Tis’ the season to be merry and smoke cigars. Oh wait, its always that time of season here at Stogie Geeks. Well, anyway, since so many people have been asking me, “Hey Paul, what do I buy my friend who likes to smoke cigars?” I thought I’d put together a list. Having bought many cigar gifts in the past, admittedly most were for myself, below is my list for top cigar gifts for that cigar enthusiast on your list:

Cigar Gift Sets

  • Ashton VSG Gift Set– This is just a fantastic cigar. One of the nice things is its not overly strong, and the different sizes have slightly different flavor profiles.
  • La Flor Dominicana – The Los Perfecto sampler is great, however I had one and all the cigars seemed to have construction problems, so buy with caution (I’ve also had boxes that smoked awesome). I’d stay away from this one as the lighter is cheesy (However, I picked up 3-4 of these on sale that were VERY old, like 6+ years and the smokes are amazing). The OYA sampler is very nice and makes a great gift.
  • Padron – This is my top pick for gift sets as you just can’t go wrong with giving the gift of Padron. Either the 1926 or 1964 Anniversario series in either the natural or maduro wrappers make EXCELLENT gifts. I like the 1964 maduro and 1926 series in either maduro or natural.
  • Davidoff – My favorite line in Davidoff is the Millennium. They make a gift set for around $70 here. The robust and pyramid sizes are amazing and make an excellent gift. You may very well never have a construction or burn issue with these cigars. Next to Padron, this is my #2 choice.
  • Arturo Fuente – They make a holiday gift set released each year (like this one). Awesome gift, and the smokes are really great. The set comes with two Anejo, two Opus X, two hemmingway classics, two Double Chateau Natural, and Double Chateau Sun Grown. I’ve smoked all the sticks in these gifts sets and enjoyed all of them.

Montecristoedmundo

From left to right LFD Mysterio box set, LFD OYO sampler, Opus X tin, Ashtion VSG sampler, Cusano Sampler (Great Corojo torpedo in that one), Padron cheap sampler ($38), and Padron Anniversario 1964 Sampler.

  • CAO Sopranos Samplerr – This is a very nice gift, and very red for the season. Thompson has a good price on the sampler, which is the only way to get your 60-ring Tony Saprano Signature stick (which is really good BTW). It may sound like a gimmick, but its not, the cigars are absolutely fantastic.
  • Oliva – There are two samplers that are worth buying from Oliva, one is the Oliva V Gift Set. It has the “diadema” size, which is my favorite in the V line. They also have a Masters Blend III series gift set which is totally awesome.
  • LA Aurora – The Preferido line makes a nice gift, very colorful, such as the treasure chest here. The red tubo (maduro) is by far the best. You can get an 8 box of the “Ruby” tubo here, its the best in the line and they age VERY well.
  • Boxes – Boxes can be tough as many people don’t have enough room to store 20-25 cigars. Cubans are tough to get ordered around this time of year, so be careful. My recommendation is to buy boxes of 10. You can find Padron 1926 and 1964 series boxes of 10 at most retailers. One of my favorites is the 1929 #9 (here in natural, but I prefer the maduro version). The EP Carrillo 2011 “Dark Ritual” makes a nice gift, get them while they are still around. Opus X is a fantastic cigar, and the tins of 3 cigars make nice gifts. However, don’t pay more than $50 for a tin (several retailers will hike up the prices, best chance is to find a local B&M that has them).

Accessories

I will keep it short here, and list one lighter, cutter, ashtray, and travel humidor:

Montecristoedmundo

The Stinky (with stand) – Love this ashtray, we bought one for the studio and it totally rocks.

And finally…

Don’t forget to buy a gift for yourself, your worked hard all year and you deserve it!