Hello to you all!

The door has been opened and we have been allowed to see a little bit of light this week. We are usually found with our hands bound to our mouse and keyboard making sure that you all can enjoy a fresh and up-to-date experience when using any of the online services that C.Gars Ltd provide.

So what have we been up to this week? Well of course it was bank holiday Monday so like I said we were set free for the day, starting by giving off smoke signals at the local golf course. Our cigar of choice was the fantastic and brilliantly reviewed Montecristo No. 4, it started off a little harsh but as it burnt down the flavours really developed and let off those superb aromas that we all know and love from the Montecristo family. After all the balls had either been lost or putted we retired for a quick dram of the 12 year old Glenfiddich. I must say this is one of my favourite whiskies for an early drink as it is just so easy on the lips!

Our Facebook is really starting to blossom, we are always updating it with plenty of things that should interest you! This week, while having a browse around on the internet, I stumbled on a fantastic vintage cigar poster from Montecristo, I’ve posted it to the Facebook wall for you all to see. If only we were still allowed to advertise in this way…

Auction time draws near and we are well under way now with preparations for the July cigar auction that will be held at the fine location of Boisdale, Canary Wharf. We have over 300 entered lots of vintage cigars such as Pre-embargo, Davidoff and Ex Dunhill so there may be a chance to grab a bargain when the gavel wielding Brian Ebbesen, our director of Cigar Auctions, takes the stage. The online Auction catalogue will be ready and complete with images within the month so you can browse at your leisure and also view the lots of our previous successful auctions here.

At the end of this month on the 31st May, the Hunters & Frankau Summer cigar party will be hosted at Middleton Garden at the Langham. The event will also see the launch of the Punch Medallo de Oro (Here’s hoping it will be as good as the 2008 Regional!) If you can make it you should definitely try to do so. Click here for more details.

In a month’s time Mrs Dilia Hernandez Ortiz of the H. Upmann factory will be rolling fresh Havana cigars before your very eyes. Come on in to our London offices between Monday 11th June – Friday 15th June as she will be in all week rolling delicious and fresh cigars of multiple sizes (plenty of Robusto’s to be had though!). Make sure you are subscribed to our UK newsletter so you can keep up with events like this in their full detail and as ever we can be contacted via sales@cgarsltd.co.uk if you have any question or queries.

The weather is slowly turning more favourable for a cigar smoker but typical England weather consistency (or lack of) will keep us guessing on whether we should light up outside.

Have a magnificent weekend, please do let us know if there is any way we can improve your online shopping experience!

James and David
Web department of C.Gars Ltd

Talking of good Havanas, we’ll be smoking some of the finest English Market Selection Havanas at Hunters & Frankau’s Summer Cigar Party on May 31^st – check out the details on this PDF link and book up soon as this event usually sells out very very fast! The new UK regional edition Punch is expected to be released at the event and as Punch is one of my favourite brands (I was rather involved with the choice of the Punch Serie D’Oro no.1 UK regional) I am hoping that the latest exclusive UK regional will be as good if not better.

Our Cigar Auction catalogue is now in the closing stages and I am guessing there are around 300 Lots entered of mature, vintage. Pre embargo, Davidoff, Dunhill and other great cigars. Many of the entries have extremely low reserves and estimates so there could well be some bargains to be had on July 2^nd .

Auction catalogue will be in print and online 6 weeks before the event and once again our Director of Cigar Auctions Brian Ebbesen (ex Christies) will be wielding the gavel at Boisdale Canary Wharf.

If you would like to see details of our past 3 years of Cigar auctions checkout the auction website.

Viewings available as usual at our London offices and pre auction herf at Ten Manchester street on the 1^st July. If you would like to be on our Auction mailing list drop me an email sales@cgarsltd.co.uk

Another new cigars smoking venue opening soon at the Millennium Hotel – check out details here. Looking forward to seeing plenty of cigar smokers at the opening evening.

Weather is still a bit of a nightmare in London so outdoor smoking is not much fun yet but if you are near Mayfair you can always pop in to Turmeaus cigar shop in Shepherd Market to sample a cigar or two in our sampling room and be assured a warm welcome.

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

A serious word or two on the correct storage of Havana cigars…

Imagine opening that special box of rare very expensive fine cigars that you have been saving for a special occasion only to find they have fallen victim to the dreaded tobacco weevil… and are now riddled with tiny holes.

Some desperate aficionados may hope that by smoking those ruined cigars they’ll kill the nasty little buggers.

If the solution was only that simple, revenge would be sweet.

Unfortunately, such a terrible infestation is all too common these days for the tobacco weevil or beetle is rife in the global tobacco industry.

Infestation generally lasts between 45 and 90 days, depending on how your cigars are stored, and will likely spread to other boxes in your collection.

When a tobacco weevil penetrates a cigar it lays eggs, the larvae stage of which usually lasts between five and ten weeks.  The problem then is that these larvae like to burrow through tobacco, which they eat and excrete, causing irreparable damage.

They then reach the pupae stage, during which they lie deceptively dormant. If allowed to reach adult stage, which lasts a month or so, they usually mate  – and the whole dreadful cycle starts again.

So what can you do?

The most important thing is to ONLY buy cigars from reputable, knowledgeable and expert cigar specialists, such as C.Gars Ltd.

For we can assure you that NONE of the millions of fine cigars we have sold for almost twenty years have ever been infested by the tobacco weevil.

All of our cigars are checked carefully and stored in the proper conditions.

But perhaps you purchased a box of cigars from a less reliable supplier.

Even worse, you laid out good money for some pirated cigars sold on the streets of Havana.

Or you bought a box from someone who recently returned from a trip to Cuba or the Dominican Republic or another cigar producing countries and can’t remember where they bought those cigars (which they would love to sell to you, for a bargain price).

If so, beware, for fake Havanas and other fake cigar brands are more often than not the primary source of tobacco weevil infestation.

And such infestation is made even worse by lazy storage, which vastly increases the chances of the spreading of the problem.

How to check your cigars for weevil infestation

If you think you have a problem, first check the paper hinge of the box your cigars come in for a deposit of fine brown dust – rather than the usual flecks of tobacco you’d normally find in an uninfected box.

Then take out a cigar and place it on a sheet of plain white paper.  Tap the foot of the cigar which may then emit a shower of dust from inside the cigar – and enable you to see where the tobacco weevil penetrated.

Destroy that dust by burning it in an ashtray.

If you see signs of holes created by weevil infestation, remove all the cigars from the box and isolate them in a sealable clear plastic bag.

Don’t spray those cigars with  insecticide for that will only compound the problem and make them impossible to smoke.

Better to place the entire bag carefully in your deep freeze, which should kill the weevil in about 4-5 days.

You can then transfer that unopened bag of cigars to the main part of your fridge.  Once they have thawed out, bring them back to room temperature.

If you want to be extra-careful, place them in a humidor away from any other cigars.

Those previously frozen cigars may not taste as good as they would have before the tobacco weevil got at them, but at least you won’t have to throw them away.

However, if you are really concerned about the infestation and don’t want to take any chances, then you should destroy the infected box.

By the way, as a rule you should never store cigars in a freezer or non-freezer section of a fridge.

Fine cigars need to be stored in carefully controlled low temperatures. 16 degrees C to 18 degrees C is the best range in which to store cigars.  If the temperature rises above 21 degrees C, weevils, a.k.a. lasioderma serricone, thrive.

If you need any more advice about storing cigars, or dealing with an infested box, please do not hesitate to contact the Help Desk at C.Gars Ltd.

Meanwhile, be careful out there and have a great weekend!

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

All of our retail shops should have these delicious cigars in stock now but be warned they are selling like crazy. This is an old style Bolivar blend: bold and complex, full flavour rustic and earthy – not for the novice but the experienced cigar smoker will greatly appreciate the blend.

Danny from Turmeaus cigar shop Mayfair was delighted to welcome Ignacio Balmaseda, Cuban Corporate Director, Hunters & Frankau and Ana Lopez, Director of Marketing, Habanos S.A. last Saturday and I’ll be heading over there on Friday morning for a few hours serious herfing as we test out the Bolivar Britanicas matched up with some of our independent bottlings of Robert Graham single malt whisky.

Had a bit of an office herf last night again with Boli Brits paired up with some great Robert Graham Ltd single malt and the consensus was that the 1995 Clyenlish hit the spot best of all <hic>

Fabulous herf planned for May Bank Holiday at The Prince of Wales in Moseley Birmingham which I’m looking forward to attending and doing an informal QA on vintage Havanas. The herf starts at 3pm and you can see full details here.

Countdown till the next cigar auction on July 2^nd and we expect to have the catalogue online and in print as usual around 6 weeks before the event. Should be a great evening with plenty of smokes and drinks and the best of company.

Hunters and Frankau have announced that their Summer Cigar Party will be held at the Langham Hilton on the 31^st May and the UK regional Punch Gold Medal is expected to be introduced at the party. Good timing as I head to New York the next morning for a week of herfing fabulous Fuente cigars! Always a great evening for cigar smokers and always sold out fast so book soon to avoid disappointment.

Off to Dublin on Sunday to herf at The Decent Cigar Emporium on Grafton street and then heading to Glasgow and Edinburgh next Wednesday to sample some of our exclusive single malts.

It’s a tough job…

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

Stocks are expected to arrive very early next week and we will be shipping immediately thereafter.

I tested out the blend on the new Bolivar last month in Havana at the first tasting organized at the annual Festival del Habanos and I truly thought that this cigar was first rate.

The size is great at 5 3/8″ length and 48 ring gauge, the wrappers are smooth and dark colorado maduro and the flavour was full with hints of sweetness and spice throughout. Not one for the novice but the experienced cigar smoker will enjoy this cigar immensely.

Available at pre-release prices this week as follows:

Singles

Box of 10

Please order early as there has been huge demand for this cigar and there will be limited allocations. As ever we guarantee best prices in the UK.

I received this email from a good friend and long-time client of C.Gars Ltd and thought I would share it with my blog readers…

This photo was taken on Saturday 24th March after I’d just popped into the Mayfair Turmeaus shop to pick up a sampler I’d ordered. 

It was an amazingly sunny day with just a hint of haze to it.  Whilst in the shop I couldn’t resist picking up a Partagas No2.  I fired it up in the street outside the shop and me and Mrs B started to walk towards Green Park. 

Not very far down White Horse Street, Mrs B (an avid photographer) told me to stand across the road in a doorway as she said the light coming down the street was really impressive and a good opportunity to get a ‘candid’ cigar smoking moment shot. 

Of course, I obliged!  When I’m ‘fired up’ I don’t need much persuasion to pose with my smokey friend!

The magic of the moment was when a chap passed by and turned back to say, ‘That cigar smells excellent.’  I asked him if he smoked cigars but he told me he didn’t, although, he loved the look of the Turmeaus shop where I told him I’d bought the cigar. 

I did the decent thing and offered him a puff on this fine cigar and, to my surprise, he duly accepted.  He drew on it like he’d been smoking them all his life, taking in a good gulp of smoke, and then letting it ease out and up into the air. He took another puff and passed it back to me.

We shook hands and he went on his way saying he would check out the shop some time.

My point is, in my humble opinion, Cigar Smokers (and those who aspire to become one) are some of the nicest people you will ever meet (ok, maybe Al Capone might me an exception – I’m sure he was nice to his mother!), and a fine cigar can bring together complete strangers to share a sublime moment.

Ciao!

Mark B

The real Boss of C.Gars Ltd – Michelle (!)  our General Manager is finally back from her sunny cruise vacation tomorrow – thank goodness! So I’ll be back to my travelling and herfing routine from next week!

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

Our best seller continues to be the Montecristo no.4 – we literally ship stacks of boxes every day. Entry level Guantanamera Cuban cigars are very popular for a cheapie smoke and perfect for the novice.

I feel like I have been waiting forever for the new UK regional edition Bolivar Britanicas but I am cautiously optimistic that they will be released round about mid-April which would bring great relief as we have 100’s of back orders for these superb new Havanas. The shape is cool (similar to the old Romeo Celestiales Finos) but 2 up on the ring gauge, the blend is exquisite and the wrappers are simply… perfect (at least on the 2 that I tried out in Havana for the first tasting!) so we have to be a little bit patient but it will be worth the wait.

Montecristo Gran Reserva have received unprecedented demand for a new cigar and are more or less sold out at this time, well at least at our London stores, although you may well still find them in our Liverpool and Chester Turmeaus cigar shops. We are hoping to receive more stocks from Hunters and Frankau in the near future.

Cohiba 1966 has proved to be our best-selling limited edition of all time. These full bodied smokes will mature and improve for many years. They are available at this time at all of our cigar shops throughout the country but selling out fast.

Last chance I’m afraid to get some Sancho Panza Belicosos Orchant Seleccion in your humidor. This full flavour and full strength cigar is perfectly matured from 2008 and a delight to smoke. More for the experienced cigar smoker in all honesty and whilst the brand is not terribly popular these days, this is a shining example of how a Sancho should be blended.

I spent the evening herfing at the beautiful cigar terrace at the Lanesborough on Tuesday, packed to capacity as usual with a big crowd of cigar smokers. Despite the rain it’s great to have a sheltered terrace to enjoy late night smokes.

New stocks of Fuente have arrived and I have been genuinely surprised at how popular these cigars are now. I’m not just saying that because we are the importers – we literally can’t keep up with the demand for many of the vitolas, especially Reserva d ’Chateau which is selling like crazy perhaps due to the presentation which is very cool.

So, I’m looking forward to the 4 day Easter weekend and kicking back with some of my current favourite smokes including Monte Edmundo, Bolivar Belicosos and Flor de Cano short robusto to mention a few that are smoking to perfection.

If you are interested in a splendid single malt to go with a good cigar you simply have to try our Robert Graham exclusive Benrinnes 1988 it really matches up very well indeed.

If you need a last minute cigar and missed the postal shut off, our shops in West Hampstead and Mayfair will be open on Saturday and have a huge range. Our Robert Graham shops in Scotland are open over the weekend too

Have a smokey Easter weekend

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

If you are visiting Paris La Civette is a must for the cigar aficionado. Great range of singles and boxes as well as first class service.

You can find them at :

157 rue St Honoré
75001 Paris
Area: Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre

Tuesday I zoomed over to our La Casa del Habano in Hamburg to catch up with Christoph Wolters and herf my way through a load of his stock. Our store not only has an enormous range of Havanas and smokers accessories but we also have a breath-taking selection of rum including most of the fabulous Cuban rum. Our sampling room is a must for the Cuban cigar and rum lover, in fact you may never want to leave!. You can find our gorgeous Hamburg cigar store at:

La Casa del Habano Hamburg
Orchant & Wolters GmbH
Burchardstrasse 15
Chilehaus C
20095 Hamburg

Back to the office for the rest of the week (plus a few visits to our Mayfair and West Hampstead shops in between of course) and I’m getting very excited for the launch of the UK regional Bolivar Britanicas  which are now expected in April ( sooner the better!) we have a little competition going with our sales Team to prove that we can make this the fastest selling UK regional ever :) Just 3000 numbered boxes and the minute they are available we will be selling and shipping them 24/7.

Our mail order division and retail shops have sold huge quantities of UK regionals and it can only be for one reason: the blends are quite superb. Let’s face it the UK is not famous for having the cheapest cigars in the world but we always seem to have the best IMHO. Our esteemed importers Hunters and Frankau are now out of stock of all UK regionals with the exception of El Rey del Mundo Choix De L’Epoque  a most delicious day time smoke. So… when our warehouse stocks are gone on the other UK regionals, I’m afraid there are no more. See the range here >>>

Auction season is soon approaching and we have already photographed almost 150 entries. Catalogue will be online and in print as usual around 6 weeks before the event. More details on the auction website This will be our 6^th Vintage Cigar Auction over the last 3 years and as usual Brian Ebbesen our Director of auctions will be taking the podium and knocking down some interesting smokes and a few bargains for some lucky winning bidders.

Pleased to see many of our clients heeded my advice about stocking up now before the budget increases kick in as prices will indeed be going up on the 1^st April ( not bad for an April Fool’s joke…sadly!)

2 more of my Team are at Hunters & Frankau Cigar School this week. Ian from Turmeaus Liverpool and Danny from Alfie Turmeaus – Mayfair. That means just about all of our sales Team retail and mail order have attended Cigar School and by my reckoning that gives me more trained specialists than anyone else in the UK… by a mile

So I’m wrapping up today with a Punch Serie D’Oro no.1  paired up with some fabulous Robert Graham  single malt whisky – Auchentoshan 1991  perfect finish to the day

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

Duty on all tobacco products to rise by 5% above inflation from 18:00 on the 21/03/12 – You may think that it doesn’t sound like much but when you factor in that many of the cigar importers absorbed industry price increases last year and are unlikely to do so again this year, I think that the overall increase is likely to be HUGE.

Perhaps the reality will look like this: 5% duty increase plus 3.4% inflation, plus industry price increase and of course plus 20% VAT on the lot. We won’t know how much that will total to until we receive the updates from the various importers but it looks like 10-15% overall to me which for an already expensive market is fairly hefty.

No change to existing plans on alcohol duty – meaning the duty will rise 2% above the rate of inflation – so not quite as awful for our single malt whisky customers.

The short term good news is that we will hold our mail order prices for as long as our previous stocks last but the sound advice is stock up soon before the price increases filter through.

Our retail shops will also hold their Havana cigar prices until the end of this month and having just come back from a trip to Turmeaus cigar shops in Liverpool and Chester I can confirm that stock levels are as always up to the ceiling but… sales are brisk so take advantage of pre-budget prices whilst you can.

Auction time is getting closer and Cigar Journal gave us a nice write up HERE. Drop me an email for advice if you are a prospective buyer or seller.

UK regionals editions are in very small supply now with the last of all available now except for reasonable stocks of Juan Lopez Seleccion Suprema and El Rey del Mundo Choix de L’Epoque. See the full range HERE.

Last few cabinets of Punch Orchant Seleccion no.11 now released and available although our Mayfair shop seems to be selling more of these than anything else this week! If you fancy an awesome ‘anytime robusto’ go for the Bolivar Royal Corona Orchant Seleccion – dark wrappers and quite delicious. See the full range HERE.

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

We tested three of them (Rare Irish Whiskey/Fourth Centennial Limited Edition/Single Malt) paired up with Punch Orchant Seleccion no.11, Bolivar Royal Coronas Orchant Seleccion and finally Partagas Petit Coronas 1998 vintage and had a jolly <hic> good time. Seriously they paired up really well. Whilst I am a single malt Scotch drinker I have to say the Irish whisky was a great change of pace and worked very well with all three Havanas.

Continuing our sampling sessions for this week we enjoyed a fabulous evening of dinner, drinks and smokes with 16 avid cigars smokers (including a lady smoker!) at Boisdale Belgravia. Puffing our way through the same 3 cigars above which have all been added to my rotation as they are consistently excellent smokes. A few of us went on to the Lanesborough for a nightcap of Taittinger Rose and a one for the road smoke to finish off a great evening. If you would like to be put on our herf invitation list drop me a line or subscribe to my newsletter.

Busy week ahead with Mother’s day on Sunday and champagne and choc sales at Robert Graham shops going like crazy. Of course I shall be taking my Mother out for dinner on Sunday and then back to my Parents for a herf with my Father :)

Our Mayfair cigar shop is now open late nights till 8pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday as the mild weather is bringing out all the smokers in Shepherd Market – and if the weather changes you can always smoke a cigar or two in the sampling room of Alfie Turmeaus cigar shop. Pop in and you are assured a warm welcome from Lucia and Danny and the complimentary bar is now fully stocked with our fabulous and exclusive range of Robert Graham single Malt whiskies. 

The budget is coming up next week and no doubt the chancellor will not miss the opportunity to clobber the cigar smoker. Stock up before prices increase! We’ll try and keep our prices down for as long as we can as we hold massive stocks but it’s best to order early and save money.

Still no confirmed release date for the superb UK regional Bolivar Britanicas but we are ever hopeful it may still be this month. The interest in this cigar is HUGE! I smoked them at the first tasting in Havana at the Festival a few weeks ago and can’t wait for them to come out. Till they do, I can highly recommend my Bolivar Royal Coronas Orchant Seleccion sweet and full flavoured but complex and medium strength. This robusto is a great ‘anytime’ smoke.

Auction in July is slowly creeping up and we are getting some interesting entries dropped into our offices every week. Should be the usual exciting C.Gars Ltd event :) http://www.cigarauctions.co.uk/

I’ll be visiting our cigar stores in Chester and Liverpool on Monday and Tuesday and looking forward to sampling sessions with some of the regular customers-  (yes we can legally sample Havanas in our stores!)

Have a great weekend

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

I wish I could say when the new UK regional Bolivar Britanicas will be released but at this stage my best guess is sometime late this month. I smoked 2 of these fabulous cigars in Havana and this is sure to be a hit with many of my clients who have a fairly sophisticated palate as the blend is bold and complex. Measuring in at 5 3/8” length and 48 ring gauge with a rich colorado maduro wrapper. Presented in wooden boxes of 10 and ready to smoke straight out of the box.

So for the Bolivar lovers out there who can’t wait for the new Britanicas the good news is that we are releasing today 100 boxes of Bolivar Royal Coronas Orchant Seleccion from July 2009. Selected for their perfect condition, wrapper and blend and presented with the distinct Orchant Seleccion banding and box labels. Medium strength and medium flavour, earthy and sweet with a cool clear draw. Singles here and boxes of 10 here.

We have had such great regional editions in the UK with superb blend integrity and great sizes and shapes too. See them all on this link.

To celebrate our wonderful EMS UK exclusives the first 25 blog readers that email or call in with an order can have one of these fabulous sampler packs containing 6 different UK regionals complete with an Orchant Seleccion Palio cigar cutter and free shipping.

Our fabulous UK regionals in a sampler including a Palio cutter at an unbeatable price

1 each…

-Punch Serie D’Oro no.1
-La Flor de Cano short robusto
-Juan Lopez Seleccion Suprema
-Por Larranaga Regalias de Londres
-La Gloria Cubana Gloriosos
-El Rey del Mundo Choix de L’Epoque

Palio cigar cutter

…all for £99 including FREE shipping!!

Call me on 07000 088 088 or email me at sales@cgarsltd.co.uk

And for our whisky lovers the latest NEWS… :) :

To The Ends of Earth Benrinnes 23 year old – 2nd edition £85 reduced to £75 – just mention ‘Mitchells blog ‘ in comments section of order form or when calling your order in.

Dancing Stag Tobermory £44.95 reduced to £39.95 – just mention ‘Mitchells blog ‘ in comments section of order form or when calling your order in.

We have two new releases in our range; The first is an  outstanding Dancing Stag 22 year Old Bowmore 46abv a sophisticated, beautiful fruit and elegant finish, available in Store now and soon online for just £85… first  25 orders will get a free miniature of our gold medal award winner 17 year Old Speyside.

The Other is our own Ailein Mor a delightful well balanced honeyed fruity 10 year old Highland Malt  a t an introductory price of just £32 for one month only.

Coming soon… Customers can purchase a customised small cask of Vatted Malt to their own preferred taste… Ideal gift for the person that has everything

Back to Havana cigars and Montecristo Gran Reserva are now available from C.Gars Ltd as well as Turmeaus shops in Mayfair and  Chester and Robert Graham shops in West Hampstead and Rose street Edinburgh

Have a smokey weekend.

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell