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nThe Fine English Company is a recently launched line of luxurious furniture, luggage and lifestyle accessories reminiscent of Britain’s colonial past with a contemporary flair, founded by former financial consultant Benedict Wormald. The company was born out of a desire to trade in his City lifestyle in London and turn a lifelong passion for classic British design and antiquities into a business. The Fine English Company’s products combine traditional craftsmanship with detailing of exotic animal skins, rare and native woods and veneers to create a range of collectible and desirable objects betokening the best of bespoke British luxury. “I’m a great devotee of simplicity and pared down restraint in luxuries,” Wormald tells Luxist, “easy items that are executed very well. Luxury to me isn’t necessarily about adornment or precious materials for vastly inflated prices. I demand a very tactile and aesthetic element from the things I deem to be ‘above par’. There is a very definite trend for this that we’re seeing in bespoke commissions where people are making much more considered buys and investing in the construction and execution of the item and not just materials.”
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nWormald is very passionate about exquisitely made goods and those that are true to the term bespoke, which is increasingly taken in vain. “If you select to go bespoke from an early age, the lifetime cost is more than borne out in comparison to a bigger number of machine made and mass produced brand led products,” he notes. “I only wish someone had told me that aged 18! I have Savile Row suits that are as good now at 15 years old as they were new and a good pair of bespoke shoes, a made-to-measure shirt and a bespoke suit will feel more comfortable than any other choice all day and each day - suits only irritate if they don’t fit properly and a good suit and shoes will help your posture and the way you comport yourself.” Wormald points out that “bespoke need not necessarily be costly. The power is coming back to the customer to demand something different, something one-of-a-kind to treasure for generations.” In the gallery are images of his essential luxuries; continued below you will find his fulsome explanations about what makes them a must.
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Continue reading EXCLUSIVE: Fine English Company Founder Benedict Wormald’s Ten Essential Luxuries

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nFor the past couple of years, if you were a Gitanes- or cigar-smoking guest at the Hotel Lutetia you needed to take your hand-wrapped hobby outdoors to enjoy. With the opening of the hotel’s Fumoir, that’s no longer the case. After celebrating 100 years in service, the Lutetia decided to make the next 100 a tiny kinder to those who are compelled by the ciggie and corona.
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nThe Fumoir has replaced the hotel’s grill room a few steps from the Brasserie, and in an odd bit of nomenclature is known as “The Kitchen” - perhaps because of the stove hood that now serves air extraction duty. Bedecked in the “sun-drenched” colors of Havana but still wit that darkly Parisian ambiance, leather divans and armchairs accompany stained wood fixtures and L’Ernestine, the hotels humidor-cum-artwork that is been out of commission for the dark and unlit years. Finally, if you are in Paris, you are welcome to come back in from la froid.

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nIn 1925 Louis Vuitton created a special trunk in its iconic monogram canvas to home a portable set of the Encyclopaedia Brittanica for the traveling scholar. A later owner adapted the rare item to a more practical purpose, turning it into the world’s most stylish portable humidor. The trunk was professionally refitted to house 500 cigars in removable boxes lined with seasoned Spanish cedar along with a removable humidor in burled American walnut. The lid of the trunk has been lined in Spanish cedar as well and inset with decorative burled walnut panels. London’s Pullman Gallery is now offering the unique piece for $27,800.
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n[via Luxury Launches]

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Gurkha has a reputation of being the best of the ideal in the cigar world, and His Majesty’s Reserve has the honor of holding the title of world’s most high-priced cigar. Made from the most expensive cognac and premium tobacco, HMR consists of a secret blend of filler tobaccos from all over the world wrapped in a rare aged Dominican wrapper before being infused with Louis XIII Cognac (the process uses an entire bottle). Less than 100 boxes of His Majesty’s Reserve are made each year and getting your hands on one will not only be difficult, but will also cost you $750 per cigar or $15,000 per box.
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nVia JustLuxe

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nA stunning bespoke sterling silver traveling cigar set in a leather carrying case made in 1885 for Kaiser Wilhelm II, the last Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia, if being offered for sale by London’s Pullman Gallery for $85,000. The leather case contains four matching sterling silver cigar boxes, a giant matchbox holder and a set of 10 monogrammed cigar holders. Each piece features an applied gold and red-enameled ‘W’ with the Royal Prussian crown on the lid, and the cover of each box is also engraved inside with the signature “Victoria”, for Wilhelm’s mother Princess Victoria (1840-1901), wife of Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, later Emperor Friedrich III. The fitted purple grained leather felt-lined traveling case features an applied gilded bronze Royal Prussian crown and is marked J. Wagner und Sohn, Berlin.

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nMuch ado has been made of the cigars ignited by the Canadian Women’s Hockey Team in party of the gold medal they had earned. Of course, they are not the first to light cigars following a victory, and despite much of the criticism being levied these days, they’re unlikely to be the last. Vin Lee, CEO of the Beverly Hills Cigar Club, wants the team to know that they have his support.
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nIn addition to decrying the International Olympic Committee’s recommendation that an investigation may be necessary, he stated in a statement:
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nEvery other sport - from the Stanley Cup, the World Cup of Soccer, NASCAR to the Super Bowl — supports celebrating victories with a bottle of champagne and a great cigar,” points out Lee. “The moment is emotional; in the case of the Olympics, it often is the reward of years of hard work and sacrifice. The Canadian Women’s Hockey Team should not be chastised for wanting to mark their victory on the ice. They’re national heroes.
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nIt would be nice for the IOC to lighten up on this issue … having already missed the opportunity to light up in support of the Canadian women’s team.
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nAnd, congratulations on a victory that was certainly earned!

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The annual Habanos festival ended Friday with a million-dollar cymbal crash. The week-long event attracted cigar merchants, smokers and collectors from around the world to select, sample and savor … all leading up to purchases, of course. The main attraction was an auction of ornate cedar and mahogany humidors packed with hecho a mano cigars, ultimately fetching $1.09 million. Hundreds may have attended, but only a small fraction walked away with that level of satisfaction.
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nThe celebration came on the heels of an announcement by Habanos S.A. that its revenue only reached $360 million last year, an 8 percent decline from 2008. The new Romeo y Julieta that was unveiled at the event, designed to appeal to women, is ostensibly a direct response to two consecutive years of revenue declines. Since women comprise only 5 percent to 10 percent of Habanos’ customers, the company is hoping that there’s room for growth. The company is also relying on an economic recovery in Spain, which is its largest market.
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nDespite the new “ladies’ line,” the focus in Cuba last week was on the auction. The top humidor to move contained the new Cohiba Bieke cigar, fetching $681,000, close to two-thirds of the total. According to Oscar Basulto, Vice President of Habanos, this is the top premium cigar on the market - though I’m sure there are a few people in Nicaragua, Honduras and the Dominican Republic who would disagree.

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Every year, Avo Uvezian releases a new cigar for his birthday … and it’s always extraordinary. My first encounter with Avo’s birthday cigar was the Avo 80, celebrating eight decades of the master himself. Last year, it was the Campanero, which may have been better than the Avo 80, though I have not had the latter in a few years, so a comparison is impossible. This year, Avo turns 84, and he’s celebrating his birthday with the Avo Limited Edition LE10.
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nThe LE10 is made from an Ecuadoran sun-grown wrapper and has a Mexican Sumatra binder. The filler consists of Dominican ligero tobacco. The cigar has a ring gauge of 55 and is 5 ½ inches long; Davidoff is calling it a “super robusto” and says that it is full-bodied.
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nThe LE10 tour will start in Salem, New Hampshire at Two Guys Smoke Shop on March 17, 2010 and comes to Manhattan the next day, with a visit to Davidoff of Geneva. In total, Avo will make 13 stops across the United States. View all locations below.

Continue reading Avo and Davidoff Celebrate 84 Years with LE10 Cigar

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Cuban cigar sales are in the tank right now. A combination of economic woes and anti-smoking legislation around the world have put the squeeze on Habanos S.A., the company behind Cuban cigars. Sales fell 8 percent last year, the company stated, to $360 million last year. This follows a sales decline in 2008. Even though the economy is showing signs of recovery, Cuban cigar have not come back. So, the company is looking to move into some relatively uncharted territory: women.
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nTo find its way into women’s hands, Habanos has created a smaller and milder Romeo y Julieta (the women I know who smoke cigars, however, tend to prefer something more robust). Women comprise only a smal share of the market - between 5 percent and 10 percent according to Habanos marketing director Ana Lopez.
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nThough some love from the ladies may help, Habanos realizes that it will not change the world for the beleaguered Cuban cigar company, which anticipates only a modest performance in 2010, due in massive part to soft economic conditions in Spain.

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I have heard all over that Oscar celebrations are supposed to be a big deal this year. While you are donning your formals and schlepping over to someone’s house to see who walks home with glory, think for a few moments about what will be going on at the Academy Awards Style Lounge at the Intercontinental Hotel in Beverly Hills. One thing will be certain: the guests will be slicing and lighting Camacho Cigars. At the celebration on March 6, 2010, Camacho will be the lounge’s official cigar.
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nSays Dylan Austin, Director of Marketing for Camacho, “Camacho Cigars is proud to be a part of the Academy Awards Style Lounge,” continuing, “We are excited to be aligning Camacho Cigars with the Oscars, and to be part of this grand celebration in honor of the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.”

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