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...