A friend of mine has entered a music competition and needs your vote to earn a place in the final of the local Battle of the Bands. Click on the link - Battle of the Bands Click on the yellow square 'Virtual Battle' (left side of screen) Click on 'Votes for Pop League' Click on 'Pax' (my friend's band) The more the merrier. Many thanks in advance for your help.

This weekend sees the celebration of Father's Day, as well as the Fête de la Musique (Festival of Music). With the weather promising to be in the 30°C's, this should be a fantastic weekend of good music, good food and fantastic cigars. I will be watching my brothers band, Swab, on the Saturday evening on the lake front in Nyon. All welcome. Enjoy a weekend of festivities, where ever you are !

9.77 seconds to run 100 meters. This is what Asafa Powell (Jam) did last night in Athens to set a new World Record. The scary thing is that most athletics experts say that Powell has not yet reached his full potential. I guess it won't be long before we see someone run under the 9.7 second mark. This super human achievement gives me hope as I will be playing in my annual football tournament this weekend. I am also ho...

I had the pleasure of attending my high school reunion this weekend. I had a wonderful time, especially meeting with old friends I hadn't seen for over 15 years. It was funny to see the different paths people have taken. The Eco-Socialist who now works for a large pharmaceutical corporation, the student of business who started up his own charity and the sportsman, who now looks like three sportsmen. I crossed my firs...

I have always been into the Easy Rider, laid back motorcycle lifestyle, without ever possessing more horsepower, than that found in a scooter. As you can imagine, the embarrassment was enormous growing up with my rackety old 50cc scooter whilst my friends paraded round on their 125cc motorcycles, fully clad in racing leathers. As the years went by, the gap in cc's only seemed to grow, as did my embarrassment. A grown...

Following the clear French 'No' vote on the 29th May, it was the Dutch who followed suit yesterday, 01st of June, with a massive 60% 'No' vote, to the implementation of the European constitution. In the three countries where the question has been put to referendum, two have heavily voted 'No', with large turn outs in both cases. With the UK now considering dropping the idea of a referendum, fearing that this would al...

Well, it's that time of year again when we can all say thank you to the Father's of the world. In view of this important date (Father's Day, 19th June), we have put together a large selection of TopDeals and special Father's Day gift suggestions. I invite you to have a browse and find the cigar which will make your Father's day. Enjoy !

20 years after their last appearance in a European Final, Liverpool FC were crowned Champions of Europe in Istanbul, after extra time and penalties. In an incredible game of extremes, both teams produced one half of dream football. Three goals in the first half by a classy AC Milan team, left most thinking that the Final was done and dusted, but an inspired comeback in the second half, lead by the impressive Steven G...

We are finally there. The stage is the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul, the game is the final of the UEFA Champions League between Liverpool FC and AC Milan, kick off at 20h45 (CET). Grab a 'big' cigar, top up your beer glass and get ready for the greatest show on earth. Although AC Milan are favorites, this is a one game final, so the one who wants it the most on the day, will surely triumph. I wish you all an excellent...

I can hear you laughing already.....but let me tell you that the best of the worst floated to the top, well done Helena Paparizou from Greece. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, Saturday evening saw the Final of the 50th Eurovision Song Contest in Kiev, Ukraine. This is a contest that sees representatives from all over Europe sing for glory. The contest has revealed quite few stars over the ye...

This weekend sees the 'Open Caves' (Open Winery) in the Suisse Romand area (French speaking area of Switzerland). All the wineries open up and allow the general public to come in and taste. Local Red, White and Rosé will be following, as we meander our way on bike from cellar to cellar down the famed wine trail. A salami and a block of cheese in the back pack, a series of Coronas (Raphael Gonzalez Corona Extra, Romeo...

Rick and I had the pleasure of hosting a 'tasting session' in our humidor this weekend. The session was all about the Robusto size and we managed, with the help of some of our smoking mates, to go through all of the Robustos and Gorditos in the humidor. The Cohiba Robustos scored the highest points across the board, but most of the cigars came away with very positive points. Richard - Choix Supreme - fruity light...

Just for your information, Monday 16th May is a Public Holiday (Pentecost Monday) in Switzerland. All doers placed during the weekend of the 14-15th May and orders placed on Monday 16th May, will be shipped on Tuesday, 17th May. I thank you in advance for your understanding.

Friday the 13th Special offer!!!!! Pass your order between today, Friday the 13th May and Monday 16th May (12h00,CET) and mention the words 'Friday the 13th' in the comment box and you will receive a special gift cigar with your order. For info - All order placed this weekend will be sent out on Tuesday 17th May, as it is a public holiday in Switzerland on Monday the 16th. Have an excellent weekend. Enjo...

An earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter Scale rocked the West of Switzerland in the early hours of this morning. At around 3:40 am, seismologists picked up the tremor, whose epicenter was between the towns of Solothurn and Olten. Experts as far away as Strasbourg registered shock waves up to 3.8 on the Richter Scale. Swiss authorities say no serious damage was caused by the quake. We were lucky !

For those of you who read TIME on-line or smoke Hoyo De Monterrey Double Coronas, you will know what I am referring too. For those of you who don't, click here to find out.

Aproz, in the Canton of the Vallais, was the scene this weekend of the famous 'Combats des Reines' (Battle of the Queens). This competition sees the election of the Queen of the Cows for the whole of Switzerland. The cows are pitted against each other in direct face off's, with the loser being the cow who turns and flees, leaving the dominant cow as the winner. Like last year, the overall title winner was Saphir, who...

The official release by Habanos SA of the new Partagas Series P No.2 in Switzerland. This is a cigar that many of you have been waiting for. I tasted one of these cigars at the Habanos Festival earlier this year. Nice construction, beautiful draw, but certainly not what I was expecting from a Partagas. There are the good and bad sides of buying newly produced ranges of cigars. The Good - first batches tend to been of...

I'm off to London this weekend to visit some fellow cigar merchants. Should be an exceptional visit, with a few dinners and great smokes lined up, climaxing with a football game on the Sunday evening. One of the great advantages of being in Switzerland is the possibility of travel to other countries very quickly, without having to spend hours on a plane. 10 min to France, 1hr to Italy, 2 hrs to Germany by car and 2/3...

I watched in awe, as the flying double-decker took off and soared into the skies over Toulouse, France yesterday on it's maiden voyage. With a capacity of 550 passengers, this monster opens a new dawn in commercial aviation. The world is truly becoming a smaller place, and not just according to the 'shrinking universe' theories. Jules Verne would have jumped with joy at the site of the A380 powering down the runway, ...

As most of you may have guessed by now, both Rick and I are fervent football fans. Tonight sees the all English semi-final of the UEFA Champions League, Liverpool FC vs. Chelsea FC. Like many of you, I will be organizing an evening of food, beer, cigars and football. I can think of few gatherings that are more exciting and tense than these football evenings. So a hearty salute goes out to all fellow Football Aficiona...

The other day, Richard wrote about it and since he watched the movie Sideways (whose director also did the movie Mr. Schmidt), he is always comparing cigar experiences with wine experiences. Indeed, these two products are alive, these two products evolve with time and these two products are about taste. So yesterday, I watched the film as well and I would like to point out that for me, these two fabulous products,...

I had the pleasure last night of watching the film, Sideways. What a breath of fresh air. A truly vintage comedy, including a classic scene during which Maya explains her relationship with wine, a relationship which reflected exactly my feelings towards cigars. The film is a full-bodied, never precocious vintage that needs to be savored in a desirable bouquet of cinematic finesse. Enjoy !

I am in the midst of preparing my outing with the new lady of my life. I go into the humidor to choose her a cigar, when the question of ladies and cigars crosses my mind. Do the fair sex savor a cigar ? If yes, do they require special sizes, flavors and strengths ? I have magazine images of Madonna, Whoopi Goldberg or more recently Lisa Evangelista, cigar in hand, proud to show they smoke. Are the preconceptions of ...

Following the forced non-smoking period suffered this weekend, following my visit to the dentist (thanks for the tip Doctozzi), I finally renewed with the pleasure of lighting up a cigar. It was not the greatest cigar I have ever had, but I really was looking forward to it and I smoked it with friends making it one of the most pleasurable Smokes of recent times. I can remember fantastic, complex cigars I have had in ...

Quick update, as some of you may be waiting for e-mail replies and confirmations. Due to network reparations here in Geneva, I have not been able to access mails sent to us from this weekend. I apologies for this and will do my best to answer all of your mails as soon as the mail network is fixed. I thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. Are we becoming too dependant on technology, is it taking too...

I have just returned from a double wisdom tooth removal at my friendly Dentist. Not only am I in enormous pain, but I am unable to smoke all weekend. I was looking forward to tucking into a Hoyo Double Corona on my terrace, BBQ, a couple of glasses of wine, etc, etc, etc. I wish you all a wonderful weekend and enjoy the smokes !

For all lovers of fine watches, be aware that Geneva is the hot spot at the moment, with the annual International Fine Watchmaking Exhibition held at the Palexpo Congress centre. I will be there this weekend window shopping and encourage anyone who loves fine design or the wonders of engineering to come and check it out. 15th INTERNATIONAL FINE WATCHMAKING EXHIBITION, runs 04.04.2005 - 10.04.2005, Palexpo, Geneva,...

Whilst enjoying the fantastic Liverpool victory over Juventus 2-1 last night in the quarter final of the UEFA Champions League, a match that carried enormous emotional souvenirs, the question arose as to whether or not the idea of Seasonal cigars is a valid concept. Does our palate take the lead or is our palate influenced by the climate we are in, as it is by the foods we are eating or the drinks we are drinking ? C...

First of all, I would like to thank all of you for the confidence and trust you have placed in Rick and myself over these past few years. I can understand the hesitations and fears of buying cigars on-line and that is why we treat every selection we make, as though we were selecting for ourselves. We are passionate about the world of cigars and feel we share more than a commercial relationship with you, Member of Top...