Cohiba Spectre 2025

Since its debut in 2018, the Cohiba Spectre series has stood at the very top of the ultra-premium cigar world, at least in terms of price and outlandish packaging. Each release has been a one-time, hand-tailored creation—no recurring blends, no recycled formulas—a unique experience on a near-annual basis. With the 2025 edition, Cohiba continues that ethos, once again combining artistry, rarity, and presentation.

The Spectre name has always carried a sense of mystery and refinement, and the 2025 release leans fully into that identity. The presentation is nothing short of theatrical: the cigars come housed in a cylindrical wooden case that opens to reveal ten individual metal tubos, each with its own humidity system. The core of the box doubles as a travel humidor, which definitely shows a dedication to detail. From the packaging to the certificate of authenticity, every element reinforces the idea that Spectre isn’t just meant to be smoked—it’s meant to be collected, displayed, and appreciated as art and function.

With a retail price of around $150 per cigar, or roughly $1,500 for a box of 10, the 2025 Spectre makes no qualms that it is a super-premium cigar. Its blend is aged and unique, featuring a Havana-seed Connecticut wrapper from the 2017 harvest, paired with a Mexican San Andrés binder. Inside, the filler is a mix of tobaccos that includes Criollo ’98 grown in Mao, Dominican Republic, as well as select San Andrés and Vuelta Abajo-seed leaves.

Cohiba Spectre 2025 Breakdown

Appearance

Cohiba goes all out for the 2025 Spectre cigar. I’m sure everyone wants me to talk about what I guess you can call the “box” for this year’s release. It’s impressive, no doubt, but I want to stay focused solely on the cigar for this review. I have to admit, the banding and sleeve really ups the visual appearance of the stick. The cross-hatch pattern on the sleeve gives me the impression of carbon fiber and the “blue steel” embossed COHIBA running vertically up the sleeve oozes machismo. Here’s where I find the first fault: I am unable to slide the sleeve off of the cigar. It seems to be stuck and I have to peel it apart to get it free from the stick (and slightly damage the wrapper in the process). This should not happen on a cigar of this price point. It’s a detail that could be easily addressed and should have been.

Moving on to the band itself. It’s clearly the red-centered “O” of Cohiba we’re all familiar with, surrounded by metallic silver. The word “SPECTRE” is embossed and runs across the band and the red “O” itself. If I’m being honest, I don’t like it. The silvers blend together so much that you can only clearly see the “ECT” of Spectre, which leaves me confused as I try to figure out what it might stand for—though, as far as I can tell, it doesn’t stand for anything at all (perhaps the designer didn’t accommodate for the fact that it would be wrapped around a cylindrical object).

Now that the banding is out of the way, let’s move to the tobacco itself. The Connecticut Habano has a very typical look for its hybrid. Its milk-chocolate color is broken up by mottling and slightly lighter colored veins in the tobacco that gives it an “old leather jacket” appearance. The cap of the cigar is slightly lifting at the edges, and the roll itself is lumpy and uneven. Putting this all together, I’m left very underwhelmed by the cigar’s appearance, as it’s difficult to not set the bar of judgement as high as the price point.

The aroma of the Cohiba Spectre is lighter than expected on a cigar of this hue. There is a dry cocoa powder note that mixes with some baking spice and black pepper on the wrapper. I have to deeply inhale with the cigar tucked under my nose to be able to distinguish the notes. On the foot of the cigar, I smell musty wood and mildew, as well as cracked black pepper.

Cleanly cutting the head of the Spectre 2025, I find an excellent draw: 9/10. More woody notes are found on the cold draw, as well as a lightly sweet dried fruit note. Swirling amongst these two dominant cold draw flavors is also some burnt coffee and dry cocoa.

Smoking Experience

As I give a meticulous toast to the foot of the Cohiba Spectre 2025, I can already discern room notes of wet, decaying wood and black pepper. It’s very pungent, and I’m wondering if that is a hint at what’s to come.

I’m not disappointed with the first few draws on the toro. It’s very woody. Oak, and mildew-laden generic wood notes dominate. Right behind it is a smoky BBQ flavor. Think of the smell that a cold smoker has—slightly sweet, a little acrid, and lingering aromas of the previous meat that was prepared. Black pepper zings the nostrils on the retrohale, and I’m going to have to temper how much I push through my sinuses to avoid tearing up. Flavor is medium/full, body is medium-plus, and strength is mild/medium.

Now solidly an inch into the Cohiba Spectre 2025, I find that the smoky profile has quickly transitioned into notes of sweet leather and baking spice. An earthy wood is definitely leading the flavor charge, sitting heavy and coating the palate with freshly ground black pepper directly behind it. The draw remains at an excellent 9/10, which makes discerning flavors a relatively easy task. Pushing some smoke through my sinuses, I find a lot of black pepper and burnt toast, and I quickly learn my lesson that this cigar is going to need deliberately light retrohales to not overwhelm my nose. Overall, flavor is medium/full, body is medium-plus, and strength has stepped up to medium. The ash is holding firm, but the burn is wavy and already in need of a touch-up.

Now halfway through this toro, the sweetness has fallen away, leaving a heavy minerality-and-wood profile. It takes me back to the years I spent installing wood fencing—the smell of digging through habitually wet clay to remove an old fence post and its concrete base still vivid in my memory. I know that is a very specific and niche memory that doesn’t resonate with a lot of you, but it’s so visceral for me that I had to include it. I notice that the draw has noticeably opened up (and not in a good way), falling to a 7/10. Shortly thereafter, the cigar goes completely out. After relighting the Spectre, the smoking experience has shifted to a very dry profile. White pepper and dusty wood are fully in control, carrying through to the retrohale. There has been no change to flavor, body, or strength.

Now at the band, I’m once again disappointed—as it takes a bit of the wrapper with it when removed. The band came off easily, it was just the last edge of the band that was stuck to the mottled Connecticut wrapper. The smoking profile is heavy now. No sweetness, no balance, just heavy wet wood that has a charred undertone like that of a fire pit that had been drowned out before its time. The only balance offered is bright white pepper that coats your sinuses on the retrohale. A nice bit is that the draw has snugged up enough to be right in the sweet spot again, which I’d peg at 8/10. Flavor is medium/full, body is medium/full, and strength is medium-plus.

I take the last couple of puffs from the Cohiba Spectre 2025, and I find only tart/sour wood notes and dry black pepper. Not much else remains.

Would I Smoke This Cigar Again?

I’m going to have to say no. The main reason being the price point. I don’t smoke many cigars above the $100 price point (maybe one a year, if I’m lucky). That point aside, I just couldn’t find much from this cigar to appreciate. The banding looks like the design was well thought out, but crucial details were missed. The sleeve felt like it was printed on construction paper and was tucked under the main band, making it very difficult to remove without damage. As for the main band itself, the embossed “SPECTRE” seemed like an afterthought, and I initially thought the cigar was called the Cohiba “ECT,” since that’s all you can easily read. The bands themselves weren’t cleanly applied, having winged seams that were noticeably crooked. The roll was mediocre and uneven, which I can only think was a factor in why the burn went out unexpectedly. If I’m being honest, I would be upset if I paid $150 for this cigar. I have seen cigars that were in the $12 price point that looked better than this. Now, before you say I shouldn’t judge a cigar by its appearance, I’d counter that once you cross into the super-premium price point, a cigar should not only smoke great—it should look great too. In my opinion, the Cohiba Spectre delivered on neither.

• Currently, the Cohiba Spectre 2025 ranks on Dojoverse as “66% Smokable,” placing in the bottom 91 percent of cigars on the all-time leaderboard.

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