Cigar Party with Tokyo bay cruise !

Do you fancy attending a Cigar party with dancing Salsa and Tokyo Bay Cruise?

It's absolutely gorgeous!

If you live in Tokyo or near Tokyo, join our cigar party!

Date: 2 FEB 2008

Place: Crystal YACHT Club, Nearest Station Tennoz-Isle

http://www.crystal-yc.co.jp/english/access.html

For more information, please contact us by email or phone.

Email: urasoe@lunax.co.jp

Free phone number: 0800 919 4002

Brad Pitt $5 million in donations for New Orleans!

NEW ORLEANS - Actor Brad Pitt said on Monday he wants to build 150 environmentally friendly homes for families displaced by Hurricane Katrina in a hard-hit New Orleans neighbourhood

Pitt's Make It Right project aims to revive the Lower Ninth Ward which was almost totally destroyed in the 2005 storm.

"A hundred and fifty homes is our goal," Pitt said near the spot where the Industrial Canal floodwall broke during Katrina and sent a wall of water through the neighbourhood.
"But there is no reason why we can't do 1,000 homes, why we can't do 10,000 homes, why we can't do 100,000 homes," he said against an art installation of bright pink rectangles and triangles meant to draw attention to the cause.

Pitt, who with actress Angelina Jolie owns a home in the city's historic French Quarter, said the new homes would incorporate energy efficient appliances and "green" materials and would be built for an average of $150,000 (73,000 pounds).

He has been a vocal critic of faltering government efforts to rebuild New Orleans and has worked with environmental group Global Green USA on a separate project to construct environmentally friendly homes in the city.

Pitt has pledged up to match up to $5 million in donations for the Make It Right project, which he announced at a conference in New York in September.

An international team of 13 architectural firms has submitted designs for the single-family homes, the first of which could be finished by May 2008. The new homes will be elevated to withstand future floods.

The world's oldest and expensive car was sold!

LONDON - The world's oldest surviving Rolls Royce car drove into the record books Monday when it was sold at auction for 3,521,500 pounds, (7,275,000 dollars, 4,961,000 euros).

The car, made in 1904, broke two records when it was sold at Bonham's auction house in London: the highest price paid at auction for both a Rolls-Royce and a veteran car, classified as pre-1905.

A private British collector became the vintage dream machine's new owner after three telephone bidders drove the price up to twice the initial estimate.

The vehicle is the only Rolls-Royce old enough to take part in the prestigious London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.

The previous record for a veteran car was 1.76 million pounds for a 1884 De Dion Bouton, and 1.48 million pounds for a 1912 Silver Ghost Double Pullman Limousine Rolls-Royce.

The 1904 10 horsepower two-seater was first shown in Paris in late 1904, before being displayed at the Olympia Show in London in February 1905. Appropriately, it returned to Olympia to be sold by Bonhams.

The previuos owners were Sir Alan Sugar, Oliver Reed and Elton John.

I wonder who the private British collector is !

Spice girls has come back!

"Girl Power" returned on Sunday as the Spice Girls kicked off their long-awaited world reunion tour with a more sophisticated look than when they first stormed the pop world in the 1990s.

The quintet -- known by their nicknames Posh, Baby, Sporty Ginger and Scary -- opened their show before a sold-out audience of more than 15,000 people in Vancouver with three of their mega-hits, including "Spice Up Your Life".
"How ya doing?" Melanie "Sporty Spice" Chisholm asked the raucous crowd in the opening set that also included a video images of the group's history.

The celebrities in the audience included football star David Beckham, husband of Victoria "Posh" Beckham, and singer Avril Lavigne.

The Vancouver show launched a tour that will wind its way though Canada, the United States and Europe for the next three months, and may be expanded to include concerts in South Africa and South America.

"It was so good it made me want to cry," said Nicole Bride, 19, from Kenora, Ontario. "It was like being reminded of when you were a little girl dancing in your room."

Their debut single "Wannabe" was a global hit in 1996 and they used it in their encore on Sunday.

But their success was short-lived, with Halliwell walking out on the group in 1998. The remaining members went their separate ways after releasing the album "Forever" in 2000.
All now in their 30s with a combined seven children, the singers embarked on solo careers with varying degrees of success.

Dodi Fayed plans to marry Diana

Dodi Fayed was making plans to marry his girlfriend Diana, princess of Wales, less than two weeks before their fatal 1997 car crash, a witness on Thursday told the inquest into the couple's death.



Franz Klein, president of the Ritz Hotel in Paris, told how Fayed spoke to him by telephone to discuss his plans for an engagement ring and where they would live after the wedding.
Fayed called him on August 18 or 19 and said he and Diana would be in Paris at the end of the month.

"I remember very well, he called me and he said 'Frank, I just passed by a jewellers' shop,' he pointed out it was Van Cleef, he said 'I want to buy some jewellery, I'm going to get engaged'," he told the London inquest.

In a second conversation on August 29 they discussed the Villa Windsor in Paris, a former royal residence. "He informed me he was going to Paris the following day," he said.
"He did not mention the princess by name but he did tell me that he was going to stay in Paris, to live, he told me he was going to move to the Villa Windsor with his girlfriend and he told me, all the time in English, that they were going to get married."
Diana, Fayed and chauffeur Henri Paul were all killed in the crash in a Paris underpass after they left the Ritz Hotel in the early hours of August 31, 1997.

Diana saw lover dying, says officer

Diana, Princess of Wales saw her lover Dodi Fayed dying in front of her when she opened her eyes after her car crash, an inquest has heard.

Policeman Sebastien Dorzee, the first member of the emergency services to reach the scene, said the Princess muttered "My God" because she realised what was happening.

Oh no, such a sad story!

So painful to hear that!

What is your favourite cigar?

If you are beginner, you want to know other smoker's favouite cigars!

If you are well experienced cigar smoker, you may be interested in cigars that you never smoked yet.

Let's share any kind of information on cigars here! I like Montecristo No.4.

It is said to be table wine of Havana.
It has the aroma of plants and light taste. I smoke it after dinner. What is your favourite cigar? Do you have any special cigar?

Looking forward to hearing from you soon!

Surprise! Jackson 5 Revival!

The Jackson 5 will tour in 2008 with Michael Jackson, according to his brother Jermaine.

Rumours about a possible reunion of the pop legends has been rife for some time, culminating in claims from promoter Leonard Rowe recently that live dates were being planned.

Jermaine Jackson has now given the clearest indication yet that the comeback is on and will take place next year, featuring their most famous member."Michael will be involved.

We want to tour. We want to touch the lives of everybody who's bought our records and supported us. "It will probably start here first, but it will be sometime in 2008. That's our plan", he told the BBC in a new interview.

Discussing Michael's acquittal on child sex offences in 2005, Jermaine said the five-piece are now "stronger than ever" and "owe" the fans who have supported them through thick and thin.

The last album from the Jackson 5 - Michael, Jermaine, Marlon, Tito and Jackie - was "2300 Jackson Street" in 1989

Cigar & Movie!

I want to know any movie from which a cigar was used in a scene!

007 series are one of the most popular and well-known movie in which James Bond smoked a cigar.

In 007 `World is not enough', a tube of cigar(Romeo Y Julieta) was given to Bond as a gift for negotiation success.

In X-mem `the last stand', you can see Logan smoking a cigar in the opening scene.
He smoked a cigar during the middle of fight.
You can see that he is really a tough man from the scene.

If you know any other movie from which you can see a cigar scene, please tell me about it in this topic!

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Michelin Guide Tokyo!

The famous guide is making its entry into Asia with the publication of the first edition in Tokyo, scheduled for release in 22 November 2007.
After Europe, where 20 countries are covered, and the United States, the MICHELIN guide is pursuing its international development in Japan.
Since last summer, European and Japanese Michelin inspectors have been making anonymous visits to restaurants and hotels in Tokyo, evaluating meals and staying overnight in hotels

Five criteria are taken into account: product quality, preparation and flavors, the "personality" of the chef and the kitchen team, consistency over time and across the entire menu, and value for money.
The number of stars that may be awarded ranges from one to three.

Their meaning is always the same, regardless of the country:

1: ''good restaurant in its category."

2: "excellent cooking, worth a detour."

3: "exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey."

The MICHELIN guide Tokyo will be available in two languages: Japanese and English.

If you live in Japan or plan to visit Tokyo, check the guide.

I will get one tomorrow and introduce the chosen restaurants tomorrow!

Get Trinidad Ingenios Limited Edition 2007!

Have you smoked Trinidad Ingenios Limited Edition 2007 yet?

In 2007, we've got three kinds of limited edition.
The two of them have already been released in a few months ago: Hoyo Regalos and Romeo Y Juliet Escudos

But, the last one (Trinidad Ingenios) had not been released to the market until now.

However, we just got Trinidad Ingenios yesterday!!
We are the only one that can offer the cigars in Japan!

We will offer the cigars on our website soon. So check our website: http://www.cigardirect.hk/en/

New Pop Star: Mika

Do you know Mika?

Have you ever listen to his song?

You may say ' Of course!'


Mika is a British pop singer!

He's got awards as follows:

• 2007 World Music Awards
  Best-Selling New Artist -- Won
  Best-Selling Male Entertainer -- Won
  Best-Selling Male Pop/Rock Artist -- Won
  Best-Selling British Artist -- Won
  


• MTV Europe Music Awards 2007
  Best Solo Artist -- Nominated

Amazingly enough, Mika is my best friend's mate!

They went to the same high school which is called Westminster school. Westminster school is one of England's leading boys' independent schools and one of the nine public schools.

So I had a chance to meet Mika but unfortunately, I missed it.
One day, I could meet him anyway and recommend him our Cuban cigars.

Harry Potter: Richest Teen!?

The actor, Daniel Radcliffe, on Harry Potter has earned 17million pounds so far.

He is only 18 years old and has become such a super rich!

He may be the richest teenager in the world!?

He's just got a girl friend who is an actress as well...

Who is sexiest man of 2007?

Matt Damon has been named the Sexiest Man Alive by US magazine People.

Other stunners on the 23rd annual list include Jake Gyllenhaal, Matthew McConaughey, Justin Timberlake, Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp.

He said that "My nine-year-old daughter finally may come to think I'm cool".

Is he really sexy man?

Radiohead New Album

Let me talk about Music today!

I love music, especially British Rock and dance music!

I love U2, Oasis, Stoneroses, Coldplay, Primal Scream, The Verve, Charltans, Kasabian, Chemical Brothers, Underworld...

And Radiohead is one of my favourite bands as well.

The band are currently without a record contract, having fulfilled their six-album contract with EMI in 2004.

It means that the band has not released any CD album since Radiohead released their sixth album, Hail to the Thief, in June 2003.

But, Radiohead initially released their seventh album, In Rainbows, solely as a digital download, in October 2007. It was reported that on the day of its release, 1.2 million copies of In Rainbows had been sold as digital downloads.

It was announced in early November that the album was to be released on 31 Dec 2007 on US and Canada.

Furthermore, the new album will be released in Japan even earlier than 31 Dec 07 !

I must get it!

New Cohiba Maduro 5

Have you smoked new Cohiba Maduro 5?

The new Cohiba Maduro 5 line features three different sizes and the Maduro 5 wrappers have been aged for 5 years.

There are three different kinds of Maduro 5 cigars: Genios, Magicos and Secretos.

If you smoke all three kinds of cigars, tell us the differnces in taste and flavour or any other things.

Wedding & Cigar

One of friends of mine just married last week.
He is English from Leeds but got married with a Japanese woman.
I was invited and attended the wedding party last Sat.


After the party, we got another party in a resturant and go to a bar.
We all kept on drinking and drinking till the morning.
As you can imagine, I got drunk but I had really fun.

The best moment was smoking cigars together in the bar that I gave away to the friends. It was really fun to smoke cigars in such a special occasion.


If you want to get fine cigars for a special occasion, visit our website here.
We offer the best prices of fine Cuban cigars!

What is a cigar? Cigar vs Cigarette

There are some cheap cigars in the world because they are rolled by machines.


However, most of fine cigars are still rolled by hand.






Bigger a cigar is, it is better in taste because a lot of amounts of the leaf are burning.


The spice is not used at all though the cigar while a cigarette contains spice.

Smoking style of cigars is completely different from of cigarette.
In case of smoking cigars, its smoke may be drawn into mouth. You do not inhale the smoke.



To be continued...

What is a cigar? Cigar vs Cigarette

Do you know the differences between a cigar and cigarette?

Tobacco leaves of Nicotianaare are used for both Cigars and cigarettes.
But, cigars and cigarettes are different in appearance and manufacturing method.

The history of a cigarette actually is not so long.
It came to be consumed in large quantities in Europe because machines for rolling made the mass production of cigarette possible.
Another reason for popularity of cigarette can be TV advertisment.

On the other hand, fine cigars are hand rolled...

To be continued..

How to choose Humidor!?

Have you read my last post?

If not yet, please read my previous post, first.

I have introduced how to choose your first humidor from my last post.

2) Material











Acrylic humidor is to store cigars for short-time storage.



The problem of an acrylic humidor is that it can not completely seal and it also can cause optical deterirotion soon.

For the same reason(optical deterirotion), I also do not recommend glass top humidor as your first humidor.


Basically, the leaves of cigars are delicate so if you do not store your cigars properly, they would get bad easily.

If you want to buy a proper humidor, I can recommend that you should choose a humidor with a cap and the inside of the box is made of Cedro(spanish wood) .
the cap is Heavier, it is better in sealing.

If you get less than 1 box at your every purchase, a humidor for 30-50 sticks should be best.

I have got two types of humidors: small sized and large sized humidors. I use them in different occasion, purpose and reason.

Obviously, the large-size humidor is for vintage cigars and they have been sleeping in the humidor for years. So those cigars got special!

I will continue the topic tomorrow.

Cigar accessories: Humidor

What do you need after your purchase on cigars?

I would say 'Humidor'!

You would say 'what about a cutter or a lighter'?

But, you may already have a cutter and a lighter at home, right!?

Even if not, you should have the replacement of them such as matches and a knife...

Humidor is a box designed to store your cigars to protect your cigars from dryness, excessive wetness and ultraviolet rays.

So it may be necessary to have a humidor if you do not have one.

I am going to introduce you how to select your first humidor.

1) Size

Choose a large size of humidor!

I can advise that you should use up to 60% of capacity of a humidor.

For example, if a humidor is capable of storing maximum 50 sticks of cigars, it should be best to store 25-30 sticks.

why?

If you use full of room (capacity) of a humidor, there is not enough room left for good air circulation and it can cause the cigars the excessive wetness.

For that reason, a travel humidor(usually smaller size of capacity) does not suit for a long term storage.

2) Material

I will continue the subject in my next post!

7C's and 3C's

This blog is kind of an official blog for Cigar Direct.

So I should sometimes introduce you something interesting story concernig a cigar!


Have you ever heard of '7C's'?

The 7C's is properly refered to Perfect after dinner 7C's.


These words orginated from England in Victorian era.


'7C's' stands for Coffee, Cognac, Cheese, Chocolate, Cigar, Cpze and Conversation.

I was wondering why cake is not included there...
Anybody knows why?


Nowdays a lots of pepole enjoy coffee after dinner
But, I recommend that you should add a Cigar and Chocolate to coffee after dinner.







By the way, do you know about 3C's?

3C's became popular in US in 1980's.

3C's is refered to the perfect before dinner: Cocktail, Caviar and Cigar.

After work, many Americans liked going to a bar before dinner and eating caviar, drinking cocktail and smoking a robusto size cigar at the 80's.






Robusto is a short but full bodies cigar, so it is perfect for smoking before dinner.






Why not try a cigar before or after dinner?

Most Expensive property in London(may be in the world)

I find an interesting artical.

I am going to introduce you about the most expensive property to rent.

'At £40,000 a week, this stunning house just a few feet from Hyde Park is the most expensive property to rent in London.
Located in the infamously luxurious Mayfair part of London, this estate features the highest level of security for its tenants. With staff quarters at the back of the property and many modern accents, you can’t wonder why this London house is the most expensive rent in the city'

I know that Mayfair is one of the most expensive area in London.

But, I do not get why it is such an unbelievably expensive rent!

Of course, the price of land and houses in London continuously have been growing up.
Even so, It is really expensive!

I want to know who can rent the property.

Cigar Direct gives you the best prices for Cuban cigars, always.

Why so expensive ?

I used to live in London between 1997 - 2005.

I felt that cost of living was so high especially for foreigners.

The price of land and house prices have kept increasing.

Consequently, it is not easy for working-class people to buy a house or flat up to zone 4 area in London.

Transpotation cost is extremly high as well.

Single fares for subway is starting from 4 pounds($8) in Zone 1. (if you have Oyster, it is only ￡1.5)

Eating out in an average restaurant in London is also expensive.

Japanese food such as Sushi and Tempura is abviously expensive...

Cigars in London are most expensive in the world.

Why are costs of living unbelievably high?

One of the reason is that pound(￡) is still relatively strong against other currencies.

If you are not millionaires, you can not live in London?

The problem is that only those who work in a city make enough money and they become richer and richer...

Cigar Direct can help all cigar smokers get fine Cuban cigars on reasonable prices.