UK Cigar Scene Magazine September Issue 9 | Page 19

My event partner and I, DJ Micro, knew we had a
huge party to go to that night that all the spring
break companies and their crews attended. We
had to be there, show face, and we weren’t above
wanting to rub some salt in the wounds.
That meant Victory Cigars.
I went down to the local and the only- legitimate
cigar shop in Negril and asked to see what they
had.
I had cut my teeth smoking Cuban cigars from
one of the best shops in London, Broadweighs run
by Ajay Patel, and knew my way around a box. I
picked up a box of Montecristo no. 2s, and flipping
it over, let the lid open so the cigars could drop
down and I could see the feet of the Monte 2’s he
had. Nice solid book folds of leaf. The shopkeep
raised his eyes at that move. We got to talking
and I told him I had spent a great deal of time in
London smoking cigars and that I had a keep.
Without saying a word, he brought out a step stool,
looked up at the top most shelf of his shop, he had
up there a box of Sancho Panza Sanchos. That’s
the “A” size of the line, and when I looked at the
box it was stamped FPG- Partagas Factory, and the
date was 1996.

for having a very unique Faema Espresso machine.
Sitting there, I lit it. It looked, and it felt, like
Victory wrapped in a cigar.
Waves and waves of toasty woody smoke poured
out of it, it was hard to tell where the cigar ended
and I started, an almost almond/brazil nut flavour
to the smoke sifted through the warm humid air
at the bar. It began gradually, almost mild I’d say,
and then got itself in proper order and started
asserting itself with toasty cocoa, the warmth of
the smoke and its silky volumes of wispy clouds.
I was downing espresso machiatos like it was my
job, with just a dash of raw Jamaican brown sugar
as a counterpoint and a fresh starting point for the
cigar to progress into a degree of decadence I’ll not
soon forget.
I enjoyed that cigar for well over two hours, and I
couldn’t wait to light the Monte 2s and the Bolivar
Coronas Gigantes at the party that night.
I think my friend Luca knew what was up, because
he switched the music playing at the bar from Bob
Marley, to Mavado, and someone put a ‘modda
thomas’ machete next to my bag, as if to say, “You
may need this now...” And after all, I had to clip
the Monte 2’s later that night somehow didn’t I?

Turns out he had some Bolivar CGs as well,
that bore the infamous FP6 stamp. Everything
was so expensive that no one really was in
there snatching these well aged cigars up- and I
was about to reap the benefit. Looking at those
Sanchos, I knew it was “me time”.
So I took one of the three A’s he had and went to
my local haunt, the Sunrise Club which is known
18