Sir Winston's Cigar Store
A little internet research prior to our trip instructed that this was London's oldest and finest cigar merchant. After lunch at Covent Gardens, we hopped a taxi to St. James Street, stopped at No. 19, and were greeted with this view.
Upon entering, the staff -- and in particular Billy Kutcher -- greeted us and could not have been more welcoming. I took a first view at the Havanas, noted other customers smoking in their living room setup -- and walked around. They have a museum in the back which was spectacular.
I then purchased six fine Cubans and lit up a Hoyo Epicures No. 2 and spent an hour talking with Billy and the other customers of this fine shop. Probably the best hour of the trip to London.
Down St. James are several other historic merchants. Berry Brothers and Rudd is a wine merchant from the 18th century. The other 18th century shop that survives is Lock's the hatters, who have occupied No.6 since 1765, and invented the 'Bowler' (named after John Bowler but originally called a 'Coke' after the man who commissioned it, Sir William Coke. Later, the hard hat became better known in America as the 'Derby'), have been measuring famous heads at No.6 since 25 June 1765. John Lobb, the shoe and boot manufacturer whose museum contains the prototype of the Wellington boot, is at No.9 and was founded by the grandfather of the present owner in 1849. Further along, D R Harris, the chemist and perfumers who have long specialised in a morning-after Pick-Me-Up known as the 'Original', have been at No.29 since 1790. This whole street was a lot of fun.
From here, we walked past St. James palace, through the park and over to Buckingham Palace. Alas, it was closed to the public that day.
Snapped on 07.18.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
(0) ||
← Previous || Main