The final merchant on the tour is Dunhill’s, which has been selling cigars from the same store since 1907. While their first store was destroyed by the Luftwaffe during World War Two, the smoking haven was rebuilt on exactly the same spot. Just over a decade ago it underwent a £3 million refurbishment, which sees customers tip-toeing up a sweeping staircase to a grotto of cedar cabinets, leather armchairs and mahogany desks. Behind a glass-fronted door is Dunhill’s state-of-the-art humidor, Alfred Dunhill himself being a pioneer of humidification for cigars. What started out as three separate storage vats is now one all-singing all-smoking humidor worthy of the finest cigars. Once you’ve picked out your stogies you can also request for them to be stored in the Keep, where they can continue to age in specially numbered lockers. There’s also an outside courtyard which makes Dunhill’s the perfect place to stop and relax for a while, or if you need a break before your next stogie you can spend time hunting through the rails of quintissentially British suits, shirts and ties - the perfect way to complete the ‘smoking gentleman’ look.
Past Jack Barclay’s Bentley showroom in Berkeley Square, where you can stop off to browse the luxury motors, or take a stroll through Burlington Arcade where you can pick up a classic Patek Phillipe timepiece or splash out on a pair of traditional leather shoes from Harry’s.
But cigar stores aren’t the only thing to explore, as the Professor guides you round the city of Bertie Wooster - the fictional cigar-smoking London gentleman who pops up in the Jeeves novels of British author PG Wodehouse. You’ll also discover the secret stories of cigar-loving playboys and smoking royals as you tour the Royal Palaces, the Churchill Museum and the Cabinet War Rooms. The romance of the cigar tour is enhanced by passages from Churchill’s Cigar - a hefty book about the Prime Minister’s passion for tobbacco which documents the cigar ban under the Nazi’s as well as WSC’s witty remarks and fabulous anecdotes. The audio Professor makes the perfect guide throughout, and you can skip forwards and backwards through the tour to miss the bits you don’t want to see, re-visit your favourite parts or alter the tour to make it as long or as short as you need it to be. There’s also an enormous list of pubs, restaraunts and shops you can stop off at if you need to indulge your other habits along the way.
The Cuban Cigar audio walk has been developed by cigar lover Nic Wing as part of the Cities in Sound project which brings famous cities - including Edinurgh, Rome and Berlin - to life through audio guides.
You can catch a glimpse of Nic Wing’s Cuban Cigar audio walk in the video below.
So what are you waiting for - download a tour and turn your iPod into your very own cigar-loving audio guide!
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