10 Cigars To Smoke This Fourth Of July
The Fourth of July means a weekend full of fireworks, barbecues and, of course, cigars. To help celebrate America’s 249th birthday, our editors looked through our extensive database of more than 23,000 cigar ratings to bring you a list of 10 recently rated, high-scoring cigars that are either made in the good old U.S.A., or incorporate a piece of it as part of its blend. One even comes from our most recent Top 25 list. Feel free to light up one (or all) this Independence Day weekend.
La Aroma de Cuba Robusto (94 points, $7.25)
Introduced in 2003, the La Aroma de Cuba brand now has sprouted multiple offshoots, but the original still has plenty to offer. Its combination of Nicaraguan binder and filler held together by a dark leaf of Connecticut broadleaf delivers opulent notes of toasted chestnut and peanut with underlying mineral and licorice flourishes. Scoring 94 points and retailing for just a quarter more than $7, this is an absolute bargain. See full tasting note.
Tatuaje Reserva A Uno (94 points, $24)
Cigars come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and few are more intriguing than the mammoth “A”—a size rarely seen in today’s market. Made at the El Rey de Los Habanos factory in Miami, this cigar measures 9 1/4 inches by 47 ring gauge, making it one of the longest cigars you’ll ever see. How long? If you light this one up the same time as you fire up the grill it might still be burning when the fireworks start going off. It’s a full-bodied smoke with flavors of espresso, leather and red-pepper spice, and also is the No. 25 Cigar of 2024. See full tasting note.
Southern Draw Jacob’s Ladder Brimstone Lonsdale (93 points, $10)
Made with a pigtail cap, this box-pressed corona from veteran-owned Southern Draw Cigars features a broadleaf wrapper and binder both hailing from the Keystone State. Every puff is as bold and satisfying as its dark wrapper suggests with a spicy licorice character intertwining with notes of coffee, leather and dark chocolate. See full tasting note.
Don Pepin Garcia Original Invictos (92 points, $10)
Popularly known as Don Pepin Blue Label, this robusto is from Don Pepin Garcia’s debut brand. It’s rolled in Miami at El Rey de Los Habanos and consists entirely of leaves from Nicaragua, including the Corojo wrapper. Drawing and burning evenly, this robusto is earthy at the start but evolves with rich, sweet notes of fresh tobacco, wood and a bit of honey on the finish. See full tasting note.
E.P. Carrillo Pledge of Allegiance 2024 (91 points, $22)
Ernesto Perez-Carrillo originally released this box-pressed toro in 2023 to celebrate immigrants (he emigrated to the United States from Cuba at seven years old) and America’s independence. The result is a cigar with a heavy emphasis on American tobaccos with Connecticut broadleaf serving as both the wrapper and part of the filler, along with some Pennsylvania broadleaf as well. (Note that the 2025 edition has a slightly different blend, although it still has plenty of American component tobaccos.) See full tasting note.
Liga Privada T52 Corona Doble (91 points, $20)
Drew Estate’s Liga Privada brand is prized for its notable strength. The power of this 7-by-54 Churchill is driven by a dark, Cuban-seed Connecticut wrapper that has been stalk-cut—meaning the entire plant is chopped, then speared and hung in a barn, allowing for a longer curing process. The boldness comes through every puff, which is full of leather and licorice, melding with hints of coconut and vanilla before the coffee-like finish. See full tasting note.
Redemption by El Titan de Bronze Robusto (91 points, $16.99)
El Titan de Bronze is a tiny cigar factory in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, founded in 1995 by Sandy Cobas. It's one of the few American factories still rolling cigars today. Redemption is a cigar that has been on the market for some time, but this is a new version released in 2024 with a new blend consisting of a sun-grown, Ecuador Habano wrapper, Nicaraguan binder from Estelí and Nicaraguan filler from Estelí and Jalapa. The smoke starts off floral, with a minty undertone. Touches of spicy ginger and orange peel precede the piney finish. See full tasting note.
La Palina Family Series Miami Pasha Coffin (90 points, $25)
When it launched back in 2010, the La Palina Family Series was made in the Bahamas, but starting in 2015 production moved to El Titan de Bronze, with a new blend of Ecuadoran and Nicaraguan leaves. An exposed portion of the foot allows the flavors of the binder and filler to shine through before the wrapper takes light. Once the wrapper comes into play, the initial strength mellows a bit, turning cedary with impressions of vanilla and cashew before a finish of black tea. Each cigar comes in a protective wooden coffin, ensuring your smokes stay safe journeying to the barbecue. See full tasting note.
La Aurora 107 USA Belicoso (89 points, $11.75)
The 107 series was launched in 2010 to celebrate 107 years in business and each line highlights a specific wrapper leaf. Recently, the Maduro line was rebranded as 107 USA and is clad in a dark Connecticut broadleaf cover leaf, with some Pennsylvania broadleaf making up part of the filler. The smoke has a bready, toasty quality that calls to mind stepping into a bakery with secondary impressions of herbs, mint and wood. See full tasting note.
The American Churchill (89 points, $20.30)
If you like to buy American, this might be the Fourth of July cigar for you. Everything about this smoke—from the tobacco blend to its packaging and where it is made—is American. It’s rolled at the El Reloj factory in Tampa, Florida, with a wrapper grown in Florida by Corona Cigar’s Jeff Borysiewicz. The broadleaf binder is from Connecticut and the fillers are Connecticut Habano with some Pennsylvanian tobacco grown by the Mennonites. Made in a 7-by-47 Churchill, it’s an earthy, woody smoke that turns spicy before the nutty finish. See full tasting note.
