Top New Cigars (February 6, 2023)

Fresh Sticks: The Best New Cigars You Should Be Smoking!

It’s 2023 and we’re still using a groundhog’s shadow to predict the weather? With that kind of logic, it’s no wonder we’ve devolved into paying $18 a carton for eggs. I’ll just take some toast, please. Thanks. Now that breakfast is ruined, I’m hoping to make up for it with some lip-smacking smokes. And the three new cigars I picked this week from Macanudo, Foundation, and Warped—all of them peg the delicious meter.

Check out this trio of quick reviews on their flavors and let me know in the comments which one you’ll be adding to your collection!

Macanudo Estate Reserve

Wrapper: Ecuador Connecticut
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Brazilian Mata Fina, Dominican Olor & Piloto Cubano, and Nicaraguan Jalapa
Macanudo is celebrating 45 incredible years with a limited edition series they’ve named Estate Reserve. A collaboration between Flint Knoll winery in Napa Valley, California, Macanudo Estate Reserve is crafted with rare tobaccos painstakingly aged in Flint Knoll wine barrels. I found flavors that are sweet, and nutty, and smoke with a distinctly wine-like finish.

 If you’re a cigar connoisseur and a budding sommelier, Mac’s limited edition Estate Reserve gives a palate-pleasing flair to a familiar mellow favorite.

Highclere Castle Senetjer By Foundation Cigars (New Size!)

Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina
Filler: Proprietary

The Bangles taught me how to Walk Like an Egyptian in 1986. 37 years later, Nick Melillo of Foundation Cigars is showing me how to smoke like one. Highclere Castle Senejter was crafted to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of archaeologist Howard Carter’s discovery of King Tut’s tomb.

The Senetjer (which was the Egyptian word for incense) cigar box itself was designed in collaboration with famed Egyptologists Colleen and John Darnell to replicate a storage box found in the tomb.

As for the flavor, AJ Fernandez crafted the blend to perfection, matching the visual presentation. Spices, pepper, and earth take the spotlight, followed by a light tobacco sweetness, dark wood, and floral retrohale. It’s full-bodied without burning out my palate, and that’s always a treat.

El Oso by Warped Cigars

Wrapper: Ecuador Habano (Deflorada)
Binder: Ecuador
Filler: Nicaragua & Dominican

Last but not least, Warped Cigars latest blend, El Oso (meaning The Bear), is yet another home run smoke just in time for baseball spring training. It’s no surprise. Warped has been making some of our favorite boutique cigars over the past few years.

El Oso vitolas are made in Miami’s legendary El Titan de Bronze factory where their top torcedors roll a limited quantity of 150 cigars per day. Expect a velvety spicy sweetness among a wealth of pepper, coffee, and even a dash of cinnamon. Swing for El Oso, and you’ll never miss.