Cigar Reviews

Full-bodied, relentlessly complex, and built with the craftsmanship of a family that has been rolling cigars since before most of us were born. Le Bijou 1922 is the Garcia family at their most uncompromising.

Cigar Aficionado's 2012 Cigar of the Year at under $10 a stick. Flor de las Antillas is the gateway cigar that never gets old, the everyman's smoke that punches absurdly above its weight.

Named after patriarch Melanio Oliva, this figurado represents four generations of tobacco expertise distilled into a single, flawless cigar. The construction alone deserves a standing ovation.

If you are spending $14 on a cigar, the Oliva Serie V Toro is close to the right answer. Full-bodied Nicaraguan power, built to smoke not admired.

In 2011, Cigar Aficionado named the Alec Bradley Prensado its Cigar of the Year. It was not a mistake. Reviewed — and still earning the recognition.

Winston Churchill smoked eight to ten cigars a day for most of his adult life. The Davidoff line bearing his name is built for people who understand why. Reviewed.

Released twice a year and selling out almost instantly, the Supreme Leaf is Aganorsa's showcase blend—and the FOMO is completely justified. This is Nicaraguan terroir at its absolute finest.

Pete Johnson's former private reserve blend in a slim lancero format that concentrates flavor like nothing else. This is the cigar that converts lancero skeptics into lancero evangelists.

They said it couldn't be done—a full-bodied, sun-grown wrapper cigar from the Dominican Republic. Carlos Fuente Jr. didn't listen, and the result changed cigar history forever.

José Pepin Garcia built a reputation as one of the great blenders of his generation. His son Jaime built a company. The My Father No. 1 Toro carries both legacies.

Rocky Patel went from Hollywood talent agent to one of the most recognized names in premium cigars. The Decade Toro is where that story peaks.

The family that grows more tobacco than anyone in Central America finally launched their own brand—and the Alma Fuerte proves they can make cigars every bit as well as they grow tobacco.

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.

Born as Drew Estate's private blend for factory workers, Liga Privada No. 9 became an accidental legend—the ninth attempt at perfection that finally got everything right.

The box-press vitola changes how a cigar smokes. The Perdomo 10th Anniversary Box-Pressed Toro makes the technical case with dark cocoa, leather, and a finish that earns the anniversary.

Ashton built their reputation on one thing: making the same cigar the same way every single time. In a category full of variability, that consistency is worth more than most people realize.

In 1970, while the world was still figuring itself out, Nicaraguan tobacco was establishing a legacy. The Joya de Nicaragua Antano 1970 carries that year with the weight it deserves.

The name is campy. The tobacco is serious. The Alec Bradley Black Market Robusto reviewed — full-bodied Honduran power at a price that does not require a second mortgage.

The Champagne line, elevated. The Perdomo Reserve Champagne Anniversary Toro reviewed — a shade-grown Connecticut-wrapped Nicaraguan that knows when to be restrained.

Named after France's Champagne capital, the Epernay is the thinking person's cigar—refined, elegant, and subtly complex in a world that mistakes volume for value. This is the antidote to bigger-is-better.

The torpedo that defined the format. Created in 1935, the Montecristo No. 2 remains one of the most iconic cigars ever made—when you get a good one, nothing else quite compares.

The world's most beloved short smoke has been converting non-smokers and delighting veterans for over thirty years. The Cameroon wrapper is the secret weapon, and the perfecto shape is the delivery system.

This one arrived at a bourbon tasting. We were working through Stitzel-Weller bottles and someone lit up a Diesel Whiskey Row. The combination made immediate sense.

Six years of aging, a Connecticut shade wrapper, and a Nicaraguan heart — Perdomo figured out how to make approachable feel premium. At under $10, this is the value pick.

The Oliva Serie O lives in the shadow of the Serie V — which is a shame, because this Nicaraguan puro earns its keep on its own terms. Reviewed.

Orlando Padron started with nothing and built the most consistent cigar dynasty in the Americas. The 1000 Series is where that story begins — and it earns every bit of its reputation.

Named after Columbus's discovery of tobacco, the New World is AJ Fernandez's love letter to bold Nicaraguan puros—and at $7, it's the most generous love letter you'll ever receive.

Cigar Aficionado's #1 Best Value Cigar has no business tasting this good at this price. Foundation's Charter Oak Habano is the cigar equivalent of finding a Michelin-star meal at a diner.

A consigliere tells you the truth when no one else will. The CAO Consigliere Soldato reviewed — full-bodied Nicaraguan power with a restraint that earns the title.

The Montecristo brand traces to 1935 Havana. The White Series carries the name with full justification — a mild, elegant Connecticut shade cigar that's the obvious next step after the Macanudo.

Before Padron built its legend on the 1926 and 1964 series, they built the reputation that funded both: honest Nicaraguan tobacco, honest construction, honest price. The 2000 Natural is the foundation.

Eight years of aging on the filler tobaccos. A Connecticut shade wrapper that forgives everything. The result is a mild cigar with a depth that takes most beginners completely by surprise.

Oliva took Nicaraguan filler — the same core tobacco behind some of the industry's most complex full-bodied cigars — and wrapped it in Ecuadorian Connecticut shade. The result is a mild cigar with a structural confidence most mild cigars lack.

The entry point to one of the great cigar dynasties — and a genuinely excellent medium-bodied smoke in its own right. The Fuente Gran Reserva Churchill reviewed.

Sun-grown wrapper does things shade-grown tobacco cannot — the Rocky Patel Sun Grown Robusto makes the case with leather, dried fruit, and a draw that earns your trust.

Brazil rarely gets credit in the cigar world. The CAO Brazilia Amazon makes the case for mata fina wrapper — and it starts with a label that makes you pick it up.

You have 40 minutes. Maybe less. Here is what you should be smoking — the H. Upmann Half Corona reviewed.

All tobacco from a single farm plot, aged five years, and priced at $8. If that sounds too good to be true, welcome to the Perdomo Lot 23 Maduro—the cigar that makes the entire industry look overpriced.

Connecticut cigars have a reputation problem—too mild, too boring, too forgettable. Drew Estate's Undercrown Shade dismantles every one of those assumptions with creamy, nuanced elegance.

The most recommended beginner cigar in history. Not the most complex. Not the most exciting. But the most reliably good and least likely to ruin someone's first experience with premium tobacco.

One of the most recognized names in cigars earns its reputation the old-fashioned way — with consistent, honest tobacco. The Romeo y Julieta 1875 Toro reviewed.

A $6 cigar that does not apologize for being $6. The Perdomo Champagne Natural Robusto is the smoke for when you want to enjoy without overthinking.

Is the Cohiba Robusto the greatest cigar ever made, or the most overhyped? After fighting through counterfeits, inconsistency, and eye-watering prices, we finally have our answer.

The name dates to 19th-century Havana. The cigar dates to the Dominican Republic's finest factories. At $7 a stick, it's the low-risk, high-history introduction to premium cigars.

The after-dinner cigar for people who find most cigars too aggressive. Baccarat The Game Robusto reviewed — mild, sweet, and unapologetically easy.