Top 5 Cigars for New Year’s
Ring in the New Year in Style
Setting the Stage:
There are a lot of holidays that are the perfect occasion for an over-the-top party - Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, President’s Day, and my birthday are just a few that come to mind. But we all know that the ultimate party takes place every year on New Year’s Eve, and the way that I see it, whenever there’s a party, a top-shelf cigar is an absolute necessity.
So, your friend asked you to bring something to the upcoming New Year’s Eve party? Chances are, the answer to this is yes, but here’s a word of advice from me – skip the cheese and crackers this year (I’m sure ten other people are already going to bring them anyway) and make a statement with an expertly curated selection of cigars that are the perfect way to ring in the New Year.
I know that a New Year’s Eve party is more of a marathon than a sprint, and a lot of time is spent ingesting food and a potentially unreasonable amount of alcohol. After several hours of playing drinking games or shoveling an obscene amount of bean dip down your throat, the last thing you want is an excessively strong cigar that’s going to have you feeling a bit queasy.
Well, we took all of this into account when putting together this sampler, so feeling under the weather (at least from a cigar) isn’t something you’ll have to worry about. With our New Year’s Sampler, you’ll get five of the industry’s best Connecticut Shade wrapped cigars that manage to be uber flavorful without being overly strong. Perfect to share with your buddies or just as good to stash for yourself, each blend in our New Year’s Sampler is just as good for an enthusiast as it is for a novice.
Time is of the essence, so let’s get into our list!
Top 5 Cigars for New Year’s:
1. Sobremesa Brulee Robusto
- Body: Mellow to Medium
- Country of Origin: Nicaragua
- Price Point: $13.00
- Main Flavors: Cream, Almonds, Natural Sweetness
Kicking off our list we have Sobremesa Brulee – an absolute gem from Dunbarton, and a blend that is, as far as I’m concerned, Steve Saka’s best work to date. Crisp and creamy, with flavorful notes of roasted almonds, buttered toast, and a natural sweetness that pulls everything together, Sobremesa Brulee has everything I look for in a celebratory cigar. Whether you plan on smoking this yourself or giving it to that friend who has never smoked a cigar before, Sobremesa Brulee is bound to impress anyone with its top-notch tobacco, balanced flavor profile, and perfect construction. Fair warning: you might be so enthralled with Sobremesa Brulee that you’ll forget to socialize.
2. Ashton Cabinet Selection No. 4
- Body: Mellow to Medium
- Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
- Price Point: $12.00
- Main Flavors: Coffee, Honey, Cashews
What kind of celebratory list would this be without an Ashton? Probably one that’s not worth reading, but I digress. Ashton Cabinet Selection is a masterclass in tobaccos – a blend of filler tobaccos that are fermented for five to seven years are encased in a golden Connecticut Shade that’s as smooth as that velvet blazer you’re wearing. Balanced, and refined, Ashton Cabinet Selection provides flavorful notes of cashews, honey, and cappuccino and serves as the perfect companion to watch the ball drop at Times Square. If this is your first time smoking Ashton Cabinet Selection (or any Ashton for that matter), it will be pretty easy to see why Ashton has been an industry staple for decades.
3. Emilio Suave Robusto
- Body: Medium
- Country of Origin: Nicaragua
- Price Point: $9.00
- Main Flavors: Butter, White Pepper, Nutmeg
If you really want to be the suave guy at this year’s party (pun intended), then Emilio Suave is a no-brainer; where Emilio Suave lacks in supposed brand recognition, it makes up for in style, and quality. An elegant Connecticut Shade wrapper sits atop a spicy Habano wrapper and is finished with a blend of rich Nicaraguan filers that combine to produce a complex flavor profile that boasts of flavors of butter, nutmeg, white pepper, and custard. A beautiful cigar, delectable flavor profile, and stylish packaging from a trendy, new-school brand – what’s not to love about Emilio Suave?
4. RoMa Craft Intemperance EC XVIII Industry Belicoso
- Body: Mellow to Medium
- Country of Origin: Nicaragua
- Price Point: $8.25
- Main Flavors: Earth, Natural Sweetness, Cinnamon
RoMa Craft, one of the most beloved and respected boutique brands in the industry, has been making fan favorite blends for years now, and not a single one of their releases has impressed me more than Intemperance EC XVIII has. The brainchild of Skip Martin and Mike Rosales, Intemperance EC XVIII sports an exquisite Connecticut Shade wrapper grown in Ecuador, a savory Indonesian binder, and a hearty blend of Nicaraguan fillers that help it stand out in the world of, oftentimes flavorless and dull, mellow cigars. RoMa Craft puts swanky designs to the side, and instead focuses on high quality tobaccos and diligent quality control to produce some of the best blends on the market today. Intemperance EC XVIII, at its core, is reliable, delicious, and balanced – just what I want in a cigar.
5. New World Connecticut by AJ Fernandez Toro
- Body: Mellow to Medium
- Country of Origin: Nicaragua
- Price Point: $7.50
- Main Flavors: Cedar, Cream, French Bread
If you are reading this, or have ever had a cigar before, chances are you’ve heard the name AJ Fernandez – he’s been the hottest name in cigars for what seems like 15 years, and for good reason. AJ Fernandez is best known for making award-winning, powerhouse blends with some of the best tobacco that Nicaragua has to offer, but with New World Connecticut, he is doing things a bit differently. A blend of Nicaraguan fillers is bound with a spicy San Andres binder and wrapped seamlessly with a Connecticut Shade wrapper that produces a mellow to medium-bodied experience characterized by notes of cream, French bread, and aged cedar. The perfect complement to a glass of champagne, you can be sure that New World Connecticut by AJ Fernandez will be invited back for the party next year.
Next Steps:
Even though you will probably be preoccupied with the party festivities as you smoke through these cigars, I would suggest that you try to take some mental notes on what you like about each blend – it’ll help you down the road when you’re looking for more celebratory cigars.
Once you identify a blend (or five) that you are absolutely in love with, make sure to grab a couple of five packs or a box to keep handy in your humidor. Or if you can’t decide which is your favorite, pick up another sampler and smoke them all again – you can’t go wrong with any of these blends.
Let us know what you (and your fellow partygoers) think of the blends included in our New Year’s Eve Sampler. It was too hard for me to pick a personal favorite from this assortment, so I am curious to see what the consensus is.
