The past few weeks have been crazy bonkers! I’ve attended more cigar events recently than I ever imagined possible, with a highlight being the Cigar Smoking World Championship UK Final.
Last year, I visited about one cigar venue per month. This year, that’s increased to attending one cigar venue or event per week, and in the last few weeks, it’s been two to three per week. All on top of my normal day job! 😄🤯😂
I’m not entirely sure what’s changed. Maybe it’s because I’ve been posting more regularly and staying updated on the very latest cigar events, allowing me to bag tickets as soon as they go on sale. Whatever the reason, this cigar blog is taking me on quite the adventure! 🚀
Getting out so much has really boosted my self-confidence too. The anxiety I used to feel when visiting these cigar establishments and events is slowly fading, which has surprised me. I’ve also met many incredible cigar newbies, enthusiasts, and connoisseurs, including some who follow my journey. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who has made me feel so welcome during our conversations. It’s even more amazing that some of you have started joining me on my cigar journey as I explore new sampling lounges and attend various events. Honestly, thank you all for your support! 🙏
Anyway, back on topic before this starts to sound like an Oscar’s acceptance speech 😃. In this post, I wanted to write about the recent Cigar Smoking World Championship – UK Final, which took place in Bosidales of Canary Wharf on Sunday, 7th July 2024.
What is the cigar smoking world championship?
The cigar smoking championship is aimed at determining who can smoke a cigar for the longest duration. Each participant is given a competition cigar, the Rocky Patel Mareva cigar. Participants receive a cigar cutter and two long matches, with one minute for cutting and one minute for lighting. Additional items and preparations are prohibited. During the competition, relighting, blowing on the cigar, and wetting the cigar are not allowed. Participants must remain silent for the first five minutes. They are also required to hold the cigar throughout. Participants cannot let their cigar ash drop during the first forty minutes. Smoking ends when the cigar extinguishes, with penalties for burning the band or ash falling within specific time frames. Judges oversee the competition, with one judge per 20 participants, ensuring adherence to rules and managing penalties. The winner is the participant who smokes the longest without relighting, accounting for any penalties.
The competition was established in 2010 by Marko Bilic, the president and founder of Cigar Club Mareva in Split, Croatia. Fast forward 14 years, and now over 50 countries participate in the World Final, which is scheduled to take place in Dubrovnik this year.
If you follow my cigar adventures, you may have read about my previous experiences with this competition and the folk who run it. I sound like I’m some kind of sponsor, but I’m not, haha.
Here’s a quick recap: I first heard about this event through some great cigar enthusiasts, Leigh from Malaysia and Cem of the El Lector blog originally from Turkey. They suggested that I participate in the heats.
I competed in the first Cigar Smoking World Championship UK Heat of 2024 at Havana House in Windsor, but unfortunately, I only lasted 22 minutes.
During that event, I met the UK champion Etan, who recommended attending the grand final. He also spoke highly of Croatia, which stuck with me. Strangely enough, these experiences were on my mind when I decided to book a last-minute trip to Croatia for my birthday in April/May, where by luck got the chance to hang out with the incredible Marko and Dino of the CSWC in Split, then Dubrovnik, where I got a sneaky peak of this years home for the grand final at Rixos Hotel.
When I got back to London, I took part in a second heat at The Edward Sahakian Cigar Shop and Lounge (I’ll be posting a cigar lounge review on that soon!). I lasted for 1 hour and 20 minutes in that heat.
Although I can’t make it to this year’s final because of my mum’s 80th birthday weekend family celebration, I made sure to attend the UK final of the CSWC to show support for this event and to hang out with amazing people like Sarah Saunders, the driving force behind the UK’s competition!
So, what happened at the event? Here were some of the highlights…
The event kicked off at midday on Sunday, 7th July, at Boisdale of Canary Wharf, a renowned Scottish restaurant featuring a whisky and oyster bar, a cigar terrace, and nightly live music. Situated in the heart of Canary Wharf, London’s vibrant business district, it is just a stone’s throw from Central London. Boisdale of Canary Wharf is also famous for hosting the annual Cigar Smoker of the Year awards.
Doors opened at 12:00 noon.
Sunday lunch was served at 12:30.
Competitors were seated at 14:15.
Competitions began at 14:30.
Prize giving and close by 18:00.
It was priced at £65 to be a spectator and £100 to be a competitor. The event included a three-course meal and two cigars to sample. I felt this was great value for money for such a fancy venue. I have a lot of love for Boisdales on so many levels.
The event was held in two distinct areas of the venue: the final took place in the cigar sampling lounge, while the open competition was conducted on the outdoor cigar terrace.
Whenever I go to Boisdale’s, I can never remember which floor the cigar terrace or the restaurant is on. I always press the wrong button in the lift and land on the wrong floor. Once I finally got to the correct floor, I walked to the reception, where staff directed me straight into the restaurant for lunch. Somehow, I ended up at the top table – number 1 with the excellent Marko and Dino, whom I was reunited with from my Croatian trip, along with a few folks from Havana House, Bright Leaf, and others. As I was walking by, I bumped into a few familiar faces. Karen a member of Cigar Club LDN did a fantastic job getting a whole load of the CCL community down to the event. I also ran into Rosalie from James Barber Tobacconists, a place I hope to visit up North someday.
We had a proper Sunday dinner with starters and dessert. It went down as a right treat with some wonderful wine. An amazing Frank Sinatra tribute act performed all the hits while we ate and drank.
Unfortunately, due to UK smoking laws, we weren’t able to smoke at the dinner table, but that soon changed when we swapped locations and all headed outside to the cigar terrace for cigars. We were handed two cigars: the Rocky Patel Decade 10th Anniversary cigar and the Rocky Patel competition cigar, the Mareva.
Attendees gathered in both competition areas, preparing to take part in the UK Finals.
Marko Bilic, the founder of the championship, gave an introduction speech.
Alongside Sarah Saunder, an international judge who explained the competition rules and the prizes to be won in the UK finals, including:
– Bosquet Paris cigar case
– Les Fines Flammes cigar accessories
– Cuervo y Sobrinos watches
Cigars were handed out, and then there was silence as the competition began.
It was great to see many people attend, including Evgeny, whom I met at a Surrey Cigars event last year. He performed exceptionally well in the competition as did Rosalie!
Competitors were focused on keeping their cigars lit for as long as possible, doing everything they could to keep the ember lit. Meanwhile, the judges made sure that no one broke the rules.
As cigars went out, runners-up started to emerge.
However, one person’s cigar remained lit, and that person was declared the winner of the UK final.
Etan achieved an incredible time of 2 hours and 55 minutes, breaking his previous UK record.
Now, he’s off to Croatia to represent the UK at the World Finals this summer!
Final thoughts
This event isn’t just about the competition; it’s also about the community of cigar enthusiasts who are part of it. With Marko, Dino, Sarah, and others at the CSWC, I’ve found a mini-second family centred around cigars.
I know that sounds dead weird, haha, but these folks are flipping ace – and I have already had so many unforgettable memories with them this year!
This event was excellent and it was nice to meet so many faces new and old from the UK’s cigar scene.
I hope that one day, I’ll return to Croatia to participate in or spectate at this fantastic cigar event of the year. If you still need to get your tickets, you still can, and you don’t need to be a spectator to attend. Visit the CSWC News site and register now.
You can also tune into CSWC News during the event from 30th August to 1st September to watch the competition live.
If you’re interested in participating in next year’s UK heats, follow this Instagram page: instagram.com/cswc_uk.
Special thanks to Dino of CSCW News for providing most of the photos.
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