As yet another holiday season approaches, we all can use a little help tracking down those perfect gifts. In these days of newfangled connected devices all you have to do to find great cigars is ask Siri, Alexa or Google for “cigar shops near me” or “where can I buy Cuban cigars” and a whole plethora of options will more often than not emerge.
What is, however, the right cigar for your favorite cigar aficionado? Well to aid in your holiday shopping, here are the top Seven Cigars For Christmas 2018!
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La Flor De Ynclan
One of the favorite new releases last year, La Flor de Ynclan is a reboot of a cigar crafted for the folks at Swiss-based Villiger cigars, who believed the original La Flor de Ynclan should’ve had more to offer even though it was already quite a tasty treat.
After a lackluster reception upon the original cigar’s release in 2007, the line was shelved until the tobaccos reached a level of complexity the Villiger team had envisioned. After a ten year hiatus and numerous tweaks to the blend, the new La Flor de Ynclan is back and, by all accounts, miles ahead of its predecessor.
A deeply textured and wondrously complex smoke emerges from the aged Nicaraguan and Dominican filler tobaccos which pair with an Indonesian binder and Ecuadorian wrapper to deliver a rich and smooth experience reminiscent of the best Cuban cigars.
One of the most highly praised cigars of 2017, La Flor de Ynclan is the perfect match for well-aged Rum, a combo that will prove a most gratifying Christmas escape for any cigar aficionado.
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Highclere Castle
Foundation’s top-man and master of all things tobacco, Nick Melillo continues to impress with his delectably complex creations and none has perhaps achieved so high a level of sophistication as the Foundation Highclere Castle.
If the name sounds familiar it may be because Highclere Castle doubled as Downton Abbey on the wildly popular PBS series. It also serves as the seat to the Earl of Carnarvon and it was the 5th Earl of Carnarvon who famously financed Howard Carter’s excavation of King Tut’s tomb in the 1920s.
Today Highclere Castle is the country home of the 8th Earl of Carnarvon, with whom Melillo has partnered to create the stunning Highclere Castle cigars. These opulent smokes are built around luscious Nicaraguan tobaccos and Mata Fina leaves from Brazil which are dressed in an elegant Connecticut Shade wrapper leaf.
This blend results in a luxurious cigar smoking excursion that, along with its remarkable pedigree, will make any cigar lover’s Christmas a truly special one.
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Cohiba Talisman Limited Edition 2017
For Cuban cigar fans, each holiday season brings the expectation of new and gloriously delicious special edition offerings from Cuba’s best cigar brands.
And this year Habanos S. A., official overseer of the Cuban cigar industry, has not disappointed, delivering a drool-inducing beauty that should go down as one of the all-time great limited edition Cuban cigars: The Cohiba Talisman.
The medium-to-full bodied 154 mm x 54 cigar features a blend of Cuba’s finest tobaccos from Vuelta Abajo which have been aged over two years.
The just over six inches long Cohiba Talisman is a silky smooth and complex stunner with an astonishing array of flavors that, when partnered with a rare Single Malt Highland Whisky, will have any cigar lover crooning with delight.
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Winston Churchill The Late Hour
One of the most anticipated offerings from Davidoff in recent memory, Winston Churchill The Late Hour, makes for one of the most gratifying Christmas gifts of the year.
This new addition to the revamped Winston Churchill line features Nicaraguan Condega tobaccos which have been aged 6 months in Single Malt Whisky casks along with two different Dominican tobaccos that round out the filler blend.
A Mexican binder leaf and an exquisite Ecuadorian Habano wrapper leaf complete the opulent cigars which are available in three classic cigar sizes: Robusto, Toro and, of course, Churchill.
With an intensely complex full-bodied character and wondrously pleasing flavor profile, the Winston Churchill The Late Hour by Davidoff of Geneva is simply perfect for capping off holiday festivities with a quiet late-night repose by a warming fire.
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CAO Amazon Anaconda
When the folks at CAO released the Amazon Basin cigar a few years back, it was the talk of the cigar world with its wildly unique character and taste that mirrored the mesmerizing tale of how the Brazilian tobaccos were harvested, transported and crafted into wildly entertaining smokes.
The Amazon Fuma en Corde followed it up and now the Amazon Anaconda, the third and final of the Amazon trilogy, brings the best of its predecessors together to deliver a wild ride of richness and flavor. A hefty portion of the Anaconda’s blend is Brazilian Bragancia tobaccos which are cultivated in the Amazon Basin, cut and hauled out by hand, then transported by boat and eventually the leaves make their way to the factory in Honduras where the tobaccos are expertly blended.
With the finishing touch of a spun tobacco leaf cigar band which resembles the larger cords that bind the leaves when harvested, the bold and intensely flavorful CAO Amazon Anaconda is unlike any cigar on the market, including even the best Cuban cigars.
These smokes are Christmas-worthy cigars that are sure to create grins from ear to ear.
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La Flor Dominicana La Volcada
Named after a tango dance move which originated in La Flor Dominicana’s owner Litto Gomez’s home country of Uruguay, the La Volcada is a unique one-size offering that is pure cigar smoking joy for any cigar-loving connoisseur.
The 7” x 48 La Flor Dominicana La Volcada is crafted around a stellar blend of filler tobaccos harvested from Gomez’s La Canela tobacco farm in the Dominican Republic, an Ecuadorian Corojo binder and a Mexican San Andres wrapper, which all combine to offer deliciously exotic flavors along with a deeply textured richness that is simply out of this world.
The La Volcada builds on the impressive success of last year’s show-stopping La Flor Dominicana Andalusian Bull and challenges any of the best Cuban cigars for the most satisfying of smokes.
With its truly mesmerizing body and taste, the La Flor Dominicana La Volcada definitely makes a case to be the ultimate Christmas smoke.
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Fuente Fuente Opus X
Any list of Christmas cigars just wouldn’t be complete without the addition of one of the most heralded cigars of all-time: The Fuente Fuente Opus X.
Touted as the first-ever Dominican Puro, the wildly complex Fuente Fuente Opus X was officially released by the Fuente family in 1996 and today the super-premium cigars still stand as the very pinnacle of cigar making. Intensely rich and uncompromisingly smooth, each Fuente Fuente Opus X cigar is a remarkable achievement that will serve as an ideal gift for any cigar enthusiast. And now you can add the Fuente Fuente Opus X 20th Anniversary series to the list.
This much-ballyhooed expansion to the Opus X catalog has become one of the most sought-after cigars of the season. And while an internet search for “cigar bar near me” may not guarantee you will get your hands on these jewels, the effort required to track them down will pale in comparison to the smiles these smokes will elicit on the face of your favorite cigar connoisseur!
Whether you are in search of a cigar for yourself or for that special cigar aficionado, whether it be Cuban Cohibas or just something to enjoy with friends at your local cigar lounge, the right cigar can truly make the holidays merry and bright.
These top rated cigars are but a few of the tasty smokes sure to please this holiday season and will surely have you giving Santa a run for his money as the ultimate gift-giver!