Every time I speak to cigar smokers, they always point out how difficult it is to find a good place to smoke cigars in London. That's certainly the case, but thankfully there are many new places - particularly hotels - launching dedicated smoking areas. Amongst the most recent, besides the ones already mentioned here like 10 Manchester Street or the Montagu Hotel or indeed the Lanesborough, the Ritz and the Langham hotels are coming out with smoking lounges.
Tucked away in Soho, probably unknown to many, the Sanctum Hotel also offers a cozy roof garden which is cigar friendly and gives an opportunity to smoke a puro and enjoy a nice drink at the same time. For hotel guests it is open 24 hours, but as long as it's not too busy anybody can access the roof garden in regular hours (say up to 10pm, though I have never been there in the evening and usually go there in the afternoon).
As you can see from the pictures, comfortable seats are available outside and there are also some small heaters that can help make the space more comfortable these days, when it still gets quite chilly after dusk.
Last time I went there it was arguably a few months ago now - in October to be precise - and I also had the opportunity to enjoy a pretty superb cigar, the Bolivar Gran Belicoso, the 2010 release of the cigar book-shaped collection, the 10th in its series (only 1,000 "books" with 20 cigars have been made but standalone cigars can also be found...). These books - also known as "Habanos books" - are only available at La Casa del Habano stores. Previous cigars in this collection included for example the Cohiba Sublimes. I understand this year they will do a book which will contain 2 cigars of each of the 10 special cigars made so far - it may be a perfect own gift for me so I can taste them all :)
The cigar measures 7 1/8 inches in length for a 54 ring gauge - this is a Rodolfo or double Pyramid size which is not very easy to find (only the San Cristobal de La Habana Murella shares this original size). A perfect example of an earthy Bolivar which is certainly worth trying for the many Bolivar lovers!
