It’s that time of year again when many of us pause to reflect on our experiences and think about our plans for the future. While some people may not give it much thought, I personally enjoy taking a moment to review what I’ve experienced and map out some bits and bobs for the year ahead. I use https://yearcompass.com/ as a guide, mainly for aspects of my life outside of cigars. However, what I share here will be dedicated solely to cigars – the thing that unites us in this crazy hobby!
Reflecting back
I can hardly believe it’s been four years since I registered londoncigarsmoker.com and started this blog—four years! That’s bonkers. What began as a way to pass the time during COVID has evolved into a full-fledged hobby, leading me on countless adventures and gradually taking over my life, all while juggling a full-time job.
To recap my journey: during the first year, I delved into the A to Z of cigars from The Cigar Companion, a book by Anwer Bati (a journalist I’d love to meet one day!), with guidance from Simon Chase of Hunters & Frankau, who is sadly no longer with us. I sampled cigars from each of the 43 different brands I could find, which allowed me to hone in on my preferences and uncover some banging cigars. I documented each of these experiences in blog posts, and you can check out the complete list along with links to each entry here.
In year two, I explored London’s cigar scene, visiting as many cigar shops and sampling lounges as possible. By the end of year three, I had visited 27 lounges, some beyond London. Year three also marked a growth in my confidence, as I started to meet many of you in person—one of the highlights of my journey. I attended numerous cigar events and even traveled across Europe and the U.S to check out their cigar scenes.
The past year, 2024, built on these incredible experiences. I’ve now visited over 50 cigar shops and sampling lounges, a milestone that still amazes me.
People started joining me on these visits… forming new friendships.
and I’ve been recognised in lounges as “the guy who writes that cigar blog”—which is mind blowing.
I’ve nearly completed visiting all of London’s cigar venues and am now setting my sights on visiting all of the UK’s cigar shops with sampling lounges – which I’m slowly but surely getting through.
Other highlights of the year include my first video interview with a previous winner of Boisdale’s Cigar Smoker of the Year, Oris Erhuero on Oris Sanctuary.
You can watch and listen to this interview, it comes in three episodes.
Watch now: Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3
Listen as a podcast now on Spotify: Episode 1 | Epsiode 2 | Episode 3
I also did a Q&A with Cigars International… which was totally out of my comfort zone!
I had an unforgettable experience with the folk behind the Cigar Smoking World Championships. I had the most amazing time hanging out with Marko, Dino, Sarah and co taking part in the UK heats at Havana House, Windsor, Bulgari Hotel and UK finals at Boisdale’s of Canary Wharf – yikes I got so carried away I even ended up visiting Croatia 🇭🇷 on the back of it – having the opportunity to visit the amazing Club Mareva in Split – which was out of this world!
The cigar industry has also started to take notice of the blog too, which blows my mind. Over the year I have been invited to a couple of industry events, with the Lords Lunch being an absolute standout – thanks to Brightleaf 🙏
Plus the awesome evening with Christian Eiroa of CLE cigars at Bosidale’s – thanks to Tor Imports 🙏
I also had the most amazing time at InterTabac, an industry trade show in Dortmund, Germany 🇩🇪 (which I got accrediation via my blog). Read my report of the whole event here.
Attending cigar events has become a regular part of my life in 2024, and I’ve grown much more confident in the process. I used to feel incredibly nervous showing up to these events alone, but that’s no longer the case.
Despite not making any money from the blog and the costs involved, I’ve been posting consistently—once a week—and have seen a steady growth in traffic, with 250-300 daily visitors, mostly from the UK (with a whole load of US folks a close second)- something I was keen to do as we don’t have much UK cigar news resources. I even tried reporting from the comfort of my sofa during the Habanos Festival and the UK’s Habanos World Days events – the events themselves are a bit too pricey for me to attend in person atm. Surprisingly, this caught the attention of BBC News and LBC, who reached out to me for interviews, thinking I was actually on location!
This year, I’ve really enjoyed these cigars:
La Gloria Cubana Turquinos
Ramon Allones No 3
Diplomaticos Leal – Cuban Regional
Montecristo Wide Edmundo
Quai D Orsay No 54
Partagas Serie E No 2
Leaf by Oscar
Looking ahead
As I look to the future, I of course dream of embarking on my first cigar adventure to Cuba, the Dominican Republic, or Nicaragua, ideally during one of their renowned festivals – one day I hope! 🙏
Closer to home, I’ll continue my mission to visit as many cigar lounges across London and the UK and report back as possible, while attending every cigar event I can. Beyond that, I’m eager to explore more cities across Europe and delve into their cigar scenes, all while continuing to share updates from the UK cigar scene – whilst enjoying the remarkable variety of cigars we have on offer to us.
At the same time, I’ll be mindful to smoke in moderation, staying health-conscious and ensuring I don’t get carried away.
Before I sign off for 2024…
To everyone who takes the time to read this blog and to those who have supported me in person, I want to say a heartfelt thank you. I really appreciated all the support and encouragement you have given me.
Here’s to 2025 and all the adventures the coming year has in store!
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