Ashton (blended by Carlos Fuente Jr.)
Ashton VSG (Virgin Sun Grown) Torpedo
Medium-Full to Full Body · 55 x 6.5" (Torpedo, Box-Pressed)
Blended by Carlos Fuente Jr. for the Ashton brand, the VSG is a full-bodied Dominican that has been quietly embarrassing flashier cigars for twenty-five years. The cognoscenti know.
Rating Breakdown
Flavor Profile
Tasting Journey
Aroma
Pepper, cider, cream, nuttiness, leather, damp earth, cedar, aged tobacco
Flavor
Pronounced pepper, cider, cream, nuts, leather, wood, espresso, smooth leather, roasted nuts
Finish
Length: Long (75-90 minutes)Coffee, spices, cocoa, walnut, full-bodied intensity, spicy and chewy retrohale
Specs
Price / Value
MSRP: $15
Your Rating
Click to rate
Our Score: 92/100
Pairings
Food
- Aged gouda
- roasted lamb
- dark chocolate
- grilled vegetables
Beverage Pairings
- Single malt scotch (Highland Park 12)
- Cognac
- Madeira wine
- aged rum
Our Verdict
The Ashton VSG is the most underrated premium cigar on the market. Carlos Fuente Jr.'s blending genius combined with 4-5 year aged Dominican fillers creates a full-bodied experience that rivals anything from Nicaragua. At $15, it's the thinking person's special occasion smoke.
The cigar world loves a story. Padron has its Nicaraguan heritage. Drew Estate has its factory-worker rebellion. Opus X has its impossible wrapper. And then there's the Ashton VSG—a cigar with no dramatic origin tale, no limited allocation drama, no celebrity endorsements. Just twenty-five years of consistent, quiet excellence that has earned it a devoted following among the cigar cognoscenti.
The secret weapon is the blender: Carlos Fuente Jr. himself, the same genius behind the Opus X. The VSG (Virgin Sun Grown) takes its name from the Ecuadorian Sun-Grown Sumatra-Seed wrapper—a distinctive reddish leaf that imparts flavors completely unlike the typical Dominican cigar. All filler tobaccos are aged 4-5 years, giving the blend a maturity that you can taste from the first draw.
That first third opens with pronounced pepper, cider, and a slight creaminess alongside nuttiness and a hint of leather. There's a damp earth quality that gives the cigar a grounding, almost old-world character. The torpedo shape concentrates the smoke, and the first inch is a masterclass in controlled power.
The second third sees pepper continue against a backdrop of wood and espresso coffee, with smooth leather and roasted nuts creating a rich, multi-dimensional experience. The box-pressed torpedo sits comfortably in hand, and the burn line behaves impeccably—a Fuente hallmark.
The final third delivers a well-structured core of coffee, spices, cocoa, and walnut with full-bodied intensity that never becomes harsh. The retrohale is spicy and chewy, showcasing the distinctive reddish Ecuadorian sun-grown wrapper character. It's a finish that lingers and invites reflection.
At around $15, the Ashton VSG sits in the premium-but-not-outrageous tier that represents the sweet spot for many enthusiasts. It deserves far more recognition than it receives, and if your humidor doesn't contain a few of these, you've been missing out on one of the Dominican Republic's finest achievements.
