ALTON - Mike Weller with AP Cigar Co. discussed his new line of cold brew coffee products, all things cigars, and the community of cigar enthusiasts in downtown Alton and beyond on a recent episode of Our Daily Show! on Riverbender.com.

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He described the lineup as a “barrel series for coffee.” The coffee beans are hand-picked, sifted, and dried in Brazil. They then get shipped to the US, where they are stored in barrels that previously held wine and bourbon, absorbing the aromas from those barrels for three and a half weeks.

The new cold brew comes in liquid form (“Wilhelm Cold Brew”) or ground and whole beans (“Table 36”). Both are available at AP Cigar Co. in Alton, and Mac's Convenience Store carries the liquid cold brew. State Street Market is also offering a couple of cocktails using the cold brew, and CJ’s juicery is making a boba tea with it.

“The biggest compliment ever is when you have coffee guys that go, ‘That’s the best cold brew we’ve ever had,’” Weller said.

He added that members of the Alton business community have continued to be supportive of each other as they collaborate with products like this.

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“I love doing everything I can with different small businesses and trying to make everyone’s life a little bit easier in the small business community, so that’s always the plan,” he said.

The cigar shop’s reach has since extended well outside the borders of Alton, with fans in Brazil wearing AP Cigar Co. t-shirts and tourists regularly visiting the shop and downtown Alton from all over the world. Weller added that the cigar community is also connected and supportive of establishments like his own.

“The cigar community is beyond even what I can do in this town. If you see a cigar shop and you’re a cigar, you’re pulling in and you’re going to go meet the people,” he said. “You’re going to go smoke a cigar there, you’re going to go patronize it because there’s very few cigar lounges left, especially in southern Illinois.”

Weller said AP Cigar Co. will be celebrating “Saturday Stogie” on Saturday, June 10 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday Stogie group members visit a different cigar venue each month, and this month they’ll be visiting AP Cigar Co. and the rest of downtown Alton. Those interested in joining can visit the Saturday Stogie Facebook group.

To learn more about AP Cigar Co., visit their website or Facebook page, call (618) 631-3645 or stop by at 202 State St. in downtown Alton.

The full interview with Weller can be watched at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.

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