CA Report: Top New Cigars (Mar. 18 2019)

From the day this article goes to print, it’s only two short days until the official start of Spring. No matter: even with some leftover snow on the ground, we say dust off the patio furniture and grab a new cylinder of propane – it’s smokin’ time! But before you run off in a frenzy to refill your neglected humidor, let’s look at this short list of tasty newcomers: our six fresh picks that have either just been released, or were released in 2018 and have finally made their way into stock. Either way, you need to know about these…

Fratello Navetta Inverso

Wrapper: Nicaragua Habano     Binder: Ecuador     Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua   

The patties are fresh off the grill and you sit down to enjoy your last hour’s handiwork. As you chow down, you realize, your burger tastes like lighter fluid. Gross. Dinner might be ruined, but your after-dinner smoke certainly doesn’t have to be! Enter Fratello Navetta Inverso. With notes of dark chocolate, spicy tobacco flavor, espresso, and a delectably creamy finish, you’ll soon be forgetting how big of a train wreck your cookout was. And with prices starting under $10/stick, you can probably spring for that Idiot’s Guide to Grilling.

Ringmaster by EPC

Wrapper: Nicaragua Habano     Binder: Nicaragua     Filler: Nicaragua

You’ve been planning this camping trip for months. You’re all set to go next week, but as you rummage through your humidor looking for some sticks to bring along, the familiar faces you see are a bit too familiar. It’s time to change things up, and why not do it with a Ringmaster by EPC? This latest entry to the INCH family grants notes of pepper, spice, and rich tobacco flavors with an easy-to-smoke medium profile and a large ring gauge that’s sure to last into many of the long hours of campfire revelations. Bring some of these along, and your nights beneath the stars will be all the more memorable.

Camacho Scorpion Sun Grown

Wrapper: Ecuador Sun Grown Habano     Binder: Nicaragua     Filler: Nicaragua, Honduras, Peru

It’s that time of year to start hitting the trails again, so pull your hiking boots out of storage and unpack your travel humidor! It’s time to trek toward views that can only be made more mesmerizing by a world-class cigar. Camacho Scorpion Sun Grown (black box, on the right) is the perfect stick for the expedition. With its nuanced flavors of medium-bodied cream, almonds, leather, sweet wood, and spices, your hard-earned rest stop at the scenic overlook will last well into the afternoon. If you prefer a mellower version, there’s an Ecuador Connecticut Shade option (the yellow box on the left) that’s equally as delicious, so there’s no reason not to give one of those a try, too. Probably the only Scorpion that would be a welcomed surprise inside your day bag.

Alec Bradley Medalist

Wrapper: Honduran Connecticut Shade     Binder: Honduras     Filler: Honduras, Nicaragua

If you’re the type who loves to get up early on Saturday mornings to enjoy a peaceful world while everyone else is still asleep, you’ll want to start your day with an easygoing and mellow cigar. The thing is, though, many of those mild-mannered sticks consist of blends that remove all of the flavor along with the strength. Alec Bradley Medalist stands as an outlier in this category with subtle notes of creamy cedar, nuts, leather, and earth that brings more excitement to the table than most garden-variety Connecticut cigars on the market – all without the kick to the gut. With prices starting around $6/stick, you’ll be able to get enough for many weekends to come.

Alec Bradley Magic Toast

Wrapper: Honduras     Binder: Honduras, Nicaragua     Filler: Honduras, Nicaragua

As legend has it, if you light up a cigar on the exact moment of the Spring equinox, you’re rewarded with luck, fame, and prosperity. Dubious, maybe, but we’ll take those odds – especially with the help of a magical cigar. And what’s more magical than Alec Bradley Magic Toast? With its buttery offerings of cedar, cocoa, sweet wood, and earth, these cigars make for an excellent treat. The medium-bodied profile will appeal to the majority of smokers and it is, actually, the only literal way to add Magic to your humidor.

Asylum Medulla Oblongata

Wrapper: Honduran Corojo/Mexican San Andres Maduro     Binder: Honduras     Filler: Honduras

You’ve got your boat all fueled up for a cloudless day on the lake. You get there and notice that you have it all to yourself! This calls for a proper smoke, and for this instance, have a look at a cigar so good, Asylum made it twice! The Asylum Medulla Oblongata comes in your choice of Parejo (Medulla) or box-pressed (Oblongata), as well as Corojo or San Andres Maduro-wrapped options. Its choice tobaccos leave an ambrosial trail of black pepper, espresso, leather, and earth that will satisfy even the most discriminating of palates. And hey, if the lake is that empty, why not go for the twofer and try both?

What did you think of the list? What new cigars are you smoking these days? Let us know in the comments below and keep your eyes peeled for the next edition of Top New Cigars!