Just back from Havana ( again !) ….weather was awful ( well better than London which is not too difficult!) food fairly dire….rum,cigars,and company however were first rate.

Popped over for the weekend for the annual Partagas Festival to celebrate the 13th anniversary of the La Casa del Habano shop at the Partagas factory.

The dinner was at the Hotel Nacional which was handy as that’s where I stay and was really quite an event…loads of specially banded cigars handed out,pretty good food and wine/rum as well as an auction of some special humidors.

I was handed an award and called up on stage three times (!)…still not certain exactly why but it was cool to be photographed next to Valerio Cornale ( Cayman Islands La Casa del Habanos) and Rolf Spring ( Geneva La Casa del Habano,does that man ever smile?!)…of course I was representing Hamburg La Casa del Habanos owned by C.Gars Ltd and my dear friend Christoph Wolters.

Full report and photos to follow as soon as I have got over jet lag and 2000 email backlog )-:

Best

Mitch

…Earls Court…bloody excellent, even if smoking is not allowed,what the hell…enjoyed a BBF straight after the concert in the limo

Well done George….sounded better than ever.

Best

Mitch

Great Monday mini herf at London’s famous Langan’s Brasserie at Stratton Street.
Very busy Monday night.. but no problem smoking cigars. ) it’s a great place to hang out.

Thanks much to our friends Rick and Abi Adams from Oakland who joined us while visiting London.
We had a great evening. Food was delicious, as always, the house red was so so, but the
Chilean Merlot was much better )

Hope to see you soon in our London office for Cuban rum and smokes guys )

Best

Mitch

Floridita in Havana has to be the best place on earth for a Daiquiri….I remember some of the best afternoons of my life with friends in that timewarp bar …a throwback to Hemmingway’s time. Sadly prices are almost at London levels for a cocktail.Hey ho …so much for communism !

I’m fairly certain the bar tenders have been there since the revolution (!) certainly the refrigerators have !

Floridita is of course in London’s Soho now and whilst not a carbon copy of the design of the Havana Floridita…the Daiquiris are damn good. So is the decor and service.In fact the food is excellent too and the ambience…well not bad if you have a table where you have a view of the stage where there is usually an excellent Cuban band.

Bravo for Floridita !….where smoking cigars is of course allowed at the tables.

There is also a La Casa del Habano upstairs that is well stocked and a cool cigar lounge with a Cuban roller rolling fresh cigars.

All this talk has made me thirsty…..I’m off to ask Karyn to make me a Daiquiri ! .goes very well with a Partagas P2 ( did I mention that was my fave cigar of the year?…more than 200 times this year …seriously great smokes!!!)

Have a lovely weekend folks.

Best

Mitchell

Just back from my field trip to my specialist cigars stores in Liverpool and Chester.

Flew from City airport ( very cool) to John Lennon airport ( not so cool!)

Had a splendid evening with friends Rodders and Mano over in Manchester at the Moss Nook award winning restaurant.

International cuisine,excellent wine list,service that I could not fault, comfortable surroundings and great ambience.

Most important,there were no objections to lighting up our Siglo VI’s after the meal.

So bravo for Moss Nook and if you are heading for Manchester it is well worth a visit..

Ringway Road, Moss Nook, Manchester, M22 5NA
Tel: 0161 437 4778

Back to London office on Friday…Michelle is rather pleased with herself as she tells me she has sold out of the wonderful new Cohiba piramides 2006 within 24 hours of being told they would be available by Hunters and Frankau:-)

Hopefully more on the way soon:-)

Best

Mitchell