Ben Hopkins smokes the cigars and enjoys the jazz in the Oriental’s Bamboo Bar

The Cuban Cigar, considered by most connoisseurs to be the benchmark by which all other cigars should be measured, has long been seen a symbol of success by many Americans. They’re often smoked to celebrate good fortune like the birth of a child, a graduation or a presidential victory. So it may come as no surprise to learn that back in 1962, on the eve of signing an executive order to slam a trade embargo on Cuba the then President JFK ordered his press secretary, Pierre Salinger, to obtain a thousand Cu­ban Cigars. Moment’s after the cigars arrived the crafty President signed the order which remains in place till this day.

As such, it was no surprise when I entered La Casa Del Habana, the cigar shop at Bangkok’s Oriental Hotel (stocked only with Cuban cigars) last Friday to find three American ladies whipping themselves up into a frenzy over the phallic shaped bundles of dried and fermented tobacco that lay before them.

One particularly excited lady carefully started to load her Cuban box with a
selection of the finest.

“You know they’re illegal back home don’t you.” warned her friend.

“I’m too old to care about that nonsense. I’ll put ‘em in my underwear. No
ones gonna go looking.”

“No, probably not,” replied her friend, to a chorus of cackles.

The cigar shop from where our US friends quickly exit with their contraband goods opened its doors to the public around ten years ago. Its reputation as a premium choice for cigar aficionados owes a great deal to its location. As you enter through one door you exit another to enter the jungle like ambi­ence of The Bamboo Bar. Here is served a myriad of cocktails from around the world and a selection of Scottish malt whiskey which had me clinging onto the bamboo chairs when the jazz singer Cynthia Utterbach called her last song.

Upon entering the cigar shop one should be in no hurry to make a beeline for the bar. Get there early and take your time. The shop itself offers a glimpse of Cuban cigar history and memorabilia. On the left as you enter hang a couple of framed black and white photos of two men who both played a prominent role in shaping the 20th century; namely Winston Churchill and Fidel Cas­tro. Each of them appears to be celebrating victory whilst holding aloft a large cigar – though it deserves to be said Winston’s is notably larger.

There are shelves full of cigar accessories. Small humidifiers to keep the quality of the tobacco at its best, hand carved wooden tools for preparing the perfect cigar and silver bladed guillotine cutters to be used the moment before smoking. Above the cigar shelves hang old advertising placards im­ported from Cuba, bottles of Cuban rum, an antique telephone and a styl­ish coffee making machine. Blended together with the sound of bluesy jazz from the bar next door it seems the proprietors have succeeded in creating a Cuban box of cedar scented delights that could have been beamed up from the streets of Havana.

However, in the far corner of the room stands a uniquely Thai reminder that we are in fact still in Bangkok. A shrine dedicated to King Chulalongkorn Rama V who reigned from 1868 to 1910. The framed photo of King Rama V portrays him dressed like a gent with a cigar in his right hand. Kay, the well informed shop assistant tells us she empties and fills the glass at the foot of the shrine everyday with what was his favourite tipple, Regency brandy.

The mere sight of this fine brandy reminds me that the time has come to drink and smoke. Kay recommends a Partagas Cigar for myself and a milder Punch for my partner. As we exit the Cuban box to enter the Bamboo Bar the air is full of bon vie fuelled by drink, great Jazz and of course the smooth scent of the cigar.

With a couple of double Glenffidich’s lined up I hop into the smoking room, strike a light and sink into my soft chair of soporific bliss to soak up the whisky, incarcerate my lungs and blend into the jazz.

The Bamboo Bar at the Oriental has a reputation as one of the best, if not the best jazz bars in Bangkok. Tonight American jazz supremo Cynthia Ut­terbach and the Oriental’s in house band show us why.

“Jazz is like soup,” Cynthia purrs into the microphone, “stir in all the ingredi­ents you like, blues, whatever, mix it all into the big pot and call it jazz.”

The guy to my right with a profile like Winston Churchill lights a cigar the size of a Cuban missile and chuckles to himself as the jazz singer introduces the next song.

“Moooon-dance, don’t know if I’d call it jazz, but I’m gonna put it in the soup and serve it up to you.”

I don’t suppose Van Morrison would have any objection to that.

A casual chat with the barman informs me that amongst the dignitaries and superstars who’ve passed through the Cuban box and into the Bamboo Bar in recent years include; The King of Denmark, Leonardo D’ Caprio, Michael Schumacher, Boris Becker and Pierce Brosnan whom not surprisingly chose to pass the evening puffing away on a Mohito Martini.

By now the band have summoned the moon and the stars into their mix but the final number, sung by guest singer Cheryl Hayes proves to be the crème de la crème of the nights servings. A heart rendering rendition of a ballad that deals with separation from a loved one. By the time the singer breathes her final note and lowers her head the audience is moved to silence and the ashtrays are full of stubbed out Cubans.