Wanna Come On A Cigar Boat Cruise With Havana Castle?

We're taking over the ocean, ladies n gents. 

And by ocean I mean Lake Ontario, which isn't quite as dramatic but we promise it'll be a great time.

Every year for the past few years, Havana Castle's GTA locations have put on a one night boat cruise and this year will be no different.

The boat, named the River Gambler, which features the largest open deck dance floor in Toronto, will depart from Pier 31 at 333 Lakeshore Blvd in Toronto. 

The event is highly regarded and it's a terrific opportunity to meet cigar enthusiasts in the province for a unique summer event.

Tickets can be purchased at any Havana Castle location. 

The Life Of A Cigartender

I didn't quite know what to expect when I first started at Havana Castle Cigars in December. 

I knew, at the very least, I liked cigars and as far as I can tell, liking something you're about to do is a pretty good starting point for any venture you're about to under take.

The job has its obvious learning curves: product knowledge, customer service, ordering processes, scheduling, and so on. It is, after all, a retail job and from afar, it appears to be nothing more.

But upon further firsthand inspection, the job of a cigar salesman is a lot more than that.

I'm more a bartender than I am a salesman.

Think old school bartender, not some college girl in a skirt. Though for the right price, I'll swear a skirt if that's what the people want.

Murray, our shoppe's owner, looks at our store as if it were cigar version of the show Cheers. We're the place where everybody knows your name. And you know our name.

We're Cigartenders. 

(How's that for totally made-up millennial lingo? Annoying or ingenious?)

In an age where everything can be ordered online, our customers choose to drive to us and personally, I don't see that changing anytime soon. 

Why?

Because we offer community here. Or so it seems from my perspective behind the counter.

I know for certain customers give those of us working here a sense of community, I can only assume that that's a mutual feeling.

And that's why this isn't a retail job in the traditional sense. A lot of storytelling and bonding happens over a cigar. It's like being around a campfire, except the fire is in your mouth...so to speak. It's amazing how comfortable total strangers become with one another when they have a hobby in common. I think our Grand Opening proved this more than any other day we've been open. Total strangers sat together and spoke for hours. It was terrific and exactly what we hoped would happen here.

As I type this from the checkout counter, my stream of consciousness gets interrupted by the door opening. A regular customer comes in, buys a couple sticks and leaves. Shortly after he left and I got a few more sentences typed, a brand new customer shows up and I give him a tour. We talk about how we spent our long weekend and he makes his way to the patio to enjoy a house blend cigar and read a book.

Yeah, cigartending is more than selling product. It's about selling a community. And since I came on board in December, I'm convinced we've a pretty good community here.

PICTURES: Havana Castle London's First Cigar Night In Toronto

Kate, Murray and I didn't know what to expect during our first industry party in Toronto hosted by our supplier, Kretek. We're still kind of new to the cigar scene in southern Ontario.

We knew, at minimum, there'd be cigars and there'd be beer and, to be honest, if the event was nothing more than that, it'd be worth the two-hour drive anyways.

Turns out the event was a lot more than that. We got inundated with deals on everything from brand new ashtrays to free cigars we'll be handing out to customers.

Heck, there were two FULL pigs on a spit.

While we're talking about the pig, I turned to Murray and Kate whilst they were tearing through the crunchy skin of the beast, and asked them, "Did it occur to you that we just ate a pig fresh out of its casket?"

There's no surer way to ruin a perfectly fine meal than shining light on the reality of what we just did. Ha!

Oh well...it was a delicious swine and none of it got wasted. Trust me.

Arguably the coolest part of the entire day was the Steamwhistle truck handing us free beer. 

You can follow the stories live on Snapchat by following originaldonovan

The guy in the sweatsuit straight out of Rocky VI is Brian. He was a good guy who, at one point, brought out a pellet gun for reasons he never got into but I believe it had something to do with a gopher causing havoc on the grounds of the Lions Club.

All in all, it was a great experience and Kretek hosted one hell of an event. 

We picked up a ton of new stock for the store including the PSyKo Seven Maduro and the Asylum 13 7x70, which will officially be the biggest cigar we carry once it comes in.

Now, I don't mean to gloat, but I thought it'd be worth sharing the loot bag I got from attending the event. 

Not a bad haul, eh?

So remember: the next time we are selling tickets to an event, make sure to buy one for yourself. The value of the cigars and other swag is WAY more than what your ticket costs so it's totally worth it for the cigar enthusiast old or new.

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For more photos and updates, follow Havana Castle Cigars on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter.

Non-Cuban: Best 5 Cigars Under $15

I'm starting this post with a disclaimer: this list is entirely subjective.

One of the most difficult parts of my job (and don't get me wrong, selling cigars to anxious customers isn't a hard job by any stretch) is recommending a "good cigar" to someone.

Even though asking for a good cigar is an entirely legitimate and welcomed question, your taste buds and my taste buds are not the same. What's good to me could taste like puddle water to you and vice versa. It's as simple as that.

I learned this when I started discovering the joys of scotch. I ended up falling in love with Lagavulin, a smokey single malt from the island of Islay on Scotland's south-west coast. I love everything about it, from the smell to the taste. And my lady-friend thinks it's an incredibly manly smell. I understand that means nothing to you, but it earns me points and adds to Lagavulin's credibility in my books. However, Lagavulin isn't a consistent crowd pleaser. I have friends who downright hate its smell. I now think less of them but that's neither here nor there.

This is my long-winded way of saying taste is subjective. 

So, to avoid me rambling any further, let's get to Havana Castle London's best 5 cigars under $15.

It's abundantly clear that I hold Nicaraguan cigars in the highest regard. That's no coincidence. I truly think Nicaraguan growers and rollers and producing the best cigars on planet earth right now. 

What do you think of this list?

Let me know in the comments section & on Twitter.

WE DID IT! 100 SUBSCRIBERS!

We officially have 100 people subscribed to our weekly email list. 

This is cause for celebration. So here is a GIF that sums up our feelings right now:

Getting 100 email subscribers might not seem like a big deal but for us, it's HUGE.

Because of provincial and municipal laws and bylaws, we're essentially not allowed to advertise anywhere. 

We can't advertise in newspapers. We can't advertise on Facebook. We can't even advertise ashtrays or lighters because that's considered a promotion for using tobacco products, which, as we all know, is enemy #1 in NO-FUNtario.

But where there's a will, there's a way and we've got a few 'ways' up our sleeves. One of those ways is this email. It's the most efficient way to contact a bunch of you all at once about the goings-on at Havana Castle London.

So, before I go any further, if you haven't signed up for the email list, please do by clicking HERE.

Awesome.

If you're not one for emails, I get it. Our inboxes are always full of things we never seem to get around to reading. If this is you, then subscribe to our Facebook page, I post all the emails there after they're published, so you won't miss out on anything.

Anyway, the store is begging for a thorough cleaning this sunny Sunday afternoon, so I am going to dedicate some time to that before the Jays play their first spring training game.

Again, thank-you all for being such loyal HCL customers. We couldn't do this without your support.

Cigars 101: PLUME vs. MOULD

By: Andrew P. Donovan

You may have noticed that in our Cuban humidor, there is a chrome shaving brush. It sits inconspicuously on the display case inside the humidor and it's not there by accident.

A soft bristled brush like a shaving brush is a great way to quickly tell if your cigar has plume or mould. 

How?

Well, plume will wipe off a cigar like dust wipes off a surface. That is to say, plume comes off easily. Mould, on the other hand, can't be dusted away quite so effortlessly. In fact, if your cigar has mould, you need to throw it away immediately.

But what is plume and what is mould and how the heck do you tell the difference?

Let's begin with some definitions:

Plume: "a light, whitish layer of fuzz that can develop on cigars as they age in a humidor. Plume doesn't hurt cigars and is actually a sign that they're aging properly." via Cigar Aficionado

Now let's compare that with mould.

Mould: "...it can present itself in an array of unattractive colors including green, yellow, grey, blue and white. Mould is such a menace to your collection because this nasty substance is alive - it can grow and spead. Unlike plume, which is flat, mold is three-dimensional and can appear to be fuzzy or bumpy." - JR Cigars

It's also worth noting that plume tends to spread across the cigar evenly, whereas mold tends to form clumps or spots at random. 

Here are two pictures to demonstrate the difference:

A cigar with plume. Note how it looks almost dusty in nature and it's evenly spread across the stick.

See how the mould here is spotty and random? Remember: mould can come in different colours, so pay attention for abnormalities.

How to prevent mould on your cigars

Famous-smoke.com has a simple and easy to understand three-step process for avoiding mould on your cigars and in your humidor. 

1. Lower temperature and lower humidity. Experts suggest your relative humidity (RH) needs to sit at about 67%. If temperature or RH gets higher than 70%, you're creating conditions where mould will flourish.

2. ONLY use distilled water or humidor solution. Tap water is a no-no and any other types of water can leave mineral build-up on your humidor.

3. Leave space in between your cigars. Air circulation is very important to a cigar's health and stacking them neatly like they're in a box from the factory can actually do more harm than good. Laying your cigars randomly and at different angles isn't pretty, but it'll keep your sticks mould-free.

And that's that, folks.

If you're still unsure whether your cigars have plume or mould, you're not alone. Cigars are handmade products and many people can mistake a blemish for mould and mould for non-harmful plume. 

If you're unsure, we'd be more than happy to look at your cigars for you but Google and YouTube are invaluable resources as well.

Thanks for reading and happy smoking!

We LAUNCHED the website!

By: Andrew P. Donovan

This is exciting.

We've been open for three-and-a-half months now and when I first came to Havana Castle two months ago, the goal was to compliment our beautiful store with a market-leading web presence. Our website is the first big step in making Havana Castle Cigars London a go-to place online as well as in-store.

On top of a regular blog about the goings on around the shoppe, you'll be able to contact us, keep up to date on all our deals and view our wide selection of tobacco products and accessories. 

Take, for example, the 10% off we're giving you on the CAO America Landmark to celebrate Super Bowl week. 

See? It's already saving you money to visit the blog.

In all seriousness, we're excited to add this element to our business. Prior to havanacastlecigarslondon.com, our online presence came through the general Havana Castle Cigars website, which was fine, but we've got unique customers and friends in London and we thought it was imperative to offer you all a customised experience that pertained just to our London location.

So, while you're here, please follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and let us know how we could improve the website and blog to meet your needs. 

Besides that, browse around and when you're ready, come by 333 Horton St. E. and say hi.

Happy Smoking!