2021 CA Report: Best Value Bundle Cigars

Top 10 Best Value Bundle Cigars for Your Money

Updated March 2021

A good smoke at a fair price. That’s what most cigar smokers want, and that’s just one of the things bundle cigars provide. Certainly, the lack of box packaging takes a big bite out of the cost. Additionally, the wrappers may be a little less attractive, and the fillers are likely to be either short, or a Cuban sandwich mix of varying lengths. These features also help lower costs. And the fact that value bundle cigars contribute a lot to retailers’ bottom lines says that their popularity is far from over. If anything, bundle cigars may be more popular than ever, and here’s why. . .

A vast amount of information on cigars is available online. Cigar growing and manufacturing processes, online forums, videos, virtual seminars, and other events have made today’s cigar smokers much more sophisticated. And the sheer variety of cigars on the market these days gives them access to many more brands in every category. Add it all up and cigar smokers discover what they like and what they want a lot faster.

Moreover, today’s cigar smokers get that most bundle cigars aren’t going to have the same quality as a $10 cigar. I emphasize “most” since many of the bundle cigars sold these days, including some in this listing, are made with better quality tobaccos, including long fillers. And because they get it, cigar smokers understand both the risks and advantages of buying bundles.

Proof that a good cigar can be a cheap cigar

Bundle cigars continue to provide a satisfying alternative to smokers who partake on a daily or almost daily basis. Yet, these economy class cigars are about as numerable as the even cheaper–per-stick machine-made cigars. So, navigating the seas of bundle brands can be daunting. But I finally settled on 10 of the best value bundle cigars in terms of their overall quality and flavor. Actually more than 10, because in some cases more than one wrapper type is available. Plus, there’s a value bundle for every level of cigar smoking experience.

Camacho Scorpion Fumas Sun Grown

Strength: Medium
Wrapper: Sun Grown (Ecuador)
Binder: Ecuador
Filler: Honduras, Nicaragua (mixed)

Do you love the rich, Honduran-forward flavor of Camacho Cigars, but find them a bit over your budget? Or, let’s say you’ve developed a taste for rich-tasting smokes and you’re looking for a similar flavor profile in an economy cigar. The Camacho Scorpion Fumas Sun Grown selection offers all that famous Camacho quality and taste in a bundle of 16 at a more than fair price. Using a Cuban sandwich blend of Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers encased in a spicy Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper, you’ll enjoy a medium-bodied smoke teeming with flavors of nuts, coffee bean, earth, and peppery spice with a pleasant natural tobacco sweetness.

Casa Fernandez New Cuba Connecticut

Strength: Medium
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade (Ecuador)
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua

If you’ve been following the good folks at Aganorsa Leaf, their Casa Fernandez New Cuba selection is one of the bet buys they make. From seed to ash, Casa Fernandez New Cuba cigars deliver maximum flavor in a very affordable bundle line. Besides being a great value, these premium cigars are handcrafted in practically every traditional size by Cuban Masters. Rolled in a “Shade” wrapper over mixed Nicaraguan fillers, the New Cuba Connecticut selection offers you a creamy, toasty, and nutty profile for enjoying with your morning cup of joe, or when you want a flavorful “in-between smokes” kind of smoke.

Don Mateo

Strength: Medium
Wrappers: Ecuador Sumatra or Mexican San Andrés Morron
Binder: Nicaraguan Habano
Filler: Nicaraguan Habano or Mexican Morron

You don’t hear about them all that much, but as value bundle cigars go, Don Mateo is well made everyday cigar that’s hard to beat. They used to look much cheaper until they up scaled the bands and packaging. However, these long filler cigars have undoubtedly been satisfying cigar smokers on a daily basis for a very long time. Made in Honduras, the Sumatra vitolas embrace an all Nicaraguan Habano binder and filler core, while the Maduros have Mexican Morron filler with Nicaraguan Habano binders. They make more sizes in Sumatra than Maduro, yet both offer a zesty flavor profile with a medium body. Whereas the Sumatra reveals a little more spice in the mix, the Maduro has a somewhat sweeter character. For an every day go-to, Don Mateo is well-made and has a rich taste that’s hard to beat.

Factory Smokes CT Shade by Drew Estate

Strength: Medium
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
Binder & Filler: Indonesian

With the Factory Smokes by Drew Estate selection, you’re looking at a true, first-quality bundle selection designed to give you a Drew Estate smoke experience in an economy-priced cigar. And if you know Drew Estate, they don’t do things in the usual way. As company founder Jonathan Drew said of this line: “This is long overdue for Drew Estate. . .to compete we wanted to disrupt the space with an innovative, deep value line of quality smokes for a broad set of thrifty individuals.” Factory Smokes star a very impressive Indonesian core capped by a clean-cut Connecticut Shade wrapper. Notes of earth, cedar, and sweet spice lead the charge in this medium-bodied value.

(And if you like these, try them in the Maduro wrapper.)

Famous Nicaraguan Selection 5000

Strength: Full
Wrapper: Arapiraca (Brazil)
Binder: Indonesia
Filler: Nicaragua

Dozens of four and five–star reviews made this line a gimme for our list. Made at Tabacalera A.J. Fernandez, Famous Nicaraguan 5000 boasts a full, sweet-spicy smoke that’s ready for action – anytime, anywhere. It all starts with a dark, oily, and naturally sweet Brazilian Arapiraca leaf that conceals an Indonesian binder plus a hearty helping of Nicaraguan long fillers. The 5000 series offers top construction, complexity, and rock-steady balance. But don’t take my word for it: “A well made, consistently full-bodied daily smoke,” “Has to be the best $2.00 cigar I ever smoked,” and “Great cigar. Burns, tastes, smokes, and draws like you’d expect from cigar 3-4 times its cost” are just a few of the nice things written about this must-smoke value.

Flor de Oliva Natural

Strength: Medium
Wrapper: Indonesian Sumatra (sweetened)
Binder & Filler: Nicaragua

For the money, you can’t miss with any of the Flor de Oliva cigar selections, but I’m still personally fond of the original “Natural” blend – the only one with lightly sweetened caps. Plus, Oliva’s sweetener has a cane-like sweetness, unlike many sweet-tipped cigars with an artificial flavor. Still one of the best-kept secret values in the cigar business, Flor de Oliva cigars are Nicaraguan at the core and rolled in rustic-looking Sumatra wrappers. The medium-bodied smoke is smooth, balanced, and teeming with earthy, woodsy, and spicy notes, plus a smack of sweetness on the finish. Rich enough for experienced smokers, yet easy-going enough for newer smokers, Flor de Oliva is one sweet tobacco treat that doesn’t overdo it.

Perdomo Fresco Sun Grown

Strength: Medium
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sun Grown
Binder & Filler: Cuban-seed Nicaraguan

Nick Perdomo takes his value brand bundles as seriously as his higher-priced cigars. Proof of that can be found in Perdomo’s bestselling Fresco selections. They cost a little more than some of the other mentions in this list, but they also come in bundles of 25, which is a nice advantage, and the quality is first-rate, too. A fellow who used to worked with us swore by them, and now we know why. Perdomo Fresco Sun Grown cigars are puros handcrafted with long fillers grown on Perdomo’s estate farms in Estelí. All of the Fresco blends offer a great everyday smoking experience, but the Perdomo Fresco Sun Grown is the “Goldilocks” of the line with its rich, earthy-sweet flavors, hints of oak and almond, and long, complex finish.

Quorum Shade

Strength: Medium
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade (Ecuador)
Binder: Sumatra Sungrown
Filler: Nicaragua

Made at J.C. Newman’s PENSA factory in Estelí, their Quorum lines are nothing short of outstanding in construction, flavor, and value. Made in three bestselling wrapper varieties, the Connecticut is especially smooth, and can satisfy practically any cigar smoker’s fancy. Plus, these 92-rated suit–and–tie cigars come at a blue–collar price. Handsomely rolled, all of the tobaccos are well-fermented. Like all Quorum cigars, the filler is Nicaraguan, but the Quorum Shade has a Sumatra Sungrown binder (used as wrapper on the Quorum Maduro), below a clean Connecticut Shade leaf. The flavors are earthy, nutty, cedary, and fairly spicy with a slightly sweet undercurrent.

Rocky Patel Cuban Blend Natural Fumas

Strength: Medium-Full
Wrapper: Corojo (Nicaragua)
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Honduran Ligeros (mixed)

Sometimes I wonder why some of these manufacturers even bother making ten-dollar cigars, when their economy class fare is so darn good. Then again, you wouldn’t have Rocky Patel Cuban Blend Fumas if not for the original Cuban Blend cigars. These Rocky Patel selections are indeed a dynamite deal, and they sell fast. For the Natural Fumas, they took Rocky’s Cuban Blend Natural recipe and made a mixed filler core of Honduran ligeros. The Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper remains unchanged. It may look a little less polished, but put a flame to it, and all that bold, earthy–spicy flavor opens right up. Great for those times when you’ve got yard work to handle, feel like taking a ride on the open road, golf, and other activities.

Schizo

Strength: Medium
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano or Mexican San Andrés Maduro
Binder & Filler: Nicaraguan

Here’s another example of a short filler cigar that smokes every bit as well as a long filler cigar—and one of the most successful, too. Made in Nicaragua, Schizo, from Asylum Cigars founder Tom Lazuka, comes in two varieties – Nicaraguan mixed-fillers rolled in darkish Habano wrappers or dark, oily Mexican San Andrés wrappers. Among being offered in a number of traditional sizes, like other Asylums, Schizo also features a 70-ring Gordo. The smoke is wonderfully rich and creamy revealing flavors of leather, oak, cocoa, and sweet spices, with the Maduro adding sweeter elements to the mix. Their medium body and strength also make them ideal for smoking any time and every day. Most customer reviews have also been extremely positive for Schizo.