New Aristocrat Humi (Mini Tall)

[Master Shake]

So I meant to post this up earlier but a few weeks ago it finally happened: I got my Aristocrat Humi in. It took about 8 weeks (which was the promised amount of time) but it felt like 8 months, as I have no patience. I went with the Mini Tall with the Set and Forget in the Cherry Finish. The construction is impeccable and the finish work is great. Some problems that other people have had (with other companies, I didn't read anything negative about Aristocrat) with wires or finish work being poorly done hasn't been an issue for me at all. I can't recommend the folks over at Aristocrat enough. Their pricing is excellent and the product you receive is worth every penny of the expense. I wanted furniture quality and that's exactly what I received. I chose to go with Aristocrat over several other companies and the decision was the right one to make, for me at least. The set and forget option is definitely worth the money and if anyone else where to get a unit I would recommend that you purchase the option or get a unit that comes has it as standard equipment. Here are some photos:

So it occurred to me halfway thru to take a photo. As you can see I was opening it rather hastily.


The hardest part: waiting the five days to have it totally seasoned.

Here's it stocked and up and running:

My first try snapping a quick photo of the front:

 

[Phillsl]

That's a killer humi, beautiful, just beautiful


iPhone5 from tapatalk sent was this.

 

[Chief StrongLeaf]

Classic lines brother, nice pick up.

I wouldn't be going far out on a limb guessing, "you have many leather bound books and your house smells of rich mahogany"

 

[jmartins]

Beautiful humi. And I love the photo bomb by your dog lol.


Sent from my Tapatalk 2 using iPhone. Bahahahaha ass backwards.

 

[UpInSmoke]

Very nice, thanks for sharing shake. No doubt I'll have one one day

 

[YodisMatt]

Wow very nice indeed.

 

[cvm4]

Congrats bro... I have natural Cherry on my Aristocrat as well and it does darken over time. Be sure to not put anything on the top of it, FYI.

 

[derwood]

Wow...beautiful. Nothing like great craftmanship.

 

[rev.b]

Absolutely sweet cabinet!!

 

[BradMc]

Very Nice...........

 

[Master Shake]

Thanks everybody! Your comments are much appreciated. I probably should've prefaced this whole post with this but here's the backstory to this whole thing: I ran out of space on my 2 100 cts and needed to upgrade. I looked around for a 3rd 100+ ct and after much looking I decided I wanted something much nicer than what is generally available. So that left 2 options: 1. Get a Prometheus humi ($1,000+) or 2. Custom make one thru a company (I personally can't woodwork for shit.) I found several companies, and after I thought I had selected a company to design my humi it went to hell in a handbag. A 150 ct (-ish) humi would run no less than $500 (something more simple and plain) and as much $850 (something a little more badass.) The problem wasn't necessarily the price; it was that for that price I wanted to make sure that I was getting exactly the product I wanted. I mean, I don't want to spend that kind of money to be anything other than enthralled with the finished product. The owner kept wanting me to do one thing, and I wanted something different that would pop more. After about a dozen or so emails back and forth I couldn't get a response back from him anymore and that was my sign that this guy didn't really want to do something different; he wanted an easier product to make for easy money. Fair enough, but not for me - not at that price, at least. It was right after this that I found his name on the scam list for sending out unfinished products and be uncooperative with getting things remedied, so I chalked that up as a win because I might've dodged a bullet.
So then it was back to the drawing board. I started to think that for the money I was looking to spend maybe I should just get a cabinet instead. The first issue with this was that it wasn't the easiest to find impartial customer reviews. On the plus side, it didn't take much to rule out all hardwood as the price for a nice one was ridiculous - at least $2500 and maybe as much as $4500 for something heirloom quality. I'm not cheap but damn. So I started looking at veneer over MDF which is nice because it will never warp. There are two main companies and I tried to research both of them but there were only a few threads for people who had purchased Aristocrat Humi's and none for the Mini or Mini Tall. The picture became more clear when I saw a thread on Aristocrats competitor and even though the owner was happy, I thought some of the finish work looked quite sloppy - particularly the wiring, which was hanging all over the side and was a bit of an eyesore. While this wasn't the biggest issue in the world, it was a deal-breaker for me as I didn't want to do business with a company that didn't take pride in their work.
So long story short, I went with Aristocrat and I'm pleased to say that they had excellent customer service, and I couldn't be more pleased with the experience from shopping their catalog of products to being an owner of one of their humidors.
I wanted to post this up for the next BOTL looking for a cabinet. And to that person I would like to impart my wisdom from this experience: if you want a cabinet, then skip the bullshit and just call Aristocrat.

 

[stukibuilt]

Wow. Very classy. I dig it.

 

[blueboy714]

awesome - if I still smoked a lot I'd probably buy one - they are reasonably priced. The 8 to 10 box humidor I have is fine - except I just filled it to the brim with a shipment of BOTL PDR cigars.

 

[Aberlour]

Congrats, it's a beauty, and thanks for the pics and follow-up on your experience with Aristocrat. I've been flirting with the idea of a coolerador, but you may have just convinced me otherwise.