Burns Night Herfing

Actually this was a very heavy weeks herfing! Starting off with a Sunday evening herf at Ten Manchester street with friends for dinner drinks and some outstanding Cohiba Behike 52’s which just seem to taste better to me all the time. Ten Manchester street is a delightful cigar friendly boutique hotel that has one of the loveliest cigar terraces and best of all – it’s warm ! Rather important with the lousy cold weather in London this week. Great food, improved service, good wine and scotch list and a well stocked humidor – who could ask for more? Well a little background music for ambience would do no harm, perhaps they will add that at some stage. Anyway this venue is near my office so it’s fast becoming a firm favourite and regular herfing location and it’s nice to bump into friends that I recommended too (Hi Theo!)

Our annual Burns Night herf was rather oversubscribed with around 15 of the regular crowd including Gordon (happy birthday!) Craig, Vimal from Burlington Bertie cigar merchants, Tillman – our photographer from Hamburg, Mark Blount- famous basketball star!, Chris, Mike Mirecki from Cuba Welcome travel, James Leavey to name a few, meeting up at Boisdale Belgravia on Monday evening for smokes on the Terrace and Haggis in the restaurant !… all to the sounds of a piper who somehow always seemed to end up playing right in my ear ! Boisdale was heaving busy as ever and always has a great atmosphere and great service. I went through some regular production Monte 2’s which are currently smoking to perfection.

Tuesday and it was back to Ten Manchester street to meet some friends who had come over from Japan (see photo’s) drinks and smokes on the terrace- this time I was back to Punch Serie D’Oro no.1 UK regional edition and it was the bomb! Incredible blend that will keep improving for years and years.

The Tuesday evening herf was at the lovely Lanesborough Hotel cigar terrace. To be honest it doesn’t get much better in terms of service and comfort – just the best of the best. I love it! 5 friends herfing 2007 Bolivar Belicosos – has to be the best vintage for this cigar.

To cap the week of herfing off – lunch at Boisdale yesterday- perfect. Smokes on the terrace and yes I went back to BHK52’s …..whattttta week!

So some people are still asking me what’s a herf ? well here’s the answer !

Looks like January has more or less flown by and it’s been our best January in history – well done to my Sales Team. Next week I’m off to Scotland to check out our cigar stores and sample some of our latest independent whisky bottling’s in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Next month I’m looking forward to finally choosing a car transport California company and moving into our new modern cigar shop in Liverpool as well as going to Havana for the Festival… it’s going to be a busy month !

Have a smokey weekend

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

Back from Havana

I usually only go to Havana for the February and November Festivals but this year is an exception as a good friend and great cigar aficionado asked me if I could show him around for a few days which was of course my pleasure to do. It was an even greater pleasure as we stayed on his splendid boat instead of the Hotel Nacional where I usually stay and I can tell you it was far better accommodation !

We were lucky to have an excellent driver (thank you Jorge!) and our site seeing included visits to Hemmingway’s house, Floridita, Camra Oscura, Los Jazmines, Robainas plantation, Robaina shop at the Melia

I can’t think of a better place than Havana to smoke the best Havanas ever made which included Partagas 150 and 155th anniversary Habanos 1994 amongst many others- usually matched up with some first rate Robert Graham single malt as well as 1949 Macallan- that was a treat !

The weather was a bit changeable on this my 50th trip to Havana so I’m hoping it improves by trip 51 next month for the XIII Festival del Habanos which I’m looking forward to.

Since I returned, the interest level in the incredible Partagas 165th anniversary humidor seems to have reached frenzy level as they have now sold out in Cuba. I hear someone walked in to Partagas and bought all that were not sold at the November Partagas Festival!

We finally received and have started shipping the latest Orchant Seleccion Havana cigars:

El Rey del Mundo Tainos Orchant Seleccion in slide lid boxes of 25 and singles with the most perfect wrappers and in the best condition you are ever likely to see a Havana cigar in.

Bolivar tubed Royal Coronas Orchant Seleccion to mark the occasion of the Royal wedding in boxes of 10 and singles

My cigars are of course specially double banded Orchant Seleccion and the boxes have numbered inserts. Only 64 and 100 boxes of each will ever be made available. The finest Havanas you will ever smoke…or your money back.

I’m off to Ten Manchester street for a spot of dinner and some good smokes, probably a Por Larranaga Regalias de Londres or two 🙂

Have a great weekend.

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

Annual General Meeting!

The annual General Meeting of Orchant & Wolters Gmbh was held in London last Sunday. The Directors of the Board including myself and Christoph Wolters (that’s the whole board!) started the meeting at Ten Manchester street’s lovely cigar terrace for a spot of lunch and continued the meeting at the American bar in the Stafford Hotel in St James’s which has a delightful cigar friendly terrace. Business was discussed very seriously over a large quantity of BHK 52’s accompanied with ‘Horsenecks’ and ‘Old fashioned’ cocktails 🙂 Plans were made for our continued world domination of the cigar trade 🙂 Needless to say Chrissie and I had a great afternoon.

El Rey Del Mundo Tainos 2001- Orchant Seleccion
Next week I am releasing a limited edition of 64 boxes of English Market Selection, 2001 vintage Tainos, personally selected at Hunters and Frankau and specially double banded Orchant Seleccion. I shall open 2 or three boxes for visitors to my London office so singles will be available as well as full boxes for a limited period of time.

To reserve some of these fine Havanas, simply drop me an email …hurry as 30 boxes are already pre sold !

Bolivar Royal Coronas – Royal Wedding cigars – Orchant Seleccion
Congratulations to William and Kate ! we are so proud of our Royal family and terribly excited for the Royal wedding that this week we are releasing 100 boxes of 10 Bolivar tubed Royal Coronas – Orchant Seleccion. Specially double banded and with Royal Wedding insert.

To reserve some of these fine Royal Wedding Havanas, simply drop me an email or pre order using this dummy secure order link hurry as 50 boxes are already pre sold !

This blog comes to you from sunny Havana where I am enjoying a few days herfing with a good friend and client who is experiencing Havana for the first time and I am relishing my role as official Havana cigar tour guide J we’re smoking our way through vast quantities of El Rey del Mundo Tainos Orchant Seleccion – of course whilst sipping some great 15 year old Cuban rum… more details on my return to Blighty.

Peaceful puffing

Saludos desde La Habana

Mitchell

Back to work!

Happy new year Folks 🙂 and what a pleasure it is to be back to normal after all the Christmas and New Year’s herfing 🙂

My herfing continues this weekend with a little quality control on Cohiba BHK 52’s 😉 recently tipped in one of the cigar mags and with sales going through the roof on these I just have to check that they are as good (or better) than when first released.

Had a great dinner with my cigar twin (non identical but same birthday!) Ranald Macdonald at Boisdale Belgravia last week. Splendid evening chatting about the planned opening of Boisdale in Canary Wharf which will feature one of the finest cigar stores and Terraces in London. We are looking forward to the opening and already planning our next Vintage Cigar Auction.

If you have puffed through your cigars and need to top up the humidor, feast your eyes on some of our soon to be released specials. Hopefully we’ll have the photos up on the website in the next few days (if we haven’t pre sold them all!)

El Rey Del Mundo Tainos 2001- Orchant Seleccion
Next week I am releasing a limited edition of 64 boxes of English Market Selection, 2001 vintage Tainos, personally selected at Hunters and Frankau and specially double banded Orchant Seleccion. I shall open 2 or three boxes for visitors to my London office so singles will be available as well as full boxes for a limited period of time.

To reserve some of these fine Havanas, simply drop me an email

Bolivar Royal Coronas – Royal Wedding cigars – Orchant Seleccion
Congratulations to William and Kate ! we are so proud of our Royal family and terribly excited for the Royal wedding that next week we are releasing 100 boxes of 10 Bolivar tubed Royal Coronas – Orchant Seleccion. Specially double banded and with Royal Wedding insert.

To reserve some of these fine Royal Wedding Havanas, simply drop me an email or pre order using this dummy secure order link http://www.cgarsltd.co.uk/mitchells-special-p-4716.html

Che – 2010 by Orchant Seleccion – Now available
Numbered collector’s edition (only 39 will be made for the 2010 edition)
Hand crafted presentation humidor created by Arlin Liss containing 2 cigars of each vitola – email for details and to reserve your preferred number [email protected] (sorry not available in the UK)

Have a great weekend

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell