13 Long Cigars For The Summer Season
With longer days and warmer nights, the summer season is the perfect time to light up those longer cigars you’ve been ignoring all year. Sizes like Churchills, double coronas and the ultra-rare “A” are increasingly sidelined in today’s market which favors shorter, fatter cigars. Now’s the time to go long. We’ve combed through the past six months of recent cigar ratings to find 13 lengthy smokes that can carry you through an entire summer barbecue, a complete round of golf, an extended evening around the fire pit or any other attenuated activity that comes your way this summer.
Every cigar rated by Cigar Aficionado is smoked blind by our of editors. The tasting coordinator removes the cigars’ identifying bands and replaces them with plain white, numbered labels before handing them out. of the tasting have no idea what they are smoking and cigars are evaluated without biases such as price, country of origin or brand.
Ashton Heritage Puro Sol Churchill (95 points, $13.30)
When first released, the Heritage Puro Sol line featured a Cameroon wrapper. Today, it’s covered in a leaf of Ecuador Havana, and the change may have been for the better as this cigar rated 95 points—Classic status. An array of leather, toasted almond, cashew and orange peel attain sublime harmony before a sweet caramel finish. See full tasting note.
Padrón Serie 1926 No. 1 Maduro (94 points, $24.75)
The all-Nicaraguan Padrón Serie 1926 brand was created as a bolder alternative to the company’s popular 1964 Anniversary line and to honor founder José Orlando Padrón’s birth year. Big notes of chocolate, leather and coffee bean are amped up with a red-pepper spice. See full tasting note.
Tatuaje Reserva A Uno (94 points, $24)
This cigar is a double rarity. Firstly, it’s rolled in the United States at the El Rey de Los Habanos factory in Miami. Secondly, it’s made in the rare “A” size. Measuring an imposing 9 1/4 inches long, the cigar has a lush draw that layers the palate with impressions of dark chocolate, red pepper and espresso. See full tasting note.
Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente King T (Tubo) (93 points, $12.60)
Covered in shade-grown wrapper from Connecticut, this cigar leans mild, but still has plenty to offer. Its toasty character is accented by bright notes of orange peel, walnut and cinnamon. Additionally, it comes in a handsome tube that ensures your cigar stays protected in your pocket. See full tasting note.
My Father La Opulencia Toro Gordo (93 points, $13.20)
Once an abandoned, long-forgotten Cuban brand, La Opulencia was given new life in Nicaragua when it was resurrected in 2017 by My Father Cigars. It features a Mexican wrapper, two Nicaraguan binders (one Criollo and one Corojo) and various Cuban-seed Nicaraguan fillers. Translating to “the opulent” in Spanish, this Churchill lives up to the name with a rich smoke of black coffee, black cherry and black pepper. See full tasting note.
Romeo y Julieta Churchill (Tubo) (93 points, £51.60)
It’s one of the most iconic Cuban cigars named after one of the most iconic cigar smokers—Winston Churchill. But you probably already knew that. Almost 60 years after the elder statesman’s ing, the cigar still continues to impress. Floral at first, the Churchill becomes woody with elements of orange zest, vanilla and nuts making for a creamy smoke worthy of its name. See full tasting note.
San Cristobal Revelation Triumph (93 points, $10.25)
The San Cristobal series is made for Ashton Distributors Inc. by My Father Cigars. So, it’s not surprising that the Revelation line is rolled with the same Ecuador Sumatra wrapper as Ashton’s Virgin Sun Grown blend. The only difference is that it’s culled from a lower (See full tasting note.
Aging Room Quattro Maduro Concerto (92 points, $12.86)
Unlike some of the other cigars in the Aging Room Quattro series, this box-pressed Churchill is made not in Nicaragua but in the Dominican Republic at Jochy Blanco’s Tabacalera Palma factory. It consists of a dark Mexican wrapper over Dominican binder and filler, and is a toasty smoke with dried fruit at its core. See full tasting note.
Cuba Aliados Original Blend Churchill (92 points, $11.50)
The once popular Cuba Aliados brand eventually fell out of favor, but it got a new life in 2021 when Oliva Cigar Co. purchased the trademark. One of the two releases under the new owner was the Original Blend, a line of Honduran See full tasting note.
Eiroa 50x10 (92 points, $28.90)
Measuring a mammoth 10 inches long by 50 ring gauge, this Honduran colossus from Christian Eiroa is the longest cigar on this list and will keep you smoking for hours. Made completely of Honduran tobacco, it has a toasty, creamy quality with elements of nuts, citrus and vanilla which turn a bit spicy. See full tasting note.
H. Upmann Nicaragua AJ Fernandez Heritage Churchill (92 points, $11.23)
This Churchill is a collaboration between Rafael Nodal, of Tabacalera U.S.A., and cigarmaker A.J. Fernandez. It’s an all-Nicaraguan blend, save for the Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper. The smoke is woody with notes of oak and hickory and becomes sweeter as it burns with a pronounced raisin quality. See full tasting note.
Alec Bradley Prensado Churchill (91 points, $13.39)
Once the Cigar of the Year in 2011, this box-pressed Churchill from Alec Bradley still continues to impress well over a decade later. The medium-to-full-bodied smoke loads the palate with rich layers of roasted coffee-bean, raw almond and dark chocolate. It gains a bit of a spice before the sweet finish. See full tasting note.
Casa Magna Colorado Churchill (91 points, $9.87)
The smoke from this Nicaraguan puro is as strong as its dark, oily wrapper suggests with a bold note of espresso settling on the palate from the first puff. Some leather comes through, bridging elements of cocoa powder and earth before turning peppery on the finish. It’s made in the Dominican Republic by Quesada Cigars, and retails for just under $10 (before taxes), making it the most affordable option on this list. See full tasting note.
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