Where to smoke in Milan?

Although I'm Italian, I don't really know Milan well. I have never lived there and to be fair, being from the centre of Italy, I much rather prefer Rome. However, I do travel to Milan a few times a year on business and therefore I did need to find out where are the good places to smoke cigars. I reported in the past about the local Casa del Habano, but where else?

The Westin Palace in Piazza della Repubblica used to have a smoking area but I think that since the new law came into force they shut it down (if any of you know whether or not this is the case, please do let me know). Fortunately, I did find another hotel, conveniently located in the city centre, with a small but fairly homely cigar lounge: the Bulgari hotel! 

The pictures below that I took with my blackberry really don't do it justice (and apologies for the bad quality!), but the space is a little heaven for the frantic traveller like me looking for an oasis of calm :) There is a little humidour with an overall acceptable selection of cigars (no surprises, but more famous brands like Cohiba tend to take most of the space), comfy leather chairs and of course a good selection of drinks. Only thing I'd warn you about is that you may hear quite some big mouths while there... but who cares :)

Yesterday night I was in Milan and smoked at the Bulgari's lounge a Partagas Serie D Especial Limited Edition I purchased in Dubai (by the way, I'm not sure if I'm being unlucky but generally find the cigars from Dubai not as well kept and therefore somewhat less enjoyable..). Since the area was full, I sat down at a table with another cigar smoker - the funny thing is that the gentleman I shared the table with is from London and literally lives 10 minutes walk away from my place. What a small world!

In the last picture you can see some images of chocolates on the wall in the background. I will do a little digression on this, as if you are going to be in MIlan this week - up until the 19th of December -  the Bulgari Hotel will be home to a unique event featuring the handmade Bulgari chocolates. From 7 pm to 9 pm it will be possible to admire the Japanese maitre chocolatier Miura Naoki while he creates the exclusive collection of Bulgari chocolates (amongst some of the chocolates available, you can have panettone or truffle!). You can also enjoy a daily chocolate tasting at 5:00 p.m. and a special sunday  brunch menu featuring the chocolates as dessert. The chocolates are not cheap but really delicious and they are also available in a special box combination with a bottle of Dom Pérignon for a luxurious Christmas gift for the real chocolates lovers amongst you!

Romeos and P1s!

One of the (many) beauties of smoking cigars is that you can never get bored. There is always a new cigar to taste, always a new limited or regional edition to try or, to be fair, a moment to smoke one of your old favorites (D4 or Siglo VI anyone?)

Thanks to Ajay at La Casa del Habano in Teddington I can often get my eyes on some special cigars (and really thanks to Ajay - just managed to sample an amazing Partagas Sublime 165th Anniversary - really a very very spicy and full bodied smoke, rich and peppery which will become an absolute outstanding smoke in a year and beyond).  

A few weeks ago we had a get together at 10 Manchester Street to celebrate the birth of my friend Mo's third (I think! he has so many I'm getting confused - sorry!) child. Mo was kindly offering P1s from the travel retail exclusive Jar (and yes! I have managed to get hold of one thanks to the friends of the Cigar Club Alejandro Robaina in Matelica) and beforehand I tasted a Romeo & Julieta Romeos.

R&J, one of the most well-known cuban cigar brands worldwide, brought back this astonishing size, a double figurado, in 2008. This cigar was discontinued in the 70's but for the 125th anniversary of the brand, Romeo & Julieta did a commemorative Humidour which included 25 double-corona and 25 Romeos. Only 250 Humidours were produced worldwide. The cigar is a blend of selected leaves from the Vuelta Abajo region resulting in a classic medium bodied cigar. The one I got was a replica from 2008, from the third release of the Ancient Humidour Series.

Looks good, doesn't it? It's a size 52 x 162 (6.4") - a very solid smoke!

After the Romeos, it was time to spice up the evening with a Partagas P1, a petit piramides, smaller than a P2. This cigar was released in a special collector ceramic jar which is made exclusively for travel retail (although - if you look for it, you can find it in many other shops...) I heard different judgements about this cigar and not everyone seems to be very fond of them at the moment. I think with a little bit of aging, though, these will become incredibly sought after cigars and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the one offered by Mo. Thanks again and congratulations!!!

Here is Mo holding the P1 Jar - it is beautiful, a perfect item for a collector! - below Mo amongst some of our cigar smoking buddies!

I'm back... from Dubai...

Apologies for the lack of blogging but it has been a very busy month (and a bit) at work... The good news is that I spent some of this past month in Dubai, which is certainly a very convenient location for a cigar smoker!

You can buy cigars - at prices usually at least 50% cheaper than the UK (probably currently helped by the FX a little) - as soon as you land, at the duty free shop in the airport (not quite sure why you would have a duty free in a country with no VAT, but that's another story :))

There are, of course, many Casa del Habano. Here is the local symbol from la Casa in the shopping mall by the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel, right next to the DIFC, Dubai International Financial Centre. If you go to Dubai, you are most certainly going to spend some time in the area - even if you have nothing to do with the financial industry, as there are plenty of shops and restaurants (read alcohol...) 

I have to say that some of the cigars I sampled in Dubai were not smoking too well, sometimes they smoked very fast, sometimes they just were too dry. Perhaps the conditions in which they are kept are at times sub-optimal and my suggestion is probably to buy the more famous brands as the turnover would be quicker and therefore they are less likely to have not been stored properly...

The airports has got also its own La Casa del Habano shops - wnhere on my last visit I bought some D Especial. You can see a couple of snapshot of their assortment. Note in the second pictures some Behike (they had BHK 56 the first time I visited in early October but since then I have only seen BHK 52 and BHK 54 if at all). Also note the Partagas P1 jar in the middle on the far right of the second picture. This is a cigar exclusive for travel retail. More about the P1s to come soon.

Quick post... Good to be back! 

A new COSA! and one more Canadian cigar...

Due to the smoking ban in the UK, it is becoming more and more difficult to enjoy a good cigar in a comfy place, which partly explains why there are so many new cigars which are relatively smaller... if you have to enjoy them outside, you may want to be quick, particularly during the colder months. Thankfully, London is seeing a good number of new COSA, or "Comfortable Outdoor Smoking Area", as defined by Hunters and Frankau, the UK leading independent cigar importer. 

The 4-star Montague Hotel, right next to the British Museum, recently opened theirs, which I tested a few weeks ago. I took the occasion to smoke the Bolivar Simones, Canadian Regional Edition, a Hermoses No. 4 in size, firstly issued in 2007 but re-released last year in 1,200 numbered boxes of 25 cigars each (the original release was of 600 boxes but with 50 cigars each)

The cigar terrace has a good number of seats and overlooks the private gardens of the Bedford Estates, a nice change relative to other COSAs which don't really offer any views (e.g. 10 Manchester Street Hotel or Lanesborough).

The seats are overall comfortable, although not as roomy as in others. There are also heaters on the wall, that should allow to exploit the terrace during the winter (at least during the day). An awning contributes to make the area more enclosed, although having been there during one of their recent tastings, I should warn you that it is possible for the occasional drop of water to get through... not a big deal, but something that may impair the use of the terrace when is really cold and rainy.

As you can see from the picture above, some drawings perfectly in line with the overall ("smoking") theme of the hotel hang on the wall. 

As for the cigar? well I found the Simones to be sweet to start with, honey like taste with a very good draw and plenty of smoke. The cigar developed then into a more traditional Bolivar type flavour, like a Belicosos Finos, a very spicy cigar getting of course stronger towards the end.

It is possible to purchase cigars at the Montague Hotel, the selection is not the largest but very interesting. I also understand that during the summer there will be barbecue organised. I think that as the personnel builds knowledge of cigars, the terrace has got full potential to become another regular spot for cigars smokers. If you want to test yourself, the next event is just around the corner, on October 20th. Check the link for full details. 

A casa!

Casa in Soho is where it all started... or at least where my cigar passion started to get real. Right next to Floridita in Wardour Street, at the first London's Casa del Habano. After the smoking ban in the UK, the shop didn't keep the franchise as the area dedicated to cigar smoking is relatively small and I understand there are some sort of minimum size requirements to comply with the franchising... In any event, even if now only "Casa", this remains one of my favorite places to sample cigars in London... 

So I couldn't avoid having a stop by Casa to celebrate my birthday... and what is better than a classic  Montecristo A!

As you can see from the picture, this is not a cigar to be enjoyed in a short timeframe... it measures 23.5cm in length with a 47 ring gage and I enjoyed the smoke for over 2 hours... First released in 1971, it remains one of the most time consuming cigars to this day. It even made it to the Guinness Book of World Records because of its size!

This cigar is not the strongest Montecristo, it exhibits vanilla and spicy flavours all around building out in strengths - it's a great cigar I think as you don't need necessarily need to be a cigar aficionado to fully appreciate it, though most people get scared by its size (and the time required to fully smoke it, admittedly you may not always have 2+ hours for a smoke!)

These pictures give you an overview of what the smoking area of Casa looks like - it has a nice home feeling, with large black leather sofa-chairs and wood shelfs on one side and a big picture of the Cuban island on the other side. What you cannot see is the walk-in humidour, where I also keep a box with some of my precious cigars... 

The luxury of taste

This past summer I visited Sicily for the first time. I had never been in what is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, but all I can say is that a visit is well worth it. Beautiful scenery with great food and weather... what more can you ask for on a vacation?

One of the reason for going to Sicily was to join an event organised by Aleksandar Markovic, founder of the Cigars and Professional Group on Linkedin (see here). The event name was  already very appealing (the Luxury of Taste) and promised good food, drinks but above all, for me at least, cigars. 

The event was organised at the San Domenico Palace Hotel, a former monastery with an amazing view overlooking the sea, a beautiful cloister (perfect for cigar smoking) and impeccable service, thanks to Aleksandar and his team, including Gaetano, Claudia, Enrico, Claudio, Pasquale (I certainly have forgotten somebody but thanks anyways to anybody that made the event possible!) 

Amongst the great food (courtesy of the resident Michelin-star chef Massimo Mantarro) and drinks (Ferrari spumante, Steinbruck champagne, Diamond vodka). the event was an occasion to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Cig@rome, which I understand is the oldest cigar club in Italy, and introduce in Italy the new Davidoff cigar, the Puro D'oro.

Here I'm... excited to sample the Davidoff Puro D'Oro. The cigar is a new blend whose major characteristic is that all the tobacco is sourced from Dominican Republic, hence the reference to being pure in the name.

The goods... I of course smoked Davidoff Puro D'Oro in Taormina. They come in 4 sizes (Deliciosos, Magnificos, Notables and Sublimes). I smoked the Magnificos and Notables and probably prefer this latter. While the bland is the same, the corona-type size gave me better smoothness and less acidity. I think it's definitely a cigar worth smoking, clearly less strong than a cuban, so perhaps a great alternative for a midday smoke...

Here, are a few cigar smoking buddies that I met at the event... 

I would also like to thank Aleksandar for making me sample the Robaina Marshall Adriatic Edition... separate post will follow on this cigar.

Holidays cigars

As I mentioned, I was recently on holiday and of course, thanks to my travel humidour, I couldn't miss the opportunity to sample some good cigars... I was in Italy and therefore had the occasional Toscano (more about these cigars will need to come in separate posts) and some of my favorites of all the times (for example, a Cohiba Siglo VI, a perfectly elegant cigar, with a hint of chocolate and vanilla and great burn throughout, really a must have).

However, one of the drawbacks of travelling is that you may not always have good locations for cigar smoking available at your fingertips. I therefore had to also sample some short smokes.

Amongst those I can mention a Pleiades Paris cigars which I picked up in France. 

As I understand, the Pleiades is made with a blend of Dominican and Nicaraguan long-leaf tobaccos. The one I smoked was a short piramide 1984-2004 with a light wrapper; the filler tobacco was certainly not abundant and the overall construction not perfect. It was an easy light smoke with an earthy, woody taste. An ok smoke, most importantly, for being a non-cuban, not acidic!

Another day I also sampled a  short Bolivar Petit Libertador, a 2008 French Limited Edition, shown in the picture below.

This was an excellent short smoke, immediately kicking in with a good flavour, mostly vanilla in my view but also very spicy throughout. The burnt was ok, although a bit uneven and I entertained myself with one of those long-ash-gallery-type pictures below... 

Finally, a little curiosity... I was in Verona as well during my holidays and after a good dinner with steak and Pergole Torte (great Italian Tuscan red, a must try!), I lighted up a Partagas D Especial, the recently released Limited Edition. What I didn't realise is that I kept on smoking it while also in the Arena di Verona, before watching the Aida... Luckily, I asked if it was possible to smoke inside before it was too late... while I had to interrupt my very good smoke - see my review at the bottom of this post here - I finished the D Especial after the Opera... 

Canadian limited editions

My girlfriend was recently in Canada and I therefore asked her to kindly stop by the La Casa del Habano in Yorkville, Toronto, to grab some regional editions cigars. I love that store... The first time I went to Toronto I immediately visited the shop, in part as it is run by Andy, a friend that has basically introduced me to the real word of good cigar smoking when he used to run the former La Casa del Habano in Soho, London. I still remember the time he spent with me in the humidour, describing cigars, the various brands, the flavour and how to enjoy them... so much so that I had to buy the bible of cigars to learn more... "An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Post Revolution Havana Cigars"

Andy suggested, amongst others, a newly released Bolivar  B-2, a 2010 Canadian Limited Edition, a piramides in vitola which I'm enjoying in the picture below in the garden of Caldesi in Campagna, a nice Italian restaurant in Bray, an hour drive from London.

The B-2 is crafted with tobacco leaf from Vuelta Abajo in Pinar del Rio. The selection is limited to 1,000 numbered boxes containing 25 habanos each with primary distribution, obviously, restricted to Canada.

The cigar had a very nice wrapper, with really good construction for a Bolivar... It did show some venatures but it smoked really nice. The flavor was a lot of pepper to start with but developing into a spicy blend with a hint of coffee. A very nice compliment to the Grappa Poli di Sassicaia I was also enjoying!

More to come with a Bolivar Simones (a Hermos 4 size), a Ramon Allones Petit Unicos (a short piramide) and a Vegas Robaina Short Robaina (a Gordito), all shown in the picture below.

Travel humidour!

Apologies for the lack of updates over the last couple of weeks... Coming back to daily life from holidays always take a bit longer than you would like to :)

While I do have a few sampling notes on cigars to talk about (including nice Canadian editions as well as a tasting of Davidoff Puro Doro at an event in Taormina), I would like to talk about my travel humidour in this post - and if any of you has got some good tip on how to carry around their cigars when travelling, I'm clearly all open to new suggestions. It can in fact be problematic to carry around good cigars with you. Leather case or other tubes may not be enough if you are out for a little while. It is for this reason that I decided not long ago to invest in a very useful travel humidour, shown in the pictures below.

I bought my cigar caddy at the Publicis Drugstore in Paris (by the way, a very good cigar shop if you are on the look in the Ville Lumiere), but they are relatively easy to find and in my view an excellent tool for any cigar smoker that wants to have cigars in perfect conditions when on the go... My caddy carries about 10 but you can find similar boxes for 5, 15 or even more... It keeps the humidity very well and I actually don't even need to refill the water that often. The only negative I have found is that sometimes it becomes a bit difficult to open if travelling by plane, I think because the plane creates some sort of vacuum sealing effect on it... Other than that, it did keep my cigars in perfect conditions as you can see in this picture. 

Partagas limited edition - guest blogger

On the way to a holiday for the next 2 weeks, I should be out of touch but wanted to leave you with one interesting article by James (who made his appearance below) on Partagas limited editions... Happy Smoking! 

The Partagas Serie D No.4 is a cigar recognised and loved, by cigar enthusiasts and beginners alike, as one of the greatest robustos available on the Market - especially with age on it. However this lonely regular production cigar was one of a family of 16 cigars - the alphabetical series of Partagas cigars. 

Discontinued one by one, the D4 is all that remains in regular production. In the 1930s, the cigars ranged from the Serie A No.1 through to the D No.4. The 4 A Serie being of a ring gauge of 38, B Serie a ring gauge of 42, C Serie was 48 and the D Serie 50. 1 equating to 6 5/8 inches in length, 2 - 6 1/8, 3 - 5 1/2 and finally the "4" were all 4 7/8 inches in length. 

Several of these cigars have been reproduced as an Edición Limitada (Limited Edition) to commemorate these sizes; the D No.2 in 2003, the D No.1 in 2004. A Serie D No.3 was also released however it was not in keeping with the orginal size; the Edición Limitada for 2010, the Partagas Serie D Especial has taken this size (for some more colour on this cigar, see the last part of this post by Mass). 

An extremely limited release, in the book series of cigars, showcased the C No.1 in 2002, which I have yet had the pleasure to track down and smoke, but I hope is just a

matter of time. The picture below, courtesy of Hunters & Frankau, shows them.

Those of you who haven't had the pleasure of igniting any of these limited release cigars, I  urge you to try and find them as they are fast disappearing and worth the effort.

by James

Guest blogger!

As anticipated, Cigarando is expanding and a guest blogger is making his debut today, James Smith! I met James at the old Casa del Habano in Soho, London (now only Casa) and since then we meet often, usually together with his best friend Trevor, to enjoy cigars together... This is the first one of his posts. More to come!

As advertised by Ajay, of La Casa Del Habano in Teddington, the roller from Cuba, Anibal Gonzalez, was at his shop last month (see this post). Due to a last minute cancellation in my original plans I headed to the shop to visit and once again see the roller in action after having seen him at the launch of the Behike range of cigars at the Goring Hotel in London.

I smoked a Romeo Y Julieta Duke Limited Edition 2009 to start, whilst sitting in the lounge and then moving upstairs to watch the roller. 

After chatting with Ajay and Anibal, I was given the opportunity to test my skill as a torcedor (cigar roller). Having previously videoed Anibal rolling a robusto, I had noted that it was rolled in approximately 4 minutes. These guys have to roll 120, or more, a day- depending on which factory they work in and which vitola they are rolling that day.. It took me 17 minutes with a lot of tuition.

I have watched rollers in the past and known that this is no easy task, taking them 7 years of training before they are let loose on the tobacco that is grown for the purpose of rolling into the fine cigars that you or I smoke regularly. Today I found out exactly how hard it is.

And yes, I just smoked it. It was awesome. My only complaint was that the draw was slightly too loose, but I took it slow and it made for over an hour smoke.

Anibal has since returned to his home in Cuba and has been replaced in the UK one of his fellow torcedors, from the Romeo y Julieta Factory in Havana, Señor Hamlet Jaime Parede. I had the pleasure of meeting Hamlet on Friday 13 August, my Birthday, where I spent the day at La Casa Del Habano, again, with my friend Trevor. Massimo, who had previously met Hamlet at the Red Room Club (see this post), was also able to join us for the afternoon to enjoy the Salamones rolled by Hamlet, which I have to say is the best salamones I have ever smoked.

 

blog post by James

Cubana cafe

My friend Valerio recently got married near Paris (Congrats! if you want to check-out my gf and I's wedding outfits you can do so here) and we used the opportunity to spend a couple of days in "La Ville-Lumière". 


If you are in Paris and have a craving for a Cuban flavor, you cannot miss Cubana Cafe, in Rue Vavin.


The set up is pretty simple - a bar with a separate room where nobody is allowed to be served, so you have to order your own drinks (and cigars if you want), carry them with you, find a seat and enjoy... There is a small extra charge for staying in the cigar room (or "smokehouse" as they call it) but given the trouble in finding cigars friendly places this day, it is certainly worth it, particularly in the colder months.





This is the humidour of Cubana Cafe - it has an average selection of Cubans but at bar prices (relative to Paris... still cheaper than in London!). 


I didn't carry my cigars with me that evening so I picked a Ramon Allones Especially Selected which I'm smoking in the two pictures below. As you can see, the separate smokehouse has got some paintings which blend well with a cigar smoking environment.








Cubana Cafe also serves food but if you fancy something really good you can try nearby La Coupole (in Rue due Montparnasse) - close to La Coupole there is also a good cigar shop with a good selection of Cubans as well as non Cubans cigars.

The Red Room and a new roller!

A quick post to point out that a new roller has just arrived in the UK. His name is Hamlet Jaime Parede and like the previous roller Anibal Gonzalez is a certified 9th grade roller, the highest achievable, which means that he's able to roll cigars in any sizes. Apparently it takes at least six years to make a 9th grade roller and it's all depending on your skills.

I met Hamlet at an event organised by The Red Room Club within Les Ambassadors Club in Hyde Park Coner, a members club Casino close to the Intercontinteal hotel. I had never been in this venue before, which boasts the only open air casino in London (allowing for cigars smoking), and it was certainly a good decision to attend, although last minute. The event included a cigar prepared by Hamlet as well as a sampling of Moet Hennessey cognac (including Paradis). 

Hamlet speaks very good English - which is a change compared to many of the rollers that have visited recently - so could also have a nice conversations about cigars. For example, he explained me how Behike are the only cigars with six different type of leaves - given the inclusion of "Medio Tiempo" leaf (the one that comes from the very top of a tobacco plant); this allows them to have a very special and different flavour. Hamlet also said his preferred cigars to roll are robusto but he likes to smoke double coronas. Hamlet admitted that he usually smokes cigars without cutting the uneven end. I therefore asked him to prepare me a robusto with the final end still attached.  The cigar had a perfect draw and a creamy flavour, reminding me of Hoyo de Monterrey in a sense. A really superb smoke for a freshly rolled cigar!

Hamlet, in the picture above, this week is rolling at JJ Fox in St. James Street (until Wednesday) and La Casa del Habano (from Thursday till Saturday) but will certainly be around at various events over the next 3 months

New York, New York

Was recently in the East Coast of the United States for the baptism of my friend Doug's third child - Sebastian - so took the occasion to spend some time in NYC and exploit some of the cigar lounges in the Big Apple...

Despite the smoking ban, there is a good selection of smoking places available in the city... since I was only there for a small period of time I cannot give you in this occasion a full overview but hopefully will eventually have the opportunity to show all the available options...

Some cigars shop also offers the opportunity to smoke (for example, De La Concha on 6th Avenue between 54th and 56th Street). This time, however, I decided to visit the Davidoff upscale shop on Madison and 54th Street - where i got hold of the new Davidoff Puro Doro cigar. Davidoff also owns the De La Concha shop nowadays but currently does not allow smoking in its Madison Avenue shop due to a restriction implemented by the building owners. The pictures below show the well assorted Davidoff's walk-in humidour.

One of the couple of evenings I spent in NYC I also visited Club Macanudo together with my friend David. Club Macanudo remains in my view one of the best places to enjoy a cigar - perfect atmosphere (large leather chairs and comfy sofas) combined with a good selection of food and drinks. Cigars offered are maybe not always the best (but if you want a good one, I recommend the Club Macanudo 1968) so we decided to enjoy something not on the menu...

An overview of Club Macanudo

My friend David at Club Macanudo enjoying his drink

Here I'm smoking the new Romeo & Juliet Wide Churchill...

In this picture I'm with my friend Doug. The day after the Christening we also enjoyed a cigar together - I had the Puro Doro that i grabbed at the Davidoff shop while I gave him a Cohiba Behike 54... we did enjoy them but also confirmed that  the Behike are definitively cigars for the "heavy smokers".... don't smoke them if you are a cigar novice or not on a full stomach...

Finally, just before taking my plane back to London, I made a short stop at Velvet Cigar lounge, in the picture above, on E7th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue. This lounge is very small but they sell their own cigars made with Domincan tobacco (with Cuban-seed). Their cigars are offered in three styles - full bodied (The Tompkins), medium bodied (The Astor) and mild (The Cooper). I found their cigars to be a good smooth alternative to Cubans, not as strong but pleasant and spicy. At Velvet they also have a small selection of other brands available - I found Nubs in the past, this time they had Tatuaje, another good choice for non-Cuban cigars.

Anibal Delgado Gonzalez at la Casa del Habano

Anibal Delgado Gonzalez has been on a tour of the UK from the La Corona factory in Havana over the last 12 weeks - I think his time in the UK has come to a close as I write this post but we certainly look forward to seeing him again soon to enjoy his rolling skills...

During his time in the UK, Anibal has been visiting various shops and locations (first time I have seen him in action was for example at the Behike cigars launch event at the Goring Hotel in Victoria). 

To have the opportunity to enjoy one last time his cigars, I visited La Casa del Habano in Teddington earlier in the month... Courtesy of Ajay's super assorted humidour (in the picture below), I also smoked a Roman Allones Estupendos - exclusivo Asia Pacifico while taking the pictures.

Anibal has been a torcedor (cigar roller) for over 20 years and as 9th grade roller is able to roll every cigar produced by the Habanos portfolio. He started working as a roller in 1985 at the Romeo y Julieta factory but now works in the heart of Havana in La Corona. In 2000 he was selected to participate in rolling demonstrations around the world and so far has visited Guatemala, Argentina, Uruguay, Bahrain, Greece, Chile and China.

Here is Anibal - rolling makes him happy?

Well, I would certainly be if I could smoke cigars while working like he's doing here :)

I asked Anibal to prepare me a Maravilla extra... this is not an official size but I basically asked for a cigar with the ring gage of a sublime (54) only with additional length. In the picture above I'm posing while Anibal is working on "my" cigar...



This is the result of my request!



And here I'm looking forward to smoke it... Didn't do it just yet as I wanted it to dry it in my humidour at home a little bit (when they are freshly rolled I notice they tend to smoke too quickly, and I want to make sure I will enjoy my unique cigar for the longest possible time... :)