Cuban Cigars Draw Big Interest at London Auction

- Cigar Insider

December 7th, 2010
By Nick Hammond
Some 50 buyers spent more than £250,000 between them ($390,000) on a snowy London evening last week on the cigar terrace at Boisdales of Belgravia. Legendary cigar collector Alex Wong, who owns a huge Havana cigar collection in Hong Kong, was among those bidding for pre-embargo Cubans in a charity auction.

Blankets, heat lamps, Scotch and United Kingdom Regional Edition Havana cigars were handed out to patrons to keep them warm as the bidding heated up under the auspices of former Christie's auctioneer Brian Ebbesen.

The star lot of the night was an Elie Bleu Presidencia Humidor, which after an exciting battle of wills between bidders, fetched £24,000 ($37,000). Next came a Winston Churchill humidor made in honor of the legendary British leader, personally handed over to the auction by his great-granddaughter Jennie. The humidor, which was signed by both Jennie Churchill and the late Cuban tobacco farmer Alejandro Robaina, raised £16,000 ($24,000) plus fees for charity.

"One-hundred and thirty-six years ago today my great grandfather was born," Jennie Churchill said. "I think we all now realize that the world would be a very different place if he had not. As he once famously said: "I'm a man of very simple tastes; easily satisfied by the best!" That of course included cigars and I'm delighted to be able to auction this wonderful humidor for both Action Against Hunger and prostate cancer".

Other lots that attracted fierce bidding included another Elie Bleu humidor featuring an image and engraved signature of Che Guevara, which fetched £9,000 ($14,000); a box of 1980s Dunhill Selection 150 Partagas at £7,800 ($12,000) and a cabinet of 50 Belinda belinda candela-wrapped cigars from the 1950s measuring 6 1/8 inches by 44 ring, that ended at £3,700 ($5,700). Lot 110 went for a considerable sum - the box of 10 Dunhill Seleccion No. 779 Romeo y Julietas, measuring 7 1/2 inches by 48 ring, sold for £11,500 plus fees ($18,000).

In all, 300 lots went under the hammer, and there were bargains to be had too. A box of Partagas Presidentes from 2000 went for £210 ($327) and a box of figurados, said to be rolled in the U.K from Havana leaf way back in the 1920s, fetched just £300 ($468).

There was spontaneous applause once the final lot was concluded - as much to indicate everyone's enjoyment of the evening as well as their delight it was time to thaw out in the bar - Champagne, canapes and yet more Scotch ended the night.

"Bidding was brisk, we raised a lot of money for two very worthwhile charities and everyone enjoyed themselves," said co-organizer and cigar merchant Mitchell Orchant of C.Gars Ltd. "We had people flying in from America, Japan, Hong Kong and all over Europe to be part of this auction."

Aged cigars can be extraordinary smoking experiences. To read our reviews of well-aged cigars, see Connoissuer's Corner in every issue of Cigar Aficionado magazine and at our website www.cigaraficionado.com.

Fake Cuban Behikes Surface
David Savona
It's taken some time, but at least some counterfeit versions of Cuba's hot new Cohiba Behike BHK cigars have appeared in the market.

The legitimate, regular-production Cuban Behike BHKs, made in a trio of high-prized sizes and protected by holograms in the bands, went on sale in Cuba in February, then were phased in across the globe later in the year.

- Cigar Insider
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