Cuba is often regarded as the epicentre of high-quality cigars. Nevertheless, they’re also quite elusive, especially if you live in the USA.
In this guide, we present you with our selection of the Best Cuban Cigars:
- Ramon Allones Superiores LCDH
- H. Upmann Magnum 54
- Cohiba Siglo III
- La Gloria Cubana Serie D N°5
- Hoyo de Monterrey Épicure N°2
- Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchill
- Partagas Serie D N°4
- Montecristo Línea 1935
- San Cristobal de la Habana La Punta
- Flor de Cano Mágicos
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What Are The Best Cuban Cigars?
Before you discover our selection of the Top 10 Cuban Cigars, we just want to add the disclaimer that we don’t regard the following list as completely exhaustive. Indeed, Cuba is a country that boasts a plethora of cigars for different palates and personal preferences.
Similarly, feel free to leave a comment if you have a personal favourite or feel that we left something out!


- Filler: Cuba
- Binder: Cuba
- Wrapper: Cuba
- Preferred Vitola: 5.63 x 54 Corona Gorda
- Assembly: Partagás [Havana Vieja, Cuba]
- Handmade: Yes
- Body: Medium
- Smoking Time: 70 Minutes
- Pricing: $14.70 / Single
While you were probably expecting a Cohiba Behike, it’s actually the lesser-known Roman Allones that takes first place in this list. A Casa del Habano exclusive, the Superiores blend is a limited production of 50,000 cigars per year.
The Superiores is a complex cigar that delivers caramelised notes of cinnamon spice all the way through that are accompanied by hints of coffee, terracotta, chocolate, and nutmeg. If you’re seeking a uniquely Cuban experience, this option is one for the connoisseurs.
"An exceptional Cuban cigar that delivers complexity, flavour and a well-balanced body."

- Filler: Vuelta Abajo, Cuba
- Binder: Vuelta Abajo, Cuba
- Wrapper: Vuelta Abajo, Cuba
- Preferred Vitola: 4¾ x 54 Gordito
- Assembly: H. Upmann, Havana, Cuba
- Handmade: Yes
- Body: Medium
- Smoking Time: 75 Minutes
- Pricing: $10.30 / Single
Released in 2016, the 54 is the latest of the Magnum range. Short and stocky, it features an immaculate construction and an aromatic flavour profile. Expect sweet hints of anise, spicy nutmeg, and cacao nibs throughout the experience.
Its lusciously smooth mouthfeel and beautifully balanced body offer an elegant experience that is welcoming for both novices and seasoned enthusiasts alike.
- Filler: Cuba
- Binder: Cuba
- Wrapper: Cuba
- Preferred Vitola: 6⅛ x 42 Corona Grandes
- Assembly: Partagás, Havana Vieja, Cuba
- Handmade: Yes
- Body: Mild – Medium
- Smoking Time: 50 Minutes
- Pricing: $15 / Single
Perhaps not the Cohiba you were expecting, the Siglo III stands out among the iconic brand’s offerings for a number of reasons. Firstly, its long and thin vitola is refined while it produces distinctive flavours.
Indeed, it may not be the largest or most ostentatiously premium choice. In fact, the Siglo III is quite reasonably priced! Thanks to its ideal size and exquisite blend, it offers a wonderfully complex and refined experience.

- Filler: Cuba
- Binder: Cuba
- Wrapper: Cuba
- Preferred Vitola:4⅓ x 50 Petit Corona
- Assembly: Partagás, Havana Vieja, Cuba
- Handmade: Yes
- Body: Mild – Medium
- Smoking Time: 60 Minutes
- Pricing: $13 / Single
Although a Spanish Exclusive, the Serie D N°5 can still be found abroad from the right retailers. Boasting a harmonious flavour profile that offers coffee beans, pine, and cinnamon, it’s a wonderful option indeed.
This 2017 release opens with charred pine cone and dark chocolate in its first third before revealing paprika and cinnamon spices as well as leather as you progress. Complex and well-constructed, it’s an excellent choice for enthusiasts seeking something new.

- Filler: Vuelta Abajo, Cuba
- Binder: Vuelta Abajo, Cuba
- Wrapper: Vuelta Abajo, Cuba
- Preferred Vitola: 4 ⅞ x 50 Corona Gorda
- Assembly: La Corona, Havana, Cuba
- Handmade: Yes
- Body: Medium
- Smoking Time: 65 Minutes
- Pricing: $10.30 / Single
A classic Cuban cigar with a cult following, the Épicure N°2 by Hoyo de Monterrey is celebrated by both veteran and novice cigar enthusiasts. Although quite mild, it provides the smoker with an aromatic blend of rich flavours.
If you’re looking for a solid crowd-pleaser, the Épicure N°2 is hard to beat and will surely be a popular choice. Furthermore, it’s very welcoming for beginners and as a short and mild smoke, it won’t be an overwhelming experience for them.

- Filler: Cuba
- Binder: Cuba
- Wrapper: Cuba
- Preferred Vitola:5¼ x 55 Double Robusto
- Assembly: H. Upmann, Havana, Cuba
- Handmade: Yes
- Body: Medium
- Smoking Time: 70 Minutes
- Pricing: $13 / Single
Although Davidoff has an ongoing partnership with the Churchill family, it was Romeo y Julieta that first used Winston’s namesake. Indeed, the story goes that Romeo y Julieta created a custom vitola according to the British Prime Minister’s personal preferences.
Romeo y Julieta now have several cigars that carry the name with some being petit, small, or just regular Churchills. The Wide Churchill is a particularly popular choice thanks to its chunkier ring gauge. Therefore, it offers a briefer experience than the full-sized cigar without losing out on the flavours.

- Filler: Cuba
- Binder: Cuba
- Wrapper: Cuba
- Preferred Vitola: 4.88 x 50 Robusto
- Assembly: Partagás, Cuba
- Handmade: Yes
- Body: Medium
- Smoking Time: 45 Minutes
- Pricing: $11.50 / Single
A celebrated Cuban blend affectionately referred to as the “D4”, this iconic blend is considered to be the quintessential Robusto by many enthusiasts. The D4 is an exceedingly balanced blend that’s easy to smoke for both beginners and veterans alike.
Indeed, the Partagás Serie D N°4 often has a dedicated corner in many a Cuban cigar lover’s humidor. Meanwhile, they’re very enjoyable when smoked immediately. Yet, they also age wonderfully so consider reserving a few for later use.

Montecristo created its Línea 1935 range to be its strongest cigars yet. However, Montecristos are known for being quite mild so it’s best not to expect anything too opulent!
Named after when the brand was first founded, each vitola carries a name relevant to Alexandre Dumas’ tale of vengeance. An overall mellow cigar, it offers a combination of bay leaf, smoked beechn, and lapsang souchong tea.

- Filler: Cuba
- Binder: Cuba
- Wrapper: Cuba
- Preferred Vitola: 5½ x 52 Piramide
- Assembly: Havana, Cuba
- Handmade: Yes
- Body: Mild – Medium
- Smoking Time: 65 Minutes
- Pricing: $11 / Single
Despite its old-fashioned name, San Cristobal de la Habana was only officially launched in 1999. While it shares the name with an older brand, it has ceased production due to the Cuban Revolution. La Punta was one of the first three vitolas that were released when the brand was revived.
Modest and understated, this piramede cigar produces aromatic notes of charred thyme as well as caramel, marzipan, and nutmeg spice. An excellent choice if you’re looking for something versatile for any occasion.

- Filler: Cuba
- Binder: Cuba
- Wrapper: Cuba
- Preferred Vitola: 4.5 x 52 Gordito
- Assembly: El Ray del Mundo [Havana, Cuba]
- Handmade: Yes
- Body: Medium
- Smoking Time: 55 Minutes
- Pricing: $13.90 / Single
Our first choice is a wonderfully balanced Cuban cigar that was released in early 2020. This medium-bodied blend offers a wonderfully fruity second third. Meanwhile, its overall composition delivers light notes of spices and toasted cigar.
Since it’s a harmonious cigar, it’s great for fishing as it’s ideal for outdoor smoking at any time of the day. It’s the perfect choice if you’re looking for a cigar that offers about an hour of quiet contemplation. It doesn’t require much concentration yet rewards the meditative smoker.
Are Cuban Cigars Really The Best?
It is often claimed that the best cigars in the world come from Cuba. While this may have once been the case and there is still a lot to be said in favour of Cuban cigars, much has changed since the Cuban revolution!
Indeed, stories are often told of cigar manufacturers who fled Cuba during the turmoil to settle in neighbouring countries. In fact, many Cubans had already fled their native country following the aftermath of the Spanish-American War as well as the Ten Years’ War that preceded it so migration wasn’t a new phenomenon.
Although nearby territories like Nicaragua, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic had already been growing tobacco for centuries, they didn’t enjoy the same esteem as Cuba. Therefore, many of these manufacturers had to work hard in order to be noticed.
Rise Of New World Cigars
Until the turn of the 20th century, most cigar factories outside of Cuba were actually in the USA with a large portion in Key West and Tampa, Florida, as well as New York. Consequently, Cuba was among the only countries where the entire manufacturing process took place.
Eventually, new factories would open in the New World counties, too. Efforts were made to develop new strains of tobacco better adapted to climates that differed from Cuba’s famous Vuelta Abajo fields in the Pinar del Río region. Similarly, the soil needed to be worked in order to yield better crops.
Nevertheless, a large portion of the work involved marketing. Although the American market suddenly demanded cigars from elsewhere, this so-called “New World” tobacco was often regarded as inferior to that of Cuba.
It took years for New World tobacco to overcome this stigma, but it eventually thrived. Producers combined traditional method with new techniques while placing an emphasis on quality and accessibility. Blenders experimented with different tobaccos to create new sensations while manufacturers focused on unparalleled quality control.
New World cigars were often cheap and easy to find but were also well-made and of high quality.
Difficulties Under Nationalism
The nationalisation of Cuba’s cigar production caused notable changes in the country’s industry. Firstly, all the different brands were now owned by the Cuban government. Arguably, the different labels risked losing their unique identities, especially since they were often handmade under the same roof.
Meanwhile, some of the country’s most leading experts had left to produce cigars elsewhere. Therefore, there were also some leadership issues, which lead to poor management decisions. Tobacco was sometimes planted in unsuitable areas, crops failed and attempts to create new hybrids were unsuccessful.
Cuba’s difficulties came to a head when the Soviet Union collapsed. Until then, the country lived under what was known as the “Special Period” through subsidies from the USSR. When this privilege came to an end, tobacco farming experienced fuel and fertiliser shortages.
Newer generations of artisans were often poorly trained, which also lead to a decline in quality as well as quality control. Cuban cigars would eventually earn a reputation for regularly being plugged because they were too tightly rolled.
In 1994, Cuba founded Habanos S.A., a new entity that would control the production, promotion, and distribution of its cigars. Renewed efforts were made to improve Cuban cigar quality, which was then revitalised when tobacco giant Altadis purchased 50% of Habanos S.A. in 2000.
Indeed, it is widely believed that Altadis greatly influenced Cuba into returning to traditional production techniques as well as using more modern marketing methods. Much of Cuba’s former glory has been restored and with Altadis’ share of Habanos S.A. now jointly owned by Allied Cigar Corp and Gemstone Investment Holding Ltd., hopefully the trend will continue.
Which Is Better?
A characteristic of Cuban cigars is that they’re all puros, which means that they’re made only from Cuban tobacco. Meanwhile, New World cigars are often blended from tobaccos from many different countries.
These are traits are both double-edged swords. While Cuba enjoys a rich identity that can be likened to a terroir, it is limited to only what the country produces.
Meanwhile, New World cigars can combine a diverse variety of tobacco like Mexican San Andrès binders, Ecuadorian Connecticut wrappers, and volcanic Ometepe fillers. Yet, it sometimes means that they end up lacking an identity as a result. Yet, many cigar manufacturers have also started producing their own puros in order to express their country’s identities, too.
Arguably, the Cuban cigar industry declined while its New World peers began to truly thrive. Starting with a dynamic American market, demand eventually started to grow overseas in Europe and in Asia. Indeed, until the cigar boom of the 1990s, international markets had always focused mostly on Cuban cigars.
Today, you can easily argue that New World cigars are often of equal quality to those from Cuba and they’re sometimes better. Nevertheless, Cuba still has an undyingly romantic reputation for its cigars.
Rather than arguing which one is better, a more pragmatic approach would be to appreciate a cigar for what it represents. Like wine, whisky, or rum, a cigar is a unique expression of its own culture and climate through a sensorial experience.
How Did We Rank These Cigars?
Each cigar listed here has been either fully-reviewed or at least formally tested using the Bespoke Unit Cigar Formula. We developed this quantifiable review matrix to ensure that our reviews are both balanced and standardised.
It has been used for all of our cigar reviews since we evaluated the Avo Nicaragua in August 2019. Since then, it has been carefully revised in order to improve its accuracy and reliability.
Consequently, you can be confident that the cigars listed here were carefully and thoughtfully curated rather than assembled by random.
What Next?
Firstly, did we miss anything out? Feel free to let us know in the comments below! Otherwise, now that you’ve seen the best Cuban cigars, why don’t you also check out our related guides below?