Its Summer auction time and we enjoyed a fabulous pre auction herf at the cigar terrace at Ten Manchester Street enjoying some first class English Market Selection (EMS) Partagas Petit Coronas aged to perfection from 1998 as well as Juan Lopez Selection No. 2 which were surprisingly good and mature tasting cigars, for a September 2011 date code. Delicious canapés, champagne and excellent service from Ten Manchester Street (Thanks guys!) the only sad part was that Italy lost against Spain!

So my brief blog comes to you this evening from Boisdale in Canary Wharf where we are holding our Summer Auction Event.

Our thanks to Davidoff for providing wonderful cigars as well as a cigar roller for the evening and Remy Martin for providing splendid French Mojito cocktails and Remy XO.

We are as usual transmitting the selling prices live but they are subject to verification so you will have to be patient till we get back to the office tomorrow to carefully check we have not made any typo’s.

To avoid any confusion for our many commission (absentee) bidders, you may well see that your maximum bid has been achieved on a Lot and wonder why you are in fact not the winner. The answer I’m afraid is simple, if we received two identical bids, the first one that was entered will be the winning bid. This is similar to 2 bidders in the room both willing to bid up to the same amount – the first bidder to reach that bid amount wins the Lot.

So the very best of luck to all of the bidders and the sellers and the preliminary results are as follows:

…Well almost gone or should I say that we expect that all Auction Lots will indeed be knocked down and gone at our Cigar Auction Event on the 2^nd of July at the lovely Boisdale in Canary Wharf.

The event kicks off at 6pm with our annual AICS awards for the best of the cigar industry and we are looking forward to some splendid freshly rolled cigars from the Davidoff cigar roller and some French Mojitos from Remy Martin accompanied by some delicious canapés.

The auction of 330 Lots of aged, rare and mature cigars will be held in a private function room at 7pm sharp and as usual, will be conducted by our Director of Auctions Brian Ebbesen. Full details on our auction website including some great ‘Late Lots’ such as Dunhill Don Candido and Flor del Punto.

Following the auction, we will be enjoying Fuente cigars, Havana cigars, canapés and Remy Martin cognac in a private area on the cigar terrace. We hope to see around 100 avid cigar aficionado’s and connoisseurs and maybe a guest of honour from our exclusive UK importer Hunters & Frankau.

Our offices have been jammed this week with clients viewing auction Lots prior to bidding which is of course highly recommended and encouraged (simply email us to tell us when you would like to view [email protected]) we are also holding an open afternoon on Sunday from noon until we head for our auction pre-herf at the lovely Ten Manchester street Hotel cigar terrace at 6pm. (Again you need to be on the guest list to attend this evening herf of cigars, drinks and canapés)

If you are on the guest list, you are in for an evening to remember. On arrival ask for the C.Gars Ltd Team (David and James from C.Gars Ltd – Norfolk office) and they will sign you in and give you the auction paddle.

Best of luck to all of our auction bidders whether you are attending the event or bidding online. We will as usual post the preliminary results on my blog live as the auction happens (subject only to verification following the auction)

Earlier this week I enjoyed a delightful evening with clients at Le Pont de la Tour where the food and service was not only first class but we were also able to enjoy our Bolivar Britanicas in the smoking area outside. Warm balmy evening, excellent views and great company. Who could ask for more? 🙂

C.Gars Seleccion Inka Secret blend

I like to try and bring my clients cigars that they are unable to find anywhere else in the UK and I am delighted to introduce our own exclusive range of cigars from Peru.

From wrapper to filler these cigars are 100% Peruvian.

The blends were developed over many months of blind tastings until we felt we were confident to go to production with a first rate cigar in popular sizes at an attractive price.

Each cigar is banded with our distinct red or blue Inka Secret blend cigar bands and individually cello wrapped.

Quality control at the factory that we chose is excellent and these cigars are very well constructed with a cool easy draw and smooth medium brown vein free wrapper.

The pre light is tangy and sweet. The blend is bold, full bodied and full sweet flavoured from the first to the last puff with a delightful bouquet. Medium to full in strength with a good long satisfying finish on the palate.

Suitable for the experienced cigar smoker although also to be appreciated by the novice experimenting with flavour characteristics from different tobacco growing regions.

Available to order now at low introductory price with singles at pro rata price.

Hand rolled long filler in boxes of 10

Petit Corona 5” length and 42 ring gauge £59.99
Robusto 4 7/8” length and 50 ring gauge £65.99
Figurado ( looks similar to a Nub)  4” length and 52 ring gauge £59.99

Hand rolled medium filler in cello bundles of 10

Petit Corona 5” length and 42 ring gauge £49.99
Robusto 4 7/8” length and 50 ring gauge £54.99
Figurado ( looks similar to a Nub)   4” length and 52 ring gauge £49.99

Try them – you won’t be disappointed.

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

Just over a week to go before the C.Gars Ltd Summer Auction event which all of my Sales team are looking forward to immensely. Pre herfing at the lovely Ten Manchester street on Sunday 1^st July and main event at the fabulous Boisdale in Canary Wharf 🙂

Details on our next vintage CGARS AUCTION here
Link to our Online Auction catalogue PDF file
Event details here

Some splendid late entries are finally listed and both evenings are more or less sold out now. May just be able to squish in another ticket or two but you will need to book fast.

A great opportunity to bid for some superb vintage cigars and of course you may just bag a bargain.

If you like your cigars with decorative bands and in the beautiful boxes they come packages in, I strongly suggest you check out this link and Join the campaign saying no to “plain” packaging for cigars and pipe tobacco! You only have till the 10^th of July so please make your opinion count by registering your opposition to this ridiculous proposal.

Personally I have no problem with any legislation regarding cigarettes and plain packaging as we are of course specialist cigar merchants but let’s be honest – cigars are quite simply a different product. I mean lets be serious, you don’t find 13 year old school children planning to sneak off for a crafty Montecristo no.2 behind the bike sheds!! It’s just pathetic so make your voice heard sooner rather than when it’s too late.

We are expanding our range of C.Gars Seleccion and Orchant Seleccion cigars over the coming months and have created a new section on our website here.

This week we introduced our own exclusive blend, long filler, handmade Nicaraguan cigars made by ‘Torano.’

They have only been out a couple of days and we have already received huge amounts of orders. A first rate cigar at a very reasonable introductory price. Next week we will be adding another new cigar to the range, the likes of which has never been sold in the UK before.

The cigars that I select are the best expressions of the region and the size in my opinion – I should know, I spend many days and sometimes weeks testing different blends and vitolas until I settle on the perfect, balanced blend for the size and shape of the cigars that I wish to offer to my clients. To the best of my knowledge no other cigar merchant in the UK has anything close.

It’s the end of an era for me and C.Gars Ltd as our Hunters & Frankau representative and friend Ken Brealey has retired. I have known Ken since 1993 and he has been instrumental in helping us grow C.Gars Ltd to the largest specialist Havana cigar merchant in the UK. Ken popped into the office this week for a smoke or two and I’m looking forward to seeing him in a few weeks’ time at the Nottingham cigar dinner at Harts Hotel. All of my Team wish Ken many happy years enjoying his retirement.

Its more or less end game for Bolivar Britanicas, another magnificent UK regional edition. A beautiful cigar with a perfectly balanced and complex blend. Stash them in the humidor whilst you can!

On a non-cigar related theme, ‘When I were a lad(!)’ my favourite group were Dire Straits, absolutely loved them and saw them in concert many times. So it was a pleasure to be invited to a concert at the Shepherds Bush Empire last night where ‘The Straits ‘ performed. The band comprises of some of the former members of Dire Straits and they were absolutely fantastic. What made the evening more special was that it was a charity evening for The Sarah Greene Breakthrough Tribute Fund. If you are a Dire Straits fan – checkout The Straits website.

Have a smokey weekend,

Peaceful puffing,

Mitchell

Good to be back in the office herfing routine this week with our Director of Cigar Auctions, Brian Ebbesen having a busy week entertaining his auction clients at the office almost nonstop.

Brian was very busy with clients viewing auction Lots for our July 2^nd event and then took the opportunity to take clients through a sampling session of some of the new as well as the older regional editions made exclusively for the UK. The winner by a mile on the sampling session was the 2008 Punch Serie D’Oro. This cigar is now maturing to perfection, rich, full flavoured and full strength. For the more experienced cigar smoker without any doubt. Dark wrappers, completely consistent blend and perfect construction. This one will turn into a classic in my opinion.

Found a nice article on this website about our auction. Love the photo with the heap of vintage cigars!

A few late Lots added to the auction catalogue online which now complete all the entries for July 2^nd which is going to be a superb evening.

Details on our next vintage CGARS AUCTION here
Link to our Online Auction catalogue PDF file
Event details here

Our Hamburg La Casa del Habano has been busier than ever as we are in the middle of selling a HUGE collection (literally 1000’s of boxes!) of limited and regional editions as well as other fine Havanas.

We have had the pleasure of a Cuban cigar roller all week at our London offices making a superb ‘mas fuerte’ blend of ‘freshies’ for us and our clients. Another one for the serious cigar smoker >>> get them here whilst stocks last, it’s a great smoking experience.  View the video here.

Have a smokey weekend

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

I think that even by my own standards I have just completed a mega weeks herfing that started with the fabulous Hunters and Frankau’s Summer cigar party where we were treated with superb goodie bags including an extra lucky dip cigars of one of the sold out UK regional editions. (Thank goodness I got the Ramon Allones Belicosos!)

The latest UK regional edition Havana cigar – Punch Medalla De Oro was thoroughly tested and immensely enjoyed. This cigar measures in at 6 1/8″ length and 50 ring gauge and is presented in distinctive EMS gold foil. Rich, smooth sweet and complex. Well done Hunters & Frankau – Another truly splendid blend. A medium to full strength cigar with a cool easy draw from the first puff to the last. A ‘softer’ blend than the Punch Serie D Oro No.1 which is a more aggressive and stronger cigar altogether.

The Medalla De Oro has delicate complex and very sweet flavours and will suit the novice that wants to try a ‘big’ smoke as well as the more experienced cigar smoker. The 3 cigars I have smoked so far were all perfectly consistent in blend and had an attractive colorado wrapper. Another first rate regional edition exclusive to the UK market. Exclusive UK regional edition Punch Medalla de Oro.

The UK Punch will be a limited edition of 3000 boxes exclusive to the UK market and presented in boxes of 10 cigars.

Available for immediate shipping whilst stocks last:
Singles available at £24.99
Boxes of 10 available at £239

My friends joined me for a post herf at the Lanesborough Hotel cigar terrace till rather late and then I zoomed off to New York for a serious week of nonstop herfing!

As soon as I arrived I headed to GHR (Grand Havana Room) to smoke some Fuente Opus X with friends and met up with a chap called Sammy Moss who is the designer of a superb range of pens that I will soon be introducing to our range.

Saturday evening we took in the late show (Sinatra tribute) at the recently and tastefully refurbished Carnegie Club till the wee small hours.

Sunday we had dinner at Patsys Italian (Frank Sinatras favourite restaurant) followed by a herf till 3.30 a.m. at a secret destination 🙂

Mondays afternoon herf was at  Cigar Inn (My first visit – A most excellent and friendly cigar shop and lounge) followed by Club Macanudo which was absolutely packed. This was a pretty big event with around 35 friends joining my friend Guy Hancock (Decent Cigar Emporium – Dublin) and I for a late evening with loads of Fuente cigars!

Tuesday was our main event with over 120 friends joining us for our exclusive and annual boat herf on the East River. We enjoyed live music, Italian buffet, Sushi buffet, Wild Geese Irish whisky amongst other scotch and wine, Goodie bags and tons of the finest cigars. Our friends from Smoke Mag enjoyed the herf as did Craig from Cigar Craigs blog.

Wednesday we had dinner at Le Marais which was superb followed by a herf at Carnegie Club. New York has to be the most cigar friendly city in the world with the friendliest smokers to herf with. Can’t wait to go back again!

Cigar Auction – 2nd July 2012

Just a few weeks to go till our Summer Auction events and late entries are now starting to be listed with some additional fantastic Cuban Dunhill Lots. You can bid online or in person. Pre herf will be at Ten Manchester street on the 1^st July

Details on our next vintage CGARS AUCTION here

Link to our Online Auction catalogue PDF file

Event details here

Back to the C.Gars Ltd London office for me on Monday with a Cuban roller rolling ‘freshies’ all week. If you would like to see a rolling demonstration drop me an email and we can still just about squish you in.

Have a smokey weekend.

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell