Winter Warmers

THE days are getting longer! The sun has miraculously appeared, if only for a moment or two through the silken mist!

Hope hangs eternal like a patient kestrel, hovering over a hedgerow ditch; Winter cannot last forever.

But last a while longer, it most certainly can, and as frost still crisps the windowpanes each morning and heaviest coats and snuggest scarves are still essential for daytime wandering, let us turn our thoughts to the man or woman who fancies a smoke – but doesn’t want to catch frostbite while having one.

While Cubans may be a long way, both literally and metaphorically, from these currently freezing shores, some of their learned cigar folk have kindly considered what might make a timely Winter warmer cigar to be enjoyed – briskly – in those moments where a good short smoke simply makes your day. And we at Sautter simply cannot fault this selection, to be honest. Let’s run the rule over the pick of them…

First up is a banger right out of its joyously colourful Tubos; the Cohiba Siglo I. At just 4ins x 40 Ring Gauge, this is an oft-overlooked, but never forgotten little beauty, delivering far more medium-bodied flavour than its diminutive size would suggest. Perfect for a stroll around a Christmas market – and you can expect positive comments on the aroma.

In exactly the same size, but containing maybe a scootch more tobacco under the bonnet, comes the ubiquitous Montecristo No.5. We say ubiquitous because it has long been a Sautter favourite. You’ll never have a bad one; with age they are simply stupendous; and this is, we may suggest, a first cigar of the day par excellence.

The Hoyo de Monterrey Petit Robustos carries more weight – in size, if not in strength. Like all good Hoyos, it’s a mild cigar, but a 50 Ring Gauge slapped on a 4 ins chassis offers tons of smoke and a satisfying, big-tasting cigar which can be smoked in mere minutes.

‘A finger of Fudge is just enough to give your kids a treat.’ Remember that catchy little slogan? The Romeo y Julieta Petit Royales is the cigar equivalent. Pop one of these in your whining pal’s face and watch him quieten down, real quick. It comes in a dinky 3 3/4ins x 47 Tubos that will sink unobtrusively into any available pocket, ready to be deployed at the appropriate juncture before you can say Snickers. Or Marathon, if you’re old school.

Next, we’re getting serious, with the legendary Partagás Serie D No.6, a little firecracker of a cigar that was devised back in the day by Hunters & Frankau’s very own Anna Lopez. It’s bullish in profile and wastes no time pussy footing about. Not for the empty of stomach.

Finally, comes a simply beautiful cigar that used to be considered the perfect beginner’s foray into the wonderful world of Havanas. Nowadays its inflated price tag has taken it firmly out of that market, but if you can stand the pace, it’s still a gorgeous smoke. Kill to get your hands on aged ones. 4 3/8ins x 40 RG of the best of Cuba’s good stuff.

Any of these little Winter Warmer wonders then will have you riding high for the rest of your chilly day. Pop a pint-sized piece of cigarland poetry in your pocket – and your day will be all the better because of it.

Available at Sautter.