mazolaman Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 Hi All, Jan 2nd is my wifes birthday, so off we went into the city of London again, to Tiffanys for a painfull present purchase. We stopped in at Vintage house whiskies in Soho, where you can buy a very reasonable bottle of Macallan from 1926, for £35,000.00. Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us But, the piece she desired was only available in Sloane square, so off we went. After the painfull process was over, I offered to buy her an expensive cocktail at the Lanesborough, just round the corner... So, as if by magic, sha had a delicious pear Belini, while I had an Old Fashioned, Garden style, in their lovely Garden room cigar lounge. They have two humidors, one of standard production, one with the specials in. And wow, what specials, they had a box of the original Behikes, in the shark skin mother of pearl box (not too keen on that),£2000/stick. They were now on their 3rd box of these.R and J torpedos from 1960 at £395/stick. Also those Partagas anniversary party smokes...every cigar from a jar you could wish for. I could not possibly remember or recount the number of rare cigars in there. Giuseppe, who runs the bar was extremely knowledgable about both both cigar and drinks, of which there are also many vintages. He also took the time to show me the luxurious cigars at his disposal, which was extremely kind considering there is about £200,000 worth of cigars in that humidor. Anyway, not having £300 plus to chuck at a cigar, I chose a cigar I had not had before, a La feurza, the quality of which was excellent. A smooth smoke, with less spice and sweetness than the La punta. Growing steadily stronger, with a little floral/hay at the end.A 90 I'd say. I wonder whether the likes of these hotels and H and Frankau get special treatment, as the quality at their disposal always seems to be perfect,the wrappers seem of better quality, and the smokes always perfect. The garden room was an excellent smoking room, warm, comfortable with friendly staff. A real pleasure to relax with a well made drink, while letting the Hyde Park traffic fly by. A pleasure to live it up for a while in one of London's poshest hotels. After which, up to Covent Garden for Mussels and Belgian beer in Belgo centraal...also recommended, for good food at a reasonable price in London. Tomorrow, back to reality, enough of blowing money, and back to egg and chips.... Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us
headstand Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 Too bad you are going back to simple fare - I've enjoyed the vicarious experience. Cheers
mazolaman Posted January 2, 2012 Author Posted January 2, 2012 Cheers mate, it was fun while it lasted...At least she has her necklace!
El Presidente Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 Eggs and chips....one of the worlds great dishes It is always fun to walk albeit briefly in the world of the hoi polloi!!! It makes it even sweeter when you are back home amongst the riff raff !LOL!
Wil Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 Brilliant! Have always wanted to visit the Lanesborough.
Scdalak Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 Great Pics of the Scotch mate, thats some serious high end product and selection we dont see here in the states. and Oh yea you think L35,000 is a very reasonable price????...Maybe if your name is Rob Ayala..
sactochris Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 When I make it over to London I plan to have a cigar at the Lanesborough.
mazolaman Posted January 3, 2012 Author Posted January 3, 2012 cheers guys. I'd certainly recommend a visit to the Lanesborough, even if it's just once. Also recommend the Vintage house whiskies, as they do have some really good reasonably priced whisky also. Further doen the same street is Gerry's which specialises in most other spirits.
Pilgrims Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 great report/review...I've not been yet and am always looking for good places...will make a trip there soon
rusty Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 great to see someone making the most out of shopping for the wife's birthday cheers
mazolaman Posted January 3, 2012 Author Posted January 3, 2012 If I'm around when any of you visit, I'd be happy to take you there. Yes, Rusty, it was awfully kind of me to make my wife watch me smoke a cigar on her birthday......still, she got a very nice cocktail, and a nice bit of bling.It's pretty nice of her to tolerate my habit! A window on another world, where fat men have rather beautiful wives, helped by surgery, and we thought one chap had come for a drink with his daughter, but......Amazing what money can buy, including a £2000 cigar.
adic88 Posted January 4, 2012 Posted January 4, 2012 Wow this is just so awesome. Add another thing to do on the bucket list. A well stored cigar will age well. It takes commitment and dedication to do that, especially in a retail pub/bar/restaurant environment where cigars are not necessarily your bread and butter. Hell, even in many cigar divans around the world i've visited, they don't even store their cigars correctly, and that's where cigars ARE their bread and butter. It's not that places that you visited or H&F get better stock, it's that they are more committed to quality than most places.
mazolaman Posted January 4, 2012 Author Posted January 4, 2012 Guiseppe knew his subject, so I'd let you two discuss that one, me, I wouldn't know.... Sure was a nice day! Just a detail, it's made out bone and skate skin.
mazolaman Posted January 4, 2012 Author Posted January 4, 2012 Wow this is just so awesome. Add another thing to do on the bucket list. It's not that places that you visited or H&F get better stock, it's that they are more committed to quality than most places. I'm not so sure. Any box I have been given or stick I have bought has an excellent even coloured wrapper, and there is never any unevenness in the roll. I've never had a plugged one.
mazolaman Posted January 4, 2012 Author Posted January 4, 2012 Holy Scotch selection Batman! WOW That's just the back room, there are even more than that! They have some great cask strengths and limited availability whiskies there, most of which are reasonably priced.
adic88 Posted January 4, 2012 Posted January 4, 2012 I'm not so sure. Any box I have been given or stick I have bought has an excellent even coloured wrapper, and there is never any unevenness in the roll. I've never had a plugged one. I haven't had a plugged Cuban in years either. That might be done to things such as a draw tester in the factories in recent years, rather than individual regions getting "better" cigars than others.
Wil Posted January 4, 2012 Posted January 4, 2012 I haven't had a plugged Cuban in years either. That might be done to things such as a draw tester in the factories in recent years, rather than individual regions getting "better" cigars than others. I've seen some pretty ragged looking Cubans at my local B&M. The cigars I get from the Czar are almost always better.
ckearns Posted January 4, 2012 Posted January 4, 2012 Looks like a very nice day with the Mrs indeed. I think its always nice to have indulgent days like that because life is too short to not. Thanks for sharing your experience. And where to begin with the scotch photos... very impressive! Ohh to have heaps of money to blow on such things as an old bottle of Macallan and an original bhk. That would be the life.
mazolaman Posted January 4, 2012 Author Posted January 4, 2012 Looks like a very nice day with the Mrs indeed. I think its always nice to have indulgent days like that because life is too short to not. Thanks for sharing your experience. And where to begin with the scotch photos... very impressive! Ohh to have heaps of money to blow on such things as an old bottle of Macallan and an original bhk. That would be the life. Twas a lovely (expensive) day, cheers. You're right, sometimes you've got to chill out a bit. Would that Macallan taste like £36000,00....would that Behike taste like £2000.....I'm a big cynic about those things..but I can still gaze in wonderment. View PostAizuddin, on 04 January 2012 - 07:28 AM, said: I haven't had a plugged Cuban in years either. That might be done to things such as a draw tester in the factories in recent years, rather than individual regions getting "better" cigars than others. There are still plenty of plugged Cubans around, not fakes.
ckearns Posted January 4, 2012 Posted January 4, 2012 Would that Macallan taste like £36000,00....would that Behike taste like £2000.....I'm a big cynic about those things..but I can still gaze in wonderment. I've often wondered to same. Maybe one day we can pool resources and find out. But with my luck the bhk would be plugged and the Macallan corked.
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