Cigars have always been my passion since the day I smoked my first cigar, it was a Cuban Montecristo #2 purchased in Havana, Cuba. The flavors, the history, the perfect and obsessive craftsmanship of people who grow, cure, blend, and roll leaves of tobacco into something that has the ability to stop time and to make you enjoy the moment and forget everything around you.
I have passionately followed the industry trends, learning about the process and discovering different varieties of tobacco grown all across the World.
Allow me to take you on a journey, getting to know some of the most luxurious and expensive cigars and also smaller, so-called boutique cigar companies that make some of the best cigars there on a market.
Luxury cigar brands have been around for decades. They continue to release and impress consumers with the best of the best.
First, Davidoff is my top ‘special occasion’ cigar; Their lines vary from $15 to $80 MSRP and more for a single cigar. They are made from best tobacco, carefully aged, and rolled in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Davidoff’s Signature Line is one of my favorites. It’s a mild, yet complex blend with earthy, woody and soft notes that any novice cigar smoker would appreciate and enjoy.
Padrón is another luxury cigar brand, that on contrary to Davidoff, would blow your socks off. Padrón was Cuban refugee who escaped Cuba under Castro and established his company which is known for blending some of the best and most complex body cigars. The 1964 Anniversary Series has been consistently the best when it comes to flavor and impeccable attention to detail. This line was released to commemorate the company’s 30th anniversary and is produced from very limited tobacco that is aged for four years creating smooth, rich, chewy smoke experience with a ton of complexity. It comes with a hefty price tag too. All tobacco is grown and rolled by the Padron family in Nicaragua and Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series Torpedo cigar was the number one cigar of 2021 for Cigar Afficionado Magazine.
In recent years, there have been more “boutique” cigar companies breaking all the norms by blending not only Nicaraguan, Dominican and Honduran tobaccos, but incorporating USA-grown Pennsylvanian Broadleaf, Mexican San Andreas, various African and other tobaccos from across the Word creating blends that not only taste like luxury cigars but are given attention to every blend to be the best of what it can be.
Caldwell Anastasia cigar, an owner’s passion project, is luscious, luxurious and a rare smoke with cream, caramel, cedar, spice and leather notes, perfectly balanced to give the experience that is second to none.
Tomas Zilinskis
Casdagli Cigars is another brand that aims to offer unique sense of luxury, tradition and unforgettable experience with every draw. Cigars are produced in Kelner Boutique Factory operated by Hendrik Kelner Jr of the famous Kelner family of Master blenders. The Traditional Line cigars have been inspired by lavish life led in Egypt by Casdagli family the early 1900s combining tobaccos from Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Peru. This is a one-of-a kind smoking experience, being full-bodied but mild in strength with dark chocolate, coffee and sweetness.
Our journey will continue next issue. Light up, enjoy, and until next time, cheers.
By Tomas Zilinskis