Cigar czar

It's not that Turk Bayramkul doesn't like people wandering into his newly opened store, Cigar 5 Packs at 4824 Longley Lane, asking 20 questions about his products. Bayramkul says he just wants to answer the same questions once, so he's filming a new local-access television show designed to promote cigar education and the cigar lifestyle.

"People think you just light up a cigar and smoke it, but that is not exactly true," says Bayramkul, who opened a storefront a few months ago after distributing wholesale from the location for four years. "Cigars are similar to wine. You have different blends, different ages, different years, and they all have different tastes."

"Turk's Cigar Lounge" began filming last week at the BuBinga Lounge in the Eldorado Hotel and Casino. In addition to cigar topics, Bayramkul plans to bring in top cigar makers to discuss manufacturing, distribution and different product lines.

"People want to hear more about their cigars from them and not from a third party," he says. "It would be better for them to explain about their blends and how they came about the ideas for them."

Bayramkul insists the show is about gaining exposure rather than turning a profit.

"I am going to be selling them (cigars featured on the show) exactly at cost," he says. "People can try cigars they wouldn't have been able to try before, and that will help the industry. But my main goal is to better educate people about the cigar industry. They will enjoy it more, and when they come in they will know what they are looking for."

The first season of 12 hour-long episodes is expected to air Saturday evenings on Charter and Comcast cable systems. Precision Image Marketing of Reno will handle the production, which is expected to cost about $30,000 per episode, says Managing Partner T.J. Lord.

"Costs are pretty high because we are doing a professional-grade show," Lord says. "It is not going to have a 'local' look. It will look like a normal TV series. We have high-end equipment, professional camera crews, professional grips all coming in for this production."

Sponsors will cover most of the production costs, says Bayramkul, declining to mention who is on board until they were locked into contracts. He is hoping to feature at least two area establishments that still allow smoking on each show, which can be found online at www.turkslounge.com.

Bayramkul started out as a computer engineer for a cigar company, but after a few years he branched out on his own. Although they don't hand-roll at Cigar 5 Packs, factories in the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua blend and roll specialty cigars for Bayramkul, who brands and markets the 15-20 specialty blends made for him.