Category: Shop Updates

This week at Chester we have some great offers on Irish Whisky to celebrate St Patrick’s Day on 17th March. If Irish Whisky is not your tipple then we also have Flor De Cana Rum on offer, with the beautiful expressions of 7 year old, 12 year old and 18 year old. The 12 year old and 18 year old come with a beautiful poetry book, it is written in Spanish so if you want to impress your other half with some Spanish poetry you know what you have to buy : )

Friday 8th March saw is celebrate International Women’s day and we some wonderful ladies who work for us but as there is no International Man’s day a big shout out to everyone of you who is an inspiration to others. Sara celebrated as she only knows how……….. A BIG CIGAR !!!!

I’m sure she was able to find one within the two highly stocked humidors at Chester : )

Remember Chester is open 7 days a week and our staff are always on hand to help you choose your favourite tobacco products and a nice tipple to accompany it!

This week saw Sara at Chester practise her Daryl Hannah from Kill Bill look however it certainly did not stop her sampling the magnificent Partagas Maduro No 1… however her current favourite daytime cigar is the Orchant Seleccion Avo Robusto which luckily for you all is available in stores across the UK and online………… but you better hurry before she smokes them all !!!

We love to host a tasting event in Chester and Wednesday 20th February saw our first Cuban event of 2019 and as with all our events, it was sold out !!  Who can blame you fine people for buying a ticket though with the wonderful cigars and cognac we had to offer !!

Make sure you check out the event pages here regularly for all up to date information on any future events and remember to book your tickets fast as we really hate the sulky faces when we have to tell you its sold out !! 😜

We also have some amazing offers coming in store over the next few weeks but until then its hush hush   🤐  but remember the Chester store is open 7 days a week and we are always on hand to help put in any we can, because let’s face it we LOVE our jobs  ! 😍

Once again, I’m writing this from one of my favourite locations: The beautiful Knutsford Turmeaus. As I’ve said before, I helped out with the initial set up and management of this shop for its first year, so I always love getting back over here every now and again to see how it’s getting on. The town of Knutsford itself is also gorgeous and well worth a visit, especially if you finish off with a cigar and a dram in the homely sampling area!

Whenever I’m here, I like to have a little mooch through their shelves and cigar room to see if I can find anything a little interesting: Stuff that we don’t stock in Chester, or lines that are starting to run low due to discontinuation. So, this week I’m giving you the lowdown of any of the harder to find stuff that I’ve spotted while I’m here!

Reserva and Gran Reserva Havanas

These select ranges of Havanas are extremely exclusive and consist of leaves selected from the finest fields Cuba has to offer before being aged for a minimum of 3 years for Reservas and 5 years for Gran Reservas. This means that these cigars are already delectably aged, right off the shelf!

Knutsford currently still have the Upmann No.2 Reserva and the Partagas Lusitania Gran Reserva. The latter consists of tobacco from the 2007 harvest, so we’re talking ten years ageing here and in the slowly heavy-hitting double corona format; It promises to be an overwhelmingly satisfying smoke.

Flor de Cano – Short Robusto – UK regional Edition 2010 

There are a few of these around, but we’ve really been struggling to get a decent amount of them! Knutsford still have a very tasty looking stash of this UK Regional Edition Havana. It was the UK release for 2010 and is very much a “cigar of the times:” Short, but with a heavy ring gauge, for a cigar that is convenient for these smoking ban afflicted times, but doesn’t let up on flavour. Expect sweet, light to medium notes throughout. At 7 years old, they’re also maturing very nicely at this point! Don’t miss your chance to try one!

Alec Bradley Fine and Rare –  Diademas

Another extremely limited release, with just 3000 ever being made. It’s extremely varied blend, utilising TEN different tobaccos (just don’t make me list them!). It’s also the only use of the very underused (IMO) double figurado style of cigar (pointed at both ends) that allows the flavour of the cigar to develop in a very different way to the standard “Parejo” (straight sided) cigar format. Technically, we do still have a few of these in Chester too, but supplies are incredibly scarce, so I’m pretty jealous of the selection Knutsford have!

All the wine!

I’ll be honest, out of all the stuff we sell, wine is probably the area I’m least clued up on. However, I’m always impressed with Knutsford’s addition of a specialist wine room. Andrew has a reputation with the local Knutsfordians as being a true wine expert and has years of experience, so he’s right at home here! Even as a relative wine novice, I can appreciate how comprehensive the wine selection here is. With prices ranging from just £8.29 for a bottle of La Campage 2016 Shiraz, up to £400 for a bottle of Dom Perignon 1976, there’s truly something for everyone here. If you’re like me and aren’t too clued up about the details of wine, simply come and talk to Andrew and the staff here: they won’t steer you wrong!

Side note: Port

While it might not be as big a range as the non-fortified wine selection here, there are plenty of options for port fans. I really enjoy a glass of port, so I always check these out while I’m here. I’m a big fan of Graham’s Six Grapes for a traditional glass of port, but my favourite is something a little bit different. I’m talking about Rubis! This dark, sweet port has the added flavour of natural chocolate. It might seem a little strange to begin with, but don’t let that put you off. Give it a try: The chocolate really brings loads of extra sweetness to the table, but without becoming sickly. It’s also silky, silky smooth. Definitely recommended!

So those are my top picks for things to try if you ever pop into the Knutsford store (which you absolutely, definitely should do, if you get the opportunity!) Next week, I’m taking a long overdue trip over to Liverpool, where I’ll be helping out in the shop, but also giving the swanky new Puffin’ Rooms a thorough test-drive. I look forward to filling you all in next week!

Until then: Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Calum

If you’re a regular reader of this blog (thanks for that, by the way. Can you believe I’ve been writing this for nearly three years now? Doesn’t time fly?) you’ll probably know that I get disproportionately excited whenever we get a new line of products in. Usually because it gives me the excuse opportunity to sample a load of things I’ve never tried before.  This week, I have the added bonus of trying a range that is not only new, but also totally exclusive to C.Gars Ltd: Avo Cigars.

These are Dominican-made cigars and come in a variety of blends, ranging from mellow and easy to powerfully full bodied. So naturally, I’m going to work my way through them so I can give you the lowdown. It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it!

Avo Domaine

One of my favourite formats of cigar is the perfecto or double figurado, (pointed at both ends) partly because it allows the cigar’s flavour to develop in an unusual way compared to regular “Parejo” cigars, but also because I feel it’s an underutilised format that really doesn’t crop up as often as it should. So naturally, my first choice for my sampling session was the Avo Domaine Short 

Perfecto: a 4 5/8” x 50rg double figurado. Like I said, this format gives the unusual experience of allowing the smoker to taste only the outer leaves of the cigar for the first few puffs. In the case of this cigar, that gives a very pronounced spicy flavour, which becomes a subtle undertone as the rest of the blend is gradually revealed. As you get further in, earthy, cocoa and vanilla notes slowly build to a rich, medium-full taste that is extremely satisfying. Great for an after-dinner smoke!

Avo XO

At the other end of the scale, we have the delicately blended XO line, which contain tobacco that has been lovingly aged for a

minimum of six years. The end result is a sumptuously smooth and mellow cigar, with hints of sweet cedar, nuts and caramel, all intermingling against a subtle creamy base. You get a nice range of formats to choose from with this range, from the crowd favourite, Robusto-sized Intermezzo (5” x 50rg) to the slim and elegant 6” x 40rg Preludio (a Corona Larga). For something in the middle, they

also have a classic tubed corona format (5” x 43, in this case) in the form of the Notturno.

I cracked on with this blog about 9am this morning and lit up a Preludio as I started, so I can vouch that these make for a perfect breakfast cigar. Mellow enough to not blow your head off, but complex enough to shake up your taste buds a bit, first thing in the morning. Or as they put it “Complex, but not complicated.” (which is a phrase I’m definitely going to steal).

We’ve only had these available for a couple of days, so I’ve not actually had time to test any more of the range, but just to keep you all up to date, here’s a quick run-down of the rest of the range. I’m sure I’ll manage to taste a few more before my next blog to give you my personal notes 😉.

Avo Classic

Looking at these, it seems like they’re going to be in the same sort of territory as the XO, as they have the same composition: Dominican Filler and Binder, dressed in a silky Ecuador Sun-Grown Wrapper. Again, this promises a mild, creamy smoke which should be ideal for an early morning smoke. Especially if you’re a breakfast-skipper like me! Currently available in the tubed Robusto format and the 4 ¾” x 48rg No.9.

Avo Heritage

Back up to the more full bodied end of the spectrum again with these and once again, we have a Dominican Filler and Binder, but this time the wrapper is a Special Ecuador Sun-Grown Habano leaf. The formats available are both short and stock options: A 4” x 56rg Short Robusto or for figurado fans: The Short Torpedo (4 ½” x 52rg). These promise to be beefy smokes, with the potential for huge clouds of smoke, with notes of dark cocoa, roasted nut, sweet oak and spice. They sound pretty awesome, so I’ll definitely be trying one soon!

Avo Syncro – Nicaragua

Ok, so to finish off, these are something totally different to the rest of the range. First up, they include tobacco from a variety of regions; They might call themselves Nicaraguan, but the filler actually contains tobacco from Nicaragua, Dominican Republic and Peru! This is contained within a Domican binder and finished off with an Ecuador Habano-Connecticut hybrid wrapper. Intriguing, right? On top of that, they also have something very rare: A boxed pressed tubo! That’s right, they actually produce a cigar in a cuboid tube! They really stand out as a real eyebrow raiser amongst the rows of round tubes in the humidor. I don’t think I’ve ever seen something like that before, so I think it’s pretty cool (it’s the little things in life, right?) As well as the aforementioned Box Pressed Toro Tobo, you can also get a Short Robusto (also box pressed, but without the cool tube, sadly).

So that’s the full range of these exclusive new cigars. I’ve been pretty impressed with what I’ve had so far and I’m definitely excited to explore the rest of the family! They’re great tasting cigars and excellent value to boot, with options starting from just under £10 per cigar and nothing getting any more expensive than £15.99. Definitely worth checking out!

Until next time: put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Calum