At any rate, the trick is knowing where to find them and when to shop. While I can’t exactly help you with the timing — the idea there is just to keep an eye out and buy when you see prices drop — I can help by sharing where you should be looking. Most industry veterans and regular smokers are going to know about these places. This is likely a better list for the newcomers to the craft. Let’s light up and dive in.

Best places to find good cigar deals

Top Pick: Cigar Page

With most retailers, you’ll find excellent deals every once in a while, and okay deals often. With Cigar Page, you’ll find absolutely bonkers deals almost every week, sometimes daily. It depends on what you like and what you’re looking for. Most of their great deals are bundles, which include a variety of five to ten packs.

You’ll find every brand imaginable on Cigar Page, from your Cohibas and Montecristos to Graycliff, Florida Man, Warped, and Southern Draw. There is always a metric fuckton of samplers to choose from, for instance. You can also buy humidors, cigar gear and accessories, and some other items. There’s no chance involved either, outside of getting in on a deal when it’s live — it’s not a bid site.

Every purchase earns you Cigar Points, which is Page’s rewards program. You can turn those in for discounts. Every dollar spent earns you a point, and every point is the equivalent of a $0.01 discount the next time you buy. That may not seem like much, but if you buy often, it adds up.

Most Fun: Cigarbid

Owned and operated by Cigars International, Cigarbid is similar to eBay, except it’s all about cigars. You bid on items, mostly cigar bundles, and when the time expires, the highest bid wins. Now, there’s a trick to winning bids on the site. You might think they mark up those bids to make more money, but I’ve definitely won some, myself, that were ridiculously low. Too low, if you know what I mean.

Bidding at odd hours, usually late at night, helps. But sometimes, it’s just about being really lucky. I will say you should be smart about what and when you’re bidding. For example, look up the prices of the related cigars. If you’re bidding higher than what you’d pay retail, you’re just throwing away money, and sometimes it does happen.

You can also take advantage of Quick Buys, which is like the Buy Now button on most comparable sites. If you don’t want to mess around with auctions, that’s the way to go. Again, double check those deals before you slap your money on the digital table.

Most Reliable: Famous Smoke Shop

From its Monster Deals section, to regular everyday prices and great customer service, Famous Smoke Shop always deserves a top spot on my list. They have a fantastic selection of rotating deals on new cigar bundles and samplers, too. So, if you’re buying a gift for someone else, you can’t go wrong with a Famous sampler.

Always Good: Atlantic Cigar Company

Atlantic has some fantastic pricing year-round. I always check their site before I make a purchase elsewhere. They regularly offer prices lower than almost any cigar seller on this list. Of course, there is one well-known trick to shopping with Atlantic. You have to be logged in to see the best prices. More importantly, you have to make a regular purchase or two before you’ll see those best prices. Just one time counts, though, then you’re good pretty much indefinitely.

The funny part about that login stuff is that sometimes I’ll see a low price and lose my mind, forgetting I’m not even logged in. Then, I’ll log in, as you do, and bam, the price is even lower. It happens enough to where I’m always satisfied spending money with these guys. Shipping is relatively fast, and I’ve never had issues either.

Most Unique: Cigars International MMAO — Make Me An Offer

Imagine your buddy is cleaning out his humidor, only it’s more like a warehouse filled with cigars. Either they’re older sticks nobody really buys, the labels are being changed — like the recent Casa Carrillo swap — or they need to unload some stock. Whatever the case, your buddy is unloading and marking down his prices. That’s pretty much the idea behind Make Me An Offer from Cigars International.

You come in, pick a box, sampler, or bundle, and then throw down an offer. Someone on the other sides rejects it or accepts it, and that’s that. You can continue updating your offer as long as the product is available. So, if you bid too low, you’ll have the option to come back with another haggle. I actually scored a ton of Cornelius & Anthony boxes this way, for pretty darn cheap, before they were gone for good. I highly recommend checking it out every so often, as you never know what you’ll find on there.

Amazing Selection: JR Cigars

Between its rotating selection of deals, regular and huge inventory at MSRP, and also eclectic collection of humidors, cigar gear, and beyond, JR Cigars is a great place to go. If you’re a real budget hunter, I recommend checking out the brand’s JR Alternatives, most of which are made in name-brand factories despite their lack of affiliation. Rumor has it that Plasencia and AJ Fernandez are responsible for a few of those alternative labels. Wink, wink.

What I really love about JR are the stogies you wouldn’t find elsewhere. Boneshaker Full Body Cast, Samurai, Pure Origin: Gran Vulcano, Revival Series. The only thing I will say is that sometimes the brand’s marketing team does a terrible job at marketing certain proprietary cigars. They release a new cigar and don’t advertise it anywhere. That’s okay, more for me. But also why that matters, you have to remember to keep checking back often. Heck, you might even want to check now.

Some more places to find good cigar deals

Best Cigar Prices

It’s in the name. Unlike Cigar Page, which focuses on a lot of one-off samplers and deals, Best Cigar Prices tend to include a persistent series of deals. They offer everything from Fuente and Rocky Patel to Oliva and Padron, with rare cigars in the mix, too.

Cigars Direct

Something you’ll notice with Cigars Direct is they have a strong focus on select brands. Now, allow me to clarify. It’s not that they don’t offer an excellent selection, because they do. However, especially if you sign-up for email alerts, you’ll notice they rotate deals around focusing on one or two brands at a time. That means you won’t be inundated with choices, keeping things a little tighter. But, it also seems like they’re able to offer some pretty unique and incredible deals as a result.

Cigars dot com

Not to be confused with cigar (no plural) dot com, Cigars.com offers some reasonable deals now and then, just like its sister site, JR. You’ll also find a lot of popular brands on here that buck the norm. Some examples include Illusione, Caldwell, Tatuaje, Drew Estate, Padron, La Flor Dominicana, and a few others.

Gotham Cigars

“Premium cigars at a discount” is pretty much the tagline for Gotham Cigars’ entire website. You will find some great deals here, but you’ll stay for the great selection. Gotham also sells nicotine pouches and a wide variety of small and flavored cigars.

Smoke Inn

I actually got in trouble with some cigar guys for including Smoke Inn, on a round-up for another media outlet. Apparently, they didn’t like the selection available, and they chewed me out. Screw those guys. I’m including Smoke Inn here, and again. They don’t offer everything, so it’s not a place to find every brand you’d ever want. However, there are some excellent deals available from time to time, especially on bundles and samplers. Not that it matters, but Smoke Inn also sponsors a lot of different people in the community — like Kevin Shahan from Cigar Prop.

The post Where are the best places to find good cigar deals appeared first on The BS Lounge.

With all of that out of the way, let’s get into it.

My top 10 favorite cigars

I have arranged this list in alphabetical order to appease my compulsions, but nothing more. So, don’t approach this list as if it’s best to worst or vice versa. All of these cigars are delicious and will provide you with an exceptional experience — that’s why I love them.

That doesn’t mean I won’t smoke anything else, in case it needs to be said. These are just my regulars.

Aganorsa Rare Leaf Reserve Corojo and Maduro

Source: Aganorsa

• Strength: Full-bodied
• Favorite Size: Toro (6×54)

I always say these cigars are like a dessert because they are. The Criollo 98 and 99 tobaccos add lots of sweetness, pepper, cinnamon, and beyond. You’ll also get baking spices, cocoa, leather, and a lot of incredibly creamy flavors. The Maduro version is very much the same, except with darker flavors like espresso, black cherry, black pepper, and dark chocolate. You can’t go wrong with either one. Hell, get them both if you can.

Boneshaker Full Body Cast

Source: Boneshaker

• Strength: Full-bodied
• Favorite Size: Maul (6×54)

I first tried these towards the end of last year and as soon as I did I bought a ton. They’re priced well normally, but in a deal they’re incredible. They smell amazing, like pure chocolate when lit. You’ll also get flavors like chocolate, spice, pepper, and leather. I legitimately smoke one of these almost every day, that’s how good they are.

E.P. Carrillo Pledge

Source: E.P. Carrillo

• Strength: Full-bodied
• Favorite Size: Sojourn (6×54)

I know, I know. E.P. Carrillo is a fan-favorite brand and a lot of cigar enthusiasts love talking about it, but it’s for good reason. The entire Carrillo lineup is fantastic, but one I keep coming back to is the Pledge. It was named the #1 Cigar of the Year in 2020 with a thick, creamy experience that offers tons of dark flavors, pepper, and spice. If I’m feeling like a stronger cigar but I don’t want to burn my face off, I reach for this one. It pairs remarkably well with coffee or any warm beverage, even hot cocoa.

HVC Hot Cake

Source: HVC

• Strength: Medium-Full
• Favorite Size: Laguito No. 4 (4×52)

Sometimes, a cigar has a name that just goes so well with the experience. If there’s only one on the market that serves as an excellent example, let it be HVC’s Hot Cake. It tastes like a doughy, delicious hot cake. It’s also a flavor bomb with chocolate, cream, pepper, wood, earth, and sugary pastry notes.

H. Upmann by AJ Fernandez

Source: H. Upmann

• Strength: Medium
• Favorite Size: Toro (6×54)

The citrus flavors in this cigar are something to behold. Dried apricots or dried fruit with lots of sweetness permeates with every puff. But you’ll also taste cedar, hazelnut, baking spices, cream, and coffee. AJ Fernandez rarely blends a bad cigar, if at all, and this one is one of his greats.

La Aurora 120th Anniversary

Source: La Aurora

• Strength: Medium-Full
• Favorite Size: Robusto (5×50)

This absolutely delicious and sweet cigar offers a mesh of graham-crackery and cocoa flavors. It is one of the best Dominican blends I’ve had in a long while. I tried it during a virtual tasting experience for the first time, guided by the brand’s Master Blender Manual Inoa. You’ll get cocoa, cinnamon, coffee, cream, and even a hint of fruit or citrus. It’s incredible. Every single cigar lover should try this one at least once. I mean it.

Plasencia Alma Fuerte Sixto II Hexagon

Source: Plasencia

• Strength: Full
• Favorite Size: Gordo (6×60)

Now, I’ve had this cigar in several sizes, but I keep coming back to the big, Gordo with a large ring gauge. It smooths out the experience and makes it super pleasant, not that this cigar isn’t pleasant either way. Plasencia is the master of dark, leathery flavors and this one does not disappoint. You’ll get lots of dark chocolate, earth, vanilla, and spices.

San Lotano Requiem Habano by AJ Fernandez

Source: AJ Fernandez

• Strength: Medium-Full
• Favorite Size: Toro (6×54)

The San Lotano Requiem has this incredible delicious, tropical-beachy flavor that I cannot get enough of. It kicks in about midway through — the flavor is also in the My Father Number 1 — but you’ll also pick up lots of wood, leather, spice, and a bit of pepper. The creamy afterfinish is also enjoyable.

Southern Draw Kudzu

Source: Southern Draw

• Strength: Medium
• Favorite Size: Toro (6×52)

While the flavors in the Kudzu are typical, with spice, cedar, chocolate, and earth, the experience is certainly unique. I haven’t been able to find a comparable cigar to this one, so I keep them stocked in my humidor at all times. It’s a solid medium to full-bodied experience, and the Habano Oscuro wrapper is nice and toasty. Pair it with something sweet and you’ll be in bliss.

Warped La Colmena

Source: Warped Cigars

• Strength: Medium
• Favorite Size: Amada No. 44 (5.5 x 44)

One of the best things about this cigar is it’s remarkably close to an authentic Cuban, without being one. You’ll definitely pick up a hint of that Cuban twang if you’re paying attention. The La Colmena has so much complexity and so much flavor, it’s unreal. You’ll taste lots of honey, cream, vanilla, white pepper, and wood notes like cedar. The name “La Colmena” quite literally translates to “the beehive.”

Some honorable mentions

Source: Boneshaker

Here are a few other cigars I smoke regularly that didn’t make it on my top 10 favorite cigars list.

• Boneshaker Lunatic
• Guardian of the Farm Cerberus by Aganorsa
• JFR Corojo
• La Aurora 107 Nicaragua
• Southern Draw Rose of Sharon
• Southern Draw Rose of Sharon Solomon (CDM Exclusive vitola)

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