As I go on to explore everything that London has to offer in terms of cigar bars, terraces and smoking lounges, now that the national lockdown post-COVID-19 is slowly easing, I was super keen to check out the sampling lounge at No.6 Cavendish Square. A cigar specialist that opened its doors in the heart of London’s West End in December 2019.
I used to work around the corner from Cavendish Square and walked past this place most days, so I was familiar with the area. If only it were around then!
I made a reservation for 1x person in the sampling lounge using the No.6 Cavendish Square website via OpenTable.
The people behind this new shop, Ajay and Bhavna Patel are well known to many folk within the U.K. cigar scene, having over twenty-five years experience in the cigar industry and opening the U.K.’s first La Casa Del Habano in Teddington over ten years ago. Their Casa remains open and continues to go from strength to strength, as Ajay says; “This is a project we have considered for a number of years, but we felt the time was right and we found the perfect location, so we decided to go for it. The new shop is an addition to our existing one, not a replacement for it.”
The shop itself has two walk-in humidors, members keeps, a large and very comfortable sampling lounge, a selection of fine spirits available by the glass or by the bottle, a bar and, of course, a comprehensive selection of cigars including many rare and vintage Havanas. The cigars are available individually or by the box.
As soon as I walked into the building, I was greeted by cigar sommelier Daniele. Who checked me in and led me to the Humidor. Here we discussed the type of cigars that were on offer, a selection of new world and Cuban cigars. I was impressed with how many new world cigars I had tried. I’m now at the point where I’m never sure what to smoke in a cigar lounge. Do I try something new, or do I stick to what I know?
At that point, we started talking about the Montecristo Cuban cigar, and that’s when I came face to face with an 80th-anniversary edition of the stick. I immediately knew this was the cigar I needed to smoke.
The stats:
Length: 6 1/2″
Ring Gauge: 55
Strength: Medium – Full
Country of origin: Cuba
Once I had selected my cigar, I was taken to the bar and recommended a few drinks to try with my Montecristo 80 anniversary cigar. I opted for a Nicaraguan rum, the Flor de Cana Gran Reserva 7 year – I had a sip and bleeding eck – it gave me a proper kick!
Next up was the sampling lounge, hidden behind a massive door.
The sampling lounge was marvellous, with incredible decor, a proper sophisticated setting. The furnishings alongside the big chunky leather armchairs looked the ideal place to relax with a cigar.
The cigar sommelier showed me to my reserved seat, just under a skylight, so I had a bit of sunshine glaring down on me, with the soundtrack of Cuban music playing in the background. Daniele cut and lit the Montecristo 80th Aniversario, then left me to soak up the sunshine, ambience and this exceptional cigar paired with rum.
Ajay later came into the lounge, and we had a friendly chat; he explained that he wanted to offer people the chance to try rarer cigars out of the box that are hard to find, and told me how unique and rare this 80th-anniversary stick was, as it had now been discontinued.
I then sat back and smoked my cigar for a good 1 hour and 30 mins. Pure bliss!
I found this cigar to be a fantastic smoke. It had a medium to full flavour. It got pretty spicey towards the final third but not too strong. Plus lots of thick creamy smoke, which I became surrounded by – this may have been to do with me sitting in direct sunlight from the skylight. The 55 ring gauge and the length of this cigar is the perfect size for me.
I finished my cigar with a double espresso, then off I went, making my payment on the way out! It was an expensive cigar, £75-85 range, I think more expensive than my Cohiba experience, but that’s due to its rarity, and as I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, cigars tend to cost more in these types of bars, terraces and lounges. Overall their prices seem pretty reasonable. You can see their price list here: Cuban cigars | New World (Non Cuban) cigars.
My rating: 9 out of 10 – I loved it here! I would love to visit with a few other cigar folks at some point for a cigar herf. I recommend popping in if you get the chance! The cigar itself was a truly special experience.
Make you reservation now at https://www.no6cavendish.com. The sampling lounge can be found at 6 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PD. They are open Mon – Sat from 12pm – 11pm.
You can pick up the Montecristo 80th Aniversario cigar as a single stick at https://www.no6cavendish.com/products/montecristo-80th-anniversary-le-2015
London Cigar Smoker 