The Padron Limited Editions are among the highest-rated cigars in the industry.  Their 50^th Anniversary was such an important occasion, the company decided to release two different blends to honor it.  They released a Padron Family Reserve 50^th, and the even more limited Padron 50^th Anniversary, both blends enjoyed two different wrapper varieties.

The Padron 50^th anniversary is one of the best cigars I’ve ever had.  It is exceptionally smooth but is bursting with flavor.  Its construction was spot on and it offered a zesty and enticing aroma.  When first released, these cigars were about $100 MSRP, luckily now they are slightly less.

Each year, Davidoff releases a limited-edition product to honor the Chinese New Year.  They are among the most sought-after yearly releases and, in my humble opinion, are some of the best cigars the company makes.  This year, we received in several boxes of the brand-new Davidoff Year of the Rat.

This medium-bodied smoke is as close to perfect as I can ask.  It is rolled with aged Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos, followed by one of the best looking Ecuadorian Habano wrappers I have ever seen.  It offers notes of black pepper combined with touches of coffee, wood, and dried fruit for a complex and well-balanced gem. For a once a year treat, the almost $40 price point is worth it.

This is probably the most talked-about expensive cigar in history.  The Gurkha His Majesty Reserve remains the most expensive cigars in the industry, with a price tag of $1,000 per cigar.  This great cost is not a gimmick but is actually appropriate for the tobaccos and the processes used.

The cigar is wrapped with a 15-year-old Connecticut Broadleaf leaf.  The entire box of cigars is also infused with a bottle of Louis XIII, which sells on average for $2,400. It is incredibly smooth and creamy with the aroma of the cognac punctuates with each puff.  Is this something I would buy myself? Well, not right now, but if I won the lottery tomorrow?

The Opus X is the most sought-after cigar in the world, and that includes Cubans.  It was one of the first super-premium blends to come out of the Dominican Republic, and to this day, 20 years later, it can still be hard to find.  The Opus X Lost City, a limited run named after the movie that was filmed on the Fuente farm, is even more limited and thusly garners a high price point.

However, I will say this cigar is worth every penny.  Each puff brings smooth and rich notes of raisins, chocolate, leather, and pepper.  It also has the slightest touch of sweet walnuts that I love.  At around $30 per cigar, this is my go-to celebration cigar.

To commemorate the 50^th anniversary of its factory in the Dominican Republic, Altadis USA went all out.  The brand created a cigar that I think might be its best ever.  The company also packaged them in super limited-edition humidors, which promptly sold out.  However, the regular boxes of this gem are still available.

The Montecristo Cincuenta is hand-rolled under the watchful eye of the Grupo de Maestros, the blending team responsible for some of the world’s best-selling cigars.  It uses aged Dominican and Nicaraguan tobaccos, followed by a flawless Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper.  Since they were released this summer, I’ve smoked as many as I can get my hands on and can afford. At $30 per cigar, the only words I can think of are… worth it!

General Cigar Company is one of the largest manufacturers of premium cigars in the world and is responsible for making one of the industry’s most well-known luxury brands, Cohiba. While Cohiba has a full range of cigars at different price points, today we are looking at the very high-end Cohiba Macassar. This cigar is an ultra-premium masterpiece that pays tribute to the rare Indonesian ebony that bears the same name.

The Macassar is crafted with a Connecticut Havano wrapper that cloaks a Connecticut broadleaf binder and a combination of Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers that have been aged four years. To complete this gourmet cigar recipe, the tobaccos spend their final year in fragrant rum barrels to enrich the blends medium-bodied notes of wood, white pepper, cedar, and coffee.

With a list like this, you know there are going to be a few companies that have a few entries, especially a high-end, luxury brand like Davidoff.  Next on our list form, the Swiss-based company is the outstanding Davidoff 702.  What’s unique about the 702, is that the line is actually recreations of several different Davidoff lines, with one new twist.

The addition of a dark and oily 702 Ecuadorian wrapper is what makes these cigars stand out. Using the filler and binder blends of such famed cigars as the Anniversary, the Mille and Double R, Davidoff was able to maintain many of the qualities that made those cigars amazing, but with a rich and flavorful new wrapper.  While they are on the pricier side, I can say they are absolutely worth it.

This is a cigar that I felt never got enough attention.  While the VSG was always preferred because it was slightly cheaper, I think the Ashton ESG is one of the best, most refined and balanced high-end cigars I’ve ever had.  While the price might be a tad more than the other Ashtons, it is a quality cigar that’s worth every penny.

Crafted by Fuente to celebrate the 20^th Anniversary of the Ashton company, the Estate Sun-Grown has drawn parallels to the Opus X.  It uses aged Dominican filler and binder tobaccos along with an aged Sun-grown wrapper that balances out the blend.  Its smooth, flavorful and with near-perfect construction.

Another double entry, Padron is known for having the highest-rated cigars that fetch some of the highest prices on the market.  That doesn’t stop them from being among the best-selling premium cigars in the country, and for good reason.  While there are many Padrons that I could have added to this list, I felt I had to go with my favorite one, the legendary Padron 90^th.

The first limited edition to be rolled in a standard Parejo size, Padron 90^th is unique among the companies portfolio.  Its blend of aged tobaccos makes for a vivacious and complex profile, while the age of its tobaccos creates a smooth aroma and terrific burn.