Affordable Premium Cigars for Road Trips

Road trips are a truly American experience. Hitting the highway with the company of some good friends or just some good tunes and letting everything else just slip away. It's the definition of freedom – unless you're unlucky enough to road trip on an LA freeway. And nothing adds to the simple pleasure of the road more than rolling the windows down and enjoying a great cigar. But you don't want to leave one of your best cigars at the rest stop or let it bake on the dash. Travel can be tough on cigars, so it's best to choose some companions that won't break the bank. Plus, if you're going for a long road trip, you're gonna go through a lot of sticks. That’s why we compiled a list of affordable premium cigars for road trips. There's no reason to compromise on flavor, though. The beauty of today's cigar boom is that there are tons of delicious stogies at impossibly affordable prices. Here are some stellar cigars from top-class blenders that will keep you puffing mile after mile.

My Father Cigars - Flor de Las Antillas Belicoso

($7.70 per cigar at time of writing) These beauties are the magnum opus of master blender Jose “Pepin” Garcia of My Father fame and are the perfect cigars for road trips. One of the hottest cigar makers around nowadays, Don Pepin is famous for making cigars that are as close to Cuban as you can legally buy, with loads of flavor and impeccable construction. In true Pepin style, this stick contains 100% Nicaraguan tobacco to achieve true Cuban flavor and boasts a luxurious Nicaraguan Sun Grown wrapper. Flor de Las Antillas is a more easy-going cigar than most in the My Father range though, making it an easy travel companion. Expect the characteristic pepper but also loads of cocoa and sweet cedar backed by a rich earthiness. It's also so smooth that it won't distract from your favorite tunes and the pleasure of driving, and you can smoke it all day to keep you going. There are plenty of more reasons to recommend these cigars for road trips. It retails very low for a Don Pepin and is well worth the price of admission. And the solid construction and sturdy triple-cap will make sure it stands up to the rigors of travel. Plus, it's the first box-pressed line in the My Father brand. That means that you can put it down without worrying about it rolling all over the place.

Oliva Flor de Oliva

($2.80 per at time of writing) I know what you're thinking. Oliva is known for many things, including making some of the most highly-regarded cigars in the world, but the price isn't one of them. Well, prepare to be amazed because these are great cigars for road trips because they retail for just $3-4 apiece. That's right, Flor de Oliva delivers the Oliva experience at about a third the cost. What more could you want in a driving companion? This cigar sports a robust and flavorful Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper with Nicaraguan long-fillers that have been aged to perfection. The result is a creamy and earthy smoking experience that delivers clouds of tasty smoke all the way through. Flor de Oliva is truly one of life's simple pleasures and the perfect pairing for your next road trip. Other times call for cigars that make you think, but driving is the time to relax with a purely delicious, easy-going cigar. With all of the Oliva flavor and quality without the Oliva price, there's really no excuse not to pick up a box of these. And if you want to step things up a notch, the 'Giants' sizes deliver the same quality smoke at enormous ring gauges for those of you who don't want to pull over to light another cigar after an hour.

Tatuaje Tattoo

($4.49 per at time of writing) Tatuaje is the brain-child of “Tattoo” Pete Johnson and produced by none other than Don Pepin. After several years in the cigar industry, Pete Johnson started looking to launch his own brand. He met Don Pepin and challenged him to create a blend that was as close to genuine Cuban cigars as possible. After a long collaboration, they achieved that goal. The resulting cigars took the world by storm back in 2003. Now, Tatuaje is one of the most well-regarded boutique brands around. Aficionados regularly snap up these sticks at $20 a pop or more – and that's not counting the B&M markup. But, remembering their humble roots, Johnson and Pepin released Tattoo in 2011 as an affordable entry into the brand. The lower price tag is thanks to the mixed-filler construction, but the flavor and burn qualities are pure Tatuaje which makes them the ideal cigars for road trips. Tatuaje Tattoo uses an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper to deliver that Cuban flavor, backed by top-quality Nicaraguan fillers. This is a medium-bodied cigar with tons of cocoa, leather, and sweetness with that unmistakable pepper that should satisfy any Cuban junkie. They come in boxes of 50 for the same price of normal-sized boxes of many brands, so they should set you up for even the longest road trips.

La Vieja Habano Corojo

($3.22 per at time of writing) Rounding out our list of affordable sticks by premium brands is this array of cigar offerings by Drew Estate. The folks at DE are famous for releasing seriously full-bodied powerhouses like Liga Privada and then blending increasingly affordable versions like Undercrown and Factory Smokes so that everyone can enjoy their cigars. But this budget-friendly cigar is a different story – it's actually the stick that got Drew Estate started. That's right, La Vieja Habano Corojo is the first cigar that DE ever released and the one that made it famous. And it is still delivering the same outstanding flavor and value over 25 years later. This is another Cuban-style smoke, with pure Nicaraguan mixed-fillers and a Cuban Corojo wrapper. The wrapper adds some serious amount of wood and spice to the smooth and earthy fillers. Drew Estate is known for its impeccable draw and even burn, and this cigar is no exception. This stick will give you plumes, even billows of beautiful smoke without getting too hot. Unless of course, you burn it down to your fingers, which you may well do because this thing tastes so darn good. Not content to rest on their laurels, Drew Estate decided to offer the same fillers with a dark Brazilian Maduro and a silky Connecticut Shade wrapper. And at its reasonable price tag you might as well pick up all three to keep you driving morning, noon, and night.