If you weren’t at EJ Churchill Shooting Ground in Lane End, High Wycombe, this weekend on Saturday, 1st August, you truly missed an incredible second edition of The Summertime Smoke — the UK’s premier cigar festival.

After spending the weekend there, it’s safe to say that it has firmly established itself as one of the highlights of the UK cigar calendar.

Arriving in High Wycombe

I travelled down on the Friday evening by train from London Marylebone to High Wycombe, a market town in Buckinghamshire just over 30 miles west of London.

The journey took around 40 minutes, with the route passing hundreds of Luke Combs fans heading to Wembley Stadium in their cowboy hats and boots.

I spent two nights in High Wycombe with my cigar buddy Alistair, who I travelled to Cuba 🇨🇺 with in 2025. Before the festival got underway, we were keen to find somewhere to enjoy a cigar, unwind, and have a proper catch-up.

We ended up splitting the evening between the smoking area at Café Roberto‘s (which closes at 8pm) and the garden at The Antelope (open till late) — both of which turned out to be excellent spots to unwind ahead of the big day, cigar or two in hand.

It also got me thinking: if The Summertime Smoke becomes an annual tradition — and I sincerely hope it does — it would be great to organise an unofficial Friday evening herf for those arriving early and looking to start the weekend in good company.

Saturday Morning

The organisers recommended arriving between 11:30am and midday, and everything was incredibly straightforward. Parking was available on-site, while those arriving by train could easily reach the venue with a short 15–20 minute Uber journey from High Wycombe.

Check-in couldn’t have been easier. Simply giving your name was enough to collect your wristband before heading to the pavilion to receive an impressive goodie bag.

Inside was:

• A premium leather two-cigar case
• A branded insulated drinks tumbler
• A cigar stand
• A punch cutter
• Five premium cigar vouchers
• Spirit sampling vouchers
• A food voucher

The team at Bright Leaf — the UK-based cigar and cigar accessories importer and distributor behind the event — pulled out all the bells and whistles this time around, big shout out to Paresh Patel, Josh, Asha and the whole team! 🙌

The Festival

The setting was largely unchanged from last year, with the cigar event once again taking over The Pavilion, where guests could meet brand owners and representatives, as well as Sharpshooter’s Shed, which hosted the masterclass seminars.

One noticeable difference from last year was the layout. The exhibitors were moved into a dedicated covered area within The Pavilion, providing shelter and a more comfortable space for visitors should the weather have turned.

Fortunately, the sunshine was out all guns blazing and with us throughout the day, with temperatures reaching around 25°C. However, with so many people spending time inside the covered area, the outdoor section of The Pavilion felt noticeably quieter than it had done the previous year.

When I caught up with Paresh a week before the event (at the Cigar Smoking World Championship British Open), he mentioned that around 260 tickets had already been sold, with another week still to go. This was a great indication that interest remained strong and attendance was excellent once again.

The exhibitors

One of the best parts of the festival is how the cigar vouchers — or, in this year’s case, the “playing cards” — encourage you to interact directly with the exhibitors.

Rather than simply collecting cigars, each stand takes the time to discuss your preferences before recommending something to suit your palate.

This year’s exhibitors included the following cigar brand owners and reps:

• ADVentura
• Casdagli
• Chateau Diadem
• Davidoff
• Foundation Cigars
• Hiram & Solomon
• La Galera
• Las Villas
• PDR
• Plasencia
• Rocky Patel
• Tatuaje
• West Tampa Tobacco Company

Alongside premium spirit partners including:

• Dalmore Whisky
• Heaven Hill Whiskey
• Rémy Martin Cognac
• Tamdhu Whisky
• Nikka Whisky

I had a great selection of brands featured on my playing cards, so I made a beeline for each of their booths. I’m always drawn to the latest cigar releases — probably because, as a cigar blogger, I like to stay ahead of the curve and keep up with the newest launches. The cigar that seemed to be generating the most excitement at the Rocky Patel booth was The Sapphire, which, if I remember correctly, was announced at this year’s PCA Cigar Trade Show. But not sure if everyone got one of those, I know I didn’t, so one to look forward too in the future!

I’m also a proper cigar tourist when it comes to these kinds of events 😂 I absolutely have to get a selfie with every cigar maker! It’s all for the day I finally have my own cigar cave at home and can frame these photos to hang on the walls.

It was a shame we didn’t get to see Emily Sahakian of Château Diadem at this year’s event. Emily is the niece of Edward Sahakian and cousin of Eddie Sahakian, and they recently appeared together in an interview at Davidoff of London that is well worth watching! Even so, it was great to see Thierry Farah in attendance.

Interestingly, while I was there, the biggest queue of the day was at the Foundation Cigars stand. George Frakes, the UK importer and distributor for Nick Melillo’s cigars, as well as an international representative, was drawing a lot of attention. It was fantastic to see, because George is an amazing bloke with what feels like at least seven books’ worth of cigar knowledge stored in his head, especially when it comes to the origins of tobacco and the rich history behind the regions featured in many of Nick’s cigars.

It was also great to bump into José Manuel Blanco from La Galera and Abe Flores of PDR Cigars, both of whom I’d last seen at the fantastic Pro Cigar Festival in the Dominican Republic 🇩🇴 earlier this year.

The Masterclasses

Every ticket included access to one of the festival’s masterclasses. Which you registered for upon entry. It was first come first serve.

The programme included:

• Tim Griek (Plasencia Cigars) paired with Dalmore Whisky
• Pete Johnson (Tatuaje Cigars) paired with Heaven Hill Whiskey
• Rocky Patel paired with Rémy Martin Cognac
• Jeremy Casdagli paired with Nikka Whisky
• George Frakes (Foundation Cigars) paired with Tamdhu Whisky

The most popular session appeared to be Plasencia with spaces getting booked very fast for that. I wanted to attend them all — I’m a proper cigar nerd haha! But I completely understand, the room just wouldn’t have been able to accommodate everyone.

I was determined to attend Pete Johnson’s session.

He’s rarely in the UK 🇬🇧 and has almost legendary status amongst cigar enthusiasts in the US 🇺🇸.

Pete spoke about the origins of Tatuaje, his relationship with Don ‘Pepin’ Garcia (his father in law) and the challenges of building a boutique cigar brand.

Meeting Pete was undoubtedly one of the highlights of my day.

I also had the chance to ask him a few quick-fire questions and filmed the entire masterclass, which you can watch on my YouTube channel. The full video is around 56 minutes long, so you might want to bookmark it and come back when you have time to watch it in full. 👇

Save cigars

On a more serious note, before each masterclass, David Worsfold of AITS (Association of Independent Tobacco Specialists) gave a short talk on the latest proposals…

… introduced in the wake of the generational smoking ban, to extend plain packaging rules to cigars, pipe tobacco and other tobacco products.

He highlighted the potential impact on cigar consumers and the wider industry, encouraging attendees to share their views through the consultation process. To learn more, visit savecigars.co.uk.

The UK cigar community

One thing this festival does exceptionally well is creating opportunities to meet up with like minded cigar folk from across the UK cigar community.

I was absolutely blown away by the number of people who came up to say hello at the event — people who had read the blog and have been following my cigar adventures on social media. Honestly, it completely blew my mind! 🙏🙏🙏

I ended up chatting so much that I only managed to smoke one cigar during the entire 7-hour event haha. But I loved every single minute of it. I genuinely enjoy hearing everyone’s individual cigar journeys — I always learn so much from other people and their experiences too.

It really made my weekend, so thank you 🙏. It was also fantastic bumping into old friends who I’ve met and caught up with at previous cigar events.

Years ago, I remember feeling really anxious and awkward walking into these kinds of cigars events on my own. Now, it genuinely feels like I’m meeting up with extended family. That, more than anything, is what makes this festival so special.

And if you’re feeling the same way, stick with it — the nerves and awkwardness really do fade the more you keep showing up and getting involved.

Food, drinks and clay shooting

Every guest received a food voucher, with vegetarian options available, and there were food vendors serving burgers, chips, and other festival favourites throughout the afternoon. I heard the Greek food van packed up a little early after running out of food!

For those wanting something completely different, there was also the opportunity to book clay pigeon shooting at the famous EJ Churchill grounds. Sessions were available from 12:30pm, provided guests hadn’t consumed any alcohol beforehand.

The atmosphere

What really stood out was just how relaxed everything felt.

People wandered between exhibitors, enjoyed premium cigars in the sunshine, sampled world-class spirits and settled into long conversations with friends old and new.

There was no rush. No pressure. Just a genuinely welcoming atmosphere.

If I could suggest one addition for future festivals, it would be some live music outdoors during the afternoon. With the relaxed, barbecue-style atmosphere, I think it would complement the event perfectly. A bit of light jazz would set the mood perfectly… or, for something a little different, Abe Flores of PDR Cigars is a bass player and musician, while Pete Johnson of Tatuaje is a former bass player, so a friendly jam session — or even a band-off — would have gone down an absolute treat. Failing that, I’d happily settle for a Luke Combs tribute act!

Final thoughts

Before long, seven hours had disappeared and it was time to head home 😭.

Massive credit has to go to Paresh Patel and the entire Bright Leaf team. Events of this size don’t happen by accident, yet throughout the day everything ran incredibly smoothly. Even speaking to Paresh in the week leading up to the festival, he seemed remarkably calm considering the amount of work that must have gone on behind the scenes.

I genuinely hope this becomes a permanent fixture on the UK cigar calendar💪.

If the festival returns in 2027, do book early. Standard tickets are usually around £200, although previous early bird offers have reduced this by around £20, and Havana House Cigar Cruise guests have also received discount vouchers.

For me, this wasn’t just another cigar event. It was one of the highlights of the year 🥇.

The combination of premium cigars, outstanding spirits, fascinating masterclasses, beautiful surroundings and an incredibly friendly cigar community makes The Summertime Smoke something truly special.

If you were there, I’d love to hear your favourite moments in the comments below.

For more information about the festival visit their website at: https://thecigarfestival.co.uk/