Best Nicaraguan Cigar Samplers

Nicaragua is home to a number of the world’s leading premium cigar brands. Award-winning cigar-makers like José ‘Pepin’ Garcia, José Orlando Padrón, and Gilberto Oliva put their brands on the map with portfolios rooted in the many complex tobaccos that are cultivated from the fertile, volcanic soils of Nicaragua. Today, their families share in and continue traditions set in place in Cuba many generations ago.

There’s hardly been a better time to add Nicaraguan cigars to your collection with the number of amazing smokes the nation produces today. Discovering your favorite blends is easy when you start with cigar samplers. Cigar assortments often include a range of different blends as well as shapes and sizes, either from a single brand or in some cases multiple brands. We’ve outlined a handful of the best Nicaraguan cigar samplers available below.

La Aroma de Cuba/San Cristobal ‘92-95’ Rated Assortment

Two prominent Nicaraguan brands are combined in the La Aroma de Cuba/San Cristobal ’92-95’ Rated Assortment. La Aroma de Cuba is featured in its original blend with the 95-rated former ‘#2 Cigar of the Year,’ La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor, and the 94-rated La Aroma de Cuba Reserva. In addition, two bestselling San Cristobal cigars, the brand’s original Monumento and the soft box-pressed San Cristobal Revelation Legend are represented.

Aside from all 5 cigars receiving high marks from both critics and consumers, each is patiently blended by legendary cigar-maker José ‘Pepin’ Garcia in Estelí, Nicaragua. Tobaccos from select Garcia family estates are patiently aged and blended to deliver magnificent flavor beneath a complex wrapper variety, including Connecticut Broadleaf, San Andrés, Ecuador Habano Oscuro, and Ecuador Sumatra options. Tasting notes of cedar, espresso beans, cocoa, hickory, and caramel include Pepin’s signature Nicaraguan spices in a collection that indulges the palate to an astonishing degree. Experience authentic, top-rated Nicaraguan profiles with remarkable variation for around $40.

Padron Family Reserve Maduro Sampler

The Padron Family Reserve Maduro Sampler includes a stunning collection of prestigious cigars handmade from the brand’s oldest stores of tobacco. Padron occupies three ‘#1 Cigar of the Year’ titles from Cigar Aficionado. Among the brand’s highest-rated cigars are selections from its lauded Family Reserve portfolio.

Five distinctive formats were blended from an all-Nicaraguan recipe of tobaccos that have been aged a minimum of 10 years. Each size in this exquisite collection was handcrafted to commemorate a specific anniversary, birthday, or date in the company’s history. Full-bodied notes of dark chocolate, cinnamon, cedar, and spices express varying degrees of concentration in each perfectly balanced shape. The collection includes one Torpedo (#44), one Toro (#45), two Robusto shapes with thicker ring-gauges (#46 and #50), and one standard Robusto (#85). Cigar lovers who prefer a lighter wrapper leaf can try the entire series in a Natural wrapper in the Padron Family Reserve Natural Sampler, as well. At around $130.95, it may seem like an opulent proposition, but Padron Family Reserve is suited to celebrate any special occasion you’ve got on the calendar.

The vision of family patriarch José Orlando Padrón continues under the guidance of his son, Jorge Padron, and his devoted family. Taste a rich and patiently made legacy today.

San Cristobal 60-Ring Assortment

The undeniable popularity of big ring-gauge cigars over the past decade has prompted a number of brands to expand their portfolios with plus-sized formats. The San Cristobal 60-Ring Assortment belongs in the humidor of any big-ring connoisseur. Three distinct blends (2 each) in this boisterous 6-cigar collection have been blended by esteemed cigar-maker Pepin Garcia to uncompromising standards for taste, balance, and burn.

The brand’s original Nicaraguan profile presents earthy, full-bodied notes of leather, espresso, and wood in San Cristobal Papagayo XXL with its shimmering Ecuador Habano Oscuro wrapper leaf. San Cristobal Elegancia Grandioso veers in a mild to medium-bodied direction with a golden-blond Ecuador Connecticut wrapper. White pepper, almonds, and cashews feature prominently throughout a creamy finish. San Cristobal Revelation Odyssey reveals notes of peppery caramels, cedar and coffee beans with tremendous balance thanks to an extensively aged marriage of Nicaraguan long-fillers beneath an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper.

The San Cristobal 60-Ring Assortment is perfect when you’re craving a cool, slow-burning smoke with plenty of complexity. At $48.95, you’re getting a ton of beef for your buck.

Oliva 8-Cigar Assortment

Family patriarch Gilberto Oliva guided his brand’s growth in Nicaragua from its value-based bundle portfolio to a highly sought-after maker of premium cigars with the oversight of his son, José Oliva. In 2014, Cigar Aficionado catapulted Oliva into the spotlight with a ‘#1 Cigar of the Year’ title for Oliva Serie V Melanio. Although this cigar still receives a well-earned degree of attention, a number of previous Oliva releases had already put the brand on the map.

The Oliva 8-Cigar Assortment is a perfect introduction to a brand that attaches its growing reputation to unbeatable everyday savings. Tobaccos grown on select Oliva family estates in Nicaragua are patiently assembled in Estelí with impeccable standards for quality and consistency.

The original Oliva Serie V is sought after for its rich, earthy spices and a full-bodied profile courtesy of a Cuban-seed wrapper leaf. A rarefied version of Oliva Serie V in a Maduro wrapper is included in a perfectly concentrated Torpedo shape. The all-Nicaraguan Oliva Serie O is balanced and chewy with plenty of rich spice.

Originally an annual limited edition, Oliva Master Blends 3 is easily Oliva’s most-lauded cigar next to Serie V Melanio. A succulent Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper adds a sweet complexity to a luscious core of Nicaraguan long-fillers. Oliva Serie G and Oliva Serie G Maduro deliver medium-bodied flavors with a Cameroon and a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, respectively. An Ecuador Connecticut wrapper on Oliva Connecticut Reserve sufficiently rounds out the sampler, with its silky tasting notes of almonds and peppers and a mild to medium-bodied finish. Popular Nicaraguan recipes and aromas are revealed throughout all eight cigars. For only $34.95, it’s a fantastic and comprehensive introduction to Oliva.

Perdomo 10th Anniversary Sampler

Nick Perdomo knows how to marry value with unflinching quality and flavor to an unrivaled degree. The Perdomo 10th Anniversary Sampler showcases his efforts in three distinct blends (2 each) in the brand’s incredibly popular 6 x 54 Epicure format.

Any mention of the word, “champagne,” in the context of cigars conjures up Perdomo in seconds. Perdomo 10th Anniversary Champagne became one of the brand’s top-selling releases with an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper over a supreme, medium-bodied recipe of Nicaraguan tobaccos. Perdomo Champagne Noir delivers an enhanced richness with an all-Nicaraguan makeup and a dark wrapper leaf that’s been aged inside a bourbon barrel. Medium to full-bodied notes of black pepper, molasses, and wood accompany a smooth finish. Perdomo Champagne Sungrown is comprised of full-flavored, complex tobaccos grown on the Perdomo farm in Nicaragua’s Jalapa Valley. Notes of oak, leather, and black pepper mingle superbly.

Give Perdomo a shot the next time you’re prospecting for Nicaraguan cigars to add to the shopping cart. The Perdomo 10th Anniversary Sampler is a great place to start for cigar lovers who believe gratification and price-consciousness exist under the same sun. Find out for yourself for only $34.95.