The Best Cigars of 2025
It’s a natural pursuit—seeking out the best. Separating the good from the bad, the extraordinary from the mundane is our mandate at Cigar Aficionado, and every issue contains reviews of cigars conducted by our editors. It’s a blind taste test, which meanswhen an editor reviews a cigar he doesn’t know where the cigar is made, how much is costs, the blend of tobaccos inside or the factory in which it was made. It’s how our tastings have been done since our first issue, in 1992.
The cigars that follow in this Top 25 are ones that not only scored well throughout the year (92 points or higher, either in this magazine or in our newsletter Cigar Insider) but ones that excelled in an additional blind taste test conducted just for this Top 25. They have all shown to be superb, consistently excellent cigars that are worthy of a place in your humidor.
1 - 2025 Cigar of the Year - Padrón 60th Anniversary Perfecto (97 points)
If time travel were a reality, a curious cigar smoker could make the voyage back to September 1964 and walk into an extremely modest cigar factory in Miami’s Little Havana. He would see two men, one of them rolling cigars, the other the owner of the tiny operation. The cigars for sale cost a quarter apiece. There was no hint at what was to become of this quite small undertaking, no clue that this nascent brand would one day be among the world’s best-known and most critically-acclaimed cigars.
That owner was José Orlando Padrón, a man who grew up on a tobacco farm in Pinar del Río, Cuba. He was raised around cigars, and his grandmother had a little table in the house where she would roll cigars for the family, using the tobacco leaves they grew. When he was seven, he had his first job in the fields, cleaning the seedbeds. Hard work would be a part of his entire life. He left Cuba in 1961 for a better life, going first to Spain, and later to the United States. He worked various jobs until 1964, when he opened that small factory. It’s possible not even he could have imagined how successful that company would become.
The brand he created more than six decades ago now stands, once again, on top of the cigar world. Today, his descendants, led by his son Jorge, run the company. And as the 60th anniversary of the brand approached, Jorge and his team set out to make a commemorative cigar. It’s superb.
The Padrón 60th Anniversary Perfecto is only the second perfecto shape the Padróns have ever commercially released. Perfectos are not easy to roll, tapering at both the head and the foot. This particular one is a delight to the eye, graceful in its curvature, with a chocolate brown wrapper. When you light one up, you might become wide-eyed at the intensity of flavor that immediately hits your palate. It’s a rich smoke, stronger than many Padróns. Once you work your way through the narrow foot, the draw opens up and the flavor parade truly begins. Here comes malted milk. Next, the creamy coffee like a café au lait, then the chocolate. It’s one of those tremendous cigars that reveals a bit more of itself as it slowly burns, inch by inch, and just keeps getting better. It’s considerably hard to put one down.
—David Savona
Made By: Padrón Cigars Inc.
Factory Location: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Dimensions: 6 1/2" by 56
Strength: Medium-Full
Price: $75.00
2 - Cohiba Ambar (97 points)
Cuba has been cultivating an aura of mystique and luxury around Cohiba that was first set aglow in the 1960s when the brand was only available as a diplomatic gift from Fidel Castro himself. It’s now perhaps the most recognizable cigar brand in the world—even those who don’t smoke cigars know what a Cohiba is—and has been commercially available since the 1980s. According to Habanos S.A., which owns and distributes all Cuban cigars globally, Cohiba is special for two primary reasons. Firstly, the tobacco comes from Cuba’s top five farms, dubbed “the selection of the selection.” Secondly, some of the filler is put through an additional fermentation in barrels, a step that most other Cuban tobacco does not undergo.
Released in 2024, Ambar (box date: March 2025) is one of the newest Cohibas to come out of Cuba and it stunned us with its body, balance and resonance. The unique 53 ring gauge ended up being a very effective thickness to communicate all that the Cohiba blend has to offer: a bold core of oak and caramel surrounded by creamy, precise almond notes and an elegant fruit finish. The pigtail cap is a nod to the Lancero, the very first cigar to ever bear the Cohiba name.
—Gregory Mottola
Made By: Habanos S.A.
Factory Location: Cuba
Wrapper: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Dimensions: 5 1/4" by 53
Strength: Medium-Full
Price: £74.60
3 - Tatuaje Black Petite Lancero (96 points)
Some people are born into the cigar business. Pete Johnson began making cigars because he loved them.
Before he created the Tatuaje brand more than 20 years ago, Johnson worked in cigar shops, from Gus’ Smoke Shop to The Grand Havana Room in Beverly Hills. He learned the business and smoked cigar after cigar. One day, when he was on a trip to Cuba, he smoked a farm-rolled cigar that simply blew him away. His Tatuaje Black brand is inspired by that farm cigar.
Tatuaje Black is entirely Nicaraguan, rolled in Nicaragua by the Garcia family and My Father Cigars, the company that makes all Tatuajes. When Johnson first made Tatuaje Black, he kept them all for himself, but thankfully now the brand is widely available.
This is not a big cigar (it’s skinny, only a 38 ring gauge) but it has enormous flavor. Sweet in spots (you might think of s’mores around a campfire) and tannic in others (heavy on the oak), it may leave you wondering how such a small smoke can deliver so much flavor.
Tatuajes have been on our Top 25 list again and again, but this is the first time one has ranked so high.
—David Savona
Made By: My Father Cigars S.A.
Factory Location: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Dimensions: 5" by 38
Strength: Medium
Price: $8.50
4 - Cuesta-Rey Centro Fino Sungrown Pyramid No. 9 (95 points)
Legend has it that the Cuesta-Rey brand was once the official cigar of the King of Spain. That was in the late 1800s, back when it was made with Cuban tobacco. The brand eventually ended up in the hands of J.C. Newman Cigar Co., Tampa’s oldest cigarmaker, and today it’s produced in the Dominican Republic by Arturo Fuente. It wasn’t until 2002 that J.C. Newman created the Centro Fino Sungrown line, looking to add a bolder blend to the Cuesta-Rey portfolio.
The name references the Sumatra-seed wrapper from Ecuador. “Sungrown” refers to the tobacco grown out in the open sunlight, which makes the leaf stronger and darker. “Centro Fino” is the middle of the tobacco plant from where the tobacco was culled. Too high on the stalk and the tobacco is too dark. Too low and the leaf is too light. J.C. Newman likens the central part of the plant to a center cut of beef—more even in shape, texture and overall consistency. We loved the Pyramid No. 9 for its ability to convey rich, nutty layers with every puff, all accented by notes of honey, nougat, chocolate and a big, buttery cashew finish.
—Gregory Mottola
Made By: Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia.
Factory Location: Dom. Rep.
Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: Dom. Rep.
Filler: Dom. Rep.
Dimensions: 6 1/4" by 52
Strength: Medium-Full
Price: $11.45
5 - Trinidad Espíritu Series No. 3 Belicoso (95 points)
The Cuban Trinidad brand has been positioned internationally as a prestigious luxury cigar. In the United States, the brand has been a bit of a sleeper—that is, until recent years. The trademark for U.S. sale and distribution is owned by Altadis U.S.A., and the company has made some very smart decisions in its effort to bolster Trinidad’s image. In charge of the task was Rafael Nodal, vice president of product capability for Altadis U.S.A.’s parent company, Tabacalera USA. He brought some excitement to the brand by jazzing up the packaging and turning the line into a series, each one made with a different wrapper. The Espíritu Series No. 3 features Mexican San Andrés cover leaf.
To make it all work, Nodal turned to A.J. Fernandez in Nicaragua, who not only grows the tobacco in the country’s fertile regions, but produces the cigars as well. Mexican wrapper leaf and Nicaraguan tobacco tend to blend well together, and you see the combination in many premium cigars. This was especially true for the Trinidad Espíritu Series No. 3 Belicoso, a harmonious assemblage of leaf that produces a dense and hearty smoke beautifully balanced by sweet aspects of toasted vanilla, nougat, brown sugar and toffee.
—Gregory Mottola
Made By: San Lotano Cigars S.A.
Factory Location: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Mexico
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Dimensions: 6 1/8" by 52
Strength: Medium-Full
Price: $13.19
6 - Rocky Patel Emerald Robusto (95 Points)
Rocky Patel has built his company into one of the cigar world’s most recognized brands, one that now counts its annual production in the tens of millions. His brands seem to improve each year. One of his most recent, the Emerald, enchanted our blind-tasting panel.
Like many Rocky Patel cigars, the Emerald is box pressed, but he intentionally blended this one a little less powerful than he typically does for box-pressed cigars. (He calls it “on the light side of medium.”)
The Rocky Patel Emerald hit the market at the very end of 2024. The cigar is rolled in Patel’s factory in Nicaragua with a complex blend that’s not mild but not strong either, landing somewhere in between, offering a flavor profile that isn’t overpowering and very easy to love.
While most cigars have one binder leaf, this one has two of them, one from Mexico and the other Nicaraguan. The filler is a mix of Honduran and Nicaraguan tobacco, and it’s all held together by an Ecuadoran wrapper. The result is lots of ground coffee, leather and hickory notes, with just a touch of spicy black pepper.
Price is not taken into consideration when we rate cigars (the reviewers don’t know the price, producer, blend or any other potentially prejudicial detail) but with cigar prices trending ever higher, seeing one that performs this well for less than $12 is considerably appealing.
—David Savona
Made By: Tabacalera Villa Cuba S.A.
Factory Location: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: Mexico, Nicaragua
Filler: Honduras, Nicaragua
Dimensions: 5 1/2" by 50
Strength: Medium-Full
Price: $11.75
7 - Nasser The Goat By A.J. Fernandez Toro (95 points)
When you think of cigars and the tobacco-growing countries they come from, it’s unlikely that Haiti comes to mind, and yet, this island nation is at the center of Nasser The Goat By A.J. Fernandez. The cigar started as a retailer exclusive for Nasser’s Cigar Lounge in Pétion-Ville outside of Haiti’s capital city. Word eventually got out and A.J. Fernandez started offering The Goat to the U.S. market. We’re certainly glad he did. With the exception of the Mexican San Andrés wrapper, all the tobacco in The Goat was grown in Nicaragua by Fernandez.
His farms in Estelí tend to produce some pretty powerful leaves, but this cigar leans more toward sweetness than strength—not that this is a mild smoke. Far from it, but there is plenty of finesse and harmony here. The thoughtful blend from Estelí, Condega and Jalapa combines with the Mexican wrapper for a delightfully complex profile of chocolate-covered almonds, vanilla, earth and coffee. It builds to a fancy finish of raisin and coconut rum cake. Fernandez makes cigars for other companies, many of which appear frequently on the Top 25 list, but this is the first year that an A.J. Fernandez-branded cigar has made it to the Top 10.
—Gregory Mottola
Made By: Tabacalera A.J. Fernandez Cigars
Factory Location: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Mexico
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Dimensions: 6" by 52
Strength: Medium-Full
Price: $16.00
8 - Diplomaticos Genios Exclusivo Phoenicia (95 points)
Diplomaticos is probably not the first name to come up in conversation when discussing Cuban cigars. Or even the second or third. It’s one of Cuba’s lesser-known cigar brands as well as one of its newer creations, first sold in 1966, after the revolution. It began as a doppelgänger of sorts to Montecristo, mimicking the famous brand size for size, from No. 1 to No. 5. Today, most of those sizes in the Diplomaticos line are gone, and you see the brand most often as a Regional Edition cigar, including this one, which debuted in early 2025.
We usually don’t consider Regional Editions for our Top 25 because their distribution is so limited. But this Diplomaticos Genios (which has a retail price of $29 and a box date of September 2024) is made for Phoenicia Trading A.A. in Cyprus, which is one of the world’s largest Cuban cigar distributors. The company’s reach is massive, spanning many countries, making this limited edition not quite as limited as others.
Light one up and you’re instantly rewarded with big flavor, starting with a bit of sweetness (caramel, peaches, autumn apples) complemented by the tannins of tea, cigar box and earth. It comes in numbered cabinets of 50 (4,000 were produced), and when you have one, you’ll want to reach into that big box again and again.
—David Savona
Made By: Habanos S.A.
Factory Location: Cuba
Wrapper: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Dimensions: 5 1/2" by 52
Strength: Medium-Full
Price: $29.00
9 - Fuente Fuente OpusX Angel's Share Reserva d'Chateau (95 points)
The story of Fuente’s OpusX line is now cigar legend. It was the cigar that everyone said couldn’t be done. It was a cigar of defiance and determination. And now, 30 years after its release, the cigar is as relevant today as it was when it first came onto the scene. What makes it unusual is the Dominican wrapper. The Dominican Republic had never been known for producing wrapper-quality tobacco, but Carlos “Carlito” Fuente Jr. set out to change that when a Parisian retailer dismissed him as being a mere “assembler of tobaccos” and not a cigarmaker producing true blends of origin. He eventually found the right seeds and the right plot of land, now dubbed Chateau de La Fuente. While OpusX is a strong cigar full of leather and spice, Angel’s Share is a milder version. The wrappers are lighter in color, as they were taken from the middle of the tobacco plant rather than the top, resulting in a leaf that isn’t as strong or as dark due to less sun exposure. This blend puts sweet notes of licorice, wood and baking spices in the spotlight, along with touches of leather and a charming intonation of honey flecked with red pepper flakes—a subtle, spicy reminder that we’re still smoking an OpusX.
—Gregory Mottola
Made By: Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia.
Factory Location: Dom. Rep.
Wrapper: Dom. Rep.
Binder: Dom. Rep.
Filler: Dom. Rep.
Dimensions: 7" by 48
Strength: Medium
Price: $24.37
10 - Ferio Tego Timeless Supreme 650 (95 points)
The Ferio Tego brand is relatively new in the cigar world. The market is filled with brands that have been around for decades (some even more than a century), but Ferio Tego didn’t appear until 2021. It’s a passion project, born of a partnership between Michael Herklots and Brendon Scott, who previously worked together at Nat Sherman International. Nat Sherman was a venerable New York City cigar shop dating back to 1930. Herklots was brought on to invigorate and rework the company’s cigar blends, which he did in 2011. But Nat Sherman was sold in 2017 to a cigarette giant, and in September 2020, the company folded the cigar operations and closed the iconic Nat Sherman Townhouse in midtown Manhattan. Herklots and Scott (formerly the CFO of Nat Sherman) decided to bring those cigar brands back under a new name called Ferio Tego.
Timeless was one of the former Nat Sherman cigars that became part of the new Ferio Tego umbrella. This particular cigar, made by the Plasencia family in Nicaragua, is one of its newest sizes, a toro shape added in the fall of 2024. Beautiful in appearance, and made entirely from Nicaraguan tobacco leaves, the smoke is strong, resonant and memorable. Notes of rich toffee, cocoa powder and toasty marshmallow come together in harmony, with a big and nutty finish.
—David Savona
Made By: Plasencia Cigars S.A.
Factory Location: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Dimensions: 6" by 50
Strength: Medium-Full
Price: $12.25
11 - Liga Privada T52 Corona Viva (95 points)
Drew Estate was once only known for “infused” cigars but that changed in 2007 with Liga Privada No. 9, Spanish for “private blend.” Prized for its power, Liga Privada was expanded in 2009 with the T52 line, which retains No. 9’s internal tobacco blend but swaps the Connecticut broadleaf wrapper for dark Connecticut Habano that has been stalk-cut—meaning the entire plant is chopped, then speared and hung in a barn. Liga Privada’s signature power is condensed in this slim Corona Viva, densely layered with notes of earth and caramel and enlivened by baking spices such as cinnamon and clove before a finish of malt and stewed white raisin.
—Thomas Pappalardo
Made By: La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate
Factory Location: Nicaragua
Wrapper: U.S.A./Conn. Habano
Binder: Brazil
Filler: Honduras, Nicaragua
Dimensions: 6" by 46
Strength: Medium-Full
Price: $16.25
12 - Macanudo Emissary France Churchill (95 points)
General Cigar Co. has diversified its Macanudo portfolio far beyond the popular, yet mild, Macanudo Café line, which is often synonymous with the brand. Take Macanudo Emissary France, released in 2025 as a follow-up to Macanudo Emissary España. Like the España, Emissary France is made from a blend defined by uncommon tobacco: filler leaf from southwestern France. The remaining fillers are a combination of Connecticut broadleaf, Dominican Piloto and Brazilian Arapiraca, held together by a broadleaf binder and an Ecuador Habano wrapper. The unique blend shines in this Churchill, a dark cigar that marries bold notes of leather and black pepper with sweeter impressions of coffee bean and cocoa.
—Garrett Rutledge
Made By: Honduras American Tabaco S.A.
Factory Location: Honduras
Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: U.S.A./Conn. Broadleaf
Filler: Brazil, Dom. Rep., France, U.S.A.
Dimensions: 7" by 48
Strength: Medium-Full
Price: $16.99
13 - La Flor Dominicana 30 Years Chisel (95 points)
In 1994, Litto Gomez and Ines Lorenzo-Gomez opened a cigar factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic. It was a new venture for them, and their first cigars were very mild. Three decades after, the couple is still in the cigar business, and they have built a reputation for making full-bodied blends. The company grows its own tobacco, hearty Dominican leaf strengthened and tested by the dry, hot and windy climate of La Canela. That powerful tobacco is an ingredient in this chisel-shaped figurado, along with some aged binder leaf from Cotuí, Dominican Republic, and a wrapper of Ecuadoran Sumatra. The result is rich, opulent smoke layered in leather, coffee and coconut, with some clove that scents the long finish.
—David Savona
Made By: Tabacalera La Flor S.A.
Factory Location: Dom. Rep.
Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: Dom. Rep.
Filler: Dom. Rep.
Dimensions: 6 1/2" by 58
Strength: Medium
Price: $30.00
14 - Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Concerto Impromptu (95 points)
Rafael Nodal and A.J. Fernandez have a knack for making magic together. The duo has collaborated on many high-performing smokes, including 2019’s Cigar of the Year. Nodal, brand owner of Aging Room, joined forces with the Nicaraguan cigarmaker once again to craft the Concerto line, the third blend in the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua series. The box-pressed, double-tapered Impromptu is wrapped in a hybrid leaf of Criollo ’98 tobacco, and shows a peppery core with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and orange peel before the spicy finish.
—Garrett Rutledge
Made By: Tabacalera A.J. Fernandez Cigars
Factory Location: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Dimensions: 6" by 52
Strength: Medium-Full
Price: $17.08
15 - Davidoff Millennium Blend Series Piramides (95 points)
To kickstart the new millennium, Davidoff of Geneva released a one-off series of commemorative Millennium perfectos. In 2001, Davidoff followed up with the Millennium Blend Series and the brand continues to impress more than two decades later. According to Davidoff, the company blenders smoked 300 different versions before settling on the final cigar. The star here is the wrapper, a proprietary hybrid leaf grown in Ecuador that Davidoff refers to as “151.” Cigars from the Millennium Blend Series are darker than typical Davidoffs, and stronger too, especially the Piramides, which offers a richly layered array of maple candy, coffee bean and dark chocolate tones. Hints of oak and mocha beautifully frame the baking spice finish.
—Thomas Pappalardo
Made By: Cigars Davidoff
Factory Location: Dom. Rep.
Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: Dom. Rep.
Filler: Dom. Rep.
Dimensions: 6 1/8" by 52
Strength: Medium-Full
Price: $36.30
16 - Gellis Family Cigars Saunter (95 points)
Since Kyle Gellis started Warped Cigars, his smokes have frequently placed on our Top 25 list, most recently taking the No. 23 spot last year. In 2024, the cigarmaker expanded his operation, creating a new company that bears his family name, known as Gellis Family Cigars. The family label started with two brands, and one excelled in our blind tastings. Called Saunter, the single-size line consists of a robusto with a Connecticut-seed wrapper from Ecuador, Ecuadoran binder and filler from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, where the cigar is produced. Saunter delivers a balanced, hearty profile with a nutty core that’s supplemented by some woody undercurrents and a reverberating sweetness.
—Garrett Rutledge
Made By: Tabacalera La Isla
Factory Location: Dom. Rep.
Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: Ecuador
Filler: Dom. Rep., Nicaragua
Dimensions: 5 1/4" by 48
Strength: Medium
Price: $15.00
17 - Viaje Fifteen Plus Two And A Half Anniversary Silver (95 points)
Birthday celebrations in the cigar world are not uncommon, but they normally fall on even-numbered years. Viaje wanted to do something different. Its Fifteen Plus Two and a Half Anniversary Silver not only celebrates an odd anniversary in the company’s history (17 years in business), but was also the best Viaje we’ve smoked in recent history. This box-pressed toro is produced by Aganorsa Leaf in Nicaragua and covered in a Nicaraguan Criollo wrapper. The cigar is as festive in flavor as it is in theme, as this is a nutty smoke with notes of gingerbread, caramel and Christmas cake. Touches of candied orange peel and nutmeg precede the buttercream finish.
—Gregory Mottola
Made By: Aganorsa Leaf
Factory Location: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Dimensions: 6" by 54
Strength: Medium-Full
Price: $16.32
18 - Oliva Serie V Melanio Maduro Robusto (94 points)
When Oliva Cigar Co. released Serie V in 2007, the brand was not only the company’s most full-bodied offering to date, but it showcased the complexity of Nicaraguan tobacco. The V stands for vigoroso, or “strong” in Spanish. Serie V evolved in 2012 with the Melanio line, an elegantly blended cigar in an Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper. The box-pressed Maduro line takes Melanio into darker territory with a Mexican wrapper. It gives the cigar an alternative yet equally polished character that’s clearly rendered in the Robusto size, which shows a core of dark chocolate, raisin and caramel underscored by a mineral quality from first puff to last.
—Thomas Pappalardo
Made By: Tabacalera Oliva S.A. (Tabolisa)
Factory Location: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Dimensions: 5" by 52
Strength: Medium
Price: $13.20
19 - Sancho Panza Belicoso (94 points)
While Cuban brands such as Cohiba or Montecristo are quite well-known to even novices in the cigar world, Sancho Panza might be new for some. It’s understandable as it’s not only a very small brand in the Habanos portfolio but it comes in only one regular-production size, the Belicoso. Despite this small share of the marketplace, its approachable price point and assertive strength have cemented its place in the hearts of aficionados. Every puff of this small belicoso (box date: April 2025) is powerful, yet intensely dessert-like, carrying decadently sandwiched layers of chocolate, honey-roasted peanut and toffee, sprinkled with assorted dried fruits such as cherry, raisin and fig.
—Thomas Pappalardo
Made By: Habanos S.A.
Factory Location: Cuba
Wrapper: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Dimensions: 5 1/2" by 52
Strength: Medium-Full
Price: £34.30
20 - OneOff Black Toro (94 points)
A cult cigar of the early aughts, OneOff disappeared for a while, making a brief, rather undignified act as a catalog brand. In 2018, OneOff was purchased and restored (one could even say rescued) by Dion Giolito of Illusione Cigars. He’s done a splendid job, especially with the OneOff Black Toro, a size that was released last summer. The brand used to be called Black & Tan but was recently shortened to simply Black. Giolito says OneOff Black is made with a tobacco type practically uncultivated in Nicaragua, but says no more. Less of a secret is the cigar’s brilliant, sweet-and-spicy array of marzipan, white pepper, leather and hearty grains.
—Gregory Mottola
Made By: Aganorsa Leaf
Factory Location: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Dimensions: 6" by 52
Strength: Medium-Full
Price: $17.60
21 - C.L.E. Maduro 50x5 (94 points)
Christian Eiroa started C.L.E. in 2012, four years after he and his family sold the Camacho brand to Davidoff. Eiroa recently revamped his flagship C.L.E. brand, paring down the cigar lines to be named after their wrappers. He also introduced a new line called C.L.E. Maduro, which debuted in late spring of 2025. It retains the same core blend as the other flagship cigars, with Honduran binder and filler tobaccos from Colombia and Honduras. But unlike its counterparts, it’s finished with a dark Mexican San Andrés wrapper. The 50x5 is a full-bodied smoke with a spicy core of red pepper, cinnamon and ginger that’s supplemented by hints of leather and hearty wood.
—Garrett Rutledge
Made By: Tabacalera C.L.E. S.A.
Factory Location: Honduras
Wrapper: Mexico
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Colombia, Honduras
Dimensions: 5" by 50
Strength: Full
Price: $11.06
22 - Olmec Maduro Grande (94 points)
Nick Melillo has a passion for history, which is evident across the brands in his Foundation Cigar Co. portfolio. Take his Olmec line, which honors the ancient Olmec civilization of Mesoamerica, which once ruled over Mexico’s San Andrés region, nowadays known for superb maduro wrapper. Olmec debuted in 2022 and is made by A.J. Fernandez in Nicaragua, with a Claro and Maduro variety, the latter made with wrapper from San Andrés. The Olmec Maduro Grande caught the attention of our tasting panel this year. This strong and complex cigar delivers rich layers of earth, spice and coffee bean that harmonize before a black cherry finish.
—Garrett Rutledge
Made By: Tabacalera A.J. Fernandez Cigars
Factory Location: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Mexico
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Dimensions: 6" by 60
Strength: Full
Price: $16.96
23 - La Aroma de Cuba Robusto (93 points)
Since its launch in 2003, Ashton Distributor’s La Aroma de Cuba brand has expanded over the years with multiple offshoots for all different tastes and styles but sometimes you just can’t beat the original. Made in Nicaragua by My Father Cigars, this Robusto from the core line is composed of a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper draped over Nicaraguan binders and fillers. The smoke is as strong as it is complex with its ample draw and burn delivering opulent notes of roasted peanut and toasted chestnut, along with some intriguing hints of licorice and minerals adding further dimension. Plus, with a price tag of only $7.25 apiece, it’s an absolute steal.
—Thomas Pappalardo
Made By: My Father Cigars S.A.
Factory Location: Nicaragua
Wrapper: U.S.A. Conn./Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Dimensions: 5 1/4" by 54
Strength: Full
Price: $7.25
24 - La Aurora Family Creed Series Fuerte Sol Robusto (93 points)
When you’ve been in the cigar business for more than 120 years, it’s a delicate process balancing tradition with modernity. One of La Aurora’s newest creations is Fuerte Sol, the first of the four-part Family Creed Series, which intends to appeal to the modern smoker but honor the company’s storied past. The name Fuerte Sol (“strong sun”) is inspired by the motto of the León family that runs the company: “We are a proud family of rural origin, forged with persistent work under a strong sun.” That hard work certainly paid off in the Robusto, which offers an assortment of oak, nuts and leather that crescendos with a delicious note of caramel on the finish.
—Thomas Pappalardo
Made By: La Aurora S.A.
Factory Location: Dom. Rep.
Wrapper: Mexico
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Dom. Rep., Nicaragua, U.S.A./Penn. Broadleaf
Dimensions: 5" by 50
Strength: Medium-Full
Price: $15.50
25 - Aladino 85 Aniversario Reserva Toro (93 points)
Aladino is a smaller cigar brand that has been on the market for nearly 10 years. It was created by industry veteran Julio Eiroa, who’s known for bringing Cuban Corojo-seed tobacco to the Jamastran Valley in Honduras. The brand’s 85th Aniversario line—named for Eiroa’s 85th birthday, not the age of the brand—debuted earlier this year with a Robusto and Toro size. The line was originally meant to celebrate his 80th birthday, but the company waited until Eiroa felt the blend was right, and it appears to be a wise decision. The Toro, a Honduran puro, is a comforting smoke, with notes of almond paste and baking spices before a long finish reminiscent of a freshly baked cookie.
—Garrett Rutledge
Made By: Fabrica de Puros Aladino S.A.
Factory Location: Honduras
Wrapper: Honduras
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Honduras
Dimensions: 6" by 52
Strength: Medium
Price: $20.00
