Not a week goes by without someone offering us the “opportunity” to buy some great cigars that they just bought back from their holiday in Cuba.

I’m afraid we don’t buy recent production cigars (we do buy vintage Havanas) and we don’t buy fakes.

See below classic example of fake Cohiba Esplendidos (they have never been made in a glass top box of course !)

So here are a few tips:

– If you go to Cuba only purchase cigars that you intend to smoke or gift as you won’t be able to re-sell them in the UK

– Only purchase from an official shop such as La Casa del Habano or Caracol and always get a receipt

– If you buy counterfeits on the street, they are likely to be made out of scraps or rubbish

– If you try to get counterfeits out of Cuba, Customs will not be very impressed! and they will likely delay you

– There is no such thing as cheaper prices than the official store prices

– Whatever story you are told i.e. The cigars are from my cousin who works in the cigar factory” …it’s just a story. Don’t be tempted as you will waste your time and money

Have a smokey weekend

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

September flew buy at warp speed,I can only guess that was due to being busier than ever which can’t be a bad thing. Time flies when you’re enjoying yourself 🙂

Last week I enjoyed drinks and smokes at the Lanesborough Hotel followed by dinner at Boisdale with famous Australian cigar merchants Wal and Ben Baranow. In think its fair to say we had a great time and smoked up quite a few of the new UK regionals:

El Rey del Mundo’s Choix de L’Époque Petit Edmundo-sized cigar 4 3/8” length and 52 ring gauge, light to medium flavour. Limited edition of 2,000 boxes of 25 cigars

Singles

Boxes of 25

Juan Lopez Selección Suprema 6 5/8” length and 52 ring gauge (Torre Iznaga vitola)
Limited edition of 2,000 cabinets of 10 cigars

Singles

Boxes of 10

Guaranteed best value in the UK of course 🙂

I also zoomed up to our cigar stores in Liverpool and Chester for a day to catch up with my sales teams and give myself a quick retail refresher course as we plan to open a few more cigar and whisky shops in the next few weeks so I thought I had better learn from the professionals!

A few additional excellent boxes of vintage Havanas arriving every day for entry into our Vintage Cigar Auction at Boisdale Belgravia on the 1st December. Don’t be shy! there is no listing fee and the sellers fee is only payable if the box sells at an acceptable price. Only vintage cigars please,no recent production or brought back from Cuba whilst on holiday boxes!

It looks like we may have 80 – 100 Lots in the auction, perhaps more. Mojitos at 7 and auction at 7.30. I may have to restrict it to 100 Lots as I have a cigar dinner afterwards that I don’t want to miss (I am the host!)

I think the last Christies cigar auction was back in 2006., C.Gars Ltd were always the largest buyers at Christies cigar auctions so its funny to have the boot on the other foot and be holding the auction where we are selling cigars on behalf of clients.At least we are certain of quality,condition and provenance!

We may well be the largest buyers of vintage cigars in the UK (I am quite sure we are!) and I deal with buying and selling vintage Havanas daily and have done for the last 12 years.

If you are considering selling anything and want real expert advice from a really experienced Havana cigar specialist no need to waste your time anywhere else,just contact me for fast and accurate advice whether selling outright, commission selling, auction selling, buying or just wanting information and advice, I am always happy to help ([email protected] 07000 088 088)

I’m off to Scotland for a few days at Robert Graham Ltd shops this week which I’m looking forward to as we prepare to launch another one of our fabulous award winning independent bottlings.

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

Great news:-) the UK exclusive regional edition Havanas will be launched on Monday and available for shipping soon after

Allocations are tight as there are so few of these cigars. If they are as good as the previous UK Regionals they are likely to sell out faaaaaaaast !

El Rey del Mundo’s Choix de L’Époque Petit Edmundo-sized cigar 4 3/8” length and 52 ring gauge, light to medium flavour. Limited edition of 2,000 boxes of 25 cigars

Singles

Boxes of 25

Juan Lopez Selección Suprema 6 5/8” length and 52 ring gauge (Torre Iznaga vitola)
Limited edition of 2,000 cabinets of 10 cigars

Singles

Boxes of 10

Guaranteed best value in the UK of course 🙂

I’m starting to do the catalogue for my 1st December vintage Havana cigar auction which will be available 2nd week of October on PDF and by post. If you want a copy shoot me an email [email protected] A variety of limited edition, vintage, Davidoff, Dunhill, Pre embargo and other fabulous Havanas will be available by auction at Boisdale of Belgravia.

If you are entering a Lot, email us soonest and if you want to bid you will need to email to register. Who knows you may bag a bargain 🙂

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

Yesterday I enjoyed an excellent evening at Boisdale Belgravia (I think the staff there must think I never leave) with friends and clients including Gordo, Craig, Zaff, Vimal, Wilkes and Chris.

We spotted Malcolm Rifkind on the cigar terrace – good man 🙂 Food, wine and service was excellent as usual. Boisdale is also great value. Probably why its packed full every day/night. Best to book ahead.

I went back to smoking BBF’s and Diplomaticos No.2 yesterday as a change to my Montecristo No.2 and Partagas P.2 routine which is a lovely contrast.

My cigar auction date has been changed to the 1st December and catalogue will be on the website in PDF approximately 6 weeks beforehand. If you want to sell something,drop me an email and if you want to bid, you need to register so again, drop me an email [email protected] Venue will be…. Boisdale Belgravia

So far we are having a fabulous September, with my whiskey business Robert Graham Ltd having won 2 prestigious awards from Whiskey Magazine for our independent bottling and our cigar sales booming no doubt partly thanks to the exchange rates (why buy abroad when you can but the finest English Market Selection?) The next few weeks should be interesting as we plan to open another new cigar and whiskey shop in Edinburgh which will keep us all busy for a while 🙂

La Casa del Habano-Hamburg is busier than ever and the big success story of the year is the German regional edition Bolivar Especiales. This really is an excellent blend that smokes well now and will age very well indeed.

In answer to many emails about the Cohiba Gran Reserva, we hope and expect a small quantity to be released by November but I understand the bulk of the release will not be till early next year. I would guess the cigars have been made but the beautiful cabinets (15 cigars) that they come in have not yet arrived in Havana. These incredible cigars have 5 year old tobacco (filler, binder and wrapper)

I reckon we are now the biggest cigar advisory service in the world! We receive well over 1000 emails a day. Lots of very basic questions as well as many sophisticated questions from connoisseurs or aspiring connoisseurs.

The point to remember is that there are never silly questions. I say that as so many people start their emails with ” I am sorry to be a pain” or “I’m sure you have been asked this a thousand times ” or “is this a daft question”. We are delighted to advise as best we can and are online 24 hours a day – every day of the year.

Most popular questions this week include:

– What cutter do you recommend? A: No contest it’s Palio

-What humidifier do you recommend? A : Puck is fast becoming a best seller for us and is highly recommended

-Can you recommend a Havana cigar for the novice? A: Monte 4 and Monte 5 you can’t go wrong or try one of our cigar samplers.

– I want to try something different and a bit more sophisticated. A: If you can handle a big cigar go for the UK regional Punch Serie D’Oro no.1. This cigars has to be one of the best blended Havanas from the last decade. Simply incredible

Happy New Year (Shana Tova) / Happy Ramadan – delete as applicable! …but enjoy with a fine cigar, but please do remember to cut your cigars before sunset and light from an existing flame. (but not on Saturday!)

I’ll be offline from tonight till Sunday night and then back on late shifts next week as usual but Michelle and the Girls will be around to answer your questions in my absence.

Have a great weekend

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

Great news:-) both of the new 2009 UK regional editions will be launched on the 28th September and available for shipping on the 29th 🙂

El Rey del Mundo’s Choix de L’Époque Petit Edmundo-sized cigar 4 3/8” length and 52 ring gauge, light to medium flavour. Limited edition of 1,372 boxes of 25 cigars
http://www.cgarsltd.co.uk/mundo-choix-epoque-petit-edmundo-sized-cigar-p-7572.html

Juan Lopez Selección Suprema 6 5/8” length and 52 ring gauge (Torre Iznaga vitola)
Limited edition of 2,040 cabinets of 10 cigars
http://www.cgarsltd.co.uk/juan-lopez-seleccion-suprema-p-7573.html

Both cigars exclusive to the UK market

Get them while you can as they won’t be around long!

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell