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Cohiba Talismán Event, Other New Releases and Lots of Filming

Cohiba Talismán Event, Other New Releases and Lots of Filming

It seems as though this year has just flown by, doesn’t it? I remember being a kid and thinking the days were so long, and it would take forever for a year to pass. Now, they come by too quickly, and we reminisce over the old days.

The good thing about the days going quickly, however, is that we get more exciting cigar releases, and there have been a few notable releases lately, such as the Cohiba Talisman.

The Cohiba Talismán was originally released in 2017 as part of the company’s Edición Limitada series, then released yet again in 2019, which Habanos S.A. claim Cohiba used tobaccos from the same harvest in 2017. These cigars were highly sought-after, with collectors going mad about them and buying by the box, making them increasingly difficult to get your hands on them.

This past week saw Hunters & Frankau celebrate the 60th anniversary of Cohiba by releasing an official permanent addition of the Cohiba Talismán into the Línea Clásica range. Hosted in London at The Orangery at Kensington Palace, the event held approximately 400 guests, including international and UK cigar retailers, collectors, journalists, industry figures and even celebrities such as Terry Stone, a British actor and film producer known for the likes of Rise of the Footsoldier, Dog House and many more.

According to José María López Inchaurbe (Vice President of Development at Habanos S.A.), there is an exciting year ahead, with the Talismán just being the “beginning of what is yet to come.”

The new (but old) Cohiba Talismán not only come in ten-count boxes, but also come in three-count boxes, showcasing the staple Cohiba band, but with an extra two bands, one celebrating the 60th anniversary, and the other at the foot of the cigar. I’d love to say I’d do a review on one of these cigars, but based on the price I don’t think tat will be possible any time soon!

We also just saw the release of the new Blackbird Glitch cigars, which may not have the same excitement as the Cohiba, but are definitely not one to miss. The really cool thing about this cigar is that it shouldn’t have existed – hence the name. Essentially what happened was a factory worker at Blackbird Co. entered the wrong tobacco codes into the system, causing an unintended blend of leaves to be rolled. However, when the team smoked the mistaken batch, they found the taste exceptional and decided to replicate the error as a formal product line – Glitch!

The Glitch contains tobacco from Mexico on the wrapper, Dominican binder and Dominican and American fillers. It is described as rich, slightly sweeter, with earthier flavours than alternatives in the Glitch range.

Moving onto the filming side of things now, I mentioned in my last blog that the wonderful George Frakes of Foundation Cigars and 1573 Cigars was coming to Norfolk to film with me. We filmed two amazing and insightful videos for the C.Gars Ltd YouTube channel. The first of which was a sit-down interview, where we smoked the Foundation Cigars Olmec and the Wise Man Corojo – two incredible cigars might I say! We discuss the history of the Olmec people, the first evidence of tobacco use, the link between all the Foundation Cigar lines and more. I had a blast filming this one, and it’ll release on Monday 19th October.

The second video we recorded was the second episode of the new series ‘Burning Questions’, where cigar experts answer yours and frequently asked questions. It’ll release in the next few weeks and I’m so excited for you all to watch.

Have a great day all, stay safe and happy herfing!

Lots of Filming, Smoking and Planning Ahead

Busy, busy, busy! This past month has been non-stop, for many reasons – good and bad.

Let’s get the bad out of the way. Over the past few weeks (realistically the past couple of years), the industry has been faced with battling the UK Government’s proposal to introduce standardised plain packaging for all tobacco products – which categorises premium cigars in with cigarettes and vapes, which of course, should not be the case. I won’t bore you with the details, as it’s something I’ve written and spoken about many times, and I’m sure if you’re reading this, you’re already aware about it all. But the panic truly set in over the past couple of months especially, as the consultation closes at midnight on 1st October, and it has caused mass unsettle for not only retailers, but consumers alike. For more information, you can visit www.savecigars.co.uk. This consultation not only affects the UK but also supplying countries. Anthony from Bright Leaf and I spoke about this in our latest video ‘The Importance of Cigar Education & the Biggest Threat to the Cigar Industry Right Now’, which you can watch here.

Moving onto more positive things, as I mention above, I filmed with Anthony, where we highlight the importance of cigar education, and discuss the latest update to the Rocky Patel Portal. The aim of our Portals is to educate you, the consumer, so you can make more informed decisions when it comes to purchasing your next box of cigars. Where do they come from? Who’s behind the brand? What does the brand represent? These are all questions we answer in our Portals, and being more informed about such things is crucial.

Last week I also filmed with Cally from TOR, where we sat down to review the Oliva Serie V Belicoso – a fantastic cigar I might add! – and we also talk about the brand and its achievements over the years (see the recurring theme – education!).

We also just hit 10,000 subscribers on the C.Gars Ltd YouTube channel, which I could not be more grateful for. Creating content for you guys has been such a passion of mine, and I strive to keep the quality improving each video and I hope you enjoy the videos that Kim and I have been putting out.

Upcoming this week, I’m absolutely stoked to announce a few things. Firstly, the C.Gars Ltd Autumn/Winter 2026 Magazine starts shipping from October 1st, which is our 5th edition and arguably our best. I’m super proud of the team (Billie, Courtney, Liam and myself) for coming together to create such amazing content, and no doubt our 6th edition will be even better. This edition contains a special feature from none other than award-winning Author and warming personality Nick Hammond. Nick’s ability to write about personal experiences connects to not only cigar smokers, but also non-smokers. In his books ‘Around the World in 80 Cigars’, he takes us on his journeys across the globe, from the good to the bad, whilst incorporating cigars into it. I must say, I’m not a big reader, however something about the way Nick writes is absolutely fascinating and he makes real life experiences sound like a fantasy that you could create a movie from. In this edition of the magazine, we give 5 opportunities to win a signed copy of his latest edition to the series ’Around the World in 80 Cigars’ for only £1.00. Be sure to place an order from October 1st to receive your copy of the Magazine so you can enter!

The second thing is we have a great friend and another incredible personality visiting us in sunny Norfolk to film content with me. George Frakes. Some of you may know this name already, but for those who don’t, George is the Diector of 1573 Cigars, and Director of International Sales for Foundation Cigars.

George has the most incredible personality, and is such a likeable character, always bringing wonderful stories and telling them in an engaging tone. He’s truly somebody you could listen to all day long. I envy his future Grandchildren.

We will be sitting down to film some content surrounding Foundation Cigars, and I can’t wait!

Lastly, more content – shock! That is my job after all! I’ve put some plans in place to create some Autumn themed videos, such as my top 5 Autumnal cigars, and even a video I’ve never done before – 5 cigars I do and DON’T like. Working and creating for a retailer, sometimes people feel as though my opinions are just biased to sell a product. I understand why some would think this way, but those who know me, know that I share my genuine thoughts and feelings on cigars. Wording is important. If I say ‘this cigar tastes like s***’ then of course that doesn’t look great, but I’d also be very closed-minded. Cigars are very subjective, so if I dislike a particular cigar, it doesn’t mean it is objectively bad, it just means it’s not for my personal palate. In this video, I’m going to highlight five cigars I do like, but also five cigars that I personally dislike. This is to fit with the Halloween ‘Trick or Treat’ theme. I’m excited to film and post it!

Over the next few weeks, the team will be planning ahead for Black Friday and Christmas, so it’ll be a pretty intensive couple of months ahead. But we love coming up with ideas together and we can’t wait to share the deals and promotions with you all.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed this month’s blog and have a wonderful rest of the month and I’ll see you in the next one!

YouTube Issues, Save Cigars and New Releases

Hi friends, it’s a brand-new week so let’s get you up to date!

Last week, I received an email informing me that my newest video titled ‘Top 5 Cigars You MUST Try in 2026!’, which I worked hard on, had been removed from YouTube for restricted goods.

Now, I get it, the promotion of these goods is prohibited, but I wasn’t promoting them as such – more so talking about my 5 favourite cigars so far this year – so more educational. But YouTube doesn’t like this regardless, and trying to fight the matter is utterly pointless. It’s like swimming against a current.

If you were interested in my top 5, however, then here they are:

Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Robusto
Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchill
Trident Military Cigars The Most Secret
Drew Estate Blackened M81 Maduro Toro
My Father Le Bijou 1922 Torpedo Box Pressed
Honourable mention: NUB Cameroon 460

They are all phenomenal cigars in their own way; I’d highly recommend them.

When it comes to not only making content about cigars, but general laws, the Save Cigars campaign is something we must talk about. I made a video on this, too.

The UK Government are proposing plain packaging laws for tobacco products. This doesn’t just include cigarettes or vapes, but cigars too. If you’re reading this, you’re probably already aware of the fact that cigars are not the same as cigarettes or vapes and should not be categorised as such.

Watch the video I made last week to understand why this is a real issue, and how you can help.

Moving on to more positive notes, the next edition of the C.Gars Magazine is almost complete, and we’re extremely proud. We hope to have a final draft by the end of August, so they’ll be shipping out to you guys in September. This is the 5th edition, and no doubt our best yet!

More exciting news, over the past week we saw some new UK releases, including the Fratello Lunar Cameroon Toro, which celebrates the United States’ return to the moon after 50 years. The blend, a luxurious Dominican puro, is perfectly paired with ‘rocket style’ packaging inspired by the iconic lunar lander. Secondly, we see the release of three Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust cigars; Mi Querida Traca 648, Fino Largo and Papa Saka, which are all full-bodied and packed with flavour.

I ended the week with an early weekend, I took a trip down to Richmond in London to enjoy some sun and relaxation time, which was well needed. I’ll certainly be going back!

I hope you all managed to also find time to sit back and relax over the weekend, and if not – use some of your holiday to do so, we all need it sometimes.

Happy herfing everyone

Video Mishaps, Magazine Work and Website Updates

Hey guys! Another week passes and I’m wondering where the time has gone… It seems the older I get, the quicker time goes by, and the more I forget (foreshadowing a below story…).

So! This week, what’s been happening? Let’s start with, naturally, a Monday. Over the weekend I had a sudden realisation. I like to watch back on my latest video content to see how it’s performing, check feedback and look at what I can do better. Everyone makes mistakes, but this one was embarrassing! I filmed a video called ‘Top 5 Cigars You MUST Try in 2026!’, and in these videos I choose 5 cigars I think everyone should try. When I tell you it’s difficult to make these lists – I bloody mean it. I mean, think about it, thousands of cigars to choose from, how on earth am I supposed to pick only 5! Anyway, back to the story, I typically write a script for these kinds of videos, after all, there’s so much information to relay. Usually I do my videos in sections:

  • Introduction
  • Brand history
  • Flavour and strength profile

When it comes to the brand history section, because many of these brands have so much information, I tend to read my script and put footage of the cigars over the top, so I don’t have to keep remembering everything – after all, I am not a robot! I made one error though – when I was reading about the brand history of NUB (spoiler alert – sorry), I forgot to put the footage of the cigar over the top, so you could just see me looking off camera to the side reading from my laptop. Silly me. But alas, my video was re-edited and uploaded on Monday, to save any further embarrassment. If you haven’t checked out our YouTube content, I’d highly recommend doing so, you’ll find many reviews and tips & tricks.

Over the following few days, most of my focus went into the next edition of the C.Gars Ltd Magazine for Autumn/Winter 2026. I have to say, I am quite proud of our team for putting this together, you can see how our eye for detail has grown since the first edition back in late 2024. I would kill to show you all some sneak peaks, but I can’t. Though, I will say that the main feature of this magazine is an award winning Author… Keep those eyes peeled!

I also spent much of my time on the redesigning of the LCDH Portal, which I’m quite proud of. I’d like to say I have a creative streak within me, so any chance I get to design and create something sends lightbulbs through my head. I’m not sure when the new design will go live, as it’s a lengthy process for our IT guys, but I can’t wait to share it with you.

I designed many of our Portals on the site, to help with user friendliness whilst still showcasing what makes each brand special. Besides the LCDH Portal, the latest addition was the Trident Military Cigars Portal. Their marketing photographer really helped with this project; everything looks so professional and engaging! Their cigars are great too, I’d highly recommend The Most Secret.

I just found out that we received more stock of the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Sobremesa Brulee Robusto, a cigar that sold like crazy and went out of stock for over a year! So I’d be quick to grab some if you are interested. They feature an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, Mexican binder and Nicaraguan filler, so there’s lots of complexity, but in contrast is quite light in strength. The experience is described as ‘A creamy liga with softer flavours of cedar, caramel and café, which are complimented by its inherent sweetness being allowed to blossom on the palate and nose – a nuttiness is also apparent within this blend.’

Besides this, today I filmed a review on The Only One Cigars First Edition cigar, and to say I was impressed is quite the understatement. I can’t remember the last time I had a cigar so smooth, elegant, and memorable as this one. The price point is a bit of a head-turner to be honest with you, but I think it’s a cigar made with special occasions and celebratory moments in mind. And hey, people will pay an arm and a leg for Cubans right? So don’t put your nose up at it until you’ve tried it! The review will be going live on our YouTube channel next week at some point (let’s hope for no video editing mishaps again).

I hope you’ve all had a fantastic week and enjoy your weekends. As always, stay safe, and happy herfing – peace!

An Inside Look at My Job, Exciting Videos and a Special Visitor

After an eventful week last week, struggling with illness and other business, I have to say it was nice to come back to the office. I get a lot of questions about my job, most notably “do you just sit and smoke cigars and drink whisky all day?”. No – as it turns out, I do not!

I don’t think I’ve ever been able to describe my job properly to most, as it’s one that doesn’t sit within one category and the more I explain, the more questions come up. But I guess that’s kind of cool – it makes me feel grateful that I don’t just have a typical “boring” job.

So what do I actually do then? Let’s run you through it.

My job title is Marketing Specialist, and I am responsible for many website-based tasks, alongside with social media posts, cigar subscriptions, creating content and hosting events. On the website, I update many of the banners you see and also updating and creating reports on our Portal pages. The Portals are a dedicated website page for specific brands to educate people about their products, ultimately with the aim to persuade to buy – I mean, that’s always the goal, right? Sales. I’m very proud of these pages, as I get to liaise with the brands and create something special.

With the content creation side of things, I plan, film and edit video content for consumers, with the intent to educate. This includes short videos, interviews, reviews, how-to’s, gift guides and more.

I plan and execute my subscription each month too, the A Taste of the New World Cigar Subscription. Each month I choose two fantastic premium cigars to send out to subscribers to smoke – it’s a great way for those receiving the cigars to make an educated decision on whether they’d like to purchase more. I always say though – it’s more important to know what you don’t like than what you do like.

There are other aspects of my job too, but I won’t bore you with those details – it’s typically just admin bits.

Moving on, this week has been productive and brought some exciting news too.

I filmed two videos – one for my next subscription overview, and the other was a sit-down interview with Anthony Rossouw from Bright Leaf, where we sample the CAO Cameroon and discuss how Cameroon tobacco almost became extinct on the 1990’s, how vitola makes a difference and more. It’s available on the C.Gars Ltd YouTube channel today (10th July) at 5:30pm BST.

The next edition of the C.Gars Ltd Magazine (Autumn/Winter 2026)  is now in full swing, with a handful of the Marketing team working away at it, and so I’ve been taking pictures, editing and planning to make it look as good as I can! I can’t wait for you all to see it when it releases.

We received some exciting news too – Bobby Newman, from J.C. Newman (responsible for some of the best-selling New World cigars like Brickhouse) is due to visit the UK in September, and I believe that C.Gars/ Turmeaus are planning an event with him during this time – fingers crossed I get to go and meet him!

So this week has definitely been more relaxed than last week, which I am thankful for, and as the weekend arrives I can feel glad that I have been productive and look forward to some rewarding food and drinks in the sun!

Keep an eye out on the blog next week for another update – stay safe and happy herfing!

Lewis