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Are Expensive Cigars Worth It?

Updated 2026-09-03 · by Eric

Sometimes. Do you need to spend $20 or more on a cigar to have a good smoke? Absolutely not. But the expensive cigars I keep buying earn the money in one specific way, and once you know what it is, you know what you're paying for.

What under $10 gets you

I enjoy plenty of $10 and sub-$10 cigars, and you can find really good ones in that range. Nothing below is an argument that cheaper cigars aren't worth it. They are. The under-$10 guide is built only from cigars I've actually reviewed.

What $20 buys when it works

When I find a $20 cigar I like, it's always complex. You don't get a single flavor all the way through. The profile changes. Different subtleties show up, a single draw is different from a double draw is different from a retrohale, and it keeps changing on you. That's the joy of them. You can sit for an hour and a half, two hours, concentrate on nothing but the cigar, and it never gets boring.

Not that a cheaper cigar can't do that. Not that every $20 stick does. I've been through my share of $20 cigars I didn't enjoy at all, or that were just boring.

What happens when it doesn't

I never buy those again. And I tend to stop buying anything from that brand. If their expensive cigar isn't worth it, I assume their cheaper cigars won't be either. One miss at $20 and the whole brand comes off my list.

The Padrón example

Padrón is the case for the other side. I've had hardly any Padróns I didn't enjoy. Some people say they only smoke Padróns because they're consistent, almost always good. Grab any one of their sticks and you know it's going to be solid, because when they put their name on it, it's a solid cigar. There's something to be said for that.

The cigar I dictated this piece around was the Padrón Family Reserve No. 45 Maduro. About $32 street, and I didn't even know the number while I was smoking it. It went Box Buy. Never dipped, never needed a touch-up, and the flavors traded places for the better part of two hours: cream leading one draw, coffee the next, then leather, then nuttiness. That is exactly the thing the money buys.

So, worth it?

When you spend more on a cigar and it turns out to be a good one, what you paid for is the change. Flavor changes, different nuances as you smoke through it, a different cigar on a single draw than on a double draw than on a retrohale, and enjoyable from the beginning to the end without getting boring. That's why I think $20 cigars are worth it. When one isn't, it isn't, and the review says so at street price no matter what I paid.

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