Last Thursday evening I was fortunate to be involved in one of those truly magical events that can only happen in the heart of London in elegant Mayfair. Like the Berkeley Square Ball, the Mount St Festival attracts the glitterati, the glamorous and some serious “movers and shakers”.
 
At 6.30pm the sun was still high in the sky as I drove into the street that is home to the splendour of the Connaught Hotel and the revamped and oh so trendy Scott’s restaurant. However, it was neither of these that I was heading for. Instead I had been invited to an intimate and fascinating reception at Winston Churchill’s favourite emporium, Sautter the Capital’s home of the Havana Cigar. As I puffed contentedly on a small mild Cohiba (panetelas) and quaffed the vintage Tattinger, (that flowed like cheap cava), it was fascinating to watch the expertise of the gentleman from Partagas who was cutting the leaves and rolling the tobacco to produce instant examples of Cuban excellence.

The salon, shop seems far too pedestrian for this establishment, boasts a walk in humidor, a truly original array of memorabilia and exclusive gifts for the cigar cognoscenti. Wandering back outside, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was not only the immaculately turned out gentlemen enjoying the host’s hospitality but also some extremely attractive ladies were, dare I say it, seductively savouring some of the delights on offer from “Salon” Sautter.
 
After what seemed like minutes but in fact was over two hours of unmitigated enjoyment I headed off musing that whilst I would never condone smoking, this experience was as far away from gasping a “cheeky” fag as the Connaught is to your local Travel Lodge.