Seems like Christmas was yesterday and it’s already Easter! Despite the increases, due to the recent UK Budget, we are just about as busy as Christmas, which proves to me that cigar smokers will not be deterred by the antismoking tax regime in the UK. So the bad news is that prices are up but the good news is that we still guarantee that we will offer the best prices in the UK, if we are wrong, we will gladly price match at time of order.

Our best seller continues to be the Montecristo no.4 – we literally ship stacks of boxes every day. Entry level Guantanamera Cuban cigars are very popular for a cheapie smoke and perfect for the novice.

I feel like I have been waiting forever for the new UK regional edition Bolivar Britanicas but I am cautiously optimistic that they will be released round about mid-April which would bring great relief as we have 100’s of back orders for these superb new Havanas. The shape is cool (similar to the old Romeo Celestiales Finos) but 2 up on the ring gauge, the blend is exquisite and the wrappers are simply… perfect (at least on the 2 that I tried out in Havana for the first tasting!) so we have to be a little bit patient but it will be worth the wait.

Montecristo Gran Reserva have received unprecedented demand for a new cigar and are more or less sold out at this time, well at least at our London stores, although you may well still find them in our Liverpool and Chester Turmeaus cigar shops. We are hoping to receive more stocks from Hunters and Frankau in the near future.

Cohiba 1966 has proved to be our best-selling limited edition of all time. These full bodied smokes will mature and improve for many years. They are available at this time at all of our cigar shops throughout the country but selling out fast.

Last chance I’m afraid to get some Sancho Panza Belicosos Orchant Seleccion in your humidor. This full flavour and full strength cigar is perfectly matured from 2008 and a delight to smoke. More for the experienced cigar smoker in all honesty and whilst the brand is not terribly popular these days, this is a shining example of how a Sancho should be blended.

I spent the evening herfing at the beautiful cigar terrace at the Lanesborough on Tuesday, packed to capacity as usual with a big crowd of cigar smokers. Despite the rain it’s great to have a sheltered terrace to enjoy late night smokes.

New stocks of Fuente have arrived and I have been genuinely surprised at how popular these cigars are now. I’m not just saying that because we are the importers – we literally can’t keep up with the demand for many of the vitolas, especially Reserva d ’Chateau which is selling like crazy perhaps due to the presentation which is very cool.

So, I’m looking forward to the 4 day Easter weekend and kicking back with some of my current favourite smokes including Monte Edmundo, Bolivar Belicosos and Flor de Cano short robusto to mention a few that are smoking to perfection.

If you are interested in a splendid single malt to go with a good cigar you simply have to try our Robert Graham exclusive Benrinnes 1988 it really matches up very well indeed.

If you need a last minute cigar and missed the postal shut off, our shops in West Hampstead and Mayfair will be open on Saturday and have a huge range. Our Robert Graham shops in Scotland are open over the weekend too 🙂

Have a smokey Easter weekend

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

As expected the Chancellor has bashed the smoker and the drinker… easy targets I suppose.

Duty on all tobacco products to rise by 5% above inflation from 18:00 on the 21/03/12 – You may think that it doesn’t sound like much but when you factor in that many of the cigar importers absorbed industry price increases last year and are unlikely to do so again this year, I think that the overall increase is likely to be HUGE.

Perhaps the reality will look like this: 5% duty increase plus 3.4% inflation, plus industry price increase and of course plus 20% VAT on the lot. We won’t know how much that will total to until we receive the updates from the various importers but it looks like 10-15% overall to me which for an already expensive market is fairly hefty.

No change to existing plans on alcohol duty – meaning the duty will rise 2% above the rate of inflation – so not quite as awful for our single malt whisky customers.

The short term good news is that we will hold our mail order prices for as long as our previous stocks last but the sound advice is stock up soon before the price increases filter through.

Our retail shops will also hold their Havana cigar prices until the end of this month and having just come back from a trip to Turmeaus cigar shops in Liverpool and Chester I can confirm that stock levels are as always up to the ceiling but… sales are brisk so take advantage of pre-budget prices whilst you can.

Auction time is getting closer and Cigar Journal gave us a nice write up HERE. Drop me an email for advice if you are a prospective buyer or seller.

UK regionals editions are in very small supply now with the last of all available now except for reasonable stocks of Juan Lopez Seleccion Suprema and El Rey del Mundo Choix de L’Epoque. See the full range HERE.

Last few cabinets of Punch Orchant Seleccion no.11 now released and available although our Mayfair shop seems to be selling more of these than anything else this week! If you fancy an awesome ‘anytime robusto’ go for the Bolivar Royal Corona Orchant Seleccion – dark wrappers and quite delicious. See the full range HERE.

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

Smokey greetings from my smokey London offices 🙂 where we are testing out Wild Geese Irish whisky all week soon to be trialled at a few of our stores in the next week or so. For more details on this fabulous whisky check out this website.

We tested three of them (Rare Irish Whiskey/Fourth Centennial Limited Edition/Single Malt) paired up with Punch Orchant Seleccion no.11, Bolivar Royal Coronas Orchant Seleccion and finally Partagas Petit Coronas 1998 vintage and had a jolly <hic> good time. Seriously they paired up really well. Whilst I am a single malt Scotch drinker I have to say the Irish whisky was a great change of pace and worked very well with all three Havanas.

Continuing our sampling sessions for this week we enjoyed a fabulous evening of dinner, drinks and smokes with 16 avid cigars smokers (including a lady smoker!) at Boisdale Belgravia. Puffing our way through the same 3 cigars above which have all been added to my rotation as they are consistently excellent smokes. A few of us went on to the Lanesborough for a nightcap of Taittinger Rose and a one for the road smoke to finish off a great evening. If you would like to be put on our herf invitation list drop me a line or subscribe to my newsletter.

Busy week ahead with Mother’s day on Sunday and champagne and choc sales at Robert Graham shops going like crazy. Of course I shall be taking my Mother out for dinner on Sunday and then back to my Parents for a herf with my Father 🙂

Our Mayfair cigar shop is now open late nights till 8pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday as the mild weather is bringing out all the smokers in Shepherd Market – and if the weather changes you can always smoke a cigar or two in the sampling room of Alfie Turmeaus cigar shop. Pop in and you are assured a warm welcome from Lucia and Danny and the complimentary bar is now fully stocked with our fabulous and exclusive range of Robert Graham single Malt whiskies. 

The budget is coming up next week and no doubt the chancellor will not miss the opportunity to clobber the cigar smoker. Stock up before prices increase! We’ll try and keep our prices down for as long as we can as we hold massive stocks but it’s best to order early and save money.

Still no confirmed release date for the superb UK regional Bolivar Britanicas but we are ever hopeful it may still be this month. The interest in this cigar is HUGE! I smoked them at the first tasting in Havana at the Festival a few weeks ago and can’t wait for them to come out. Till they do, I can highly recommend my Bolivar Royal Coronas Orchant Seleccion sweet and full flavoured but complex and medium strength. This robusto is a great ‘anytime’ smoke.

Auction in July is slowly creeping up and we are getting some interesting entries dropped into our offices every week. Should be the usual exciting C.Gars Ltd event 🙂 http://www.cigarauctions.co.uk/

I’ll be visiting our cigar stores in Chester and Liverpool on Monday and Tuesday and looking forward to sampling sessions with some of the regular customers-  (yes we can legally sample Havanas in our stores!)

Have a great weekend

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

Back from the sunshine of Havana to the rainy weather of London and already looking forward to my next trip to the Island which will be trip 55 for me! Not sure when it will be but perhaps later this year.

I wish I could say when the new UK regional Bolivar Britanicas will be released but at this stage my best guess is sometime late this month. I smoked 2 of these fabulous cigars in Havana and this is sure to be a hit with many of my clients who have a fairly sophisticated palate as the blend is bold and complex. Measuring in at 5 3/8” length and 48 ring gauge with a rich colorado maduro wrapper. Presented in wooden boxes of 10 and ready to smoke straight out of the box.

So for the Bolivar lovers out there who can’t wait for the new Britanicas the good news is that we are releasing today 100 boxes of Bolivar Royal Coronas Orchant Seleccion from July 2009. Selected for their perfect condition, wrapper and blend and presented with the distinct Orchant Seleccion banding and box labels. Medium strength and medium flavour, earthy and sweet with a cool clear draw. Singles here and boxes of 10 here.

We have had such great regional editions in the UK with superb blend integrity and great sizes and shapes too. See them all on this link.

To celebrate our wonderful EMS UK exclusives the first 25 blog readers that email or call in with an order can have one of these fabulous sampler packs containing 6 different UK regionals complete with an Orchant Seleccion Palio cigar cutter and free shipping.

Our fabulous UK regionals in a sampler including a Palio cutter at an unbeatable price 🙂

1 each…

-Punch Serie D’Oro no.1
-La Flor de Cano short robusto
-Juan Lopez Seleccion Suprema
-Por Larranaga Regalias de Londres
-La Gloria Cubana Gloriosos
-El Rey del Mundo Choix de L’Epoque

Palio cigar cutter

…all for £99 including FREE shipping!!

Call me on 07000 088 088 or email me at [email protected]

And for our whisky lovers the latest NEWS… 🙂 :

To The Ends of Earth Benrinnes 23 year old – 2nd edition £85 reduced to £75 – just mention ‘Mitchells blog ‘ in comments section of order form or when calling your order in.

Dancing Stag Tobermory £44.95 reduced to £39.95 – just mention ‘Mitchells blog ‘ in comments section of order form or when calling your order in.

We have two new releases in our range; The first is an  outstanding Dancing Stag 22 year Old Bowmore 46abv a sophisticated, beautiful fruit and elegant finish, available in Store now and soon online for just £85… first  25 orders will get a free miniature of our gold medal award winner 17 year Old Speyside.

The Other is our own Ailein Mor a delightful well balanced honeyed fruity 10 year old Highland Malt  a t an introductory price of just £32 for one month only.

Coming soon… Customers can purchase a customised small cask of Vatted Malt to their own preferred taste… Ideal gift for the person that has everything 🙂

Back to Havana cigars and Montecristo Gran Reserva are now available from C.Gars Ltd as well as Turmeaus shops in Mayfair and  Chester and Robert Graham shops in West Hampstead and Rose street Edinburgh

Have a smokey weekend.

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

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 2^nd 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