Top Cigars to Smoke On The Beach
Break out the Birkenstocks and jean-shorts, slap on some sun screen, and pump up the beach ball. We’re heading to the beach for some sun, sand, and surf – and of course to have a smoke. When you’re a diehard cigar lover, towing along the coolerdor is as critical as a cooler full of cold beer. But what should you pack inside?
There’s truly nothing like relaxing on the beach, especially with a cigar. There aren’t many cigars that taste bad while you’re reclining in a canvas chair. But, when you’re lighting up in the face of a sandy, sunny breeze, cigars with a thicker, oilier, and more resilient wrapper tend to fare better when it comes to staying lit. Here are a handful of the best beach smokes to keep in mind when you’re packing for your vacation this summer.
Ashton VSG
Ashton VSG is a bestseller in over 75 countries around the world. This cigar has been smoked on beaches up and down the Pacific Coast Highway, from the Jersey Shore to Miami, from the French Riviera to Phuket, the Virgin Islands, Australia, and more. A succulent Ecuador Sumatra wrapper leaf embraces a rich, well-aged amalgam of premium Dominican binder and filler tobaccos blended by legendary cigar-maker Carlito Fuente. Notes of leather, cedar, raisins, espresso beans, and spices make spanning time on the sand a truly hypnotic enterprise.
Arturo Fuente Chateau Series Sun Grown
As the number one maker of premium Dominican cigars in the world, it’s hard to choose favorites from Arturo Fuente. However, Arturo Fuente Chateau Series Sun Grown embodies all the qualities you can seek in a perfect cigar for the beach. A glistening Sun Grown wrapper from Ecuador conceals a medium-bodied combination of creamy and smooth Dominican long-fillers crafted to a superb standard. Notes of fresh ground coffee, toasted nuts, and earthy spices arrive in a wide variety of classic shapes that are tough to beat for $5.70 to $9.70 per cigar. The blend is also available in a mellower Natural wrapper, or a sweeter Broadleaf Maduro.
San Cristobal Quintessence
Celebrated cigar-maker Jose ‘Pepin’ Garcia blends San Cristobal Quintessence from an outstanding selection of hearty Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos grown on select Garcia family estates. Binding them together is a gingerbread-hued Cuban-seed wrapper from Ecuador. A medium to full-bodied profile of molasses and black pepper harbors a touch of cocoa with its higher-priming wrapper varietal. Quintessence is less intense than the original San Cristobal blend, but more potent than San Cristobal Elegancia. The critics in Cigar Aficionado awarded Quintessence classic status with a 95-point rating and ranked it the ‘#3 Cigar of the Year’ for 2021.
La Aroma de Cuba
Besides a Cuban-legacy that dates back to the late 1800s where the brand was originally a favorite of Winston Churchill, La Aroma de Cuba can also brag that it’s blended by one of today’s premier cigar-makers, Pepin Garcia. The 93-rated, bestselling blend consists of a glistening Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper over a magnificent core of premium Nicaraguan long-fillers. A luscious, medium-bodied profile of brown sugar, cedar, black pepper, and coffee bean notes enlightens an afternoon on the beach with a deep menu of shapes, especially a Double Corona or an El Jefe when you want to smoke for a nice long time.
Flor de las Antillas Maduro
Following the award-winning path of the original, 96-rated, former ‘#1 Cigar of the Year,’ Flor de las Antillas, the Garcia family blended a Maduro edition with an exquisite Cuban-seed wrapper leaf. Notes of cocoa, baking spices, and wood emerge in a well-constructed smoke in a handful of traditional, soft box-pressed sizes. Flor de las Antillas Maduro is marvelous with a sip of rum or sweet and refreshing cocktail like a Piña Colada.
Oliva Master Blends 3
The 92-rated Oliva Master Blends 3 hails from the brand’s award-winning factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. Senior cigar rollers craft a magnificent recipe of ultra-rich Nicaraguan long-fillers beneath a glimmering Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper in a handful of classic shapes. A medium to full-bodied profile of dark chocolate, leather, molasses, and black pepper promises cigar-loving passersby will peak under your beach umbrella to ask you what you’re puffing on.
Punch Vintage
When your local beach doesn’t happen to be a private secluded strip off the Amalfi Coast, don’t feel bad. Fend off coolerdor-raiding curmudgeons with cigars that exhibit excellent taste and construction for a pocketbook-friendly value thanks to Punch Vintage. The famous Cuban-heritage brand is available in an Ecuador Sumatra (Natural) wrapper or an oily Connecticut Broadleaf (Maduro). Inside, a hearty core of Dominican and Honduran tobaccos rests alongside Connecticut Broadleaf binders for an extra hint of earthy sweetness. Leather, wood, cocoa, and nuts round out the consistent profile of Punch Vintage without breaking the bank when you need to save up for a new pair of swimming trunks.
