Best 'Over the Hill' 40th Birthday Cigars
Turning the big 4-0 is a big deal! You’ve probably got kids and a mortgage by now. You’re well past a night of unbridled debauchery and slamming shots and beers with your buddies. It’s time for an adult beverage like a vintage scotch. And what better way to celebrate forty than with a fine cigar? You deserve something special too. Here are the best cigars you can choose to make your 40th birthday the memorable milestone it is.
#1 - Padron 40th Anniversary
Thematically, Padron 40th Anniversary makes the most sense for a 40th birthday cigar. The blend was conceived to commemorate the company’s 40th anniversary back in 2004. Padron 40th Anniversary also bears the rare distinction of being the very first ‘#1 Cigar of the Year’ when Cigar Aficionado launched its annual ‘Top 25’ list that year. A select blend of vintage Nicaraguan binder and filler tobacco is assembled under a gingerbread-hued Nicaraguan wrapper leaf in an exquisite box-pressed Torpedo. Notes of cocoa, cedar, baking spices, cayenne, and wood layer the palate before a luscious finish sets in. Skip the cake and the candles and go straight for the cigar with this 93-rated gem.
#2 - Ashton ESG
Ashton ESG is comprised exclusively of ultra-rare Dominican tobaccos procured from the legendary Fuente family estates, Chateau de la Fuente. A glistening Sun Grown Dominican wrapper is aged extensively for ultra-refined taste. Notes of cedar, black pepper, and graham cracker make an excellent pairing with rare bourbon and scotch. Ashton ESG was blended to commemorate the brand’s twentieth anniversary. Today, five distinctive shapes are handmade to an uncompromising standard for flavor, aroma, and quality.
#3 - Fuente Fuente Opus X
Fuente Fuente Opus X is a superb special occasion cigar. Legendary cigar-maker Carlito Fuente blends precious reserves of his most prized Dominican tobaccos to create Fuente Fuente Opus X. A collection of classic shapes delivers notes of cedar, figs, leather, and signature Dominican spices with a luxurious zest. Follow up a top-shelf birthday dinner with an amazing and hard-to-find masterpiece from Fuente.
#4 - La Aroma de Cuba Pasión
La Aroma de Cuba Pasión is blended from a special Shade Grown wrapper harvested on a small family estate in Nicaragua by legendary father-and-son cigar-makers Pepin and Jaime Garcia. Inside rests a vintage recipe of premium Nicaraguan long-filler tobaccos. Tasting notes of leather, cedar, molasses, and smoked cashew resonate in a 94-rated profile perfect for celebrating.
#5 - San Cristobal Ovation
Decadent and delicious flavors of dark chocolate and sweetened hickory accompany a touch of creamy Nicaraguan spices in San Cristobal Ovation. The annual limited edition blend is drafted from a supreme blend of well-aged Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos beneath a lustrous San Andrés Oscuro wrapper leaf. If you’ve been treated to an epicurean filet mignon on your fortieth, San Cristobal Ovation is the ultimate dessert.
