We sell cigars, and we look after them properly
That is most of it. The rest of this page explains where the stock comes from and what we do with it before it reaches you.
What is different about buying from Southern Smoke Cigars?
Our Cuban cigars come through Hunters and Frankau, the official UK importer, so every box carries the green EMS stamp and the duty is already paid. Everything we hold sits in Spanish cedar humidors at around 68% humidity, and every order goes out sealed with a free Boveda pack so it arrives in the condition it left in.
- Cuban stock comes through the official UK importer, with the green EMS stamp on the box
- Walk-in Spanish cedar humidors held at 65 to 70% humidity and 18 to 20°C
- A free Boveda 69% pack sealed into every order
- Royal Mail Tracked 24 as standard, free on every order
- We deliver across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
The green stamp on a Cuban box
English Market Selection is an old idea. Cuba has been setting aside particular cigars for the British market for well over a century, on the basis that British smokers wanted a slightly different wrapper and a slightly different strength to everybody else.
In 1993 that turned into something you can actually check. Hunters and Frankau, the sole UK importer for Habanos S.A., began putting a green stamp on every box that came through them. The stamp is not a quality award. It tells you the box came in through the proper channel, that the duty was paid, and that somebody in the UK opened it and looked at the cigars before it went any further.
What we check when a box lands
- The stamp is genuine and the factory code matches the box
- Wrappers are consistent in colour and have not dried or split
- Nothing is over-filled or under-filled, which ruins the draw
- Duty and VAT are settled, so nothing turns up on your doormat later
Why the humidity matters more than you would think
A cigar is agricultural. The oils in the leaf keep changing for years, which is why an aged box tastes different to a fresh one. But that only happens if the humidity holds. Let it drop and the leaf dries, the wrapper cracks and the flavour goes flat. Let it climb too far and you get mould, or worse, beetles.
So our stock lives in walk-in humidors lined with Spanish cedar, held between 65 and 70% humidity at 18 to 20°C all year. The cedar is not decoration. It absorbs and releases moisture as the room shifts, which keeps things steady, and it deters the beetles.
The bit most people get caught out by is at home. A British house with the heating on sits at around 25% humidity in January, which is drier than most deserts. A cigar left on a table in that will be ruined in two or three days. That is why there is a Boveda pack in every order, and why we keep telling people to buy a humidor before they buy a second box.
Selling tobacco in the UK
We only sell to people aged 18 and over. You confirm it when you arrive, you confirm it again at checkout, and the courier checks it at the door. That is what the Children and Families Act 2014 requires and we take it seriously.
We also do not advertise the way other shops do. The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act limits what a tobacconist can say and where. If our marketing looks quieter than you might expect, that is why.
Have a look at what we have in
Cuban boxes with the stamp on, or New World blends if you fancy something different.
Questions we get asked
Straight answers on EMS stamps, storage and delivery.
What is English Market Selection, and why does it matter here?
It is the grade of Cuban cigar set aside for Britain, and the green stamp on the box is issued by Hunters and Frankau, the only company allowed to import Habanos into the UK. If a Cuban box does not have it, either it came in through a side door or the duty was never paid. Every Cuban box we sell has one.
How do you store cigars before they go out?
In walk-in humidors lined with Spanish cedar, held at 65 to 70% humidity and 18 to 20°C. When an order goes out it is sealed with a free Boveda 69% pack so it holds that condition in the post.
Can I come and see you?
We are an online shop, so there is no counter to walk up to. If you want a recommendation, though, email us and a person will answer. We would rather point you at the right £25 cigar than sell you the wrong £60 one.