My appreciation for products that require the most stringent processes of manufacture, diligent attention to detail, and meticulous displays of craftsmanship has led me on a personal journey through time and tasting notes. From the age of the very first conquistadors right up until recent times, the behaviours of those people who found themselves enamored with the wonderful varieties of tobacco and fine spirits the world has to offer have seemingly followed similar patterns. Since the discovery of Tobacco Negro Cubano at Bariay in 1492 and the production of ‘Sowans’ or ‘Swats,’ as the Scottish called the potent mash of fermented malted barley and water in the late 1600s, human beings have been on a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs in the quest to capture lightning in a bottle, so to speak. From snuff to pipes, to cigarettes to cigars, from ‘Sowans/Swats’ to all the different variations of Whisky that we now know, the evolution of tobacco and fine distilled spirits has brought us to the present day, where I find myself a student of process and a journeyman of palate refinement.

Ten days ago, I began my tenure as an employee of the world-renowned tobacco and fine spirit specialist C.Gars Ltd, now an integral part of the Dominique London imprint, Dominique Group LTD. I have spent this ten-day stretch visiting and learning about the intricacies of each C.Gars location within the ‘Southern Shores’ region of the country. A beautiful, eye-opening experience has given me insight into this very well-oiled machine, known the world over for its awesome inventory of a vast range of products, its unrivaled, sophisticated mail order system, its unbeatable prices, and, most importantly, its incomparable level of personal service. I can’t quite yet figure out which one was the heart and which was the brain between the warehouses at the London Office and Norfolk, but both are as precious to the company as those two vital organs are to the body. So too are the team members in both locations; if not for their diligent efforts, I could scarcely say there would be as much appreciation for the brand as there is amongst the consumer and enthusiasts alike.

My first two enjoyable days were spent amongst the London team at the company’s flagship store on St. James’s Street, around the corner from Jermyn Street, the epicenter of men’s formal fashion wear and Gentleman’s culture, and in the vicinity of many private members’ clubs. Beset with a very impressive, well-stocked humidor, an array of glass cabinets decorated with a plethora of fine spirits, and an intimate, curated sanctuary for a sampling lounge, this store provides all the essential amenities expected of the quintessential high-end cigar merchant. The on-hand cigar and whisky experts serve at the behest of their honorable patrons and distinguished guests, catering to their need for the finest products coupled with the highest quality of personal service. The interactions between sales consultants and customers are always sincere, brief, yet stimulating. It’s a place where aficionados and connoisseurs come to engage in a conversation spoken in a language exclusive to those who know it. It’s also a place where the less-seasoned enthusiast can kindle the flames of curiosity.

The next two days were spent admiring the exquisite selection of whisky and cigars embellishing the humidor and display cabinets at C.Gars Lime Street branch. There is something very endearing about the cobbled streets and meandering alleyways intermingled within the sophisticated landscape adorned with high-rise office buildings, the home of London’s prestigious business elite. Lime Street serves as a one-stop shop for the contemporary whisky connoisseur, popping in quickly during their lunch break or after work to pick up a bottle for their father’s birthday or their friend’s wedding on the weekend. A regular haunt for young anoraks driven by the whisky hype, in search of the rarest blends and bottles from specific regions as well as brand names that are hard to come by, this location is a favorite for tourists from East Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific areas, where they are rapidly becoming the world’s largest consumers of whisky. While not dominating global consumption by volume in the same way, Asian markets, particularly in China, also show massive growth in premium cigar consumption. It’s no wonder then that the company’s own, award-winning Stalla Dhu independent bottling brand is such a big hit with the whisky community. Through the acquisition of special rare and hard-to-find casks, the brand has been able to offer the customer an opportunity to sample offerings from legendary distilleries that, irrespective of the reason, may have had to cease production. The appreciable dedication to Scotch whisky at this branch is amplified by the mural-sized photograph of the company’s Speyside hotel premises, aptly named ‘The Mash Tun,’ which can be found located on the wall of the cigar sampling lounge. During my time at the London city location, I also observed a healthy appetite for both Cuban and New World cigars from the local patrons. At least 50% of the humidor’s contents were accounted for by Cuban household brand names, with the remaining 50% going to well-known and, in some cases, fairly recently established New World brands.

Another unique dynamic to the company is its dedication to the acquiring and purveyance of vintage, rare, and hard-to-find cigars via online auction. As a result, both St. James’s Street and Lime Street boast quite an impressive collection of aged cigars for sale, including pre-embargo releases from Troya, Partagas, Romeo Y Julieta, and Ramon Allones. None of this would be possible without the instrumental duties of the team at the London Office. Products are carefully managed, maintained, and distributed to shop locations under the watchful eye of the company’s logistics expert, who also serves as a voluntary advisor to the Metropolitan Police. Auction material is consolidated and curated by the best person for the job, an expert in Cuban cigars and a Hunters and Frankau recognized ‘Master of Havana Cigars,’ of which there are only 66 worldwide (as of late 2025). The picking team at this location can be compared to a perfectly balanced and harmonious opera chorus, singing in unison and delivering a pitch-perfect performance night after night (in this case, it would be day after day).

After a two-day spell at this location, where I witnessed the efficiency and precision of the mail order team as well as the immense hoard of stock available to its customers, not to mention some of the finest vintage auction pieces I have ever had the pleasure to lay my eyes on, I moved on to the Mayfair branch that carries the name of the tobacconist brand founded in 1817 but later acquired by C.Gars LTD in 2002-2003, known as Turmeaus. Turmeaus is a beautifully quaint, intimate merchant that can be found situated within Mayfair’s elegant Shepherd’s Market vicinity. It embodies the spirit of London’s long-standing romance with the sale of tobacco and fine spirits. Stepping across the threshold of this legendary tobacco specialist is like going back in time to an age where snuff and pipe tobacco were all the rage. It just so happens that both products can be found readily available for purchase on the shelves and in the vintage cabinets of this period-piece setting of a store. If one had the desire to embark on a journey to pipe smoke nirvana, this purveyor of the finest tobacco would be the ideal launch pad. Equipped with all the necessary products and accoutrements, including a wide range of tinned, loose, aromatic, and natural blends of pipe tobacco, Turmeaus of Mayfair reigns as the pinnacle destination of its kind. Well-stocked and well-manned by the most competent experts in their field, you can rest assured that all your demands related to the subject of pipes, cigars, cigarettes, and fine spirits will be met—and then some. As a novice to the culture, I quickly became enchanted by the practice of smoking a pipe, enamored by the elegance, tradition, and aesthetics that take one's mind back to the days of Sherlock Holmes, the extraordinarily brilliant and insightful consulting detective who was known to keep a pipe in the same way a distinguished knight kept his sword in the days of old.

As irony would have it, my next two days saw me venturing to the eastern coast of the country to the company’s Norfolk warehouse at Great Yarmouth, where I found out that at one time, the pipe tobacco specialist there had devised an interesting Sherlock Holmes-themed sampler pack. In this incentivised initiative, the customer had the opportunity to earn loyalty points for their online purchase account by guessing the Sherlock Holmes-themed names of the blends within the pack, with 100 points awarded for every correct guess out of the three choices of tobacco. It was while I was in Norfolk, warmly embraced by the tight-knit team there, that I was made privy to the process of ‘booking on,’ where the diligent staff member who innovated a foolproof process of selecting the appropriate courier for each specific order gave me a first-hand look at why C.Gars makes very few, if any, errors when it comes to ensuring the mail-order system operates without a hitch, and customers receive their orders intact and in a timely manner. I had a chance to meet the web team, whose expertise in the field of web design and social media management is the reason behind the company’s long-standing, user-friendly, customer-engaging online presence. I also had the pleasure of meeting Olly, or ‘Ozzie,’ as the well-known Jimmy McGhee refers to him (Jimmy seems to have a nickname for everyone; I guess this is a privilege that comes with being the person responsible for devising the ‘Masters of Havana’ distinction while at Hunters and Frankau, a coveted qualification in the field of cigar experts and sommeliers within the industry). It was he (Olly, not Jimmy) who tasked me with this assignment of documenting my experience over the last ten days, I was pleased to put my pen to paper, as it were (or shall I say, fingers to keyboard), as an avid journalist and recorder of personal experiences through prose, poetry, and the occasional song verse. One might say the opportunity was met with enthusiasm, and a job that was right up my street.

Alas, I must bid you adieu and leave you, my most gracious and esteemed online audience, as I prepare to embark on my next adventure, a tour of the C.Gars Northern shore outlets. To the masters of the universe and mere mortals alike, keep your spirits poured, your tobacco alight, and the culture of C.Gars LTD alive.

Written by Joseph Okon