Pall Mall has been home to cigar merchants for centuries.

So when word spread of a new flagship opening just a few doors from some of London's most established institutions, curiosity got the better of me.

Many of us saw the Kirby video highlighting the opening of Dominique London, the new flagship cigar store and lounge on the Pall Mall in St James, London.

If you haven’t seen it, here is a link to it:
Dominique London's New Pall Mall Flagship | Kirby Allison

I thought it was time I paid a visit.

As I approached the venue I was greeted by a doorman, a nice touch.

The upper floor hosts a long spacious and well stocked humidor, filled exclusively with Cuban cigars - it did not disappoint.

They also have a selection of accessories for sale that are on display as you enter the venue.

I was guided around the corner and down the stairs to the second humidor and lounge area.

The humidor downstairs is exclusively for the lounge, you cannot take a cigar from the upstairs humidor and smoke it downstairs.

I’m not sure that is the best idea… as they have a great selection upstairs; nevertheless, their house, their rules.

The lounge itself is unique, deviating from the more standard leather chaired lounges.

Dominique London is bright, light, homely and tasteful - a home away from home.

Unique upholstery and ornaments all around, a variety of colours that somehow work in perfect harmony.

Even though it is downstairs, you have natural light coming in from the windows, which makes all the difference.

And as expected… the service was grand, which at other institutions can be hit and miss…

If you enjoy the finer things in life, you will enjoy spending time at Dominique London; if on the other hand, you are stuck in the nostalgic past of what you believe cigar lounges should be, then well, its not quite for you.

Personally, I enjoyed inhabiting a cigar lounge that did not feel like it was designed by somebodies grandfather.

Dominique London is attempting something different. Not every cigar smoker will appreciate that but I suspect many will.

P.S. They make a create flat white.

This wouldn’t be a cigar letter if it did not include a cigar.

I smoked a 2019 H. Upmann Connoisseur No. 1 at Dominique London, it was exquisite.

H. Upmann never disappoints (so long as the draw is not too tight from the rolling! - a rare occurrence), smooth with a level of cream that is almost unmatched. It showed its age in the way that the flavours separated and danced around the palate, a diversity that younger Upmanns do not often exhibit.

If you can get your hands on one of the 2019s, I would highly recommend it.

The significance of a 2019 H. Upmann has little to do with the cigar itself.

It is a snapshot of a different era.

When this cigar was rolled, Cuban cigars were plentiful. Shelves were full. Prices were lower. Nobody was discussing allocations, shortages or whether their favourite vitola would disappear for months at a time.

Then the world changed.

Factories slowed. Supply chains fractured. Demand surged. Prices climbed.

Seven years later, a 2019 H. Upmann is more than an aged cigar. It is a reminder of the final years before the cigar world entered a period of scarcity.

Time has improved the cigar.

History has made it interesting.

Every letter arrives in your inbox alone.

But there are thousands of you - in the UK, US, Switzerland and beyond - reading in your own quiet corners, smoking the same cigars, asking the same questions, reaching the same conclusions independently.

That always struck me as a missed opportunity.

Cigar Letters Circle is the answer. A small, closed community of serious cigar lovers, the readers of this letter who want to go deeper. A place to share what you are smoking, where you are smoking it, and with whom. To exchange recommendations, debate blends, and on occasion, perhaps arrange to smoke together.

It will be intimate by design.

More details to follow in the coming weeks. If the idea appeals, reply to this letter with the word Circle and you will be the first to know when the doors open.

Have you smoked Ghurka cigars before?

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A direct tie!

Cigar Letters
^{No. 22}
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