Our reporter gives his thought on Marseille from earlier in the year.
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The smell of a cigar can be wonderful as can the taste of the smoke. However, the smell of a stale cigar left in the ashtray overnight is not so pleasing.
Sautter's of Mayfair have a great solution in the form of two different candles that eliminate the smell of stale cigar smoke. The candles come with a choice of a masculine Tobacco & Leather or the warm aroma of Nutmeg and Ginger.
The Bingham Boutique Hotel and Restaurant by Richmond Bridge is running a Colombian Rum & Gin Dinner on Fri 27 June 2014 with Columbian distiller Dictador. Chef Mark Jarvis has crafted a 5 course meal where each dish complements a flavourful aged gin or a smooth aged rum. The meal will be concluded with a Dictador premium cigar to enjoy on the Garden terrace with a glass of Dictador 12 year Solera System rum. Price is £95 per person. To book call 020 8940 0902.
The Casino at the Empire are running Cigar and Rum tasting events at their Icon Balcony Bar, launching April 16th. The bar has a stunning terrace that overlooks Leicester Square, it is very relaxed and makes for the perfect space to enjoy fine cigars.
The cigar seminar is hosted by Hunters & Frankau and will feature a limited edition Cuban cigar, carefully paired with aged Havana Rum presented by Havana Rum Experts. The evening starts at 6:30pm and costs £15 for members and £25 for non members. To book contact Candice at ckruger@thecasinolsq.com.
Cigars face extinction in Britain by 2026 states Gavin Jackson from the FT. In a slightly confusing article Gavin looks at the trends of sales for machine made, premium and "miniature" cigars. In an article from 2012 on premium brands Mark Wembridge comments on a 10% year-on-year increase in these brands. Some new Montecristo miniature cigars were launched last year and Imperial Tobacco seem optimistic that this is a growth area. Given that premium and miniature cigars are on the up it seems that just the larger machine made cigars are having a significant decline which in my opinion is not a bad thing.
The secret world of cigar lovers By Anastasia Anashkina @CNNMoney
Segar & Snuff Parlour and Alec Bradley Cigar Evening - Monday 10th June 2013 at Davy's Wine Vaults - Greenwich
November 26th 2012 Winter Cigar Auction to be held at Boisdale Canary Wharf. A selection of rare and vintage cigars will be on auction.
Studio Winds Co.,Ltd from Japan has developed a unique cigar candle, it looks and smells like a cigar and even has the same burn time as a cigar of that size. Initial production is limited to 1000 candles so you need to get your orders in quickly if you want one for Christmas.
The trade group Association of Independent Tobacco Specialists is standing up against the "standardised packaging" for cigars and pipe tobacco. Their main grounds for complaint is that currently cigar boxes have a series of seals from the supplier and the Cuban government and these will be removed meaning that counterfeiting is more likely. They also make the point that no children actually smoke cigars so are unlikely to be influenced by such branding. If you want voice your own concerns then they have a petition to sign.
From a recycling point of view this is likely to lead to more boxes being thrown away as there are lots of uses for used cigar boxes and tobacco tins and many pipe and hand rolled tobacco rollers already have a custom tin.
In April 2012 the "Voice of Russia" radio in London discussed the proposed changes to tobacco packaging to turn colourful packaging and branding into uniform packaging with larger health warnings. A panel comprising of representatives from ASH, Hands off our packs, the Institute of Ecconomic affairs and author Christopher Snowdon
Almost 400 Lots of some of the finest and rarest cigars ever look to set a world record when they go under the hammer at Boisdale Canary Wharf on 28th November 2011. Brian Ebbesen, former head of cigar auctions at Christie's London, will again wield the gavel. The C.Gars Ltd Winter 2011 auction will include a Fidel Castro signed Cohiba Gran Corona humidor that is estimated to set a world record bid of over £50,000.
I recently had the chance to try out the Cuban cigar walk London. In this audio tour Professor Maxwell Huttchinson guides you around Mayfair and St James. On the tour you will have the chance to visit 4 cigar stores, see many sights, visit a cigar museum and the Churchill War rooms and even stop off for shopping or afternoon tea. Read more...
This month I visited the Humidor and Cigar Terrace at Ten Manchester in Marylebone. The hotel is located in a quiet street near to both Baker street and Bond Street tubes. From the front the building is quite unassuming but as you enter the building it is clear you are in a top London hotel. The garden terrace is just next to the restaurant and is quiet and comfortable. On this trip several other parties had also chosen to visit but the area still had a exclusive feel to it. The service was attentive but not intrusive and we sampled some of the sharing platters that were modern and of top quality. The cigar menu has a good variety of both Cuban and non-Cuban cigars and there are plenty of good wines or whiskies to accompany them. Ten Manchester is a great place to socialise or to enjoy a quiet cigar. If you are staying at the hotel then it is ideally located for both the Wallace Collection and more popular attractions such as Madame Tussauds.
The hotel has special offers for cigar enthusiasts and once a month, cigar experts from Hunters & Frankau provide talks.
Over sixty of the world's most dedicated cigar aficionados with money to burn flocked to wintry London last Tuesday to bid over £300,000 for some of the rarest cigars on the planet.
"Some of our clients flew in for the world's largest ever cigars auction from San Francisco, Chicago, Portugal, Germany, Hong Kong and, not least, Japan, to huddle together in a snowstorm on Boisdale Belgravia's outdoor cigar terrace, smoke, and bid for cigars - some of which are as rare as hen's teeth," said Mitchell Orchant, managing director, C.Gars Ltd.
There were over 300 Lots and it took Brian Ebbessen, the former Christie's auctioneer, almost three hours to get through it, in the freezing cold. Haologen heaters, tartan rugs, Chivas Regal 18 and complimentary miniatures of The Glenlivet 12, 15, and 18 helped keep everybody warm.
Mr Tanaka, a cigar collector from Japan , successfully bid for the three most expensive Lots, including an Elie Bleu humidor with Fidel's Castro's signature and three gold Cuban pesos on its lid, containing 150 specially banded Cuban cigars, which went for £27,000.
He also set a new world auction record of £1,293 per cigar – for a box of ten very rare Dunhill Selection no.779 Romeos.
Mr Tanaka's third and most generous bid was for a unique humidor containing 108 specially banded Romeo y Julieta Churchill Havanas. The humidor was signed by the late Don Alejandro Robaina, and Jennie Churchill - whose great-grandfather was born on 30 November 1874, 146 years ago to the day of our auction. All of the £18,000 Mr Tanaka donated will be going to The Prostate Cancer Charity, and Action Against Hunger.
Words by: James Leavey Photos by: Tillmann U. Pretscher, Photographer, Hamburg
The Montague’s new al fresco Cigar Terrace is one of the premier cigar havens in Bloomsbury. Each evening, at 5pm the Terrace is transformed into a gorgeous Cigar Lounge, featuring a superb range of cocktails and brandies and bar snacks but more importantly a humidor stocked with a wide selection of cigars ranging from Romeo Y Julieta Petit Coronas and Romeo Y Julieta Churchill, right up to a magnificent Cohiba Siglo VI.
The outdoor wood-deck overlooking the secluded private gardens of the Bedford Estates is the ideal setting to enjoy your cigar. It offers comfortable seating, ample heating and lighting, a full range of fine accessories, books about cigars in our library and regular cigar tastings.
With the price of cigars continually on the up you might want to store them somewhere with style, perhaps a model of the Partagas factory would suit. This designer humidor is one in a series that includes the El Laguito Cohiba Humidor by Linley modeled on Laquito cigar factory.
Celebrate the World Cup with a halftime cigar says Fox's on St James
The Langham hotel on Portland Place, London is opening a new Cigar Garden for the summer.
The new exterior courtyard garden will open on Monday 14th June, for the start of Royal Ascot week and run through to the August bank holiday and feature classic summer beverages, sharing platters and for the cigar aficionado, a selected range of cigars from Hunters & Frankau and Davidoff.
There will also be an adjacent indoor lounge and bar, ideal for guests wishing to watch the summer sporting events on a large flat screen plasma television, such as the FIFA World Cup or the Wimbledon tennis finals.
A cigar that once belonged to Winston Churchill sold in a Christies Auction 2nd June 2010 for £2125. The unsmoked Havana cigar dates from 1963, when it was given by Churchill to a fellow diner at the Hotel de Paris in Monte. A further two Churchill auctions will take place, in New York on 3 December and in London, summer 2011
A cigar roller will be visiting the Segar and Snuff parlour in London's Covent Garden 28th and 29th November.
Fidel Castro stepped down as Cuban President, Mayor Boris Johnson was questioned by the police over a red leather cigar case and the smoking ban was extended to the Netherlands
Read more 2008 news.
The big news in 2007 was the introduction of the smoking ban, this inspired a few bars to create tobacco flavoured cocktails and Liam Mullone "pimped" a hearse so that he could drive around smoking in style.
Several cigars were launched in 2007 including the Cohiba Maduro 5 range which was premiered at the summer cigar garden party, the Montichristo Petit Edmundo and the limited editions Hoyo De Monterey Regalos and Romeo Y Julieta Escudos.
The cigar shop in Copenhagen Airport was refitted and following the Forest dinner the Savoy Hotel closed for its refurbishment.
Read more 2007 news.
2006 was the 40th anniversary of Cohiba, Fidel Castro and Avo Uvezian both celebrated their 80th Birthdays and 100th Anniversary of the birth of Zino Davidoff. Loaded Magazine celebrated that with a photoshoot of Sophie Howard with a range of cigars.
Films included X-Men 2 and Thank You For Smoking and events included cigar rolling, cigar master classes and a cigar collectables auction.
The low points of 2006 were the inclusion of cigar clubs in the smoking ban that will start in 2007 and Thomas the cat and Mel Smith were banned from smoking cigars.
Things to buy included: chocolate cigars, A 9-Carat Gold Cigar Box, Aged Cigars, a Cigar Number plate, a cigar lady calendar and tobacco based perfume.
Read more 2006 news.
The highlights of 2005 were new cigars, cheaper flights to cuba, cigar rolling in London and a play at the National Theatre. Not so jolly was the bills being discussed in Parliment to ban cigar tasting in UK cigar shops. Out travel report managed a couple of reports for Switzerland and for Denmark but luckily not to the places that were ravaged by hurricanes.
Read more 2005 news2004 was a busy year for the cigar business with the introduction of several new large cigars and the opening of two cigar bars. Hurricane Ivan narrowly missed Cuba and Hell Boy and Che Guevarain smoked on the silver screen.
Read more 2004 news.
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