The next morning I was up at
the crack of 4.30am, trying to rehydrate my body with several bottles of
still water. As I could no longer sleep, I decided to join another
photographer in the grounds of the Nacional, waiting to take some photos
of dawn breaking over Cuba
It seemed the perfect moment to try one of the Partagas XIII
Anniversario cigars I had been given at the Partagas factory the night
before. Full-bodied and elegant, this dark, mottled, luxurious Havana
burnt well and provided a smooth smoke and wonderful aroma. It was
perhaps a bit too fresh - like many of the cigars I tried during my few
days in Havana - but it was a pleasant way to wake up on what would have
been a slow Friday morning, back home.
Dawn eventually broke and the day started as it meant to continue: very
bright, warm and sunny. According to CNN there were blizzards back home.
Mitch and Brian eventually fell out of bed and we all fuelled up on a
very relaxed Cuban breakfast on the executive (6th) floor of the
Nacional.
Earlier, I had checked out the breakfast in the main dining room on the
ground floor and as it included cold brussels sprouts and frankfurters,
decided to give it a miss and try upstairs.
Then we loaded the portable humidors and pocket cigar cases, sharpened
our cutters, and with several gas lighters primed for the day ahead,
leapt into a Cuban taxi to head out for a series of visits to a couple
of antiques dealers and some of Havana's finest cigar shops.
En route, we reminisced how incredibly easy it had been to get through
HM Customs at Gatwick Airport. Mitch had been stopped, briefly, for not
placing his favourite aftershave inside the requisite see-through
plastic bag inside his hand luggage, but the Customs officials didn't
seem remotely bothered by the large lethal-looking cigar cutter he was
also carrying, or the dual-flame cigar lighter, which was powerful
enough to melt the wings off a Learjet.
Our first stop was a house in a down-at-heel Havana suburb, where a
young attractive Cuban woman tried to sell Mitch copies of several
recent photographs of the ailing Fidel Castro, and other Cuban political
celebrities, at $150 a pop. She assured Mitch that only ten copies of
each photograph would be printed, as authorised by the Cuban
photographer who took them and on whose behalf she was acting as a
go-between. Mitch assured her he wasn't born yesterday and we left her
to try and scam some other non-Cuban sucker.
As lunchtime was fast approaching, the driver was requested to take us
to Le Casa del Tabaco La Cecilia, from which Mitch wished to stock up on
some seriously fine cigars for the remainder of the day. They were all
personally rolled by one of the Gods of Cuban rollers - Rudolpho Leiba,
who had once rolled cigars for Winston Churchill, and is now over 70 and
still very active.
Mitch and Rudolpho Leiba at La Casa del
Tabaco La Cecilia
Afterwards, over a lunch of pasta at the restaurant in the opposite side
of the open air nightclub which houses La Cecilia, I got talking with
Mitch and Brian. "This is fun," I told them, "but can you remind me why
you here?"
Imagine, if you will, the three of us sitting outside on a warm day in
Havana, splitting a bottle of 7-year-old Havana club, smoking Partagas
cigars, scoffing so-so Italian food, and trying not to listen to the
musical cacophony coming from one of the worst Cuban bands I have ever
heard - which
was wafting out of a nearby restaurant.
It was at this point I decided to go for an easy life, and use my trusty
tape recorder:
JL: How many times have you been to Cuba, Mitch?
Mitch: 30. I started in 1997.
JL: What are the biggest changes you've seen, over the years?
Mitch: I've seen many changes and generally they are for the better:
better cigars, better quality, better food - marginally, better flight
times and better flights. And the weather's always been lovely.
JL: When did you get into Cuban antiques?
Mitch: On my first trip, when I started buying photographs of Fidel and
Che. I think there will always be a value to original photographs of Che;
he's an icon of our times. I'm hoping that the same will be true for
Fidel.
JL: I'm told you're not very good at parting with your Cuban collection.
Mitch: I'm really the curator of the C.Gars Ltd collection of about 500
Cuban smoking-related antiques, which is ever-changing. I like having my
fun with showing off the humidors, the photographs, and unusual antiques
such as old ceramic jars. If somebody comes along and they particularly
want a piece to put in their walk-in humidor, smoking room, or lounge -
at that stage I
usually have to part with it. |
JL: It's like a museum really...
Mitch: It's probably one of the biggest collections of Cuban
smoking-related antiques in Europe.
JL: What's the most unusual or interesting item?
Mitch: There are so many - particularly the humidors that have
inscriptions of famous people from pre-Castro times. For example, we
have boxes dedicated to Batista and Menocal, among other famous
Cubans....even the head of Cuban Customs from 1948!
JL: What are the most popular items in your collection?
Mitch: Ceramic jars - Ramon Allones brown jars, Partagas brown jars, and
the very rare Partagas blue jars, of which only a thousand were made.
The jars actually weren't made in Cuba, they were made in Spain.
JL: You must have made some interesting and useful contacts over the
years.
Mitch: I have very good contacts, particularly in Havana, including
collectors and dealers. But they prefer to remain discreet and so do I
in my dealings with them. That said, everything is done on a strictly
legal and official basis, and all the right forms and export licences
etc are processed before the antiques are taken out of Cuba. And it's
all got provenance.
Mitch and Nobuhiro Nakamura from Japan
JL: While you've been wandering around Cuba with me looking for antiques
you have been glued to your XD-A. In fact, over breakfast this morning
you were trying to download over 1,100 emails from your various
businesses in the UK and Germany. How many emails do you get on that
machine, on average?
Mitch: In London we get about 1,000 emails a day, all of which I can
check out on my XD-A. They're not all orders, obviously. In the main,
they are customers asking for advice - they smoke this usually and
they'd like to try something else, or they've got problems with their
humidors and want advice, or they're looking for specific cigars...
JL: ...so you're also a smoker-friendly
Agony Aunt! Meanwhile, while you're here in Cuba your business is still
running, for you are now one of the largest independent retailers of
fine cigars...
Mitch: Well, there's JJ Fox, they're a very big retailer and have got
Harrods and Selfridges. I don't know if there's anybody else bigger than
us - certainly there's nobody else in the UK who specialises in vintage
Havana cigars other than ourselves. I've got a great team of 30 people
back
home looking after the business while I'm away...
JL: But you're not really that far away, are you? Just as far as that
XD-A, which seems to be permanently installed in your pocket. And you've
been keeping constant track of your business.
Mitch: I watch everything that's going on, in London, Liverpool,
Chester, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Hamburg.
JL: The Casa del Habano in Hamburg must be an interesting one to watch.
Mitch: It certainly is. My colleague, Christoph Wolters, opened up about
two weeks' ago (early November 2006) and he's running the retail side of
the business. I'm in charge of the Internet commerce side of the
business, and the marketing and PR. And, so far, we have got many, many
Internet orders coming in, far more than we expected. In fact, our first
month's sales are on target to be 100 per cent above our original
projected target.
JL: Where did the idea of the Casa come from?
Mitch: C.Gars Ltd wanted a Casa del Habano in London for some time now
but the economics of it didn't stack up for us in the UK. So it was then
a question of finding an alternative 'right' site. I was invited into
the partnership by Christoph Wolters to provide back-office e-commerce
facilities. We don't think any of the other Casas around the world have
a particularly strong Internet presence in order to do that. So we
targeted Hamburg as a very good, affluent location, particularly as it
is the second most affluent city in Europe, after London. Hamburg is an
ideal location for our joint business. The Hamburg Casa is not only in a
great upmarket location it also features, among other things, a very big
cigar lounge and a 3.8 metres high, glass, walk-in humidor. It's also
full of Cuban antiques.
JL: You've finally relented and let some of them go?
Mitch: Reluctantly, yes.
JL: So suddenly you're international. Are you hoping to expand, with
more Casas?
Mitch: We do plan to have more Casas and intend to open more Orchant/Wolters
cigars shops in Europe over the next five years, yes. |
JL: When did you meet Christoph?
Mitch: I met him about 6-7 years ago in Havana and we became very good
friends. He used to be the manager of the Casa del Habano in Cologne and
is a very well known cigar merchant, not just in Germany.
JL: Now during this trip to Cuba I have watched you buying cigars, as
well as antiques...
Mitch: I started buying cigars in Cuba about ten years ago but they're
mainly for my own use, and not for sale. C.Gars Ltd deals exclusively
with Hunters & Frankau back in the UK and when I'm over here I buy my
official Customs allowance of cigars - usually something that's
difficult to get back in the UK - and take them back home to smoke.
Brian and Mitch conducting some in-depth
research into the effects of Cuban cocktails at El Floridita in Havana
JL: I understand on many of your recent trips you have often been
accompanied by your good friend, Brian Ebbesen. With Brian's background
in antiques, cigars and wine, and your knowledge of Havanas and the
cigar retail market you are a formidable team. Plus the fact that you
both like to
enjoy yourselves...
Mitch: I met Brian through Christie's cigar auction and we've remained
very good friends for years. We enjoy meeting up fairly regularly for
wine tastings. And we always try to match up the wines with unusual
Havana cigars, such as pre-embargo Havanas, Davidoffs and Dunhills - and
generally
have a very good time.
JL: So what makes you unique compared with the other cigar retailers in
the UK?
Mitch: Well first we have this vintage cigar department at C.Gars Ltd -
vintage cigar sales make up a large proportion of our multi millions of
Pounds worth of cigar sales every year. And secondly, we do believe in
providing a very old fashioned high level of customer service. It's a
very
personal service that I don't think anyone else is capable of doing.
We're open 24/7 every single day of the year. It doesn't matter if you
phone us at 3 o'clock in the morning, there's still somebody that will
answer the phone and deal with your enquiry or take your order. We're
also on-line 24 hours a
day. It's quite unique. We're trying to give an all-encompassing
personal service internationally.
JL: How will the forthcoming UK smoking ban affect your business?
Mitch: It will affect the socialising that we do because we are usually
out 3-4 nights a week to a nice cigar-friendly restaurant, bar or cigar
divan in London and obviously that's all going to disappear. And that's
a terrible shame for the overall cigar-friendly scene here in London and
the rest of the UK. In terms of how it will affect business, we don't
expect it to affect our business at all because domestically the UK
market customers generally in their homes anyway. Our specialist tobacco
shops in Scotland have seen no overall change to cigar sales since
Scotland's outright ban.
JL: I've heard that in a lot of places where smoking has been banned
that the sales of cigars and the number of smokers hasn't actually gone
down.
Mitch: Yes, we understand that our friends in the Republic of Ireland
have seen no change in cigar sales.
JL: I've very rarely ever seen you without a cigar in your hand - how
will you cope with not being able to smoke in your own office?
Mitch: I've built a mirror image of my office in my study in my home in
North London. I've got all the mod cons of technology to enable me to
work from home, where I can smoke in peace.
JL: You're kind of geared up to it here in Cuba, which is like a home
from home for you...
Mitch: Absolutely.
JL: You also sell fine...booze...and even
more interesting, a wide selection of excellent air filters. Why aren't
people buying more of these filters?
Mitch: They do. The Csonka air purifier range has been our best selling
range of accessories for the last eight years now. We sell absolute
loads of them.
JL: Do you think the interest in air purifiers will grow after the ban?
Mitch: It is growing. But then our market share in the UK is growing as
well.
At this point my recorder's rechargeable batteries packed in, so we
decided to move on to Le Casa del Habano in Miramar, which was a
revelation, with its very elegant interior, range of stock, squishy
chairs, splendid bar, and welcoming ambiance. It's expertly run by
Manuel Brinoles Lopez.
"This is the best cigar shop in Cuba," said Mitch, who picked up a fine
humidor, to take home. |
Eventually, we fell into the El Floridita where a large statue of Ernest
Hemingway props up the bar. Clawing our way into seats at the polished
bar so that we could be near the barman who was pouring out a steady
stream of Cuban cocktails, we ignored the constant flow of tourists who
kept coming in to take a photo and listen to the musicians - who were
playing next to the entrance to attract new customers and entertain
existing ones. And sipped our way through half a dozen Daiquiris -
easily the best I've ever had.
After an hour or so we suddenly remembered we were due at the Partagas
XIII anniversary dinner back at the Nacional, like ten minutes ago, and
dashed back to change and make a belated entrance. Not that any of our
fellow diners noticed, they were too busy admiring the beautiful young
Cuban women who were handing out mojitos.
Some of the Cuban novelties on sale at
the Hotel Nacional's Casa
Having attended the annual Habanos Festival earlier in the year it
seemed odd that the only two cigar retailers from the UK were present
for the Partagas annual event: Mitch and Ajay Patel (of Havahavana.com,
based in Teddington, London). Ajay had also been busy, seeking out the
antiques that Mitch still hadn't bought.
"The rest of the UK retailers are probably busy with the Christmas
rush," said Mitch, "but they never come to the Partagas dinners. And
they are really missing something special because this is a lot more
personal and a real opportunity for some serious networking with cigar
aficionados from all over the world. The Habanos Festival is great but
sometimes it can be too much. This is much more fun."
Mitch, Alejandro Robaina and Valerio
Cornale from LCDH Grand Cayman at the
Partagas XIII reception
We then bumped into Alejandro Robaina - Cuba's world famous cigar
tobacco grower of Vegas Robaina brand fame - and mentioned to him the
fact that we had met his old friend, Rodolpho, earlier that day. Robaina
confirmed that he and his old friend often meet, "but to share news
about the seed and the crops," he said, "not our techniques." |
Afterwards we trooped into the Partagas dinner with about 400-500 other
guests for a lively evening of music, cigars, networking and awards.
The food may have been so-so but the drink was better and the cigars
were almost sublime (but still too fresh). Mitch had just settled down
for a post-dinner cigar, one of many, when they called him up, three
times, to accept a couple of awards and for the final award-winners
group photograph.
He was presented with a special Friend of Partagas Golden Leaf award,
for his services to this world famous brand of Havana cigars. Certainly
Mitch had earned it, as a man who has been flying the Cuban flag in
Britain for years. At the rate his business is going, they'll be
presenting him with an entire gilded tobacco plant, next year.
Mitch with his Special Friend of
Partagas gold leaf award - maybe one day he'll collect the whole plant!
During the dinner, Mitch got a call on his mobile from his cab driver in
Gatwick, who said he had just arrived to collect him from the airport.
"I'm in Havana!" said Mitch. "Can you believe this!" After a moment
Mitch calmed down and told the driver to make sure he was at the airport
when he actually returned home, i.e. early Monday morning. "It's a long
walk back to London with all the stuff I'm bringing home," he added.
The second award was in recognition of Mitch finally realising his dream
- to open his own La Casa del Habano, in Hamburg.
And the rest of the evening was a blur but what I do remember is the
dancing, the music, the girls and the cigars, but not necessarily in
that order. How I got back to my hotel room in one piece, I'll never
know.
Dancing at the Partagas XIII
anniversary dinner in the Hotel Nacional |
The following day, Saturday, Mitch and Brian didn't surface until around
5pm, and it took a while - and a couple of rums - to get them going. It
had taken me all morning just to stand up. :-)
An hour or so later, we headed out for Mitchell's Canadian friend Amir's
birthday dinner at a private restaurant somewhere in Havana. "It is
difficult to find this house," said the Cuban driver. "There is no
street name, no streetlights and no numbers on the houses." Eventually,
we found a couple of elderly Cubans sitting outside in the dark
listening to Cuban National Radio and smoking cigars. With their help
("past the dog, round the cat, back a bit and next to the dustbins") we
found the house, which was full of Canadian cigar aficionados drinking
rum and the local beer while salivating over the aroma of fresh roast
suckling pig that had been prepared by the Cuban family.
"Hang onto the driver or ask them to find someone who knows this place,
Mitch," I said, "otherwise it's a good three double-coronas walk back to
the hotel. That's if we ever find our way out of here."
Fortunately, the next taxi driver knew the house and after dinner he
collected us and dropped Mitch and I at the La Zorra y el Cuervo jazz
club, about five minutes' walk down the road from the Nacional. Mitch
and I enjoyed some late night Cuban jazz, especially the girl singer who
had a remarkable talent, and decided to call it a day. It was well after
midnight and we were smoked out.
Later that Sunday morning, we made our last pilgrimage to the Partagas
factory shop's VIP room. Then sat outside at the Nacional to end our
trip with a final cigar and daiquiri.
Brian and Mitch about to enter the Partagas
factory in Havana and realising they could have been back in London
enjoying the stormy weather
After four days in the company of Mitchell Orchant and Brian Ebbesen I
was ready to head home for Christmas. Mitch had got what he came for - a
great selection of excellent Cuban-made humidors and some unusual
antiques and photographs. And one or two nice cigars he wouldn't have
been able to buy anywhere else.
As for me, after all those drinks, meals and cigars that Mitch bought
me, I reckon I should be writing a book about life with Britain's Mr
Cigar.
But not just yet. I'm still recovering. |