It’s Summer Auction time and the Lots are all online and the catalogue is now available and has already been posted to our auction clients around the world.

Our auction department kicked off back in 2009 and to the best of my knowledge C.Gars is the only specialist cigar auctioneer to hold regular sales throughout the year.

This will be our 21^st auction and the catalogue has a splendid selection of aged, mature and unusual cigars including some hyper rare pre embargo Havanas that are quite breath-taking and pristine in condition and appearance.

Auction Lots can be viewed online and bid on here.

PDF catalogue can be viewed on this link.

Featured Lots in this sales include:

Lot 328 – A magnificent cabinet of 500 Punch Coronas, Pre Embargo.
Estimate: £40,500 – £49,500

Lot 323 – A cabinet of 100 Partagas No. III.
Estimate: £9,500 – £10,500

Lot 296 – Partagas 165^th anniversary humidor from 2010 of 50 cigars.
Estimate: £6,500 – £8,500

Lot 310 – Dunhill Special Selection No. 415. Pre Embargo cabinet of 60 cigars.
Estimate: £6,000 – £8,000

Lot 274 – A sealed cabinet of 50 Davidoff Chateau Yquem from the 1980’s.
Estimate: £5,500 – £7,500

Lot 317 – Hoyo de Monterrey selection humidor of 50 Pre Embargo cigars.
Estimate: £5,000 – £6,000

Lot 326 – Por Larranaga Miniatures, humidor of 100 Pre Embargo cigars.
Estimate: £5,000 – £6,000

Lot 127 – Rafael Gonzales Inmensas cabinet of 50 large format cigars from the early 1960’s.
Estimate: £4,750 – £5,750

Lot 273 – Davidoff Chateau Latour part cabinet of 47 cigars from the 1970’s.
Estimate: £4,500 – £6,500

Over 330 Lots will be sold at this online only auction with the auction ending on Sunday the 11^th June.

Lots are available for inspection by appointment Monday to Friday  at our London offices. We are delighted to provide any further details or condition reports, simply email Laura Graham or Michelle Adler in our Auction Team  at [email protected] quoting Lot numbers.

I find it so interesting to see how tastes in collectible cigars have changed as have values over the years. I actually started specialising in vintage Havanas back in 1998. I have left all past auction sales results online as a useful resource for cigar collectors and aficionados to be able to easily access.

Of course we are well known for buying and selling vintage Havana cigars throughout the year and we are always happy to provide a free valuation and sales advice service.

Next week I’m heading up North to Turmeaus Liverpool to check on final bits and pieces for the Turmeaus and The Puffin Rooms expansion and heading back just in time to vote in the general election! I’m planning on an all-night election herf  🙂 no matter who you vote for… remember to vote! (great excuse for an all nighter herf lol)

I’m already cramming my weekend and election baggie full of some of my firm favourites… long night so big smokes 🙂

Partagas Salamones (I love these smokes!)

Cuaba Diademas 2006 vintage

Sancho Sanchos Orchant Seleccion 1999

H.Upmann Connoisseur A

Por Larranaga Sobresalientes

That should keep me going 🙂 Plus a bottle of award winning Orchant Selection Cigar Malt.

Have a smokey weekend.

Peaceful puffing,

Mitchell

Unbelievable weather in the UK !  27C today and a clear blue sunny sky ☺ and it looks like it’s going to stay that way for the bank holiday weekend which is great news for all of you outdoor smokers! I have been topless for the last few days and will continue car herfing in the country over the weekend. Truly one of my greatest pleasures is smoking a Bolivar Belicosos whilst driving top down round some country roads ( ideally leading to a pub!)

Late blog due to maximum herfing activity at Turmeaus shops celebrating our 200th anniversary. Major cigar tasting events at Chester, Liverpool and Knutsford with crammed sampling lounges enjoying Orchant Seleccion Oliva cigars paired up with some rather excellent variety of Dictador rum.We had the pleasure of Tesla cars and Liverpool gin supporting our milestone anniversary and some rather fantastic cake …3 nights in a row !  Our suppliers were super supportive with some amazing raffle prizes and I’m fairly sure everyone had a brilliant time.

We are finally wrapping up the last stages of our Liverpool expansion and the new ‘evening’ Turmeaus shop and sampling lounge as well as The Puffin rooms tapas and whisky cocktail bar should be ready to open to our guests in a couple of weeks’ time :).The furniture is in, the bar is being stocked with the hugest range of single malts and the humidor will have an incredible range of Havanas and New World cigars. More details soon ….

Summer auction catalogue is being printed and will be posted out on Tuesday. Lots are online from the 1^st June and the auction will end on the 11^th June. Lots can be viewed by appointment at our London offices. Just drop us an email [email protected] If you can’t come to view the Lots, we are always happy to provide condition reports by email. We have a super catalogue of over 330 Lots of mature, vintage, Davidoff, Dunhill and pre embargo cigars. Something for everyone and a few bargains to be bought for sure.

I’m heading home to kick back for the long weekend with a bottle of our Silver Medal award (International Spirits Challenge) Orchant Selection Cigar Malt and have a baggie stuffed full of cigars to enjoy on the deck including :

Oliva Orchant Seleccion Chubby

Bolivar Belicosos Finos

Montecristo Dantes LE

Macanudo Inspirado Robusto

Inka – Secret Blend Robusto

Alec Bradley Black Market Torpedo

Definitely mixing it up this weekend!

Have a sunny bank hol

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

Lowland

The Lowland region is roughly defined by an imaginary line running between Edinburgh and Glasgow, any distillery lying south of this line is lowland. The region has four active distilleries: Ailsa Bay in Girvan; Glenkinchie, just south of Edinburgh Auchentoshan near Clydebank; and Bladnochin Galloway. At least six other lowland single malts are still available in bottle, but are no longer distilled: Rosebank Kinclaith, St. Magdalene, Ladyburn, Inverleven and Littlemill. Traditionally Lowland single malts are triple distilled but this is not true of all of them. Lowland malts tend to be light and floral in character.

I especially enjoy the Auchentoshan 18 Year Old.

Established in 1823, Auchentoshan is one the last active distilleries in the Lowlands. It’s an endangered species in more ways than one, since it is also the only Scottish distillery that employs a true full-time third distillation, nowadays associated with mostly Irish Whisky. The triple distillation gives this Glasgow malt a refined, delicate touch, which contributes to a very sweet and light spirit.

Auchentoshan 18 Year Old is one of their most renowned and characteristic spirits from their core range. It is triple distilled and matured in American Bourbon casks for 18 years, which have imparted some fruit, nut and barley flavours.

This right here is definitely an Auchentoshan for all of you who know and love the brand. It is filled with history, tradition, artisanship and everything else we love about this Lowlands favourite.

Nose: Fresh tobacco leaf – then sweet with a hint of caramelised sugars, green tea and toasted almonds.
Palate: A floral freshness with sweet barley sugar at first – this gently ebbs to reveal a tangerine zestiness. The palate is left alive and refreshed.
Finish: A long, lingering and well balanced dram that invigorates the mouth.

Campbeltown

Campbeltown whiskies are made in the borough of Campbeltown, on the Kintyre peninsula. This was once the whisky capital of Scotland, with up to 28 distilleries in operation. However, there has been a steady decline in numbers and now most of the distilleries have gone out of business and little trace of them remains.

Today only three distilleries continue to produce whisky in Campbeltown: Springbank, Glengyle and Glen Scotia. The Springbank distillery produces three distinct whiskies: Springbank , Hazelburn, and Longrow. Glengyle distillery has recently been revived under the name Kilkerran

Here is one of my favourites:

Kilkerran 8 Year Old Cask Strength “The newest….oldest distillery in Campbeltown”

The word “Kilkerran” is derived from the Gaelic Ceann Loch Cille Chiarain (head of the lake of St. Kieran’s cell). This was the name of the original settlement founded by Saint Kieran. It’s believed that the town of Campbeltown now sits on that spot.

Kilkerran 8 Year Old Cask Strength is the result of whisky matured in 100% ex-bourbon casks and will be limited to around 9,000 bottles.

Nose: The peat aroma from the lightly peated barley is apparent from the off and some of the green apples which are becoming a feature of Kilkerran are also present. This whisky is like a favourite dessert, rhubarb crumble, stewed rhubarb, vanilla and all butter shortbread.

Palate: There’s an earthiness and saltiness, exactly what you want to taste in a Campbeltown dram. This is combined with icing sugar and puff candy which gives a sweetness to the whisky, along with milk chocolate and walnut flavours.

Finish: The peat remains, along with a sootiness, pencil shavings and a liquorice-influenced maltiness.

Slainte,

Craig

Like the fine wines of the world, the single malt whiskies of Scotland are grouped by region. This week we are going to discuss the Highland, Speyside and Islay regions of Scotland.

Highland

Everything outside of Lowland, Speyside, Campbeltown and Islay falls into the general ‘Highland’ region. This includes whiskies from the mainland and from the islands (Skye, Jura, Arran, Orkney etc.). The Highland whiskies can’t be typified. From the power of Talisker to the subtlety of Glenmorangie, there is a long journey of discovery ahead for the whisky enthusiast. The Highland region is also geographically diverse, from the rugged peaks of the Cairngorms or Grampians to the heather-covered moorlands of Perthshire, or the rich arable land in the Kingdom of Fife. There are over 30 distilleries widely spread throughout the Highlands.

Speyside

Speyside has the highest concentration of distilleries of the five regions. Over forty distilleries are clustered within the Spey valley. Four of the top five best selling single malts are from Speyside: Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, Macallan and Glen Grant. Speyside has no one particular type or style of whisky, with bourbon and sherry casks both commonly used for maturation. What the vast majority of Speyside whiskies have in common, however, is the absence of strong peat flavour.

Islay

There are eight working distilleries on Islay. Most of them produce strong, peaty and smoky whiskies, which divide whisky drinkers into two camps: love or hate. There is no middle ground. These whiskies get their character from the heavily peated malt they use and from the local water which runs through thousand-year-old peat bogs. The local maltings, at Port Ellen, provide most of the malt used on the island.

However, two distilleries on the island, Bunnahabhain and Bruichladdich are exceptions to the norm and produce a lighter and less peaty product. The most heavily peated malts, Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Caol Ila, have a strong global following, as does the slightly lighter tasting Bowmore. The newest distillery on the island, Kilchoman, started production in late 2005.

Next week we will be going through the Lowlands and Campbeltown regions.

Slainte,

Craig

What an honour to welcome Leopoldo Cintra González  the commercial vice president of Habanos SA to our London office earlier this week. Together with Jemma and Yadira from our importers Hunters and Frankau.

A great opportunity to chat about the UK market and show off our premises, range and some of the incredible vintage Havana cigars to be auctioned on June 11^th

Lovely weather in the UK, just perfect for herfing activity 🙂 Last Tuesday we enjoyed a brilliant tasting event at a rather jam packed Turmeaus Norfolk, featuring Drew Estate Undercrown cigars which went up in smoke very well indeed!

A gin bar was set up in the shop and  Scottie from Maverick Drinks treated us to an extraordinary array of combinations including Singapore Sling cocktails which worked very well with the smokes.

Norfolk is a beautiful county and we own the only specialist cigar shop for miles around, truly an oasis with a very comfortable sampling lounge, showroom crammed full of tobacco and accessories as well as a fully stocked walk in humidor. Massive range of Havanas and New World cigars including Davidoff, Inka – Secret Blend, Oliva, Alec Bradley and many others. View some photos of the shop here.

My team of staff are super friendly and welcoming and it’s a great place to chill with a fine cigar and a complimentary dram, coffee or soft drinks and snacks. Background music and news channels on the TV. Leather tub chairs and foot stools… who could ask for more?!

My colleagues James, Liam, Georgina and Cally love talking about cigars and are fine cigar sommeliers so helpful advice is always on hand. There’s also easy and free parking come visit us soon 🙂

Next week I’m hosting tasting events at the Turmeaus Northern powerhouse lol. The events are to celebrate the 200^th anniversary of Turmeaus Tobacconist established in 1817. Check out the details on these links:

Tuesday 16^th  – Turmeaus Chester

Wednesday 17^th  – Turmeaus Knutsford

Thursday 18^th  – Turmeaus Liverpool

As ever I have left all of the organising to my retail operations manager Sara who tells me there will be amazing cigars to sample, the finest libations, lots of prizes in the prize draw and most importantly… Cake 🙂 yup, I will go anywhere for cake 🙂

A few spaces left at the events but they are selling out fast, so come and join me to celebrate our 200^th anniversary in one of our super cigar sampling lounges next week. (all attendees get free tickets to our 300^th anniversary celebrations as well 🙂 )

Check out my beautiful twin pack anniversary cigars on this link.

Our partners at Robert Graham have just released an exclusive new range of Nicaraguan cigars. Details on this link. Buy them or my business partner Steve and I will smoke them all Yes, they are that good!

In product news this week:

Trinidad Topes Limited Edition are back in stock

H. Upmann Magnum 56 are in stock but sold out with the importer so its last call on these fabbie cigars.

Loads of discontinued lines due to the new health warning legislation coming in on the 19^th May. When they’re gone…they’re gone!

For pipe smokers we have expanded our range of Peterson pipes as ever – guaranteed best prices in the UK.

Orchant Selection Cigar Malt has just won the silver medal award at this year’s International Spirits challenge!

Stalla Dhu Islay has just won the silver medal award at this year’s International Spirits challenge!

This years Limited Editions include the Cohiba Talisman. Measuring in at a whopping 6 1/8” and 54 ring gauge. I am reliably informed that the launch of these cigars will be in the UK around October time. Another first for the UK market 🙂

Righto, that’s another great week all but over and I’m kicking back on the deck this weekend with a baggie crammed full of smokes including…

Davidoff Royal Robustos (bit of a treat!)

Orchant Seleccion Oliva Chubby

Inca Secret Blend Reserva D’Oro

Montecristo Dantes Limited Edition

Trinidad Topes Limited Edition

All cut with my razor sharp X4 cutter and paired up with an award winning bottle of Orchant Selection Cigar Malt.

Have a smokey weekend

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell