The boom times that bred cigar and wine bars around Taipei are over, and as the stock market has fallen it has taken many of these bars with it.
One joint that has managed to weather the economic storm, however, is CJW. Boasting an address in Taipei’s ever-fashionable and moneyed Tinghao neighborhood, CJW – an acronym for cigar, jazz, wine – is still jumping.
On entering CJW you could be forgiven for imagining you’d walked straight into a Victorian era gentlemen’s club. The odor of cigar smoke, the sight of overly long drape curtains, fake bay windows, dim lighting and behemoth sodas are the order of the day on the bar’s first floor.
It’s an environment that lends itself to business as much as it does relaxation. According to CJW manager, Phil Hsu (徐智仁), this is one of the reasons the bar continues to do such good business. On any given evening these sets are in strong demand from businesspeople, bankers and entrepreneurs out to impress and relax.
Descending to the bar’s lower level, the atmosphere changes from elite club to that of a lounge/jazz bar. A moderately-sized stage is surrounded on all sides by curtained-off seating areas that cost up to NT$8,000 for the pleasure of using them. In front of the stage sits a small circular dance floor above which hangs collection of collection of glittering disco balls. If there were an award for retro-1970s cum 1950s lounge bar design, then CJW would win hands down.
The jazz kicks in at 9pm nightly, when the five-piece house ensemble breathes new life into music by Stan Getz and Fats Waller. On Tuesdays and Fridays, however, the bar swings to a Latin beat, when an all-star jazz band comprised of both local and foreign jazz aficionados hits the stage.
Like many of its now-defunct peers, CJW is rather pricey. With wines by the bottle ranging from between NT$2,200 for a Californian Cabernet to NT$15,000 for a Lafite Rothschild 1989, and cigars ranging from NT$450 to NT$1,800, CJW is not a place to go without a well-stuffed wallet. It is, however, the place to go if you want to be seen. VIPs, politicians and pop stars are frequent patrons of CJW. The paparazzi, needless to say, is kept away – a very long way away.
CJW is located at B1, 219, Tunhwa S. Rd., Sec. 1 (敦化南路一段219號B1), tel 27760724. CJW is open from 9pm to 2:30am Monday through Thursday and from 9pm through Thursday and from 9pm through 4am Friday through Sundays. All major credit cards are accepted.
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