Marylebone Event (Now with pictures)

[Lascaux]

whats the terrace like, nice and toasty? ham and cheese toasty?

[Deano]

Very toasty, only 2 out of five heaters were on and it was still too hot!

[saggel]

Have you taken any photos?

[Drewmidorn]

Its the best smoking place i've been to in the UK.... shirt sleeves last night would have been fine! The staff were great too.

[Jimmeh]

Re: Cigar Events in Marylebone Early 2010

Very toasty, only 2 out of five heaters were on and it was still too hot!

I think they were all on- but some set lower....

[mb55317]

Here is my account of the evening:

Upon arrival I bestowed my bags with the front reception and made my way in to the restaurant area where i met some of the others from the forum (Deano, big_bear, Jimmeh) who were already chatting with Simon Chase from H&F.

While we waited for the terrace to be set up I ordered a wheat beer. I dont remember ever having one of these before but is was rather nice. It wasnt long before the terrace was available and we all went outside.

The terrace was long and fairly narrow, kind of like a galley, with a decked floor and seating at either side. There were four or five large heaters suspended from the ceiling and I was struck by just how warm it was. It felt very comfortable. I could have sat there in shorts and t-shirt and still have been warm! Certainly a contrast to the freezing cold night at Boisdale before Christmas.

We all took our seats and were handed a glass of Champagne followed by a R&J Duke. Simon Chase of H&F (or formally of H&F) started by giving some background information on the R&J brand and the creation of Edicion Limitada cigars. Simon explained that all EL’s should have a Maduro wrapper. However in this case the Dukes exhibited a wrapper closer to that of Colorado. The box i have at home are the same. Simon went on to explain that this is known to occur with some tobacco leaves deeper within the bales, despite them all originating from the top of the tobacco plant. Apparently they should still retain the sugar and oils despite the colour difference.

There was certainly more information and anecdotes but my brain simply didnt retain it. Apologies. However i was fortunate enough to have a brief chat with Simon a little later; we were discussing the potential impact on the CC market in the event the US embargo is lifted. I wondered if Cuba had the capacity to produce the estimated 40M extra cigars (from memory) that may be required to meet demand.

Apparently the Cubans are making certain plans for this eventuality but Simon explained that it wouldn't simply be a case of opening the flood gates and there being Cuban cigars readily available on shelves. US companies own the rights to many of the Cuban brand names in the US (Cohiba, R&J, Bolivar to name a few) and therefore there would likely be some sort of challenge which would inevitably slow or prevent the Cuban cigars of those brands from being sold in the US. I take that as good news. Who knows what might happen if demand rockets and there is a shortage in supply?! Probably hit us in the wallet.

I sat there a while enjoying the atmosphere and conversation. The Duke was excellent. I have enjoyed all of the two Dukes I have smoked. Surely this stick will be in demand in a few years. I think i may purchase another box to lay down and enjoy in a year or so.

After I had finished the Duke I had a peek in the hotel humidor. Not a vast selection but some nice smokes. I purchased a Trinidad Robusto T. Never had it before and thought about lighting it up but by that time, still only early mind you, I got hungry and decided to head off home. Probably should have stayed but hey ho.

I really loved the venue and I felt the staff were very attentive. I would certainly recommend it for anyone in London, especially in the cold weather. Being located right near Oxford Street its ideal if you get dragged in to London shopping by a significant other. I’ll certainly be going back. The terrace is open from 11am-11pm 7 days. You can smoke your own if you want to or purchase from their humidor.

Anyway lastly I enjoyed meeting up with everyone, and especially meeting Monkey66 and Nicwing who i hadnt met before. Look forward to meeting up again at some other future event. Maybe this Friday at JJ’s?! Anyway thats enough rambling from me... Cheers MB.

[HabanoSy]

Nice account of your evening mb...

Sounds like a good time was had by all...

Cheers, HabanoSy

[nicwing]

Great evening, got pictures, will post shortly...

[nicwing]

Pictures from Monday evening:

Simon Chase if full flight:

And this time looking over here:

The dynamic duo(?):

Nadz & a nice bit of wall:

Drew & the boss:

Deano getting down to it:

Your photographer:

[NADZ]

Great to catch up with you guys. See you next month! NADZ

[Deano]

See u there NADZ!

[jdawg]

Nice pics...wish I could have been there.

[HabanoSy]

Nice pics nic...

Cheers, HabanoSy