Sanctum Hotel and Bolivar Gran Belicoso

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!

Correnti cigars

Has anybody heard of Correnti Cigars? Well, neither had I until a friend of my gf's Lisa recommended a visit to their local factory in Toronto, 606 King Street.

I can guarantee it was quite a surprise to find out that in the centre of Toronto one could find a producer of 100% Cuban tobacco cigars. The family-owned business, in fact, imports tobacco from Cuba and then hand-roll cigars in Toronto. They are - or so the website claims - the exclusive importer of Cuban raw leaves.

The factory has got a lot of character and it reminded me of an old shop you may only see in the movies. A lot of space is taken by the traditional cuban-rollers tables - see picture below



When I walked in - probably looking as happy as kid on Christmas day - I started to enquiry about the history of the company (for the curious amongst you, you can get more details here) and the type of cigars available. They produce a variety of sizes (like traditional robusto, torpedos, churchills) also in a maduro (aged) selection. It's even possible to sample the cigars in the lounge...



I bought a few Correnti cigars and so far only smoked one. The verdict is still open I think - I found the cigar very mild and probably not as tight as most other hand-rolled - the flavour remind me almost of a non-cuban (probably not surprising given that they  cater to the North-American market).

A few boxes by the entrance, will give an idea  of all the goods available to who decides to visit the shop/factory...



So, if you pass by King and Portland Street in Toronto, look for the sign below (by the way, it's very close to a very good place to eat nice Italian food, Buca) and pay a visit! They can personalise cigars, allowing aficionados to create their own private label (and choose the blend) even just for a particular event.

Partagas D1

The Ten Manchester Street cigar terrace has invested in some really great cigars lately, including some aged ones which are definitely worth a try... Amongst those, I recently caught the opportunity to smoke again the Partagas D1, a Limited Edition released in 2004 which has become really difficult to find over the last couple of years.

I have to say I love Partagas - they are amongst the most full body cigars you can find and they have that combination of wood and leather flavours that just makes it a cigar to smoke again and again. 

In this picture, Cristiano - F&B manager at No. 10 - is preparing my cigar for an afternoon of pleasure

And here is the cigar in all his beauty - a double-robusto (50 ring gage for 6.7" in length). I hadn't smoked one of these for quite a while and I have to say it continues to be a smoke not to be missed, peppery to start with evolving into a lot of spice with wood and leather - like a Partagas should be. The good news in my view is that the new 2010 Limited Edition - the Serie D Especial - seems to evoke some of the same flavours. Happy smokes!

Italian cigars... not only Toscano

I was having an interesting debate a few days ago with some fellow cigar smokers? Is it possible to  "sample" every day a cigar you have never tried before? The answer is certainly yes, if only because being hand made every cigar is unique; more importantly, however, one can always try his/her favoured vitola from a different year but also sample one of the more and more Limited and Regional Editions... Not all exceptional by all means, but a new cigar is always a new cigar :)

During the winter break, I had the opportunity to put my hands on the Italian Regional Edition released in 2009, the Punch Diademas Extra. The story goes that the cigar was meant to be released in 2008 but only hit the shelves in late 2009 as the first batch of gold foil used to wrap the cigar was lost, the second batch was simply of an unacceptable quality and when the last batch finally arrived the cigars were almost aged by up to two years...

The wait was in my view worth it, at least to the eyes. The box looks astonishing - see picture below (this picture is not mine, but I took it from www.cubancigarwebsite.com)

What else can I add? Well, I have to thank once again Ajay at the La Casa del Habano, who managed to find a few more of these big smokes - they are a 55 ring gauge for 9.2" in length. As mentioned, the cigar is beautiful and although the smoke is not necessarily the most amazing you will try, it has a nice peppery and creamy taste. I think the Diademas Extra is overall not too strong but the sheer length of it means that you will feel it all :)

A nice touch is certainly given by the bands outside the cigar, more visible in the picture below

So, next time you hit a cigar shop in Italy you should try your luck. Not many cigars are still around (total production was 10,200 cigars) but if you are looking to smoke something different from a Toscano (the traditional Italian cigars), these are certainly worth the experience

BHK 52 - Best Cigar of 2010 by Cigar Aficionado

I am just back from a tasting at Ten Manchester Street Hotel in honour of the freshly named Best Cigar of the Year 2010 by Cigar Aficionado - the Cohiba Behike 52 (or BHK 52)!

Many amongst the cigar community have been surprised by this choice... Cigar Aficionado is often very kind to non-Cuban (since it caters to mostly American readers for whom habanos are still off-limits, or theoretically are...) and it also tends to favour big sizes/ring gages. The BHK 52 (at 52 ring gage as the name says and 4.7" in length) is not necessarily small but most would have probably expected Cigar Aficionado to at least prefer its bigger brothers BHK 54 (5.7" x 54) and BHK 56 (6.5" x 56).



While these are all incredible smokes for cigars lovers (with still a lot to offer, given that they are still quite young cigars) I overall love the BHK 52 and I have been saying often to my friends that this is probably my favorite amongst the Behike, a reasonably short and incredibly punchy smoke, rich of aroma and coffee flavour.

At No. 10, the tasting was accompanied by an Irish Coffee which I thought was a pretty nice complement to this strong cigar. A great evening thanks to Ten and Hunters & Frankau.

P.S.: If I can give some simple advice - definitely have it on a full stomach! 

Christmas cigars

Like every Christmas, I went home and spent some time with my family, eating and drinking loads, opening presents, etc, etc... but what would Christmas be without good cigars? :)

Thankfully, my parents put together a great area outside their house with a nice and cozy area to enjoy some great puros, a personal "smoking lounge" well protected from the wind and therefore great to smoke (for me - not sure that was the intended use :))!

On Christmas day, after an amazing lunch, I therefore enjoyed a nice Partagas P1 (see my review here) with my brother; I somewhat felt that wasn't enough for such a special day and therefore I doubled-up with a Montecristo Maravilla. While smoking, I got a little bit carried away with the Christmas spirit and therefore I took also a picture of the nativity representation my sister Francesca had prepared in the "lounge" :) 

As you can see, I had with me all you need for a great smoke starting from my inseparable travel cigar caddy, a cutter, some matches and in this case a nice bottle of port - my brother Marco was recently in Portugal and brought back some bottles of this Portuguese internationally famous export...

And here is the Montecristo Maravilla, a limited edition issued in 2005 for the fifth release of the Habanos Collection "Book" series and the 70th anniversary of the Montecristo Brand, an amazing double-robusto size 55 ring gage for 182 mm.

This was definitively an outstanding smoke. A very classic Montecristo flavour, with lots of spice, tons of smoke and a great aroma from pretty much the beginning till the very end, one of those cigars that you wish you could smoke more often but are unfortunately not so easy to find, since they were produced in a somewhat limited number (well, in theory only 500 copies of the book containing 20 cigars each where made, or 10,000 cigars in total; in practice I think a few more of those cigars were made available for my own luck...)

Happy New Year!!!

Dear all - this is just a quick post to wish everybody a very Happy New Year!!! Hope you all had a chance to spend some quality time with your family and friends and, of course, enjoy some great cigars!

I certainly did! To prepare for the holidays, in fact, I paid a much deserved visit before Christmas to Ajay, at La Casa del Habano in Teddington, and bought some outstanding cigars...  More to come on them in future posts.

Instead, let me quickly describe some of the latest aged cigars that Ajay managed to obtain, including in particular some historical Partagas cigars.

For example, some Partagas Special Cabinet Selection for JJ Fox, probably from the 60s, in the picture below...

... as well as the original Lusitanias, again from the 60s, which were then made in a 109 format rather than the standard double-corona (note that the head is smaller - the 109 has since been reproduced in various occasions, at least in terms of format, including recently for the 2010 - 165 Aniversario Humidour which was presented at the Partagas Festival in Cuba last November)

Ajay also managed to put his hands on some aged "traditional" Lusitanias (not sure but at least from the 80s). What can I say... if any of you is wondering what could be a good present for next Christmas, just look at the picture below! :))