“Aren’t cigars bad for you?” one woman, a screenwriter, asks.
“What do we usually die from?” is the question in response to the question. “Stress! Enjoying a cigar is a moment of intense relaxation. You calm down, your heart rate is slower and your blood pressure drops.”
It was when Edward and Eddie Sahakian, the father and son who run the prestigious cigar store Davidoff of St. James’s at 35 St. James’s Street, squared up to the fact that their customer database was 100% male that they decided it was time to reach out to the fairer sex.
And the first ever London Ladies’ Masterclass was born.
That night we tried five cigars and I was surprised by how much I relished the taste and the sensation, though we were told to take our time with each one. Each cigar needs to be savored individually.
By the time the tapas and wine were served, Kremble was having so much fun that he got positively sappy.
“There’s nothing so beautiful as a woman’s eyes glimpsed through a blue haze of cigar smoke,” he said dreamily.
“There’s nothing I enjoy more than powerful ladies breaking down male bastions,” added the manager of the MayFair, whose wife was on hand to participate.
By the end of the evening nearly all of us agreed that cigar smoking is a habit we would readily embrace. Edward Sahakian describes the cigar as an “instrument of pleasure,” and perhaps he’s right. The evening was lovely, the company charming, and the cigars relaxing.
Editor’s note: Due to high demand, Davidoff will continue running Ladies’ Masterclasses in London — by invitation only. Your regularly scheduled Cigar Hunter will return Monday with more tales from the tobacco world and another prize to give away.
