Cigar Masterclasses

Cohiba is without doubt Cuba’s premium line of hand-made cigars and their Limited Edition range can command enormous prices. This is one of the original Siglo series, launched 1992 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the New World. The word ‘siglo’ means ‘century’ and there is a unique size for each of the six centuries since 1492. A corona gorda, this is a delicious cigar with a medium strength and a lovely smooth, satisfying smoke.

Montecristo is the most popular of all of the hand-made Cuban cigars and has been in existence since the 1930’s. Named after the famous ‘Count of Montecristo’ book by Alexander Dumas, they are medium in strength with a characteristic ‘earthiness’ to their flavour. The Edmundo is quickly becoming the most popular of all the sizes in the range, lasting around 50 minutes. It has a 52 ring gauge. Served with Zacapa XO Rum (50ml). This masterclass begins at 4pm.

The Cohiba Robusto is arguably the definitive robusto-sized cigar, named for its short but chunky shape and its robust flavour. Often hard to find, they have been popular since their inception in 1989, only a few years after the original three sizes were launched to the public. A 50 ring gauge and a length of just over 4 ½ inches makes this a wonderful smoke for around an hour and is one of those cigars that pairs perfectly with almost any dark-coloured spirit.

Ramon Allones is one of the older brands having been established in 1837 and is the brand to which we owe our thanks for the beautifully dressed decorative cigar boxes we know so well today. The Specially Selected is a robusto-sized cigar with a hefty 50 ring gauge and a spicy and slightly sweet flavour on the palette. Excellent as an after dinner smoke or with a powerful whisky or cognac.

Romeo Y Julieta is the brand most will have heard of even if they do not smoke themselves. Not quite as old as some of the other famous marques, they very quickly became popular amongst the aristocracy of Europe as they could be rolled with a personalised band. In fact, at the beginning of the 20th century, there were in excess of 2,000 personal bands being produced by the factory in Havana. The Tacos is their Limited Edition cigar for 2018 and has a ring gauge of 49 and length of just under 6 ½ inches. Now five years old, these medium-bodied cigars have had time to mature and settle down to give a wonderfully smooth smoke with a distinctive sweet creaminess.

A very special cigar indeed! The Private Stock 230 was rolled to celebrate the 230th Anniversary of Hunters and Frankau Ltd, the sole importer of Cuban cigars in the UK. They are a superb size of cigar with a 50 ring and 6 ¾ inches in length. These cigars smoke very well right now, but will continue to improve for many years to come. Full-bodied with a delicious sweet, spicy and rich flavour, the Private Stock 230 will last around an hour and twenty minutes.