5 Best Celebratory Cigars for Special Occasions
Cigars are synonymous with good times. People have been smoking cigars to celebrate special occasions for hundreds of years. The tradition of handing out cigars when a new baby is born goes back to indigenous North American tribes who hosted gift-giving feasts following the birth of a child. Now we smoke cigars on our birthdays, at wedding receptions, and when we graduate, get a promotion at work, and retire.
You don’t have to spend a fortune for the best celebratory cigars. You’ll find hundreds of awesome cigars for under ten bucks, but you should expect something perhaps rarer or aged longer when you’re spending north of $15 or $20 for one cigar. Aficionados associate higher prices with cigars that are hard to find or that may not be made any longer. Here are five illustrious cigars you should pick up before you’re celebrating your next special occasion.
1. Ashton ESG
Only premium Ashton retailers have access to Ashton ESG because it’s made in smaller quantities than other Ashton cigars. ESG is drawn from the oldest reserves of premium Dominican tobaccos cultivated on the world-famous Chateau de la Fuente estates, including the cigar’s Sun Grown wrapper leaf. Luxuriant notes of cedar, graham cracker, and molasses accompany hints of black pepper in five classic sizes that deserve to be smoked with the finest scotch or bourbon on the menu. This impressive cigar is rated 94 points and has been ranked in Cigar Aficionado’s ‘Top 10 Cigars of the Year’ on numerous occasions.
2. Fuente Fuente Opus X
When Carlito Fuente released the first Fuente Fuente Opus X cigars in 1995, they sold out immediately. He had to limit Opus X sales to cigar retailers east of the Mississippi River for the first several years because he simply couldn’t make enough cigars to satisfy demand. While coveted Opus X cigars are sold in shops across the country today, they still sell out just as fast as they did over twenty-five years ago, and many connoisseurs reserve whatever Opus X they can get their hands on for special occasions. An oily, ultra-rare Shade Grown Dominican wrapper embraces a bountiful interior of premium Dominican long-fillers harvested on the Chateau de la Fuente estates, where tobacco for the rarest Arturo Fuente cigars is harvested. Zesty and complex notes of coffee bean, cedar, cocoa, nutmeg, and nougat layer the palate in several traditional and limited-edition shapes. Keep an eye on our Opus X Lost City supply when you’re looking for Opus online, or consider picking up an Arturo Fuente ‘Xtremely Rare’ Sampler, which includes two Opus X cigars.
3. Padrón 80 Years
Aficionados regularly splurge on Padrón cigars when they want to celebrate a milestone or smoke a good cigar with the boss. There are dozens of top-rated Padron cigars to consider, including 1964 Anniversary, 1926 Series, and Family Reserve. out the others just a bit due to the meticulously handcrafted, sharp box-pressed Diademas the cigars are rolled in. This visually striking smoke magnetizes the palate with notes of cocoa, cedar, cayenne pepper, and baking spices before an intense crescendo brings it to a close. Padrón cigars are available in Natural and Maduro wrappers.
4. La Aroma de Cuba Pasión
The 94-rated La Aroma de Cuba Pasión is drawn from a glistening Shade Grown Nicaraguan wrapper leaf cultivated in a unique microclimate in Namanji, eighteen miles east of Estelí, Nicaragua, where award-winning father-and-son cigar-makers Pepin and Jaime Garcia own a private estate dedicated to Shade Grown crops. Perfectly mature binder and filler tobaccos from Estelí, Jalapa, and Namanji complete the blend to deliver a magnificent profile of smoked cashew, leather, cedar, and spices with a tantalizing finish in six classic sizes. La Aroma de Cuba cigars became an early favorite of Winston Churchill in the late 1800s, and today they’ve been reimagined as one of Nicaragua’s highest-rated and most popular brands.
5. Oliva Monticello
You can save more than a few Oliva cigars for the next big anniversary you’ve got on the calendar, but Oliva Monticello is our top pick because it’s handmade from select reserves of Oliva’s finest binder and filler tobaccos tucked inside a rare and deep-brown Nicaraguan Maduro wrapper leaf. Oliva Monticello is patiently crafted in five classic sizes and boasts a near-perfect 5-star rating from our customer reviews. Peppery notes of cocoa, cashews, and fresh-ground coffee layer the palate with zesty and creamy texture in a radiant cigar you can only procure from your pals at Holt’s.
