THE STATESMAN’S CIGAR
HENRY CLAY TATTOO
Named for the Kentucky statesman, the Henry Clay brand has flown under the radar of most connoisseurs. This new blend, with an aged Connecticut broadleaf wrapper and select long fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, should change that. Made by Altadis, it delivers a filibuster of full-bodied flavor, with notes of earth, leather and roasted nuts.
Cost: $190 per box of 20
Contact: altadisusa.com
FOR CONNOISSEURS ONLY
GURKHA MAHARAJA
This year Gurkha released this ultra-premium cigar that blends a secret combination of rare, premium tobaccos within a Dominican binder to create a luxurious smoke. It comes in a striking mahogany box with a piano finish. Only 100 boxes are being sold.
Cost: $20,000 per box of 10
Contact: gurkhacigars.com
THE CIGAR THAT RETURNS TO ITS ROOTS
MACANUDO ESTATE RESERVE
D.R-based Macanudo revisits its Jamaican origins with this limited edition. The rich, leathery blend contains Jamaican Silver Tongue, the most expensive filler leaf in the world because of its rarity and extremely low yield. The cigar also uses perhaps the darkest, oiliest wrapper ever on a macanudo, a 10-year-aged Connecticut broadleaf.
Cost: $160 per box of 10 robustos
Contact: macanudo.com
A PATRIOT’S CHOICE
LA PALINA FAMILY SERIES MIAMI
Who says you can’t find great products made in America anymore? La Palina, founded by the Parley family of CBS network fame, offers this exceptional reblended version of its flagship collection, boasting a 1998-vintage Ecuador corojowrapper, Cuban-seed binder and select Nicaraguan filler, rolled at the El Titan de Bronze factory in Miami.
Cost: $185 per box of 10 pashas
Contact: lapalinacigars.com
THE LEGACY SMOKE
CAO PILÓN
This new collection resurrects a 19th-century Cuban cigarmaking technique that was abandoned almost 50 years ago.Pilóns are stacks of tobacco leaves meticulously arranged to achieve a natural fermentation that maximizes flavor and color. Cao applied this old school method to the Cuban-seed Ecuadorian wrapper, which covers a bold, peppery filler blend from Nicaragua.
Cost: $130 per box of 20 robustos
Contact: caocigars.com
THE CULTURAL BLEND
DAVIDOFF ESCURIO
With this sophisticated, spicy-sweet cigar, Davidoff set out to capture the spirit and rhythms of Rio de Janeiro, blending sun-grown Brazilian mata fina into the filler blend, securing it with a binder of Brazilian-grown cubra—a strong, richly textured leaf native to Cuba—and topping it off with a dark, oily habano wrapper from Ecuador for an earthy, creamy finish.
Cost: $215 per box of 12 gran toros
Contact: davidoff.com
