Cigars

No worries Parryman. All the more for me :-)

I picked up a few Punch Super Selection no.2 and a box of Sancho Panza Non Plus from A La Civette in Paris yesterday. It was funny watching the young American before me excitedly picking a selection of forbidden fruit as the shop people tempted him with more delicious treats.

I felt it my duty to smoke one of each and review. The Punch starts out smooth like a Punch Punch but towards the halfway mark really starts to spice up nicely. It's an aromatic treat which went very well with my stroll through the Tuilleries from the Louvre to the Orangerie, Probably a good hour's smoke that you'll want to savour.

The Sanchos smoke like slightly bigger and smoother Bachilleres, very consistent throughout, goes well with guinness and whisky. It would go well with anything. Utterly delicious all the way down. I'm so glad I bought a whole box. I bought 25 of these so I might let a few go. No idea at what price yet.

French prices seem to be around £50 a box cheaper than the UK, by the way.

That Civette is a very nice shop, one of the two in Paris that I make a point of visiting when I can. Good call on the Super Selection No. 2, it's a great smoke.

Did you happen to notice if they had any Punch Royal Selection 11? It's on the discontinued list and is getting trickier to find. It turns out it's not one of the vitolas supplied to Spain so I had no luck there.

Had my first ever Cohiba this week..... not exactly sure which one, but an amazing smoke.... and the first cigar/cigarette I've had in at least five years.... an amazingly mellow smoke..... thank chuff I wasn't paying for it though!

That Civette is a very nice shop, one of the two in Paris that I make a point of visiting when I can. Good call on the Super Selection No. 2, it's a great smoke.

Did you happen to notice if they had any Punch Royal Selection 11? It's on the discontinued list and is getting trickier to find. It turns out it's not one of the vitolas supplied to Spain so I had no luck there.

It was a really nice shop, and I had a delicious lunch in the cafe next door too.

I was a bit overwhelmed by the choice on offer to remember what they had. lots of things!
Now you mention it the guy in there said the Punches had been discontinued. maybe they were the royal and not the super? Can't remember now - it's been a busy weekend. I originally asked for Punch Punch but as he was selecting them he noticed a beetle hole, so the whole box went off to the freezer and he recommended the ones I bought as an alternative.

I had trouble in the past with a vendor from Switzerland where I got hit with the £400 customs duty. I just put in an order with a different well-respected and recommended vendor and got this reply last night.

Before we process your order we would like you to read the below:

We would like to inform you we had temporarily suspended sending orders to England. We have to adhere to the Swiss Laws (guidelines) at this time and truthfully declare all our goods sent out for delivery

It had become a most tenuous situation recently, and specifically sending any orders to your country had regrettably become very difficult. England Customs had been charging outrageous amounts of duties and packages have continuously been returned to us or NOT AT ALL. It has taken months for us to receive our goods back or NOT AT ALL therefore we had to write them off as a loss. We have taken thousands of dollars of loss in the past few months thus forcing our hand in this situation to apply certain conditions to orders that England clients wish to place.

We are sorry we cannot service our England clientele any better, but England Customs is currently causing us to take this stand.

We will ship to England, ONLY under the below stated conditions. If you accept the conditions listed below then you must email me back acknowledging the fact and you must enter the comments of "ACCEPTING FULL RESPONSIBILITY" in your order form, and for all future orders you may wish to place.

We are forwarding you this email asking you to assume FULL RESPONSIBILITY for your order HR_20100914-5673A25C.

1) This would mean that we expect you to pay for any duties that you may incur with England Customs.

2) If they charge you an exorbitant amount of duty and you refuse the parcel, you are liable for 100 percent of the invoice.

3) If the package does not arrive for any reason (i.e England Customs) holding on to the order (seizure for any reason) we will not re-imburse or resend you the order.

Apparently customs is getting to be a bitch, at least with yellow packages from Switzerland. Before this year they were able to be a bit cagey about what they wrote on the customs declarations. Now they all clearly write cigars on it because of the Swiss law. Balls.

I cancelled the order. I've already lost one this year.

I don't expect customs are going to lighten up any time soon either.
Can you buy duty paid from Spain?
Customs shouldn't be able to touch you and they shouldn't try if the order is less than their arbritaty 300 limit.

Come to Easts tonight to enjoy a couple of stogies?

I might be able to swing by a bit later tonight. I'm curious to check out this new pub and a cigar sounds nice.

Cool. I'll bring a selection

Ahhhh, back to the cigar thread. The most gentile and pleasant of all the forum threads. My recent absence is due to moving house, and having no form of internet access at work or home...
I should be officially back in the game soon, though not for a couple more weeks yet. Glad to hear that smoking continues amongst you fine folk. I really really want to organise/have someone else organise some sort of a get-together soon. We are most definitely approaching the dark days of the winter months, where enthusiastic smokers are forced to head outdoors and huddle together in a last ditch attempt to satisfy the cuban cravings.
Someone get off your arse and put a plan in motion. I emplore thee!

The most gentile and pleasant of all the forum threads.

Oy! What's that supposed to mean?

Dont worry mate, it was just in keeping with the general theme of the post. You up for linking next week? Tx me when ur free, coz i wont be checking the forum again for a few days.

My subtle Jewish humour was lost in the desert.

;^)

My calender is a mess,
Tues, Weds or Sat could be options next week.
After that its a bit crazy.
Where is a good spot for a kwality smoke?
The evenings groweth colder.

Bout a third through one of the Monte 2s i got off Nial.
If they are fakes, they are pretty damn good ones!
Defo buying you, Nial, a beer at east beers.

I'm a pipe smoker, stick your cigars up your arses.

Yep, those Montes are great.

I'm smoking another of the Punches right now with a glass of Glenmorangie as I watch the Singapore Grand Prix. It's a delicious smoke.
Shame about the F1 result though.

Tom Tom over on Elizabeth Street in Belgravia have a roller over from Havana in shop this week

http://www.tomtom.co.uk/News/Article.aspx?Id=1003

**Cigar Roller At Tomtom Tues 5th Oct to Sat 9th Oct
22nd September 2010

Hot from Havana - H J Paredes

Cuban Cigar Roller At Tomtom from 5th to 9th October 2010. Direct from Havana our cigar roller will be creating gorgeous hand-made cigars in our shop. Over the five days we expect at least 100 to be rolled. One of Cuba's finest cigar rollers Mr Hamlet Jaime Paredes will be creating gorgeous hand-made cigars in our shop. Over the five days we expect at least 100 to be rolled. Mr Hamlet Jaime Paredes is classified as a 9th grade roller - the highest achievable grade and is able to roll every vitola (size and shape) within the Habanos SA. portfolio
**
Quite tempted to go and have something custom rolled for me!

I went down there yesterday just to have a look at Mr. Paredes in action, but of course after about 15 seconds of watching him I knew I couldn't leave without buying a custom rolled cigar. He was in the process of rolling Robustos when I arrived, though he said he could role any vitola I wanted. Robustos and smaller sized cigars were £18, all cigars bigger than a Robusto were priced individually. I bought a Corona, and was advised that I should smoke it the same day. I loved watching the cigars being rolled, some serious skill involved - I can't quite understand how he managed to roll about 30 Robustos all with the exact same ring-gauge, without using any sort of measuring tool...
Smoking the cigar was an experience. It was mild, though flavoursome, but also very fresh - I know that's a stupid thing to say because it was a fresh cigar, but I can't really describe it in any other way. I was a little anxious before clipping it that it would be tight drawing (as it was so moist), but my concerns were totally unjustified, it was pretty much the best drawing cigar I've ever smoked, it also burnt evenly, and slowly all the way to the knuckle.
All in all, I'm extremely glad I went down to see the rolling happen, and especially glad I bought and smoked a fresh cigar... I'd definitely recommend seizing the next opportunity to witness a true master roller in action - After meeting Mr. Paredes I was walking around with a massive grin on my face for a good few hours!

Just got some Hoyo de Monterrey petis robustos for my birthday. I am not at all a big cigar nerd, but have enjoyed the occasional puff for a few years now (although, unless at a cigar bar, I smoke cigarillos, keeping it simple with Romeo y Julietas, Montecristos, or Cohibas). Wish I could smoke one now.... Maybe this evening. I'm pleased :)

Nice present there, Mark. Those petit robustos are an interesting size, similar to the Upmann Magnum 48s. I didn't think I'd like that size much at first but have smoked through a load of them so it's definitely grown on me. ;^)

Enjoy!

I really like the Petit Robustos, great little smoke

I went down there yesterday just to have a look at Mr. Paredes in action, but of course after about 15 seconds of watching him I knew I couldn't leave without buying a custom rolled cigar. He was in the process of rolling Robustos when I arrived, though he said he could role any vitola I wanted. Robustos and smaller sized cigars were £18, all cigars bigger than a Robusto were priced individually. I bought a Corona, and was advised that I should smoke it the same day. I loved watching the cigars being rolled, some serious skill involved - I can't quite understand how he managed to roll about 30 Robustos all with the exact same ring-gauge, without using any sort of measuring tool...
Smoking the cigar was an experience. It was mild, though flavoursome, but also very fresh - I know that's a stupid thing to say because it was a fresh cigar, but I can't really describe it in any other way. I was a little anxious before clipping it that it would be tight drawing (as it was so moist), but my concerns were totally unjustified, it was pretty much the best drawing cigar I've ever smoked, it also burnt evenly, and slowly all the way to the knuckle.
All in all, I'm extremely glad I went down to see the rolling happen, and especially glad I bought and smoked a fresh cigar... I'd definitely recommend seizing the next opportunity to witness a true master roller in action - After meeting Mr. Paredes I was walking around with a massive grin on my face for a good few hours!

Awesome - gutted i didnt get to make it down in the end!

Awesome - gutted i didnt get to make it down in the end!

I had no idea he was even going to be there until I read your post, so thanks for the heads-up mate. Shame you didn't make it down, but I'm sure there'll be another opportunity soon.

I had a corona rolled for me a few years ago at selfridges, i smoked a couple of weeks later and found it very moist with a very peppery taste. Quite a spongy composition like a Magnum 50 with a dark oily madura like an edmundo.
I thought it needed more aging.
Had a hard night shift at RLH so treated myself to a Monte Edmundo on the way home.