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Some of you will have seen me mention in my previous posts my good friend James (Jimmeh on here) with whom I share my cigar passion. We frequent many of the well known smoker friendly haunts such as Dunhill, Sautters, Boisdale, Casa/Floridita in Soho and Hotel du Vin - Tunbridge Wells, to name but a few. We attended the Montecristo open range launch in London earlier this year and I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Ajay, the proprietor of La Casa Del Habano in Teddington. At the party I was a little worse for wear after several drinks and a distinct lack of food. I spoke briefly with Ajay as well as many others but my abiding memories of the night were of the disappointment in the open range and trying to maintain some semblance of dignity after all the drinks. After sobering up, some days later, James and I talked and decided we must visit Ajay at his establishment as it sounded most interesting. Due to our mutual financial constraints and his busy schedule we kept putting our visit off but this past weekend we made a point of going even though the cricket was reaching its climax! This day, along with the people we met, turned out to be just earth shatteringly remarkable and I am eternally grateful to Ajay for his time, patience and recognition that we had a shared passion.
To get to the point.......
James arrived late since he is a lazy sod and, due to the typical bad traffic on the M25, we eventually arrived at Teddington at about 2.30pm and parked outside the shop itself. We entered to find a very pleasant store with Ajay and a customer within, both mid-smoke. We received a warm welcome and were made to feel welcome, more than can be said for some other establishments (Davidfoff anybody?). We had a nose about in the store?s walk-in humidor and selected an initial smoke, each with a little advice from Ajay although we both already had clear thoughts on what we wanted to try. Ajay then took us downstairs to the Smokers lounge/members area to enjoy our selections. This was accessed down a narrow and slightly foreboding stairway but once at the bottom a luxurious room furnished with many leather sofas was revealed as well as the second walk in humidor. When we arrived nobody was using the smoking area but the initial customer that we met, who turned out to be a regular and a member, joined us for a smoke. Ajay made sure we had all the required paraphernalia and made us comfortable before returning to the shop floor. We started to enjoy our smokes and engaged in conversation with the other occupant.
As the afternoon wore on more regular members arrived, introduced themselves to us and engaged us in conversation. This just continued to make us feel comfortable and most welcome. Later in the afternoon Ajay returned and joined us in chat. Talk ranged from automotive pursuits to travel plans and of course cigars. Time flew by and we soon reached the end of our initial smokes. At this point (I believe recognising that James and I had a real interest in the subject) Ajay took us into the second humidor and started to show us around his stunning collection.
The word collection does not even start to describe the treasure trove that was revealed to us. Over perhaps an hour and a half Ajay removed dozens of boxes of cigars from the many cabinets in the humidor and told us about them in some detail. Ajay went to great lengths in unpacking various cigars, some dating back many decades. I continue to be grateful to him for all his efforts but I also think that he just truly enjoys sharing his passion. He is one of the lucky people in this world who made his love of collecting and enjoying cigars into his career and vocation in life. Some of the items that he showed us made my jaw fall slack, I was awe struck. A box of cigars, one of only seven made, signed by Castro was remarkable to behold. He had incredibly rare and valuable humidors of every type known to man. Name a rare cigar, it was there. Pre-embargo, pre-Castro, you name it, it was there. Trinidad cigars from before the time they existed as a commercial product (made for diplomatic gift purposes only). Cigars made from blends long since discontinued. Cigar sizes long since forgotten by most. I will not detail everything he showed us as I am sure he will find pleasure in showing you himself, should you pay him a visit. I will mention a couple of items though. He revealed an ancient case of Hoyo's with an aroma (not wanting to sound overly dramatic) literally made the hairs stand up on my neck. Ajay opened these hardly handled cigars and let us carefully examine and smell them. He also showed us a very rare humidor filled with Cohiba cigars that had been produced in ridiculously limited numbers. The temptation to try all these items was overwhelming, but James and I repeatedly looked at each other to silently communicate that we found ourselves in an environment meant for those FAR more affluent than ourselves. We absorbed what we could of the knowledge and experience that Ajay shared with us and dreamt of enjoying the cigars that he had collected for himself and the members of the establishment.
Ajay told us that paid-up members had the opportunity, on special tasting events, to try some of the incredibly rare and valuable cigars that made up his collection. After an hour and half or so in the humidor with Ajay we returned to the comfort of the sofas, a little bewildered by what we had just witnessed. The lounge itself was sprinkled with artefacts related to Cuba and smoking pleasures. A giant sculpture of a hand holding a cigar was in a case in one corner, the entire object being made from tobacco! A cabinet filled with empty and partially filled bottles of premium whiskies, rums and other spirits that had been part of the member tasting events, made me long for a stiff drink. Curiosities lay around on display - all manner of lighters and cutters, and many conversation pieces. A picture of Ajay with Castro and other luminaries sat in one corner.
The only downside to the day, other than our inability to smoke several hundred different cigars in one afternoon (worth many thousand of pounds), was a comment made by Ajay toward the end of our time in the humidor. He made a point of the extremely high level of security installed and that we should not even entertain the thought of trying to burgle the place. Usually I would just dismiss this as banter but something about the tone made me feel slightly insulted. I probably took his comment slightly too much to heart but it seemed a slight sour note in an otherwise near religious experience.
Once back in the sofas James and I enjoyed our second smoke of the day. The time we had spent with Ajay in the humidor had eaten somewhat into our smoking time but neither of us minded in the slightest; it was worth every moment. As we devoured our way through our next cigars we continued to be engaged in conversation with the eight or so other members who had now joined us in the lounge. Almost without exception they turned out to be a charming, witty and an engaging lot. Although James and I clearly had smaller wallets than the others we were never made to feel out of place. The early evening wore on with many witty tales being told of the previous exploits of the members and events that they had attended.
James and I developed a burning desire to become members but that is something for us to investigate when we both find ourselves back in gainful employment. Eventually Ajay called an end to the evening and we all adjourned back to the shop upstairs to settle up and select another smoke to take away with us. I also grabbed some other odds and ends that appealed to me, including some premium dark chocolate and a small bottle of cigar glue to repair a Sancho Panza Sanchos I have in my humidor.
Cigar prices are competitive with other London establishments but Members get between five and fifteen percent price reductions. Members enjoy a range of benefits depending on the type of membership selected. On Thursdays the lounge remains open until around midnight and Members can enjoy samplings of spirits and cigars. Members also have access to cigar sampling events as mentioned before and various other benefits.
After selecting our end of evening smokes and paying the bill some of the members we had shared our time with chose to adjourn to a smoker friendly pub across the street. They kindly invited James and me to join them which we did not hesitate to do. We spent several more hours enjoying a drink as well as being invited to eat (but declining as we had smoked away our days funds) in the company of some extremely witty and gregarious gentlemen. At the climax of the evening I was in genuine pain from laughing so hard. The food that was consumed by the others seemed of high quality and for reasonable prices, something to put on the ?to do? list.
James and I eventually had to politely say our goodbyes and we remarked that we hoped to see everybody again very soon. We spent the drive home in subdued conversation, overwhelmed by what we had witnessed, grateful to Ajay and the members for a great day and sad that we could not fully immerse ourselves in the special environment that Ajay has carefully crafted.
I can heartily recommend a visit to this establishment in every way but a few words of advice. As a non-member it would be considered polite and wise to phone ahead and check that it is o.k. to come along and try out the facilities with prior agreement from Ajay. Another point of note, as a non-member you will only be welcomed in the members` area on two or three occasions before it becomes necessary to join. I was a little vague if this meant access to the member area at all or just on the extended hours on a Thursday, I am sure Ajay can clarify this.
I am familiar with many of the cigar establishments in this country and consider several members of staff at several establishments as friends but I have to say that this has them all beaten. The knowledge and enthusiasm of the staff and proprietor, the perfect environment in which the cigars are stored and aged, the endless range of available cigars and related paraphernalia and the lovely environment make this a must visit place, probably several hundred times!
If any of you intend to try out La Casa Del Habano after my review then I have a request, PLEASE invite me along! I do not need more excuses to go but if I can sneak in with other new visitors I might be allowed in more than three times before I am forced to join.
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