The Proprietor Speaks

Ladies and Gentlemen! The Proprietor

Greetings Cigar Enthusiasts! What a fabulous summer we are enjoying here in the UK and hopefully elsewhere around the world or even during your delightful winter in the Southern Hemisphere too. 

I went to a mini-festival at the weekend (showing my age) where there was a report of 'someone smoking marujuana'. It turned out only to be by Ramon Allones Gigantes! The fragrant wafts of smoke curling up into the night sky attracted a steady stream of aficionados, all who wanted a cigar. This reminds me of the need for a practical carrying case for multiple cigars that doesn't resemble the President's nuclear football or an Italian flaneur's man bag. Given the demand of the un-cigared, I should have worn a Che Guevara cartridge belt stuffed with robustos - alas the assembled had to resort to vapes from teenagers. I never seem to carry enough and what with prices as they are, I have suddenly become quite stingy too!

The fact is that with good weather and time spent outdoors in said good weather - the cigar comes into its own. It acts like a beacon to friendly compatriots and I am inundated with people who come up to me saying how much they like the smell and it reminds them of their now long gone grandfather etc. I am not sure how flattering the last part is but the enjoyment of projecting the evocative delights of a proper cigar are unbounded. The cigar brings people, memories and goodwill together under its smoky umbrella. What else does that?

I know many of you enjoy a cigar tending to the BBQ as well. This is not for me though, since I get flustered over the burgers and end up confusing my implements and stubbing my cigar out on prime steaks. The better coordinated amongst you though I know, love to begin the outdoor cooking ritual by selecting, clipping and sparking up a proper double corona and the time it takes to get a charcoal brazier up and running fits exactly with the hour or so it takes to smoke. A sort of double BBQ activity. It all adds no doubt to the flavour too.

I also know that many of you enjoy a cigar whilst playing golf. In Cornwall this week I spotted many happy pairs of golfers puffing away whilst slicing their ball into the long grass. I find that it is almost impossible to be bad tempered whilst my lips are clamped about a 54 ring gauge Quai D'Orsay and so whilst I can barely hit a ball straighter than a dog's hind leg, the game itself, when properly accompanied takes on a beatific sense of tranquility. If only all sports could be so easily transformed. I tried surfing with a cigar and it didn't work at all.

But finally, I know that on a sunny August day, many of us simply like to gently ease oneself into a reclining deck chair, hopefully with a delightful view of the sea, or rolling hills or simply the blue sky and after toasting the foot of our favourite brand, lean back, exhaling the long blue/grey plume of smoke and consider the fact that maybe, just maybe, all will be all right with the world.

Drink plenty in this hot weather, smoke responsibly (don't discard your cigars into the dry grass!) and enjoy your holidays.