Smoking Cuban cigars at CGars, St James, London

Now that the days are getting warmer and sunnier again, it felt like the perfect time to venture into central London and visit a couple of cigar venues. I aim to visit every cigar venue across London (then beyond; that would be the dream!). I’m not sure how much that will put me out of pocket, but I’ve visited quite a few places so far. See my other reviews on my Cigar Bars, Terraces & Smoking Lounges page – and I’m bleeding skint 😀

I was curious to check out the recently opened C.Gars St James’s store in London. I say ‘recent’; I think it’s been open for over a year already (January 2021)!

Our new flagship C.Gars store is now open in the heart of London.

The C.Gars Shop
23a St James's Street,
St James, London,
SW1A 1HA pic.twitter.com/7Hh1xRofgk

— Mitchell Orchant (@Cgarsltd) January 16, 2021

This is C.Gars’ flagship premium cigar and whisky shop on St James’s Street in the heart of London’s cigarland. The brain child of cigar boss Mitchell Orchant.

Upon entering the shop, I was immediately welcomed in by (I think) Sam, who had a fountain of cigar knowledge and led me into the walk-in humidor. The humidor has the finest premium Havana and New World cigars, featuring aged, rare, limited edition cigars.

I am keen to smoke as many different Cuban cigar brands as possible. Sam informed me there were, in fact, 27! On a quick count, I smoked 21 Cuban cigar brands during my recent cigar challenge. So there appear to be six more left to try.

Bolivar: Belicosos Finos
Cohiba: Robusto
Cuaba: Exclusivos
Diplomaticos: No 2
El Rey Del Mundo: Demi Tasse
Fonseca: Delicias
H Upmann: Magnum 50
Hoyo De Monterrey: Epicure No 2
Juan Lopez: Seleccion No 2
La Flor De Cano: Petit Coronas
Montecristo: Linea 1935 Maltes
Partagas: Lusitanias
Por Larranaga: Picadores
Punch: Punch 48 Casa Del Habanos
Quintero: Favoritos
Rafael Gonzalez: Panatelas
Ramon Allones: Gigantes
Romeo Y Julieta: Piramide Anejados
Saint Luis Rey: Regios
Sancho Panza: Belicosos
Trinidad: Topes

Hence I was immediately drawn to the Vegas Robaina cigar. One I had not tried before.

I think this was the Vegas Robaina ‘Famosos‘ cigar, but cigar aficionados do let me know (in the comments) if I’ve got this wrong. The details are as follows –

Length: 5″ 
Ring Gauge: 48
Flavour: Medium to Full

Once I paid up, Sam cut the cap and lit the cigar, and I walked to sit in the comfortable cigar sampling area. There are two spots, one inside the shop, and one outside (4 chairs in total, 2 in each section). I opted to smoke in the outside seating area, as the weather was great!

The outside seating area is on a quiet street and is not overlooked by too many passersby, making it quite a relaxing place to smoke. Sam offered me and my mate some coffee, which went down a treat.

The Vegas Robaina cigar was absolutely marvellous. This cigar had a fantastic construction, the perfect draw. There were some expresso notes, woody, smooth, oaky and leathery. Just superb! I was really surprised, as I don’t often hear much mention about this particular cigar brand. I recommend trying one if you haven’t done so already.

After an hour or so, I went back into the shop and met (I think) Viktoria, who took me into the humidor again, so I could purchase another Vegas Robaina cigar and also a San Cristobal cigar – which I’m looking forward to smoking in the near future – and of course, will try and review that!

I said my goodbyes, then went home – very happy! Overall a great experience. I can’t wait to return to the C.Gars store on one of their cigar evening events. It’s also worth noting that it is literally just around the corner from Davidoff and JJ Fox, so if you want a cigar binge crawl, do it and visit all three places.

If you want to visit the C.Gars St James’ cigar and whisky shop the address is as follows:

23a St James’s Street,
St James’s, London,
SW1A 1HA

Google maps: https://goo.gl/maps/ytGpAFzCvHPuZNjJ8

Opening Times:

Mon, Tues & Wed: 10:00 – 18:00
Thurs, Fri & Sat: 10:00 – 19:00
Sun: Closed
Bank Holidays: 12pm to 5pm