Value-Priced Cigar of the Year 2019 - Project 40

The announcement of Project 40 came as a surprise in the spring of 2019, with Alec Bradley forgoing their usual Honduran and Nicaraguan manufacturing partners to introduce a value-priced brand for cigar enthusiasts. The cigar was named after a term used throughout multiple industries, describing how a given product can positively impact the end-user’s mind and body. Alec Bradley realized this descriptor applied especially well, not only to premium cigars as a whole, but to a particular blend they had been working on with a new manufacturing partner in Nicaragua: J. Fuego Cigar Co. de Nicaragua.

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Alec Bradley Project 40 debuted in a suite of four sizes, each being named for the given cigar’s dimensions. The blend is primarily Nicaraguan, including an all-Nicaraguan filler and a light-hued Nicaraguan Colorado wrapper; these components are joined by a Brazilian Habano leaf in the binder. And while cigar enthusiasts came for the bargain, they stayed for the surprising level of sweet and balanced flavor. The cigar is lighter in body than Alec Bradley’s conventional offering, instead catering to easily approachable characteristics of sweetness and cream. The experience kicks off with familiar flavors of white pepper and cedar, eventually settling into an irresistible core profile of custard cream, almond milk, raisins, cinnamon, and citrus-heavy coffee. Project 40 is an encouraging sign that innovation within the premium cigar industry doesn’t always come with strings attached to increasingly lofty price points.