Tailored Gents Boutique was the site of a party Thursday night for the local launch of a new line of men’s clothing and accessories inspired by Aiken.

“I’m just blown away,” said Whiskey & Easy’s founder, Patrick Wacks, who was surrounded by a crowd of shoppers in the store at 345 Hayne Ave. S.W. “I’m almost speechless right now. The brand is about honoring Aiken, and the outpouring of love and support just puts a smile on my face.”

Whiskey & Easy’s offerings include polo shirts and quarter-zip pullovers. All the quarter-zips and nearly all the polo shirts have cigar pockets.

“You can wear them on the golf course and then wear them out to dinner at The Willcox or Prime,” said Aiken Realtor and former Lionel Smith Ltd. co-owner Danny Minolfo, who gave Wacks the idea for the cigar pockets.

Caps and other Whiskey & Easy merchandise are also available at Tailored Gents.

A former resident of Aiken, Wacks lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, now with his wife and two daughters.

“This is like a mini reunion,” he said of the launch party. “I’m running into people I met six years ago.”

Tailored Gents owners, Jessica and Elier Alberto, decided to carry the Whiskey & Easy line because “it spoke Aiken to us, and we are very invested in Aiken,” Jessica said.

In addition, the cigar pocket feature “made us feel like this was a perfect marriage because we are bringing a rum and cigar lounge to downtown,” she continued.

That business, Rhumba, is scheduled to open soon at 321 Richland Ave. W.

“We don’t have a specific date yet, but we are very confident it will be the first or second week of March,” Jessica said.

Tailored Gents made its debut in downtown Aiken last year.

Aiken City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh and his wife, Catherine, were among the Whiskey & Easy launch party attendees.

“We’re here to support a local business,” Bedenbaugh said. “It’s exciting to have a shop like this in our downtown. It’s a nice complement to the other stores, and it’s nice to see a business not on Laurens Street that has this kind of nice inventory.”

Lee Bodie bought one of the Whiskey & Easy polo shirts. His purchase had cigars printed on its fabric, in addition to a cigar pocket.

“I’m a cigar enthusiast and I play golf, so it matches everything for me,” he said. “It (the cigar pocket) is an interesting idea. I think it’s going to be a conversation piece.”

Whiskey & Easy is named for a well-known location in Aiken, the corner of Whiskey Road and Easy Street.

For more information, visit whiskeyandeasy.com.