Cigar Buyer Issue 1

From the Editor

Welcome to Cigar Buyer, the new magazine for and about the UK cigar trade.

Welcome to Cigar Buyer, the new magazine for and about the UK cigar trade. The cigar business is buoyant - in news you will see new shops opening, tastings is filled with product launches, and new cig...

By Damian Riley-Smith in the section From the Editor

A heavenly match

The special relationship between Cuba and Scotland was strengthened further recently when judges from both countries joined forces to choose the perfect whisky and cigar combination. The eventual out...

By in the section News

Scottish Member’s Bill threatens cigar bars and restaurants

Cigar smokers are under fire in Scotland after a Nationalist MSP introduced a bill aimed at curbing smoking near food. Stewart Maxwell’s ‘Prohibition of Smoking in Regulated Areas (Scotland) Bill’ pr...

By in the section News

Sixth festival is best yet

Organisers of the sixth annual celebration of Cuba’s finest cigars are already looking ahead to next year after what they say was their best event yet. The week started with the spectacular opening ni...

By in the section News

Wintermans celebrate 100 years

Guests from across the world gathered in Maastricht recently to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Henri Wintermans making cigars. Retailers, journalists, suppliers and company employees from as far ...

By in the section News

Face lift for Liverpool

One of Liverpool’s oldest tobacco shops has been refurbished and rebranded by new owner Mitch Orchant of C. Gars Ltd as it seeks to play its role in taking the industry forward in to the new millenniu...

By in the section News

Retailers join the Specialists

Two cigar retailers have just qualified to join the UK Specialist in Havanas network. They are Lorfords, based in Bury St.Edmunds, Suffolk and Choice Select in York, North Yorkshire. Both have been a...

By in the section News

Success is Unlimited as shop opens

Anew shop selling cigars, humidors, gifts and accessories has opened close to Chelsea Football Club and the Fulham Broadway Retail Centre in fashionable South West London. Adrian Lesley’s Cigars Unli...

By in the section News

Top award for Bertie

Vimal Shah, proprietor of Burlington Bertie in London, has been awarded the coveted Silver Chaveta, a trophy given annually by Hunters & Frankau to a UK Specialist in Havanas for outstanding contribut...

By in the section News

Books celebrate best of Habanos

Two new books have been launched to target lovers of Havana cigars. An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Post-Revolution Havana Cigars by Min Ron Nee is an ideal reference book for all brands produced in ...

By in the section News

CAO launches in the UK

Skinner’s Hall, the 17th century livery hall in the heart of the City of London, played host to Loretta Cigar’s most recent British launch. Sixty five invited guests, including all leading UK cigar r...

By in the section News

Montecristo and Cuaba size it up

Habanos SA is set to break new ground for its Montecristo range for the first time in 30 years by launching it in a new size. And it seems that size is everything at the moment, as two new sizes have ...

By in the section News

New brand from Dominica

Anew cigar from the Dominican Republic has been launched in the United Kingdom, strengthening even further interest in the country. El Credito is hand-made in the Dominican Republic under the guidance...

By in the section News

Upmann to move on up

H. Upmann is celebrating its 160th year in business with the opening of a new factory in Havana. The new building will replace the company’s Amistad Street building. The new factory is in the Vedado d...

By in the section News

London’s calling

Each issue we’ll look at a major city’s best cigar bars. In this issue Anwer Bati looks at a selection of London’s finest hotels

Business in cigar bars, it seems, is booming. Just take a quick snapshot from some of the more famous ones. Yvonne Collins of Claridge’s Fumoir: “It gets very busy. Some nights we have to turn people ...

By Damian Riley-Smith in the section City Watch

Henri’s 100 years

It’s 100 years since Henri Wintermans first started his first cigar factory. Dominic Roskrow travelled to Maastricht to see how his company is celebrating the past and looking to the future.

On the face of it Maastricht is a one trick town, famous for a treaty that bound Europe together and nothing much else. Even the name conjures up an image of bland Eurocratland. And where exactly is i...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Spotlight

Simon Chase

Each issue we’ll speak to a leading industry figure about his business. First up, Dave Broom speaks to Simon Chase of Hunters & Frankau

You always remember the first time. I hadn’t been long in journalism when it was decided that it was high time we ran a cigar feature. Fine by me. I’d sold Havanas in a previous existence at Oddbins,...

By Dave Broom in the section Cigar Interviews

Dr Ernst Schneider - Nothing but the best

Davidoff is synonymous with quality, yet few may know this marque of excellence has been developed by Dr Ernst Schneider. James Leavey reports

When you meet Dr Ernst Schneider, chairman and delegate of the Board of Oettinger Imex AG/Davidoff International, in Geneva, the first thing you notice is that he laughs a lot. Especially when he’s si...

By James Leavey in the section Innovators

The finest combination

The Whisky & Cigar Challenge has grown in to a major and ambitious international event. And it is revealing some fascinating combinations

Glasgow and Havana. On the face of it, not much in common. But think again: both regarded as political mavericks and driven by a rebel heart; both famed for a love of firey spirits. Twinned together ...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Whisky and Cigars

The Dominican Republic - a quality tradition

Each issue we take an in-depth look at a leading cigar market. This issue James Leavey discovers why the Dominican Republic has won such respect

Tobacco-loving travellers to the Dominican Republic are often surprised to see what appear to be their favourite brand of hand-rolled Havanas, such as Partagas, Romeo y Julieta, or H Upmann, on sale t...

By James Leavey in the section Market Watch

How to make magic

You may know how to smoke them, but do you have any idea of the work that goes in to producing a fine cigar? We go behind the scenes in Cuba

Every leaf in a Habano is Tabaco Negro Cubano – native Cuban Black Tobacco – directly descended from the plants that Columbus first discovered more than 500 years ago. Two distinct forms of cultivati...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Cigar Production

Cigar humidors

James Leavey explores how to capture a tobacco plantation in a box

Some say the perfect humidor is a special room in your favourite cigar shop, maintained at a regular temperature and with consistent humidity. It’s the smoker’s equivalent of a bank vault – which you ...

By James Leavey in the section Cigar Accessories

Accessories Update

Gift International has launched three new cigar cutters, which they say will meet all the needs of a discerning cigar smoker. The Xikar range of cutters are all guaranteed for life and come in a range...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Cigar Accessories

Tobacco Legislation Watch

Tobacco legislation is moving fast. But remember, whatever happens it remains legal to sell tobacco products. In LegislationWatch we bring you an up-to-date guide on new legislation that could affect your business. This is not legal advice, but our summary of things as we see it as we go to press. For the final answer, please remember to seek your own legal advice.

1. EU LABELLING DIRECTIVE Date to Watch: Thursday 30th September 2004 • This is the last day it will be legal to sell cigar packs without the new Health Warnings and batch codes. • The same date appl...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Legislation Watch