Top 10 Cigars on a Budget
Buying cigars on a budget is second nature for Holt’s customers. One of the biggest reasons cigar lovers are loyal to Holt’s is our unbeatable everyday low prices on just about any brand you can imagine. When you’re looking for a recommendation that falls within your price range, here are some of our bestselling cigars starting around $5 apiece. We’ve also included a few bundles and house brands that are even cheaper. Even though many of us shell out $20 or more for a high-end handmade on occasion, we probably don’t do it three times a day. Finding the best budget cigars is essential for sharing a box with your pals or keeping a good brand on hand for your regular smoking rotation. Here are ten excellent brands so smoke when you want great taste and consistent quality without a big credit card bill. Sign up for our daily deals, too. That’s where you’ll find the deepest discounts on your favorite cigars.
1. La Aroma de Cuba
La Aroma de Cuba is rated 93 points by the critics in Cigar Aficionado, and when this old-world Cuban-legacy classic was officially relaunched around two decades ago, it was ranked as the “#1 Cigar Industry Best Buy.” Its reputation has held up thanks a stellar profile of well-aged Nicaraguan long-fillers blended under an oily Connecticut Broadleaf by award-winning cigar-maker Pepin Garcia. Tasting notes of molasses, black pepper, cocoa, and nuts leave a sublime impression across the palate starting around $5 per cigar.
2. Arturo Fuente Gran Reserva
Beginning at just over $5 apiece, Arturo Fuente Gran Reserva cigars are handmade in several classic shapes in your choice of a glistening Cameroon wrapper or a dark Connecticut Broadleaf. Beneath each is a vintage blend of premium Dominican binder and fillers that deliver loads of classic taste with notes of cedar, baking spices, cocoa, and nuts with a hint of black pepper. Carlito Fuente blends the legendary Arturo Fuente portfolio to a supreme standard for flavor, aroma, and consistency, and the Gran Reserva line is the best place to dive in for an unrivaled value.
3. Padrón
The Padrón brand is best known for its legendary 1964 Anniversary, 1926 Series, and Family Reserve cigars, but you can’t ignore the original Padrón blend. A phenomenal recipe of premium Nicaraguan long-fillers is assembled under a perfectly fermented Nicaraguan wrapper leaf in a Natural, as well as a Maduro, wrapper leaf in a wide variety of classic Cuban shapes. This cigar is a cornerstone in the illustrious Padrón portfolio, both for its price and for its luscious profile of cedar, cocoa, cayenne, cinnamon, leather, and spices. Smoke an iconic Padrón cigar from the original line, even if you’ve already fallen for one of the brand’s pricier vintage editions.
4. San Cristobal Elegancia
San Cristobal cigars are handmade and blended by Jose ‘Pepin’ Garcia in Esteli, Nicaragua. The Garcias harvest and age the finest premium Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos from several estates where the soil and microclimates result in perfect crops. San Cristobal Elegancia is finished in a golden-blond Connecticut-seed wrapper to create a delicious and creamy profile of nuts, cedar, and white pepper in a series of top-selling shapes. Smoke one of the best cigars you can buy for the money thanks to its silky, approachable flavor and smooth finish.
5. Perdomo Lot 23
Brand founder Nick Perdomo blends every cigar in the Perdomo collection for price-conscious connoisseurs. Perdomo Lot 23 is the perfect place to start if you’re exploring this popular Nicaraguan brand for the first time. Lot 23 cigars follow the same formula as other Perdomo blends. They’re available in a Natural (Ecuador Connecticut) wrapper, a Nicaraguan wrapper, and a Connecticut Broadleaf. Beneath each is a premium blend of well-aged Nicaraguan tobaccos. We recommend Lot 23 Connecticut to start with because its hearty profile of nuts, coffee bean, toast, and spices is rich and easygoing.
6. Oliva Serie O
Celebrated Oliva cigars like the 95-rated Serie V and 96-rated Serie V Melanio regularly top the critics’ rankings as well as our sales charts, but don’t overlook Oliva’s 94-rated Serie O. This solid, medium-bodied gem is drafted from a premium blend of Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos beneath a gingerbread-hued Nicaraguan wrapper leaf matured for maximum smoothness. Tasting notes of cocoa, cedar, cashews, and black pepper emerge in five classic shapes you can buy for a generous discount during one of our frequent Oliva deals. Because Holt’s is one of the top Oliva accounts in the entire country, you can always rely on us for the lowest Oliva prices online.
7. Romeo y Julieta 1875
A caramel-brown Indonesian wrapper leaf conceals a deluxe core of Dominican long-fillers in several traditional shapes in the iconic Romeo y Julieta 1875. These cigars start out at just over $7 apiece, but if you want an insider’s tip, buy a box from one of our regularly scheduled Romeo discounts, especially the Robusto Larga, which is a size exclusive to Holt’s customers seeking the lowest Romeo prices online. A delectable profile of chestnuts, coffee bean, cinnamon, cedar, and pepper from the 1875 blend continues to lead our sales charts as one of the most popular and affordable Romeo y Julieta cigars you can buy.
8. Nub
There’s simply no stopping Nub cigars from gaining the allegiance of seasoned aficionados as well as newbies. The short fat shape isn’t for everyone, but tons of connoisseurs have been converted. Consider Nub Connecticut when you’re in search of a chunky, easygoing handmade. Nub cigars are on sale almost every week at Holt’s. You can anticipate a big discount when you buy a box, but you can get ‘em beginning at around $7 by the single. A shimmering Connecticut-seed wrapper grown in Ecuador encapsulates a creamy interior of Nicaraguan tobaccos assembled at the Oliva factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. A premium profile of almonds, cedar, and buttered toast blesses the palate with a soft touch of spice.
9. Rocky Patel Mulligans
Rocky Patel Mulligans are packaged in economical bundles of 20 cigars, but don’t be fooled into thinking these are second-tier cheapo smokes, friends. Rocky’s Mulligans franchise is home to over a dozen top-selling blends that were originally slated to debut in the esteemed national portfolio of Rocky Patel cigars. You’re getting high-end Rocky cigars for a fraction of the price – starting around $2 per smoke – and that’s made Mulligans one of bestselling bundle brands in the U.S.A. Give the original Rocky Patel Mulligans a try for a complex profile of leather, cedar, molasses, and pepper in a premium blend of long-fillers tucked under an oily Cuban-seed wrapper in five classic sizes.
10. Punch Vintage
Punch Vintage propels the senses to an utter state of satisfaction with a woody and complex blend of premium Dominican and Honduran long-fillers surrounded by a Connecticut Broadleaf binder that’s finished in an oily Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, or a toothy Connecticut Broadleaf. Sweet and spicy notes of leather, earth, mesquite, hickory, and black pepper deliver the right amount of intensity in seven popular shapes. Punch Vintage cigars start at just over $7 apiece, but buying a box amounts to big savings off the MSRP, especially when you buy them during one of our recurring daily specials. More customers have reviewed Punch Vintage than any other cigar in the entire portfolio of Punch cigars.
