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!