Top Cigars to Smoke by a Fire Pit
As the summer winds down, it’s time for hooded sweatshirts, football, and smoking outside by the fire pit. As much as we love the beach, for many cigar lovers fall is the ultimate season to smoke outside. With cool, crisp temperatures and a fire pit burning in the backyard, smoking cigars under a starry sky with your pals and a bottle of bourbon is pure heaven. Here are five superb smokes to savor in front of the toasty glow of a fire pit.
1. La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial
A medium to full-bodied blend of premium Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos lies under a well-aged Cuban-seed wrapper grown in Ecuador in six excellent sizes. Hearty notes of leather, cocoa, espresso, smoked almond, and spice fit in perfectly with a nip of Basil Hayden’s bourbon or a hot chocolate while you’re watching the sunset.
2. Ashton VSG
A 94-rated classic blended by world-renowned cigar-maker Carlito Fuente is drawn from perfectly mature Dominican long-fillers and an oily Ecuador Sumatra wrapper. Notes of leather, earth, cedar, and spice accompany hints of espresso bean with a marvelous sweetness around the edges. This sophisticated cigar is impossible to pass up thanks to its robust taste and perfect construction when you’re kicking back in a cozy patio lounger in the cool weather.
3. San Cristobal
The dark and lustrous Oscuro wrapper on the original San Cristobal possesses a plethora of succulent tasting notes, including walnut, espresso bean, dark chocolate, and pepper with hints of black cherry. Vintage Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos fill out seven popular sizes blended by Pepin Garcia to a flawless standard. A sip of a peaty scotch like Laphroaig or Lagavulin is essential with San Cristobal in front of a roaring fire.
4. My Father The Judge
A big, bold blend of Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos is finished in a glimmering Ecuador Sumatra wrapper in a box-pressed collection from Jose ‘Pepin’ Garcia. A brilliant profile of almond, chocolate, and red and black pepper layers the palate from start to finish in a sequence of cool and effortless draws. The Judge has racked up a solid track record of high marks from the critics and is considered one of the best Sumatra-wrapped cigars from Nicaragua. A generous pour of Zacapa rum with The Judge warms the palate like a bear hug.
5. Oliva Master Blends 3
The iconic flavor of a well-aged Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper harmonizes with a medium to full-bodied blend of premium Nicaraguan long-fillers in four classic shapes. Tasting notes of leather, pepper, brown sugar, and dark chocolate bless the palate in a profile deserving of its status as ‘Oliva’s Crown Jewel.’ Choose a vintage Port to sip with Oliva Master Blends 3 this fall.
