"The waiter asked us if we'd like a bottle from the vintage room," said Khalil, who retold a story from a 1999 trip to Las Vegas for the annual cigar industry trade show and a stop at Zeffirino Restaurant in the Venetian Hotel. "Everybody remarked how smooth and delicious the quality of taste was. When the waiter told me about the aging process it got me thinking. If the wine customer has the option to enjoy something that good, why can't the cigar smoker have the same opportunity?"

Initially, this revelation was confined to a select number.

At 8-to-8 Cigars, which opened in 1995 in Chicago's west suburban village of Villa Park, Khalil had a number of boxes in the back room. Converting a small storage space into a humidor, he began dating cigars he knew would be enriched by aging. After a couple years, a select few cigar smokers were allowed to sample.

"People didn't understand the concept, so you have to educate them," Khalil says. "I'd take people back there and pull one of this and one of that, and they'd say, 'Man! This is amazing.' They couldn't put them down."

A healthy discussion brewed between Mike and his nephew Sam Khalil. For almost two years, details were debated on the proper procedure. When the Fuente Fuente OpusX and Davidoff Limited Edition 2004 came in and were selling like crazy, Sam wanted to move them to the retail shelf.

What happened next had an element of a Three Stooges episode. As Sam was putting the cigars on display, Mike snatched several boxes for safe keeping when his nephew wasn't looking. "As a retailer, it's only natural to want to sell a hot product," says Mike. "I have an eye for taste. I know the stuff is going to be amazing in a year or two. It's hard to have the discipline and patience, but that's what keeps the room going."

Even today, this pattern still continues.

The vintage room at Casa de Montecristo in Countryside, Illinois, is a separate walk-in humidor from the cigar shop's regular inventory featuring 20,000 cigars that have an additional two to three years of age.

"Everyone has different tastes," states Mike. "I've read a lot and talked to Litto Gomez [founder of La Flor Dominicana], Carlito Fuente [Arturo Fuente Cigars], Hendrik Kelner [Davidoff], Don Pepin [El Rey de Los Habanos] and other top blenders to understand that certain leaves develop better with time.

"You have to know when the tobacco will reach its peak. The two- to three-year window is usually the time frame."

A friendship with manufacturers that's grown since they got into business provides access to rare boutique cigars and enables Khalil to continually enhance a peerless inventory through the gestation period.

When Casa de Montecristo was unveiled in February of 2010 in suburban Countryside, Ill., the store's separate 300-square-foot vintage room with 20,000 cigars and over 50 blends instantly became a focal point.

As the devoted local following quickly went national, scores of smokers from across the country come through daily to see the crown jewel of cigar lounges.

Every two to three months, cigars are brought down from the shelf and made available for purchase. La Flor Dominicana Small batch No. 1 (2007) and Small Batch No. 2 (2009), Fuente Fuente OpusX 22, Zino Platinum Crown Label Limited Edition 2008, and Padilla 2004 made by Jose "Pepin" Garcia are some of the exceptional smokes that quickly draw a crowd.

"Guys from out of town are surprised by the magnitude," Khalil says. "They often see stuff they smoked a few years ago, but couldn't find anymore."

All it takes is one and they're hooked.

"A lot of times a guy will say, 'I am a casual smoker; I don't think I'll know the difference,'" says Khalil. "Then we let them sample something and it hasn't been nine out of ten, but ten out of ten will say the same thing. They're amazed by the flavor, smoothness, and complexity.

"People that had the cigar before are stunned by how it developed from what it was previously. This process takes it to the next level," says Mike. "It's the same thing if you go to a high-end restaurant and get a filet mignon - you'll taste the difference."

Orders are mailed nationwide. A ceiling of five cigars per customer keeps the stock stable.

"We limit the sale; that way everyone can enjoy it," he says. "They save it for a special occasion. We've had offers to buy out [a 10 box inventory of] Padilla 2006 [which aren't made anymore], AVO Limited Edition, Tatuaje Black and Red Tubes, but we have to tell people they're not for sale [to only one person]. This is a way you can educate the consumer and bring their taste to another level. People come in all the time and say, 'What's new?'

The process hasn't been lost on the patrons. Khalil estimates 100 of his customers, both from the Chicago area and a growing number nationally, have begun aging their own cigars. More people are buying the three foot cabinet humidors and are armed with questions on how to do this at home.

"A lot of smokers buy on what they perceive is a quality cigar, but a lot of them just aren't ready when they hit the market," said Dave Lange, a Villa Park resident who has two full humidor cabinets and a number of boxes where he stores 40,000 cigars. "AVO came out and it just wasn't ready," says Lange. One year later, it was great."

After the last of his six children left home, Jeff Holst, the battalion chief for the Lombard Fire Department, finished converting his family room into a cigar lounge last spring and got a cabinet humidor that holds 50 boxes. With a limited budget, Holst is meticulous in his selection.

"The aged cigars make for a smoother, richer smoke," says Holst, who started storing sticks two years ago. "I think it really increased people's awareness. Most customers appreciate being able to go to the next level in smoking.

"I started keeping a journal three years ago as a reminder of which ones I like. Your taste changes; I prefer a full body, stronger cigar, but I try and keep an open mind.

"The Curivari El Gran Rey and Tatuaje La Verite 2009 are close to a Cuban - very flavorful and smooth. The special blends by Pete Johnson knock your socks off. The Partagas 150 with the Cameroon wrapper cut in 1977 and rolled in '95 is like a fine scotch; the richness is incredible. You get something like that and you're excited. I'll let three or four boxes sit for a year."

It's not easy.

"That's almost torture not to smoke them right away," Holst confesses. "I have an idea about some of the cigars, but you need guidance from a tobacconist. Mike and Sam are very helpful in letting me know what to pick."

A premium is placed on sharing knowledge at Casa de Montecristo, as friends and strangers frequently exchange cigars.

With a reserve of 4,000 smokes, Bob Ferris is always on the hunt for flavorful sticks that entice the palate. "Mike, Sam, and I have similar tastes; I'll offer something to them and they'll return the favor," said Ferris, a LaGrange Park resident. "They have a great understanding of cigars and how they'll develop over time. It's always nice to have someone to bounce questions off of.

"A lot of times someone will give you a cigar and say, 'Try this.' A couple days later they'll do the same.

"Everyone at Casa is down to earth and gets along. It's about enjoying cigars and each others company."

Ferris says 70 percent of his purchases are from the vintage room. "Over the years your taste changes and you become more discriminating; you're looking for certain qualities," he stated. "I enjoy a cigar with complexity - a La Flor Dominicana or Tatuaje that's more on the full body side is real nice. I like having a variety [to choose from]. Depending on what mood I am in, or if I am outside on the golf course, I'll decide what I want to smoke."

A resident of Laguna Beach, Calif., Mike Kumari savors the element of surprise. "I like to have a few vintage cigars for special occasions and friends," said Kumari, who visits relatives in Chicago several times a year.

"Everybody always says, 'Wow, where'd you get that?'

"I think a lot of people understand something about aging, but they don't understand what type of humidor you need and how to calibrate your hydrometer. If you have a cheap humidor and you don't have the right humidity level it's going to hurt the cigars. They don't know which cigars to age. The store owners [here] just want to sell the cigars. If you ask a question about the product, they look at you like you're from another planet.

"When something good comes in, I'll buy a couple boxes and put them away for a year. I've got boxes of Tatuaje Black and Red Labels, Tatuaje Tainos, EP Carillo 2009 Limited Edition, La Flor Dominicana Small Batch No. 3, and Fonseca Cubano Limitado that I'll open next spring."

Chip Goldeen, Ashton Cigar's director of worldwide sales, says vintage aging is a plus for the cigar business.

"It's a great concept and a fun way to get customers excited about cigars," he says. "If it tastes good, people like it. When you offer something special it has great appeal. There are more quality cigars out now than ever before; the more people are educated about a product the better. This is an option that smokers really appreciate and that only helps the industry. Aging cigars [at home] is the same thing as having a wine cellar. It's a hobby that people enjoy and want to have fun with."

Will other shops and lounges pick up on this? "All good ideas get copied in this world," says Goldeen. "You have to have a few things in place. You need the space and the relationship with the manufacturer to get the product you need. You need the capital to sit on the inventory, and you have to be diligent to do it the right way."

Chris McCalla of the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association believes the vintage concept is the type of creative thinking that is crucial for successful cigar shops to stand out from the crowd, but also benefits the entire industry.

"This is very innovative and requires a lot of patience," says McCalla. "Offering a product this rare makes [it] special. Connoisseurs always want to know how to improve on something, but they want knowledge and expertise.

Like many cigar enthusiasts, McCalla has perhaps inadvertently encountered aged cigars on a very small scale. "Carlito Fuente gave me an OpusX from his personal stash, and I have one from the Davidoff 100th Anniversary I am saving for special occasions.

"It gets down to, 'what do you like?'"

Smoking 15 cigars every day for five days at the cigar industry's annual convention in Las Vegas last July - where manufacturers unveil their newest blends to retailers - Mike and Sam selected over a dozen brands destined specifically for their aging room.

"We're speculating on the future which ones will increase in quality over time," says Mike. The partners purchased between 50-60 boxes of limited editions from Fausto, Tatuaje, and Davidoff, as well as selections from La Flor Dominicana, Liga Privada, Ashton VSG, AVO Heritage, Don Pepin Limited Edition; the entire Curivari line, EPC Carillo Short Run and EPC Carillo Limited Edition 2011, Arturo Fuente Hemingway, Don Carlos, and Monetcristo 75th Limited Edition. Khalil said the Jamie Garcia Limited Edition has drawn considerable interest.