a bit harsh and pricey so I moved onto rolling tobacco. Anyway, then my friend introduced me to flavoured tobacco from a quaint little tobacconists in York. That was it, I can’t smoke anything other than flavoured tobacco now (it must be said, I only really smoke at festivals now) so when I moved to Bristol I was keen to find somewhere to feed my habit. And low and behold I found Birds of Baldwin Street. OK, so the first few times I kept going to Victoria Street and wondering where it had disappeared to (clues in the name dumbass!) but know I’ve cracked it, it’s fine. They sell loose rolling tobacco in jars, thin cut and thick cut, vanilla, cherry and menthol among the flavours. You can buy it in different weights and they’ve got pre made packets ready to go for you. The guy who works there is always nice and jolly and ready to give you a recommendation should you so want it. They also sell cigars.

This traditional tobacconist shop in the heart of Bristol is almost like a museum, showcasing all the old smoking paraphernalia you rarely see around nowadays.
Personally, I don’t smoke — but I’ve visited this shop in the past to buy some interesting tobacco and a zippo lighter for a friend of mine as a gift. Once you’re inside, you realise what an emporium this tiny place is, with cigar boxes galore, rolling papers, a huge range of zippo lighter designs and varieties of loose tobacco, plus smoking pipes in all shapes and sizes.
With fewer and fewer people smoking, it’s a surprise this place has survived — but as a real Bristol institution, the city’s hardcore smokers will sorely miss it should it ever disappear.

With the help of Mr A Carr and his words of wisdom I managed to successfully kick the habit about a year ago but the world of smoking still interests me. There are those who might buy twenty B and H behind the till at Tesco, and then there are those that take a little more enjoyment in what the Amazonians call ‘the spirit telephone’.
Birds of Baldwin is a traditional tobacconist selling all manner of pipes, cigars, rolling papers and lighters. In fact this is one of the better collections of unique Zippo lighters I have seen for some time. The real shining point for me about this store is the wide range of different tobaccos; a choice of coarse and fine cut weighing in at about a fiver for twenty five grams. My personal favourites (from back in the day) are Black Cherry Medium and Coconut Gold. Both are delicious and well rounded blends. Even for the non smoker there will be things of interest in the shop, if only the wealth of information from the ‘Birds’ themselves.

Ah a proper old man’s shop filled with curiosities and paraphernalia. Since my other half started smoking a pipe (he’s only 34, I’m not dating a pensioner) this has been the place to go. With geek-​chic in I imagine they have been amused with many younger customers. Whilst I don’t advocate smoking, it kills yadda yadda, I love to see small and traditional businesses still alive in the city and it should be thoroughly applauded.