Celebrate with Our Top 10 New Year's Eve Party Cigars
Best Premium Cigars for the New Year Celebration
If premium handmade cigars were reduced to having only one purpose, it would undoubtedly be for celebrating. I needn’t reprise the usual reasons for lighting up; but I bet we agree there’s no better time than now, when the libations are flowing and the year-end festivities are in full swing. And it wouldn’t be a bad idea to plan for a particular cigar to smoke on New Year’s Eve.
Cigars are integral to the holiday season. It’s why we gift them. Why they come in fancy boxes. They’re more enjoyable than fruitcake. And being filled with the holiday spirit, there’s no better time for celebrating with friends and family than the weeks of Christmas and New Years. Even when it’s cold out, we throw an extra log on the firepit – or turn up the patio heater to “Broil” – just to experience some good cigar time.
But what about the cigar?
Truthfully, any cigar will do; I’ve long been an advocate for smoking what you like, if you like what you smoke. No judging, and sharing is encouraged. But in the event you’re looking for a cigar recommendation for something special to celebrate the mother of all party nights – New Year’s Eve - I’ve assembled what I think is a solid list of premium handmades from across a variety of brands, blends, and price points.
I’ll be the first to acknowledge that yeah, there’s some real pricey, upscale stuff on this list. But I don’t recommend expensive cigars just because they’re expensive; I recommend them because they are good. “You get what you pay for” still means something when the cigar delivers an experience. Similarly, I’ve selected a few down-to-earth picks that smoke way above their price point. If anything, I hope this list helps you make your first resolution: smoking one of these 10 cigars in the New Year!
Arturo Fuente Sun Grown Chateau King B Rosado
While the Don Carlos is usually our revelatory go-to, I’m opting for another New Year-worthy smoke from the Fuente stable: King B. Upon removing the protective cedar sleeve, it reveals a sun-grown Rosado wrapper that blushes with a buttery, brick-hued patina and smokes just as smoothly. Notes of sweet cedar, leather, and spice combine 90 minutes of pure, unadulterated relaxation made for a King - yet affordable enough for any of us commoners looking for a celebration-level torpedo. I’ll say it again: not every smoke on my New Year’s cigars list needs to be super expensive, it just needs to be good. Like this.
Rojas Street Tacos Barbacoa
It’s not just New Year’s Eve this year – it’s Taco Tuesday!
This Barbacoa (Ecuador Sumatra wrapper) version of the Street Tacos blend is full bodied, easily standing up to your 7-course potluck and a gathering around the firepit. I say this because not every New Year’s night out needs to be a formal affair and would happily recommend Rojas’ Street Tacos no matter if your event is black tie, black eye, or blackout (we all have our traditions). There’s plenty of coffee, dry wood, pepper, and an earthy, salty sweetness in this profile to go around. Another cigar that smokes like it should cost twice the price. If you’re looking for a celebration cigar that also qualifies as a great go-to smoke, this is it.
Davidoff Winston Churchill The Late Hour
Barrel aging is raging – and though it’s not new to cigarmaking, it is a honed skill. Davidoff are experts: the Late Hour’s super-diverse blend of premium tobaccos, some of which are aged in single malt whisky casks, burn with medium-full intensity and a billowy smoke that’s filled with rugged flavors of leather, coffee bean, sweet spices and pepper. The barrel aging adds an oaky sweetness to the profile – and it wouldn’t be close to the same cigar without it. If you’re going to stay up late to celebrate the last night of the year, you might as well do it with a cigar named for one of history’s most famous night owls - and in his namesake size.
Liga Privada T52
If you like the Liga Privada No.9, I think you’ll love the T52. The exquisite Connecticut-grown, stalk-cured Habano Oscuro wrappers are dark, mouthwateringly oily, and abundantly flavorful. Add the Brazilian Habano-seed binder and the core of Nicaraguan Dominican and Honduran long-fillers, and you’ve got a creamy, chewy, and uber-robust smoke brimming with peppery spice backed by notes of espresso, aged wood, sweet spices, and more. A true aficionado’s cigar, perfect for following a big meal. As Jonathan Drew says, “The Liga Privada T52 story is about leaf,” and once you smoke this highly-rated Toro, you’ll have a whole new appreciation for the art of tobacco blending.
El Rey Del Mundo King of the World
This is IT – this is your year. King of the World! It can happen. You can speak it into existence. You can smoke it into existence, too. So sure of themselves they named it “King of the World” twice, the El Rey folks brought in Justo Eiroa and his family’s authentic Corojo tobacco to make this celebration smoke. You’ll enjoy the King’s Corojo flavor profile of citrus, cedar, and light spices, as it is actually quite Cuban-ish. Plus, it has all those positive vibes to back it up and start your new year off on the right foot.
Montecristo 1935 Edicion Diamante
Little known and seldom-used fact until every December and we talk about it: the New Year's Eve ball in Times Square is covered with 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles, and they are super sparkly. If you’d like to enjoy something shiny and nice for yourself while the ball drops, smoke the Montecristo 1935 Edicion Diamante. This “diamond” edition shimmers in a Cuban-seed hybrid wrapper developed by AJ Fernandez, cloaking complex varietals grown in Esteli and Ometepe. Truth be told, just about any Montecristo will do for a New Year’s Eve celebration – but this one really is special. I chose the Rothschild-sized Icon, if only because I plan to smoke more than one cigar this December 31st and I will leave the best for last.
Padrón Family Reserve 50 Years
Another selection from high upon the top shelf. The biggest reason I chose these particular puros is because I splurged on a box of them for my 50th birthday back in the spring, and holy cow are they good. This 50 Years Robusto from their “Family Reserve” selection is a flavor bomb extraordinaire in-waiting. Everybody always chooses Maduro, but I think this natural Habano wrapper version is just as good. Box-pressed and boasting a full-bodied blend of 10-year-aged Nicaraguan tobaccos, the smoke is velvety, perfectly-balanced, and simmers with notes of cocoa, espresso, and sweet spice. We’re talkin’ a real celebratory finger burner here. And take your time; you don’t want to miss any of it.
La Gloria Cubana Society
So here’s the LGC Society story…
Back in ’22 (maybe), the General Cigar folks tapped into their 2,000+ member LGC Society network to create a “consensus” blend; they made 2,500 boxes of these Society cigars. What we have here represents the last of them.
This limited-edition Toro II release combines Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers with and Ecuador Sumatra binder (a nod to EP Carrillo) in a Honduran Habano Maduro wrapper. Very flavorful, but not overpowering - so it’s fine if the New Year’s party you’re attending is only serving “heavy appetizers.” If your New Year’s resolution is to smoke good cigars, then start early with these – they’re also a veritable STEAL.
El Pulpo
The surprise darling of the 2023 Cigar Aficionado Best-of list, where the Belicoso landed at #10. But I’m just as apt to recommend this Robusto fatty since I already have a good number of figurados on the list here. Made by A.J. Fernandez in Nicaragua for Artesano del Tobacco, it’s an extra-aged Mexican San Andrés wrapper that – along with Nicaraguan long fillers – contributes to a profile with layers of coffee, dark chocolate, pepper, and raisins. A full-bodied but well-balanced burner that you’ll want to keep going way past midnight, even when the nub threatens to sear your fingers.
Weller by Cohiba
We’ve got room for one more before we call it a night, so let’s head up into rare air with Weller by Cohiba. Yes, they are expensive, but somehow not ridiculously expensive – a surprise, considering their rarity (which is one of the biggest reasons some cigars cost more). These two titans of the good life have teamed up to create a top-of-the-line smoking experience that boasts a five-nation blend; but the star is a Connecticut Broadleaf binder that was aged in barrels that once held 114-proof Weller Full Proof Bourbon (“barrel aging is raging,” right?). Once assembled, it smokes with a complex profile of cedar, honey, and a mild spice. Hats off to you, if you can find your way into a bottle of Weller – because there are few finer ways to toast to the New Year.