Cigarando back in Milan

During the Royal Wedding Bank Holiday, my girlfriend and I decided to visit Milan. I'm not a big lover of the city but as my girlfriend had never been there, and my best friend Matteo recently moved to Milan, it was a good opportunity to spend some time visiting the Duomo, the Castle and of course the Quadrilatero d'Oro, an area in the centre of Milan which is supposed to have the highest concentration of fashion boutiques in the world. 

With regard to smoking lounges, I already posted some ideas here. This time, thanks to the nice weather, I smoked at the Bulgari Hotel both inside their internal lounge (picture below while enjoying a nice grappa) and in their garden.

My first smoke was a Partagas D3, 2006 Limited Edition. This cigar is not easy to find anymore, I think - I got lucky to find a few at a local cigar store in my hometown (when I was actually looking for Toscanos!). The cigar is a re-release of an original 2001 Limited Edition, corona gorda in size (46 ring gage for 5.6" in length). I was not blown away by this cigar which is spicy as you would expect from a Partagas, though a touch light to start with. It certainly improved in strength as the smoke went by and I deserve my final judgment after having smoked at least another one...

In addition, as mentioned, the Bulgari Hotel also has an amazing private garden which is of course a great venue to enjoy a cigar - see pictures below



The cigar in question was a present from my girlfriend from last August. A Petit Unicos (50 x 5.0") by Ramon Allones which was released exclusively for the Canadian market, as a result of a consumer survey. Very much an excellent choice, being an enjoyable smoke with a good draw and leaving
a complex flavour in the mouth!



And here is me! Enjoying the Ramon Allones Petit Unicos! For these sort of experiences, I wouldn't mind going back to Milan!

 

Cigarando in... Berlin

Between Easter and the Royal Wedding, we were able to enjoy a couple of long weekends here in the UK. The first weekend, I took the opportunity to visit Berlin for the first time. Traveling with my girlfriend and an allergy-heavy couple of friends ( :-) ), unfortunately, it wasn't easy to find ways to smoke a good cigar. Nonetheless, what would Easter be without a few good smokes! :)

So, I exploited the terrace at the Hotel de Rome to smoke a Cohiba Piramides, 2006 Limited Edition, a re-release of the 2001 Piramides. As you can see from the pictures below, the terrace boasts a remarkable view!

The 2006 Piramides seems to be still easily available. To be fair I fail to understand why! To me, this is indeed a very good smoke - an incredible Cohiba really, with a good draw and a chocolate, leathery aroma. I managed to find a box at the cigar shop in Selfridges and smoked a few of those during the bank holidays to great satisfaction! Probably worth getting old of another box before they disappear...

Enjoyable - notwistanding the small crack at the end! :)

Although I didn't have a chance to stop by properly, I paid a quick visit to the local La Casa del Habano shop at the Savoy Hotel. 

Next time, I will need to visit this shop properly! As you can see, it has both outside and inside smoking areas...

... and a well equipped walk-in humidour of course!

I cannot document it with a picture, but also smoked a newly released Toscano - a special edition celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Italian Unification - at the Club Der Visionaere. I also heard the Newton Bar is a good place to both smoke and have a drink in Berlin, where, by the way, there are many smoking lounges and/or bars which allow smoking! 

Finally, a visit to Berlin couldn't be complete without a pit stop at the Olympiastadium - this is were Italy won the fourth Wold Cup in 2006! Po po po po po po po!