Another predicted heatwave that failed to arrive in fact it looks like a grey winters day from my office window – nothing like the traditional bank holiday washout weekend in the UK. It was obvious this would happen as soon as I said the word BBQ to my wife. I bought the hugest BBQ imaginable  almost 2 years ago, a real bad ass American style  one (as I am a wannabe American!) and you can imagine how many times I have used it? Once! Splendid.

C’est la vie, I will have to console myself with some great bank holiday smokes as I plan some chill out herf time at home. And in the baggie this weekend…

Saint Luis Rey Lonsdales Cabinet Selection vintage 1998 – Simply delicious.

Por Larranaga Magnificos UK regional 2007 – Possibly one of the finest regional editions ever an destined to become a classic.

Punch Double Coronas 1999 vintage – My long-time favourite prominente.

Bolivar Belicosos Finos 2007 vintage – My favourite vintage in the last 15 years +

El Rey del Mundo Tainos 2002 vintage – 13 years aged and smoking like a dream.

That should keep me smiling despite the weather! Oh and I’ve grabbed a bottle of Dancing Stag Strathisla which will pair up to perfection with the smokes.

There’s nothing quite like a fine hand rolled cigar but for the most of us quite how you would roll a cigar is the mystery. This is why we are holding cigar rolling events throughout our stores. The first of which took place in The Treasurer on Edinburgh’s Canongate this week

Professional Torcedora (cigar roller) Arlety Alemańy Azcuy, fresh off the plane from Cuba, demonstrated her art with amazing ease, carefully preparing each tobacco leaf and skilfully moulding together a series of rather impressive Robustos. 

Arlety Alemany Azcuí originally learnt to roll cigars in some of the smaller factories of Pinar del Rio, the province where she was born. She then moved to Havana and began working in the Romeo y Julieta factory, where she remained for nine years. However, she then transferred to the H. Upmann factory where she has been for the past three years and where she is still located today. She specialises in rolling large format cigars such as Prominentes, Gran Coronas & Julieta No. 2’s and has also spent time teaching trainee torcedors in the academies. 

Amazing to watch, it takes years to develop the skill to produce as many as one hundred cigars in a day (though for demonstrations purpose she goes a little bit slower so we can observe). Arlety is a glamorous and fun person who is at ease with posing for photos without even breaking her concentration from the task in hand. 

There are a couple more opportunities to catch this brilliant display on Thursday 22nd at our Rose Street branch and Friday 23rd at the Glasgow shop. All the cigars made on the day are available to buy on the day. Don’t miss the opportunity to see the skill of Cuba here at home.

We look forward to welcoming Arlety at our London offices in a few weeks’ time (Gracias Hunters& Frankau)

If you can’t make it to the demonstration, you can purchase a fresh cigar for yourself here. 

If the licencing authorities do their thing we should have our new, and may I say rather super duper, Robert Graham shop in Glasgow opened imminently (more news next blog… I hope!) this will be a mega cigar and whisky emporium. If you have visited our wonderful Cambridge shop think of this as similar but on steroids! Huge  range of cigars in fabulous walk in humidor… My best effort yet (well my Partner Ronnie did all the design and planning as usual – thank you Ronnie!) I’ll be at our Edinburgh and Glasgow shops from the 8th September for quite a few days. Pop in and have a dram with me.

Our Winter Auction catalogue is coming together nicely. I think this will be the largest amount of limited edition humidors ever offered! In fact I can’t get into my walk in humidor as there are so many! More details on the auction website in a few weeks’ time.

Check out the photo of one of the rarest humidors I have every come across in my life. The humidor and the Cohiba cigars are breathtakingly beautiful. (More photos here!)

Laura and her I.T. Team are hard at work on the long planned revamped C.Gars website and it should be online in a few weeks’ time, faster, more interactive and uber cool… Very exciting stuff.

Michelle is still on holiday so if you phone the London office the friendly sounding sales assistant may well be me! (I have already been told not to use my “grumpy voice”!)

Have a smokey bank holiday weekend

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell