Happy anniversary to us!

Greetings from sunny London 😊

C.Gars Ltd was created on the 27th of October 1997. Laura and I dreamed of creating a successful cigar business but could never have imagined we would build an empire the size that it has grown to. In fact we are still growing with new brands and new locations planned in the next few months.

Thanks to the unpredictable weather in London we decided to hold our anniversary celebration event a tad earlier to take advantage of the splendid Summer weather this year. It was a delightful event attended by over 150 friends, family, suppliers and clients at Boisdale of Belgravia. More detail and photos in this article.

To mark the anniversary, we released 25 specially made humidors containing 50 of my favourite cigars. In fact, it’s also the 205th anniversary of Turmeaus Tobacconist business.

In all, quite a feat to have survived – even thrived – in the cigar business. That has been against a backdrop of anti-tobacco legislation for as long as I can remember. The smoking ban was of course designed to stop people smoking. So not entirely successful then. The thinking behind the law was to improve health. I had my own MOT last month. I am very glad to say I am in good shape, though not quite as good as the business.

That is in part thanks to the second largest professional sector we serve.

Funnily enough… Doctors.

A big thank you to the head of neurosurgery in a top Hamburg hospital. He used to come into my Hamburg shop for a Punch Double Corona.

Every lunchtime – to relax as he was more worried about the impact of stress on his well-being.

Thanks also to the top Harley Street cardiologist who came to my office once. His girlfriend wanted to treat him to a few boxes of Havanas as a retirement gift. She duly did. He was 70. She looked around 25. Far more likely to see him off than any cigar.

As for us, it has been a long rocky road over the last 25 years. We have survived not only recessions and anti-tobacco legislation but also battled with some mad landlords, and inevitably some anti-smoking neighbours. The odd environmental health officer has also come after us. Once we have explained how the relevant law actually works, they have been happy enough to leave us be.

Even after 25 years I am not sure we are quite ready for an autobiography. The best book ever written about cigars is the Encyclopedia. That’s by Min Ron Nee. Yes – you guessed it, another Doctor. A great believer in the anti-oxidant qualities of a Havana cigar as he explained to me in Hong Kong. Take what he says and a cigar is practically one of your five a day.

That’s not the only lesson I have learnt over the last 25 years. I know that Liverpool, where I acquired the first Turmeaus tobacconist shop and where our fantastic Puffin Rooms are today, is as safe as houses. The first time I went there my father warned against me taking a car. In fact I drove to Liverpool and had no issues at all. Meanwhile, his Rolls at home back in London was stripped of its beautiful front grill. He eventually gave away the rest of the car to no doubt his very grateful mechanic.

Looking back, you have to see the funny side. I hope all those who have been part of C.Gars over the years can smile about their time with us. What has always mattered is friendship and creating happy memories. All through our shared love of the leaf.

My thanks to my team, the wonderful staff at Boisdale, our suppliers for all their support and most of all our loyal clients.

The evening was another occasion for the sort of camaraderie only a mutual love of cigars can generate. And a night to remember. Or at least try to remember.

We don’t always get it right but we do strive to give the best of customer service and range of choice to our clients, now numbering some 150,000 on our database. Nice to see over 12,000 Trustpilot reviews and a 4.9 star rating. Hopefully, we can get that up to 5.0 in the next few months 😊

We have very successfully launched the Aladino range of cigars with events at Turmeaus Liverpool, C.Gars London and Leeds and were delighted to welcome the Eiroa family to talk about the cigars and their impressive business. The range is quite delicious as well as excellent value. Fast becoming a firm favourite and highly recommended.

Cuban cigar supply remains patchy with few Cohiba cigars being available though we still generally have 90% Havana range availability as we continuously release our reserves to meet market demands. We don’t think the supply situation will improve any time soon and following the recent price increases I can only advise to stock up while you can as cigar prices will of course increase again due to the tax increase due in the November Budget. We are hopeful that the Ramon Allones UK Regional Edition will be launched by November. Its overdue but will be worth the wait!

The next vintage cigar auction will be held on the 3rd October and it’s shaping up to be another huge sale with over 300 Lots expected.

Our beautiful shops are busier than ever, perhaps due to the sunny and hot Summer we are enjoying as well as our non-stop events calendar.  The events are great fun and a perfect opportunity to sample cigars and enjoy pairings with premium single malt whisky and rum as well as meet many of the brand ambassadors.

Enjoy the rest of the Summer hopefully with some fine smokes and drinks in the sunshine 😊

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell