Skip to main content

The 5 Best Cigars to Smoke Right Now, According to a Cigar Expert

smoking the best cigars
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Walking into a cigar shop or lounge can feel like walking into a candy store. Which one do you pick?

David R. Weiss, president of The Lone Wolf Cigar Company, a luxurious and manly cigar company with outposts in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, is here to help. Weiss is an expert in the industry and his Lone Wolf den is a piece of smoking history; The Downtown Historic Santa Monica location was established back in 1893 by Sargent E.E. Baracks and remains one of the oldest tobacco merchants on the West Coast.

Weiss gave shared with us his five favorite cigars to smoke right now.

AVO Syncro Nicaragua Fogata
AVO Syncro Nicaragua Fogata cigars facebook
AVO Cigars/Facebook

“This is a cigar for when you want to turn up the tempo. A fusion of wild complexity, blended with unprecedented harmony, this cigar calls for you to go deep into the untamed heart of one of the world’s most celebrated tobacco regions for a cigar that pulsing with the rhythm and spicy character of Nicaragua,” he says. “This distinct blend features flavors of coffee, cedar, citrus, and earth, carefully composed with the softer, creamier notes of special Dominican-grown tobacco.”

Davidoff Nicaragua
davidoff nicaragua cigar
Davidoff

A cigar for “adventurous aficionados,” the Davidoff Nicaragua is for the smoker who wants to discover something truly new and exciting, says Weiss. “These superb cigars combine the signature Davidoff refinement with all the intriguing intensity of Nicaraguan tobacco.” It’s crafted entirely from Nicaraguan tobaccos, which is a first for the Davidoff label. Weiss adds, “The 100-percent Puro Nicaraguan blend is comprised of the finest leaves grown in the fiery volcanic soil of the Esteli, Condega, Jalapa, and Ometepe regions of Nicaragua, creating just the right balance of sweet and earthy notes to tantalize the palate.”

Cohiba Macassa
cohiba massacar cigar
Cohiba

After a 2016 debut, this “medium bodied memorable smoke,” still makes his list of faves. “An ultra-premium masterpiece, the Macassar wears a Connecticut Havana wrapper that cloaks a Connecticut broadleaf binder and a combination of Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers that have been aged for four years,” Weiss says. “To complete this gourmet cigar recipe, the tobaccos spend their final year in fragrant rum barrels to enrich the blends medium-bodied notes of wood, white pepper, cedar, and coffee.”

Tatuaje Cojonu
tatuaje cojonu
Tatuaje

After reaching farther back into the vault, Weiss’ next choice is a Tatuaje Cojonu from 2012, which he calls a “must-have cigar.” The overall experience is full-bodied and delicious. “Full, rich flavor and balanced to perfection, the Cojonu 2012 is one of my favorite cigars. Starts off with a slight peppery and earthy notes, like most Nicaraguans, but smooths out with cocoa and coffee flavors only highlighted by the broadleaf.”

Montecristo Pilotico Pepe Mendez No. 2
JRCigars
JRCigars

“The Montecristo Politico Blend is crafted with rare Pilotico tobacco seeds, originating from Cuba in the 1960’s by Pepe Mendez,” says Weiss. “This special and unique cigar is rich and complex with bold flavors and a smooth finish. The wrapper is from Equador and the filler is from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.” He classifies the overall smoke as robust, medium to full-bodied.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Jahla Seppanen
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Born and raised off-the-grid in New Mexico, Jahla Seppanen is currently a sports, fitness, spirits, and culture writer in…
These are the best Maduro cigars I’ve tried and tested in 2024
Maduro cigars on Spanish decorative tile table

Maduro cigars offer some pretty complex flavors. While there are a few major cigar wrappers, from Connecticut and Corojo to Habano and Maduro, Maduro is one of the broadest categories in the cigar world, second only to Natural (Connecticut). The tobacco used to create Maduro wrappers is usually harvested from the top of a tobacco plant, where it gets the most sun exposure. They're also aged and fermented, where most of the oils and darker colors come from. Maduro means "ripe" or "mature' in Spanish and is also called Capa Negra.

You may recognize Maduro cigars by their markedly darker colors and shades. Still, the Maduro category includes many types, like Connecticut Broadleaf, Double Maduro, Mexican San Andres, Colorado Maduro, and more. Most people mistake Maduro cigars as being the strongest, but that's not necessarily true, and it's not always the case. Maduro flavors are rich and full-bodied for sure, but also usually very sweet. Depending on the type and the blend -- including the filler and the binder -- you'll taste flavors like chocolate or cocoa, coffee, earth, wood, leather, and cream. Varying pepper levels may also come through, especially when smoking Nicaraguan cigars.

Read more
The best cigars for a wedding, chosen by a cigar expert
Man in a tux at a wedding holding a lit cigar.

Cigars offer the perfect celebratory experience, and that's precisely why people give them out to commemorate a birth or to honor a relationship union and a wedding. In fact, I'd argue one of the absolute best times to smoke a cigar is at a wedding.
The top cigars I'd recommend for a wedding
I will go into more detail about each category below and offer a few more options. But here are my top choices if you want a cheat sheet:

Get the in a Double Robusto size for your Best Man.
Get the in a Toro size for your groomsmen.
Get the in a Robusto size for the rest of your wedding party.
Get a or a in the Cello (Rothschilds) size for your family.
Get some in the Rothschild size, or in the Petite Corona size for your guests.

Read more
Cigar expert recommends: The 10 best cigars for beginners
Close up of cigars in humidor at home - Briley Kenney from The Manual

If this is your first time smoking a cigar, or you smoke occasionally, and it has been a while, you want to ease into it. In other words, you don't want to dive in headfirst and start smoking something strong, like a full-bodied smoke. Not only will the flavors and experience overwhelm you, but the high nicotine concentration in the stronger cigars might also be a bit too much for you.

If you're curious, you can read a brief guide on what a cigar is supposed to taste like. The experience is different for everyone, and your taste buds may pick up more or fewer flavors than others, but that's okay. The rich, nuanced tastes will come across even in milder cigars, that is, if you choose the right one. But don't you worry. That's precisely why we're here. We'll ensure you are introduced to flavorful, enjoyable cigars ideal for beginners and novice smokers. Let's discuss.f
The best cigars for beginners

Read more