Cigar Aficionado

While the term “ cigar” can conjure the image of dropping massive amounts of cash to keep a humidor well-stocked with quality smokes, the truth is that a fine cigar can be found for almost any budget. Every year, we add hundreds of new ratings to the comprehensive Cigar Aficionado database. As 2023 came to a close, we combed through 12 months of entries to uncover the best deals of the year. Our search found 25 handmade cigars with suggested retail prices of $7 or less (before taxes) and scores of 87 to 93 points in our blind tastings.

You’d expect a list such as this one to favor smaller, thinner vitolas such as coronas and petit coronas, but there are also thicker cigars such as toros and robustos, and there are even three cigars with a 60 ring gauge. Many of these cigars are made by some of the biggest names in the industry, so you should have no trouble finding them in stores. Use this list to keep both your humidor and your wallet full.

—Thomas Pappalardo