Top 5 Sleeper Cigars
Cigar Hidden Gems Unearthed!
From Cigars of the Year, to trending reviews, there’s no shortage of rockstar cigars thriving in the spotlight. Guide after guide, review after review, the dead horse of hyped-up names certainly gets beaten.
With instant information available at our fingertips, do sleeper cigars still exist?
Yes.
Sure, fads come and go, but tobacco’s internet age is still ruled by brands like Padron, Macanudo, Romeo y Julieta, Cohiba, and their ilk. Aside from a few standout boutiques, the rest of the brands, along with their gems, stay lost in the static.
As much as I’d love to see them get the fanfare they deserve, I think it’s better this way. Hidden treasure is just more fun to find. Get your shovels ready because I’m about to mark all of the Xs and show you the best sleeper cigars available!
Corto by Warped
Short. Sweet. To the point. That’s how I like my work meetings. And my cigars. Good thing that Corto got the memo. While Warped has gotten its fair share of limelight as a premier boutique manufacturer, some of their blends, like the Corto here, jump off the page but never quite get airborne. Like a great Tarantino flick, it quickly gained a cult following. Helped not a damn bit by advertising, but thanks to its brawny notes of sweet tobacco and a core of all-Nicaraguan spice, Corto is proof that word will get around if you make it tasty enough.
Ferio Tego Summa
When Michael Herklots brought Nat Sherman back from the dead via Ferio Tego, the cigar world rejoiced. But while everyone was busy grabbing from the Metropolitan or Timeless piles, I quietly checked out Summa from the library. Good thing it’s not a book, because it would be long overdue.
If you mixed raisin toast with a tangy dose of citrus and topped it off with a butter-washed floral finish, you’d be in the ballpark for what to expect from the Summa blend. The Nat resurrection was great; Ferio’s original blends, I’d argue, are even better.
Guaimaro
One of the first cigars recommended to me when I started working at Cigar Advisor, Esteban Disla’s Guaimaro blend holds a special place in my heart. Thanks, Gary. I smoked bundle after bundle of these lightly sweet, yet nutty and peppery diamonds in the rough, and always came back for more. And even though they’ve grown into a full box presentation, they still haven’t gotten the love they deserve. And maybe keeping them on the DL is what’s needed. The last thing we need is another great brand ruined by hubris. Check ‘em out. One of the best kept secrets around.
Indomina by AJ Fernandez
The best-selling exclusive at Famous Smoke Shop is and probably always will be Romeo y Julieta House of Capulet. It presses the mellow and flavor buttons simultaneously to easily earn its rep, but I find myself more often reaching for Indomina. The blend certainly embodies AJ’s reputation as a flavor bomb specialist with notes of spices, wood, and a fiery mixture of pepper and earth. Breakfast cigars are great. After dinner cigars—especially when they can keep up with the strongest of spirits—are even better.
Rojas Street Tacos Barbacoa
Easily one of the best cigars of the past decade...yet somehow, it's buried somewhere on page ten. Is the taco flavor really there? Absolutely. In more ways than you'd expect. Rojas Street Tacos smokes zesty, piquant, umami-rich, and with mouth-watering savoriness. You'll see what I mean when you try one. Noel Rojas’ subsequent releases have all been stellar, too. But this one deserves the status of sleeper—maybe more than any other cigar.