Cold days be damned! The summer months are finally upon us, and as you may very well know, it’s blockbuster season! Yes – Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible, and Terminator are all on the list (what year is this again?) of epic, explosive, visual-candy-filled spectacles to keep us cool and sedated throughout these heated days…
Or, in the event that you may actually enjoy the summer’s booming heat and indulgences it brings, allow us to present a blockbuster of a different sort. Our list of 2015 Summer Blockbuster Cigars are some of the best, most fun, sometimes limited, and always tasty cigars you’ll find this year! These are the cigars that have enthusiasts abuzz, and with the 2015 IPCPR just around the corner, soon fans will be treated to the most exciting new releases 2015 has to offer. Of course, not everyone is showing their cards just yet, so we’re left to speculate a little.
2015 Blockbuster Cigars
Here are our picks for the most jaw-dropping, mouth-watering cigars to pair with your summer libations this season.
L’Atelier Côte d’Or
Say what now? L’Atelier Imports may be in an intense competition to include the most foreign accents into their marketing in the cigar biz – or maybe they just like to see us simple Americans struggle to pronounce their cigars. Think of it as simply: coat-door (read that with a southern accent for full effect). French for “Gold Coast”, Côte d’Or is named after a region in France where Pinot Noir grapes are grown for the world’s most renowned Burgundy wines. The correlation between the wine and the cigar is that both are crafted from extremely temperamental ingredients. For Côte d’Or, the cigar uses the illustrious Pelo de Oro tobacco from the farms of My Father Cigars. The tobacco is both rare and expensive, and the cigar reflects that in each case.
- Release: 4-15-2015
- Availability: Limited to 2,100 boxes of 10
- Price: $16
- Blockbuster Movie Pairing: Terminator Genisys
RoMa Craft Neanderthal
Fans have been awaiting this one for quite some time, and lucky us, the cigars are just beginning to roll out in time for the summer season! Yes, it’s been about 3 years since the last cigar release in RoMa Craft’s regular production lineup, but the wait is finally over. Continuing with their theme of “the caveman”, the cigars are dubbed “Neanderthal” and sport a flat head cap (clever!). Because of the unique cap design, each 50-count box is packaged with a razor blade, which is intended to slice the outer wrapper layer of the flat head, making for the perfect cut. Using a “beefed up” Pennsylvania Double Ligero leaf in the filler, the cigars showcase the strongest, most full-bodied experience from RoMa Craft to date.
- Release: May, 2015
- Availability: Regular Production
- Price: $12
- Blockbuster Movie Pairing: Jurassic World
Quesada Reserva Privada
A classic profile is given a modern twist for Quesada’s latest project – Reserva Privada. And with a name like that, the cigar had better be good! (Spoiler alert: it is!). As with all good things, tobacco does wonderful things when age is applied correctly. This cigar begins with a rare, perfect yield of tobacco crops at the Quesada fields in 1997. Manuel Quesada, mastermind & Master Blender of Quesada Cigars, had the good sense not to waist this unique tobacco, but to set it aside to age gracefully for a future project. Flash forward to 2013, the tobaccos have been aging for 16 years, wrapped in palm tree bark and leaves, a classic Cuban technique. Over the next year, the difficult process of crafting a blend to compliment these precious tobaccos began, ultimately using a delicate, Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper over the vintage tobaccos and a touch of Pennsylvania ligero to bring the aging leaves to life (there’s your modern twist)! Finally, the tobaccos were rolled and left to age for yet another full year, allowing the tobaccos of old and new to meld, creating a masterpiece cigar that Cuban-born Quesada calls, “The best blend of my life.” Let’s just say you’re not going to want to miss this blockbuster.
- Release: April, 2015
- Availability: Limited Production
- Price: $13 – $15
- Blockbuster Movie Pairing: Ex Machina
Drew Estate The Pope of Greenwich Village
When Drew Estate creates a limited edition blend, you’ll want to take notice; and with a name like “The Pope of Greenwich Village”, how could you not?! This cigar is a co-creation with retailer Smoke Inn, as part of their exclusive Microblend Series. Master Blender Willy Herrera goes to work, crafting a maduro that sets itself apart from other DE maduros, while retaining a familiar profile that will have fans feeling right at home. The standout aspect of this cigar (besides the crazy name) is its unique size, using a 6″ x 40 panatela vitola, something not too common in the American market. And if you know your vitolas, you know that a small ring gauge equals big flavor, as the bold, Mexican San Andrés maduro wrapper can really dominate the cigar’s profile. Top-notch construction and a steady evolution make this a really fun cigar for the summer season.
- Release: 6-1-2015
- Availability: Limited Release
- Price: $8.50
- Blockbuster Movie Pairing: Furious Seven
La Palina Goldie Robusto Extra
Speaking of top-notch construction… There is one cigar that, over the past 3 years, has become known for its superb construction; it is potentially the finest-rolled cigar in the world. It should come as no surprise, we’re referring to the La Palina Goldie, a limited edition cigar that is released in a new vitola each year. To accomplish the high level of quality assurance, every cigar, now totaling 80,000+, have been rolled by a single person – a Cuban-born immigrant named Maria Sierra. Maria was trained as a young girl to roll cigars for Castro at the legendary El Laguito factory in Havana, Cuba. She is labelled a category 9 roller and is considered among the best in the world! The Goldie cigar this year will use the same blend as years past and will be crafted in a 6.1″ x 50 vitola (robusto extra), capped with the usual fan/pigtail cap – it is essentially the Cohiba Behike, for all intents and purposes.
- Release: June, 2015
- Availability: Limited to 2,000 boxes of 10
- Price: $18
- Blockbuster Movie Pairing: Avengers: Age of Ultron
Camacho American Barrel-Aged
Over the last year, manufacturers have entered into a new phase of cigar craft, one that has been a long time coming, and in our opinion, just makes way too much sense – it’s bourbon meets cigars! While there may be a handful of brands to release bourbon-related cigars, it seems Camacho is the 1st to really nail it, to drive the concept home and make this unique pairing really resonate for consumers. Using nearly 100% American tobaccos, ABA is then combined with Camacho’s prized Corojo filler, a 6-year-aged tobacco, which is then carefully aged in used bourbon barrels for another 5 months! This is truly a blockbuster cigar, complete with sexy packaging, bold attitude, and best of all – it’s born in America!
- Release: 6-15-2015
- Availability: Regular Production
- Price: $10 – $12
- Blockbuster Movie Pairing: Mad Max: Fury Road
Crowned Heads Las Calaveras Edición Limitada 2015
Fans of Crowned Heads were treated to the brand’s 1st cigar produced at the My Father Cigars factory last year, of which many more were to follow. Quickly, the cigar was met with mass acclaim from both the cigar media and consumers alike – eventually hitting a status we’re tentatively labeling: cult. And if you know your films, you’ll appreciate a cult classic as a major plus! Las Cal is intended to be an annual release, with each year bringing a new blend to the table. For the EL 2015, the cigars have been only slightly tweaked, opting for a Ecuador Habano Rosado wrapper, as opposed to last year’s Ecuador Habano Oscuro wrapper – expect a lighter-wrapped version with less big and booming flavors, and a more dialed down complexity with this year’s rendition. The cigars sold out to retailers in only 4 hours this year, and it can be expected they’ll sell to consumers extremely quickly as well – don’t miss out on this one!
- Release: May (pre-release) – June, 2015
- Availability: Limited to 3,750 boxes of 24 cigars
- Price: $9 – $11
- Blockbuster Movie Pairing: Poltergeist (2015)
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