Montecristo Gran Reserva

Looks like I brought the good weather back from my vacation in Israel last week as London is unseasonably lovely and warm… and perfect for outdoor cigar smoking of course 🙂

I had a fabulous week of herfing with my Father and enjoying our old favourites: Monte 2’s, BBF’s and PSD4’s as well as a few treats (Davidoff Chateau Latour and Dunhill Mojito)

My trip back started in style as the duty free in Tel Aviv had a fabulous cigar shop with a smoking lounge! So there I was herfing the Israeli regional edition Ramon Allones petit robusto and drinking a single malt at 8 in the morning (the flight went very smoothly for me at least!)

Back to London and that old tough routine which included a herf at the Lanesborough where a few friends and I got well stuck into the new Montecristo Gran Reserva 🙂 can’t even print the prices on the website as we are so competitive and as ever guarantee that our prices will always be the best in the UK. These cigars are Monte 2’s with a supercharger! Deep and complex, sweet and smooth from the first to the last puff. Perfect construction  and very good smooth wrapper (shades from colorado claro to colorado maduro) only 5000 cabinet made and selling like crazy as expected.

Available by mail order as usual and also now rolling out to our retail cigars shops too with Mayfair the first to get them.

Our humidor is full to capacity with auction cigars as they arriving daily for our July 2nd auction at Boisdale Canary Wharf. Auction catalogue due out Mid May and there should be some great bargains potentially available. From Davidoff to Dunhill, pre embargo. Limited editions aged and mature Havanas. Always an exciting event.

I have selected a great new sampler made up of Havana cigars matured from 2007/2008. If you buy them separately they would cost around £140 but in our readymade sampler pack they are a bit of a steal at just £99 Inc VAT and delivery 🙂 so there you go… C.Gars Ltd still the biggest and best in the UK cigar trade (allegedly!)

-Partagas
Lusitania
-H Upmann Magnum
46
-H Upmann Magnum
50
-Cohiba Maduro
Genios
-Cohiba Maduro
Magicos
-Ramon Allones specially
Selected
-Hoyo Epicure
no.1
-Montecristo no.2

8 of the finest Havana cigars – well matured and ready for smoking

Drop me an email to order or to request a secure order link – only 50 sampler packs available so order early to avoid disappointment [email protected]

Off to Havana next week for the annual Festival del Habanos. Looking forward to meeting up with old friends and making some new friends too. I am massively excited about the first tasting of the UK Regional 2102 Bolivar next Friday and hoping it’s as good as expected. Planned for release in March from our importers Hunters and Frankau.

The Gala dinner will feature the next Gran Reserva which will be  Romeo churchill which is an interesting choice that I can’t wait to try.

I have commissioned some very special ceramic jars in Havana and I’m hoping that they will be ready for me to collect next week. I will be offering some of these complete with some of my Seleccion Orchant Havana cigars. Drop me an email if you would like details.

Have a smokey
weekend.

Peaceful
puffing

Mitchell

Snow joke!


So the weather in London can’t quite make its mind up this week but it looks like more snow on the way. If it’s as bad as the last two years and I can’t get to the office (goodness knows my sports car is useless on icy roads) I may decide to do a sort of Desert Island Discs or should I say Snow Stranded Cigars
!

I came up with this list to stash in the home humidor to last me through 🙂

1. Bolivar Belicosos – I can smoke these any time of day


2. Montecristo no.2 – My long standing favourite cigar that has been exceptional quality over the last few years


3. Punch Orchant Seleccion no.11 – Simply delicious


4. Juan Lopez Seleccion Suprema – Had to have a UK regional in the list as they are such great Havanas



5. Partagas Serie D no.4 – Had to have a robusto in the list of course


Now that would cover the flavour and strength profiles that I love but I would also need a few libations to match up so delving into the Robert Graham Ltd range it would have to be :

1. Allt-Bhainne 1997 – Delicious when paired up with the Bolivar or Punch

2. Benrinnes 1998 – Perfect with the Montecristo  and Juan Lopez

3. Glenallachie – Outstanding with just about any good Havana!

So that would be me set up nicely… as long as my Palio stays good and sharp!

Spent a little time herfing in our Mayfair cigar shop this week and have to say for a small specialist shop… it has one busy sampling area! On Thursday there must have been a constant stream of cigar smokers buying cigars  and sampling them on the premises. The extraction system is amazing – well done to our builders as well as the Rabbit air system. The coffee and Scotch are not too shabby either 🙂

Alfie Turmeaus cigar shop in Mayfair is open 7 days a week for our customers convenience with late nights on Thursday and Friday

The Mayfair shop is located in Shepherd Market which is such a gorgeous location and ideal for a cigar shop. The shops around us are so classy, from the top class florist and jeweller to fabulous boutiques. I popped in to one of the neighbours for a coffee and was very impressed to say the least check out Tanner Krolle next time you are in the area, great people and splendid leather craft. There are 2 great pubs as well and quite a few first class restaurants (some with outdoor seating – so they will be good for a smoke when the weather is better!)

Shepherd Market may well end up to be THE central  London destination point for cigar smokers especially when the new 5 Hertford Street club opens in the future. I can’t think of a nicer location in Town except perhaps St James’s where you can smoke outside the lovely Franco’s restaurant. There is still one Havana cigar specialist I can think of offhand which is the beautiful Davidoff shop.

A little further north you can also sample in peace at our West Hampstead Robert Graham Ltd shop… and you can also enjoy a dram of scotch there from our fabulous range of course. The walk in humidor has a great range of Havanas and non-Cuban cigars and you can usually find some discontinued and interesting Havanas that can’t be found anywhere else in the country.

So I’ve had enough of the cold, armed with a large humipouch full of large Havanas I’m off for a week for some Valentines sunshine where I will do my next blog from!

Have a smokey weekend.

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

Punch RS 11 Orchant Seleccion

At last they have arrived! Feast your eyes on the latest  Orchant Seleccion Havana cigars:

Punch Royal Selection no.11. The cabinet selection version of the benchmark Corona Gorda Punch Punch but somehow always a better blend for my palate. 2007 was a fantastic vintage and the 32 cabinets I have selected from our importers Hunters and Frankau are all the finest English Market Selection 2007 code.

Available by the cabinet and in singles.

Measuring in at 5 5/58” length and 46 ring gauge this cheeky smoke is loaded with sweet, full and complex flavours from the first to the last finger burning puff. The tobacco is well matured and the wrappers generally silky smooth colorado – colorado maduro. During tests I only found 1 with a sub-par draw and the rest (quite a few so far!) have a cool, clear draw. A sophisticated blend not for the novice but the experienced Havana smoker will enjoy this smoke immensely. Get them while you can as most of the stock has already been pre ordered.

I’m planning a delicious Orchant Seleccion Havana sampler for next month as we have now had quite a few of the finest Havana cigars banded specially for us. It will be a great opportunity for my clients to try a few of my favourite Havana cigars.

Lunch at Boisdale Belgravia earlier this week, followed by a Partagas Serie E no.2 on the rather cold terrace where Ranald and I planned our next vintage cigar auction. This will take place on Monday the 2nd July at Boisdale Canary Wharf. It promises to be the usual lively event with quite a few interesting vintage boxes of Havanas arriving daily. You can see updates on our auction website.

For a change of pace and some different flavour profiles check out our growing and massively popular Fuente range on this link.  My partner Guy Hancock from Decent Cigar Emporium in Dublin spent a day of serious Fuente herfing in the office on Wednesday as we discussed and tested out many of the new additions to the range.

Montecristo Gran Reserva first allocation came in… and then went back out. 5000 cabinets made but few seem to be into the marketplace as of yet. So, if you got hold of them – cherish and enjoy! We hope to have more substantial allocations available over the next few months although we already have many back orders. These cigars are made with tobacco aged from 2005 and don’t taste anything like regular production Monte  2’s. They are far more full bodied as well as stronger, bags of long term aging potential and no doubt an interesting potential investment. Drop me a line if you would like some [email protected]

 Valentines coming up soon 🙂 great range of Romeo cigars on the website and we are always delighted to gift wrap and add personalised messages of course!

Have a smokey weekend.

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

Cigar Valentines Cartoon