We have hosted very special sampling nights at 19 St James’s Street in recent years – supporting cigars from Cuba, Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominican Republic and Mexico.

We have three cigar launches between 12th September and 19th September – two global launches and the third being a pre-release sampling ahead of its European launch.

For the first event, we were delighted to be the hosts for the global launch of Santiago Valladares, a premium cigar line by Oscar Valladares. This is cigar is composed of Honduran tobacco for the filler leaves and wrapper with a Nicaraguan binder, these cigars have been rolled exclusively for the European market.

Based at his factory in Danli, Oscar reportedly has the largest collection of tobacco in the world. While he has not been in the industry for as long as some of the other current illustrious names in cigar making, Oscar Valladares has quickly built a great reputation with his excellent cigars and the high level of production in his factory.

Traditions and legacies are very important in the cigar world and there are stories to be told everywhere in the industry. Santiago Valladares is more than just a new cigar line to Oscar, it is his way to honour his son and leave a legacy for him. Perhaps this will be built upon in the future should he decide to follow in his father’s footsteps.

Despite the sentimental emphasis of the branding, the cigars have been a well-kept secret - unbeknown to us until just a week ago! Oscar was planning to be here for our event and sampling of his amazing Altar Q Toro paired with The Whisky Exchange’s selection of rums, but he had decided to surprise us and our guests with this brand-new release.

Our guests were the first consumers in the world to sample the Santiago Valladares Robusto Magicos (5 ¾’’ x 52). Presented in individual black coffin boxes inside a white lacquer box, Oscar has gone for a more traditional aesthetic for this line as he places this cigar as a his most premium sub-brand.

Along with the Robusto Magicos, the other sizes are the Hermoso (5’’ x 47) and the Petit Toro (6’’ x 50).

Joining Oscar from The Whisky Exchange was Dawn Davies and Alex Thompson. The level of expertise of cigars and drinks made this evening a top tier collaboration, and we would like to extend our gratitude to the drinks extraordinaire and great friend of James J Fox, Dawn and Alex for being with us on a fantastic evening.

Oscar’s tour continues across Europe as he visits Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and the Czech Republic over the next few weeks. It was our pleasure to greet Oscar, Orlando and Juan in London and we look forward to the next visit. Enjoy your travels gentlemen! Thank you for your presence on making an amazing event with The Whisky Exchange at James J Fox.

The Santiago Valladares will be available online, the James J. Fox Flagship store at 19 St James’s Street and our Selfridges concession in the very near future. Sign up to our newsletter for all our news and releases. The Altar Q is available now.