James J Fox

03/07/2025

Events on back-to-back days are a rarity, but since we had two great reasons to do so, we just simply had to make them happen. The second evening saw us pair Kristoff Veinte Toro (6 ¼’’ x 54) with rums from St Lucian Rum brand Chairman’s Reserve.

A variety of to***co grown on different terroirs combine to create this cigar, a Brazilian wrapper, Indonesian binder and filler leaves from Nicaragua and Pennsylvania USA. This maduro powerhouse of a cigar, rolled in the Dominican Republic, was presented to us by Kristoff’s Vice President Jarrid Trudeau.

To pair with the cigar, Dave Marsland aka Drinks Enthusiast, an expert and historian of the St Lucian Rum industry joined us to talk about Chairman’s Reserve rum. Three outstanding rums along with a unique to***co blend by Kristoff capped off a great week.

Thank you to our guests for joining us and of course to both Jarrid and Dave for the insightful knowledge they brought to proceedings. Also, thanks to Chris Smith of Barkers of Harrogate for the positive vibes when we were standing on tired legs! It was appreciated.

01/07/2025

What. A. Night. In truth that could be considered an understatement…

On a perfect Summer Evening we held one of our best Cigar Pairing Evenings at James J. Fox.

One of the best because the guests truly were on top form and in the mood for a highly entertaining evening. A variety of guests from newbies, aficionados, industry friends and even a cricket legend.

One of the best because James J. Fox staff and guest speakers on the night brought the vibe and expertise for great discussions and fun.

One of the best because of the pairing: Davidoff The Late Hour Robusto alongside Four different drams from Craigellachie – 13 Bas Armagnac Cask, 17, 23 and the Limited Edition JPHA Exclusive 29 Year Old.

One of the best because nearly the whole lounge took the conversations and the enjoyment to the Blue Post pub to continue the evening well after 11pm.

What can we say, you just had to be there…and those who were, thank you so very much for such a wonderful evening.

19/06/2025

Davidoff Late Hour Robusto & Craigellachie Whisky
https://www.jjfox.co.uk/davidoff-late-hour-and-craigellachie-29-cigar-pairing-launch.html

It will be our pleasure to host an exclusive cigar and whisky pairing event which will feature the launch of a new aged cask expression Single Malt for Craigellachie and a staple cigar from Davidoff. Working with Bacardi UK & JPHA we will be hosting the event to offer whisky enthusiasts the opportunity to be amongst the first people to try the 29-year-old whisky, a new addition to Craigellachie’s exceptional cask series.

The whisky will be paired with a cigar from the highly revered Davidoff Late Hour range. We’ve decided to go for the Robusto because the flavours are bold through a maturation process which sees the to***co rest in whisky casks for 6 months. Along with the 29, we will be refreshing our memory with the 23, award-winning 17 and 13.

We will be joined by Davidoff UK & Ireland Market Manager Roy Sommer to discuss the cigar on the evening. Joining us also will be the familiar faces of Bacardi’s UK Business Development Manager, David Behan and JPHA founder James Pham who will also be ready to talk all things whisky.

18/06/2025

We held our traditional Friday 13th Blind Tasting event on Thursday 12th as we had a pairing of the very highest quality. A mystery Habanos with two cognacs from Coutanseaux Aîné and a glass of champagne from Frerejean Freres. Both brands belong to the same family, so we were delighted to showcase their wonderful products.

Guillaume and Rodolphe Frerejean Taittinger passionately carry forward a family heritage, with their mother descending from the prestigious Taittinger family. So the art and understanding of champagne is ingrained within their DNA and is portrayed within their two spectacular brands.

No matter how confident someone is, once the cigar band is off, it becomes difficult for even aficionados to correctly name the exact cigar it is. . But regardless of whether you get it right, it’s simply good fun. For those wanting to know, we gave guests a Montecristo Edmundo to sample.

A big thank you to the guests in attendance for a great night and we hope the two winners enjoy their prizes. Once again, a big thank you to Pedro San Martin for joining us to talk about the cognac and champagne. Wine and Earth for supplying the champagne at very short notice and the Frerejean Tattinger family for their support.

23/05/2025

We decided to sample a new cigar we’re adding to our catalogue, AJ Fernandez – Dias de Gloria Brazil. The qualities of the wrapper when added to the blend produces a cigar with an earthy sweetness reminiscent of dark chocolate and coffee which blends well with the spice of the Nicaraguan filler. We had Tor Imports’ brand ambassador Alfonso Scherzi join us to talk about AJ Fernandez and the cigar.

We paired the cigar with a selection of four Demerara rums from El Dorado. It’s one of the more unique rum brands on the market, producing spirits which are like no others. The El Dorado 15 is one of the best pound-for-pound rums on the market, to which many rum enthusiasts will concur with. Along with the 12 and single still expressions of Enmore and Versailles, El Dorado Global Brand Ambassador Oren Coleman joined us to give us a brief history of Guyanese rum and El Dorado. An excellent pairing with the sweetness of the rum complementing the cigar, allowing the flavourful spice and coffee notes to come through a little stronger on the palate.

Thank you to Cask Liquid Regional Manager, Cristian Cuevas, distributors for El Dorado, for also joining us on the evening. And of course, to the industry legend, Tor Imports’ Jerry Mir for also joining us. To the guests, thank you for continuing to make the events a fantastic occasion, especially the group who always join us for the rum pairings and come with great energy (you know who you are).

The next event is Thursday 12th June 6:30pm. Details online now…

09/05/2025

Our Friends at The Whisky Exchange are hosting a two-day showcase of some of the world’s finest Tequilas and Mezcals in London on Friday 16th May and Saturday 17th May. To find out more about the event visit their website

The show will unite agave enthusiasts as well as give an amazing welcome to those ready to be acquainted with the world of Tequila, Mezcal and other agave spirits. With over 250 to sample and unique masterclasses across both days, the opportunity to immerse yourself in Mexico’s finest awaits.

Our connoisseurs pairing, well, we have a few but if we are recommending one right now…

Don Fulano Anjeo Tequila & Vegas Robaina Únicos
This one is suave, smooth and full of character. The tequila has been aged in French Limousin for at least a couple of years, extracting those mellow sweet notes like vanilla and banana bread while also having the strength to exhibit notes of baking spices. The Unicos will have the contrast of leather and spice, but while they are prominent because the Unicos always delivers on flavour, it is more certainly smoother on the palate than would be expected for a medium-to-full bodied cigar. A delectable combination of a tequila and a cigar.

29/04/2025

We know Rocky. He was here last August for an event and we know his passion for creating great ci**rs. With all the cigar brands available in the United States, Rocky Patel has made his brand a household name in the industry. One of the collections which put him on the map was The Edge - a cigar that he recognises as a catalyst to some of his success. He produced an anniversary edition to celebrate with The Edge 20th, being an enhanced version of the original, demonstrating all the knowledge Rocky has acquired in that time which has ultimately evolved into this blend.

Bodega Colome and James J Fox have something in common. 19 St James’s Street is the address of the oldest cigar shop in the world, open since 1787. Colome is Argentina’s oldest vineyard to have been in continual production since 1831. Go back 190+ years and you will find us both in the same spot as we stand now!

While they’re not the size of some other great Argentinian wineries, they have a heritage and uniqueness like no other Argentinian brand. After the acquisition by Swiss winemaker and entrepreneur Donald Hess, Colome became pioneers of high-altitude wines. The vineyard located 2300m above sea level has a distinctive microclimate to grow grapes with unique properties – producing thicker skin to protect from the sun which enables a higher concentration of flavour underneath. We had the pleasure to pair with the Salta Torrontés White, Auténtico`Salta Malbec and their staple Salta Malbec.

A big thank you to all our guests in attendance as well as our two experts on the evening, Pedro San Martin and Phil Matthews of Bright Leaf for joining us and engaging with guests for a wonderful cigar pairing

25/03/2025

Another great evening came to fruition at James J Fox on the evening of Thursday 20th March as we paired the latest Plasencia Zodiac year release with the iconic Taiwanese whisky brand, Kavalan. While the ci**rs and whiskies went down a treat with guests for the pairing, adding to the charm on the night was our friend Nick Hammond as he indulged guests with his entertaining anecdotes and riveting experiences during his voyages across the world. It had been too long since we last had Nick at an event, so we thank him for joining us.

It's the first lancero we’ve paired at a sampling evening in a while and it delivered an excellent medium bodied smoke, as the aesthetically elegant vitola has been rolled with all Nicargauan leaves.

We paired the cigar with Kavalan, a quite unique whisky with a profile like few other whisky brands. Michael Pendergast from Speciality Brands joined us as brand ambassador on the evening. We enjoyed their Classic Single Malt and Tripe Sherry to start the evening, while guests were treated to a Limited Edition Speciality Brands Cask Strength Vinho Barrique bottling at the end.

Again, a big Thank you to Nick, Roy and Michael for keeping guests immersed in an evening of a great pairing and great conversation. Thank you to the guests for joining us and being a part of a winning combination of expertise.

07/03/2025

A highly anticipated pairing awaited us on Thursday 20th February as we finally got our hands on the award-winning My Father MF The Judge. It was the Corona Gorda and it lived up to expectations, medium-to-full strength and highly flavorful. The Judge is a boldly flavourful blend combining three different fillers, two binders using Nicaraguan Corojo and Criollo to***co with the cigar being completed with an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper. A fantastic composition to create one of the best blends in Nicaragua.

Fresh from the Tor Tour 2025, with one of their stops being the My Father factory, was Tor Imports Alfonso Scherzi and the legendary Scott Vines. Alfonso gave a great introduction to the cigar as he indulged guests with cigar talk throughout the night.

The cigar was paired with four single malt whiskies by Aberfeldy, the 12, 16, 21 and an extremely limited edition bottling of a 22 year old White Port Cask finish. Aberfeldy has a distinctly floral and mellow body with sweet tendencies of honey, throughout its core profile. This more delicate flavour paired supremely well with The Judge as it harmonised with the cigar’s core earth and wood notes to enhance the flavour of both through the contrast of flavours.

A big thank you to Scott and Alfonso for joining us and to India Blanch for bringing us 1 of the 276 bottles of the exceptional 22 years White Port cask bottle. Also a big thank you to Luke Coles at the Aberfeldy distillery for the welcome and a great insight into the Dewar’s and Aberfeldy brands.

07/02/2025

This is the UK Habanos Regional Edition 2023, which is now available at James J. Fox. Selectos No.3 is a Cervantes size measuring 6 ½” (165mm) x 42 ring gauge and often referred to as a Lonsdale, with the only other cigar in current production with this vitola being the Montecristo No.1. The previous UK Habanos Regional release was the Por Larranaga Larranaga 47

This is a medium bodied cigar with the flavour beginning sweet and floral with a citrus sweetness being apparent in the first third. As the cigar progresses it develops with spice becoming more dominant in the flavour. While the few regular production Flor de Cano ci**rs are all short-filler, using to***co from the Semi Vuelta as well as Vuelta Abajo regions, all their regional edition are long filler with all the to***co exclusively from Vuelta Abajo.

Launched 6th February 2025, the Selectos No.3 is the third UK Regional Edition from the brand, following the Short Robusto (2010) and the Gran Cano (2013). The 2023 UK Habanos Regional Edition has been presented in 5000 numbered SLB boxes of 25 ci**rs

04/02/2025

So nice we had to do it twice…

Last year we had the pleasure to host an event at our flagship pairing two ci**rs with two cognacs and two Armagnac, presented by the one and only Dawn Davies MW. Well, when the opportunity again arises to talk cognac with Dawn while pairing with two Habanos Ci**rs, it’s an occasion you simply don't want to miss out on. So, on Wednesday 29th January we arranged said opportunity for us and guests as we welcomed Dawn back to James J. Fox. We were also delighted to welcome, Isabella Shorter, Events and Show Assistant for TWE Events.

We decided to go with the pair of Juan Lopez No.2 and a Cuaba Divinos – two flavourful ci**rs, both highly-rated by aficionados despite being two of the more lowkey brands of Habanos. Dawn eloquently demonstrated the differences between cognac and Armagnac, both the overt profile of the spirits as well as their origins. It was just a taster to what is in store for attendees to The Cognac Show. Good luck to The Whisky Exchange and their events team for their 2025 shows.

Thank you to our guests for joining us for our first sampling event of the year. We’re looking forward to the next one already…

07/01/2025

Join Kirby Allison as he explores James J. Fox at 19 St James's Street, London, delving into the craftsmanship and tradition that defined Churchill’s lifelong passion for fine ci**rs. A journey through legacy, luxury, and unparalleled style.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7tSCRF21pE

This is part 3 of the series: Winston Churchill - The Fabric of the Man. You can find the first two episodes via Kirby Allison's Youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/

In this third episode of The Fabric of a British Icon, Kirby Allison continues to explore the life and style of Winston Churchill by delving into the institu...