Ashton Cigars

If you're looking to buy cigars online and want one of the tastiest smokes to come out of the Dominican Republic - and which can live up to the hype - you've come to the right place: Ashton Cigars. Representing a partnership that's been decades in the making, they're handcrafted at Tabacalera A, Fuente y Cia where only the most select, painstakingly cured and aged Dominican-grown filler and binder tobaccos are rolled in a smooth-as-silk U.S. Connecticut Shade wrapper. Ashton represents everything you want in a super-premium, and delivers them in spades...character, balance, complexity and aroma. And whether you're in the market for the best-of-the-best, or you're developing a new appreciation for fine cigars, we certify this smoke as a must-buy. But don't just take our word for it - the brand's history, and its affiliation with Fuente, speak for themselves...

Born in Philly, Ashton was introduced by tobacconist Robert Levin in 1985. The original Ashton Classic cigars line was (and is) a mild-to-medium bodied premium prized for construction, balance, and rich flavor - making these cigars an international benchmark in handmades. Thanks in no small part to their renown as Fuente-manufactured premiums, Ashton cigar ratings skyrocketed and smoke shops everywhere were bombarded with customers wanting to buy Ashton cigars. So when the boom hit in the mid-90's, many new smokers were on the hunt for these Dominicans, which now enjoyed quite a reputation among enthusiasts.

Ashton Cigar Lines

Besides the Classic line, Ashton cigars are offered in five other unique blends. Let's start with the Cabinet Selection, which is a whole different animal entirely from the original: a limited edition release, its blend is a hearty stew of no fewer than six different tobaccos that produce a richer, more medium-bodied smoke that made a name for itself via its complexity. The nearly four years of aging on that prime Dominican leaf is where the magic happens - after which it's rolled in top-grade Connecticut Shade wrapper, then aged for an additional year.

If it's sweet, sweet Maduro you're after - the company delivers once again with their Aged Maduro selection. Blended with the highest-grade Dominican tobaccos, these Ashton Maduro cigars are rolled in Connecticut Broadleaf wrappers that haven't been fermented, so much as they have been slow-roasted to produce a uniform, dark and rich tone on top of that patented smooth-as-glass premium Maduro taste.

As the brand continued to grow the fuller-bodied end of their offerings, the Virgin Sun Grown (or VSG) was the next to come to market. Levin turned to Carlos Fuente, Jr. to help develop the potency that became the Ashton VSG cigar calling card, but to do it in a way that kept to the brand's now long-standing standards of excellence in body, aroma and complexity. The project would take two years - and when the Virgin Sun Grown finally debuted in 1999, it was hailed as an instant classic: a litany of 90+ ratings and raves rained on in from both industry tasters and consumers in almost every Ashton cigar review , with many hailing it as the best Ashton cigar - and it's still the most successful of their lines to date. Company proprietors would hail the VSG as the smoke that, they believe, paved the way for the full-bodied cigar trend that took off a year later.

Next in line for releases is the Heritage Puro Sol. Introduced in 2003, and again to high decibel fanfare from the stogie-smoking masses, much of its success came through its use of a Cameroon wrapper, thanks to the late Rick Meerapfel; he spent many years in Africa growing the finest Cameroon leaf. While it had been in use for years, and considered some of the finest wrapper leaf outside of Cuba, this was a first for the company. But as it was well known to the Fuentes, and already in use on some of their premiums, this Central African sun-grown leaf presents a variety of flavors when wrapped around a fuller-bodied blend - like this one - and Fuente used it to his advantage.

Rounding out their portfolio is the smoke with which Levin's line marked its 20th Anniversary: the Estate Sun Grown (or ESG). Initially blended as a limited edition puro, Carlito Fuente used a proprietary blend that he then rolled in a Dominican wrapper leaf cultivated on the Chateau de la Fuente plantation. A new size was added to the line each year through 2010; today, you can buy all five of the ESG cigars online.

There are outstanding smokes, and then there are Ashtons. Treat yourself to a true super-premium that needs no special occasion at which to smoke it: buy Ashton cigars online at discount prices here at Famous Smoke Shop."