We’re now halfway through the year, and it feels like the UK cigar scene—especially in London—is absolutely thriving. At the same time, the industry faces real political uncertainty with new legislation on the horizon. Despite this, there are a few exciting events happening in and outside the capital this week.

Somehow, I’ve ended up signing myself up for SIX 😳😄 cigar adventures over the next week, all while juggling my regular 9-5 day job. I wasn’t quite sure how to document it all, so I’ve decided to keep things simple: one blog post covering my cigar-filled week, with daily updates from each event.

I’m not sure how interesting it will be or if I’ll manage to keep it going for the entire week, but I’m giving it a shot. I won’t spoil where I’m headed just yet, but I’ll share quick updates after each adventure. Stay tuned!

Sunday 29 June – CSCW UK Final & British Open @ Boisdales of Canary Wharf

So yesterday, to conclude my 6 days of cigar events I attended Bosidale’s of Canary Wharf for the CSCW UK Final & British Open. What a joyful day it was!

Read my full review of it here.

Friday 27 June – Undisclosed location

Wow just left this very exclusive special place – what an honour to sample a cigar here 🙏. Sadly I don’t think I can say much else about it… but I definitely need to lose a bit of weight to fit into the smoking jacket! 😬 What a way to end the week and there’s still more cigar adventures… this Sunday at Boisdales of Canary Wharf!

Thursday 26 June – Les Deux Canards x EGM Cigars x Dalmore at The Pavilion Club, Fulham, London

This evening I attended the Les Deux Canards cigar event hosted by the brilliant Sam – check out his website at lesdeuxcanards.com – especially if you want someone to host a cigar sampling event for you! It was held at The Pavilion Club right next to Putney Bridge in Fulham, London. The evening celebrated EGM Cigars and Dalmore whiskey.

We started off with the EGM Tiburones cigar, which pays homage to the indigenous Taíno people—early inhabitants of Cuba and the first to uncover the sacred allure of smoked tobacco. For the Taíno, tobacco was more than a plant; it was a spiritual conduit, central to ritual and ceremony. The word Tiburón, meaning “shark” in the Taíno language, lends its name to this vitola—a symbol of power, mystery, and deep connection with nature. An enjoyable cigar.

Next up we sampled the EGM x Alexander Kraft cigar, the first cigar I’ve sampled with the face of a dog on the cigar band! Again an enjoyable smoke 😄

Read more about EGM Cigars in my recent blog post about it here.

The event itself was super chilled and it felt like a much younger crowd celebrating cigars – I say young, probably 25-35, so Les Deux Canards and EGM are definitely appealing to that age range it feels.

It was so nice seeing familiar faces and new folk – loved hearing all about the team behind Cigar & Cork and what they are doing with cigars and podcasts.

Everyone was incredibly welcoming. It was a really great crowd. Terrific night 👏

If you’re interested in EGM cigars check out their UK distributor MK Cigars.

Wednesday 25 June 2025 – Plasencia and Mitchell’s Cigars near Sheffield, UK

Just returned to my Travelodge in Sheffield after visiting a small town called Dronfield and a pub called The Green Dragon, where I attended Mitchell’s Wines Plasencia event.

It was about a 25-minute ride from Sheffield train station, but wow—what an incredible evening with the Sheffield cigar community. The event had this laid-back vibe, set in a pub car park with a garden-party feel. It was really interesting to hear from so many people talking about their first cigars—usually on balconies while on holiday. And there was a lot of conversation around New World cigars over Cuban.

Vaibhav (of Davidoff/Plasencia) and James (of Mitchells Wines), absolutely smashed it tonight in terms of hosting the event.

I also finally got to meet Phil, who’s been following my journey on this blog—big shoutout to you, Phil – defo hope we can meet for that cigar soon 🙏🙏🙏

Had a good conversation with a guy called Steve, too—he’s only been into cigars for a couple of months but already has his eye on visiting Manchester No 10 Street and, hopefully, JJ Fox when he heads to London (highly recommended!).

There were lots of other great people there, but a real highlight was meeting the man himself—Mr. John Mitchell.

I call him “The Sahakian of Sheffield” because he’s been in the cigar game for decades, selling them in the city since the ’60s. It was amazing hearing him talk and share stories from his shop. He’s a true expert and really cares about giving his customers great value. He mentioned some exciting news too… sounds like a new cigar sampling lounge might be coming soon. Watch this space!

You can read more about John, James and Mitchell’s Wines on my recent blog post here – as they have just paired up with Perdomo to release their own custom cigar.

The main reason we were all there tonight was to sample Plasencia’s “Year of the Snake” cigars. One of the cigars in the box had a unique calebra-style presentation—but with just two cigars istead of three, side by side. Very cool. I didn’t smoke those I just stuck with the Lancero!

All in all, an amazing night with a welcoming, passionate community. Can’t wait for the next one. Here’s a video from the event!

Tuesday 24 June 2025 – Lord’s Lunch

Today, I had the absolute privilege of attending the iconic Lord’s Lunch at the historic Lord’s Cricket Ground—an elegant and charitable gathering hosted by the Association of Independent Tobacco Specialists (AITS). I was delighted to be invited as a guest of Brightleaf, and the event was just incredible.

Held annually, the Lord’s Lunch is a beloved tradition in the cigar and tobacco industry. From the moment I stepped into The Harris Gardens for the champagne reception—graciously sponsored by Hunters & Frankau—the atmosphere was warm and celebratory.

I sampled the following cigars, the new Rocky Patel Gold Label cigar is said to have a refined medium to full-bodied cigar, featuring an oily Ecuadorian Habano wrapper and a dual binder of Connecticut Broadleaf and Shade. Filled with aged Nicaraguan tobaccos from Estelí and Jalapa, it offers rich complexity, perfect balance, and a long, satisfying finish. Handcrafted at the Tavicusa factory in Nicaragua.

The second cigar I sampled was the Chateau Diadem Splendor.

The afternoon continued in grand style with a superb lunch served in The Long Room, where the rich history of Lord’s added to the sense of occasion.

Awkwardly, I didn’t have time to finish my Château Diadème during the brief break between lunch and the charity raffle, so I had to stump it out and slip it into my jacket’s breast pocket. The problem was, it didn’t cool down as expected. For a moment, while I was in the Long Room, I genuinely thought I might have to bolt for the emergency exit to put it out—potentially disrupting the entire event. Thankfully, after heating up a bit more, it eventually died down on its own, and I was able to resume smoking it once I left the Long Room. 😅

A charity raffle raised £3,000 for Grocery Aid and the Welfare Fund of the Tobacco Trade. The event was generously supported by sponsors including Ritmeester, Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG), and Tabac World, whose contributions helped make the day a true success.

Being around so many incredible people from the cigar industry was a real privilege.

As a blogger, I’ve spent a lot of time sharing my love for cigars and watching the industry from the sidelines, so to be invited to an event like this really meant a lot ❤️.

Here’s a little montage from today’s unforgettable event:

Monday 23 June 2025 – Kristoff

Mondays are usually one of the duller days of the week, but I kicked mine off in the best way possible—at a cigar sampling event hosted by one of my favourite newer cigar shops in London: City of London Cigars. I’ve mentioned them before, and for good reason. They’ve got a fantastic shop and a great sampling lounge tucked away in Spitalfields (just over the road from Liverpool Street train station).

Joining us in the cigar shop and sampling lounge was the brilliant Jarrid of Kristoff Cigars and Barkers of Harrogate 🙌🏻

Jared started the night sharing insights into the brand’s journey and product range.

Kristoff Cigars was founded in 2004 by Glen Case, a former finance executive who walked away from Wall Street to pursue his passion for premium cigars.

Launched in Miami and produced in the Dominican Republic, Kristoff quickly earned acclaim for its bold, full‑to medium‑full blends using double- and triple‑fermented tobaccos from Nicaragua, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic, all handcrafted using traditional Cuban techniques (including entubar bunching) and individually draw‑tested for quality. Distinctive for their rustic appearance—pigtail caps, uncut feet, and rugged wrappers—Kristoff became a boutique favourite (notably entering Cigar Aficionado’s Top 25 in 2012 with the Corojo Limitada).

Over the years the brand has expanded across multiple lines (Criollo, Maduro, Sumatra, Pistoff, San Andrés, GC series, etc.), celebrated for consistent craftsmanship, complexity of flavor, and broad appeal among cigar aficionados.

Tonight we sampled the Kristoff JT Signature Series cigar – made after Jarrid himself…

… and a Kristoff Shade Grown cigar.

I was really impressed with both cigars, the JD was a box pressed soft mild cigar, a smooth smoke. The second was the Sun Grown, this felt quite flavourful with sweet toffee like notes, especially during the first third. Both cigars had their quirks both had pigtail caps and one had uncut feet. The second was my favourite out of the two.

I wanna try the pi$$edoff cigar next! 😄

Here’s a little video montage I made from the event…

Also gotta give a big shout out to Raj and Nav of City of London Cigars, who are smashing their cigar events right now – this was the 4th one they’ve hosted!!! 🚀

Early start tomorrow—heading to an industry event 🙌🏻 Check back here throughout the week as I work on updating with my adventures!