Best Cigar Subscription: Monthly Cigar Club Reviews

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From cigar manufacturers based in Cuba and the Dominican Republic to Jamaica and the good old USA, there are so many truly excellent cigars and tobacco blends to discover. For a small cost, you can receive several premium cigars every month that are selected by experts. But with all the subscription services to choose from, who delivers the best smokes at the best price?

Top 4 Reasons To Sign Up For A Cigar Subscription

Cigar and Red Wine (caption: Best Cigar of the Month Club)
  1. An excellent way to explore premium cigars that you may not find on your own.
  2. You end up paying much less for high-quality cigars than you would by going the retail route.
  3. It’s a surprising treat every month and a fun gifting option for the cigar lover in your life.
  4. You can learn about each cigar’s history which we find makes the smoke more enjoyable.

6 Things We Look For In A Cigar Club Of The Month

How did we select the best cigar subscription? We based our top picks on many factors including:

  1. Cigar quality
  2. Variety of subscriptions
  3. Delivery options
  4. Educational resources
  5. Pricing
  6. Whether clubs ship their cigars in humidified packaging. Humidification is important because cigars can dry out quickly, and they lose their flavor and bouquet.

Cigar Club Features Comparison & Top Rated Subscriptions

1st Place: The Premium Cigar Of The Month Club2nd Place: Cigars International Club 3rd Place: Cigar.com JR Cigar ClubThompson Cigar
Visit WebsiteVisit WebsiteVisit WebsiteVisit WebsiteVisit Website
Shipping$5FreeVariesFreeFree
Price$32.95/mo$21.99/mo $29.99/mo$30.95/mo$29.95/mo
# Of Cigars54555
Humidified Shipping?Green checkmarkGreen checkmark
Read ReviewRead ReviewRead ReviewRead ReviewRead Review
Most offer a discount if you subscribe and pay up front for longer terms.

Best Cigar Subscription Winners

Without further ado, our winners for this year. In our reviews we include a description of the club, our personal experience (if available), pros and cons, subscription pricing and discounts (if available), and links to in-depth reviews of the club if we’ve covered that provider in more detail.

Winner: The Premium Cigar Of The Month Club Review

Premium Cigar of the Month Club logo

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The Premium Cigar of the Month Club wins our top spot for the best cigar club of the month. Besides attractive monthly pricing, a lot of flexibility in subscription options, and a 100% satisfaction guarantee, we love their selection process.

They have a panel of nine professional tobacconists who smoke more than 200 cigars each month. And they choose less than 5% of these cigars for club selections. The result? You get five premium, flavorful, well-crafted cigars in every shipment.

They search the globe for top cigars—from limited production, boutique manufacturers to super-premium brands that you’d end up paying much more for on your own.

Personal Experience

To be able to fully conduct our review, we obtained samples of the premium as well as rare cigar memberships. What was our experience like?

The shipment was quick, and each sample pack was carefully packaged in a sealed container containing a small portable version of this 69% Boveda humidification pack. A tasting guide was included that described the history and tasting profile of each cigar, which was fun to read while enjoying the smoke. Not to mention, the rare selection contained some epic, hard to find cigars.

Alex Schenker, Cigar Aficionado and Editor, Safe Smart Living
ProsCons
No contract; cancel anytime$5 shipping fee
Good variety of subscription optionsNo member discounts for online purchases
Features award-winning, high-quality cigars
100% satisfaction guarantee
Fun newsletter about each cigar’s origin, tobacco blend, recommended beverage pairing, etc., in each shipment
Cigars shipped in portable humidification device
No contract, cancel anytime
Solid customer service via live chat

Pricing

They have two types of clubs you can join: original or rare. You can choose from 2 to 12 months or an open-ended monthly account, which you can call and cancel anytime. Design your own “club” by selecting monthly, every other month or quarterly deliveries, or even choose specific months.

Discounts

Our link above applies discounts if available. In addition, there are occasionally seasonal discounts which we list below.

Holiday Flash Sale

Click here and apply the following codes to get your discount:

  • SAVE10 = $10 off any 4-shipment order
  • SAVE15 = $15 off any 6-shipment prepaid order
  • SAVE30 = $30 off any 12-shipment prepaid order

In-Depth Review Of Cigar Of The Month Club

We’re big fans of both of this company’s cigar clubs. Their pricing is hard to beat for the high quality of cigars you get with each shipment. And they ship them in a humidifier to preserve the quality — not all monthly cigar clubs do this, and it makes a huge difference. Learn more about their Original and Rare club offerings in our in-depth coverage.

Runner-Up: Cigars International Club Review

Cigars International logo

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Cigars International (CI) comes in second place in our best cigar monthly subscription reviews for their affordable pricing, a wide variety of international cigar selections, and a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

While they don’t offer as much flexibility in subscriptions and delivery options as our top pick, they do give you a choice of a month-to-month plan or prepaying for anywhere from two to twelve months. You can cancel anytime with all subscription plans before shipment.

What kept Cigars International from our top spot? They don’t ship in humidified packaging to preserve all the flavor and craftsmanship of the cigars. And they don’t list current or past cigar club selections. However, they claim that all club selection cigars are hand-rolled and premium to super-premium quality.

Cigars International gets high marks from consumers for the quality and reliability of its products and its large inventory. Like a cigar from the club? You can stock up with a separate order on their website.

Personal Experience

We have made multiple purchases from Cigars International over the years. Here’s what we like and dislike:

I love the huge selection, community and professional reviews, and the ability to track (using a wish list) my favorite smokes on the website. However – while CI offers great deals, the cigars do occasionally arrive dry, and I’ll need to re-humidify them in my humidor for several months before they’re ready to smoke.

Alex Schenker, Cigar Aficionado and Editor, Safe Smart Living
ProsCons
Some of the best dealsNo humidified shipping
Free shipping (after your first order)No live chat support
Good variety of subscription optionsNot as many club resources as competitors
All cigars are hand-rolled, premium quality
100% satisfaction guarantee
Informative newsletter with each shipment
No contract; cancel anytime
Good customer service reputation
The site contains one of the largest selections of cigars, no membership is required
The site includes many professional and consumer reviews of cigars with detailed descriptions and pricing

Pricing

There are two plans to choose from. Shipping is free on each club shipment, and with your first order, you get a free cigar cutter.

  • Original Club: Starts at $21.99 per month (4 cigars)
  • Double Decker Club: Starts at $34.99 per month (8 cigars; 2 each of 4 brands)
  • Choose month-to-month or prepaid 2-12 month subscription
  • See all options (click on ‘Club’ in the footer)

3rd Place: Cigar.com Cigar Of The Month Club Review

Cigar.com logo

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Cigar.com rounds out our top three best monthly cigar clubs. Cigar.com knows their cigars. They’re a leading online cigar store, with thousands of cigars available for purchase from around the world. Their Cigar of the Month Club is a customer favorite for both gifting and personal pleasure.

Every month you’ll enjoy five selections, but they don’t just focus on hard-to-find premium cigars. Each shipment includes one “featured” cigar (a brand new blend of well-known super premium) and two cigars recommended by their experts.

They also include two “everyday smokes,” which are affordable but dependable cigars you can enjoy every day. If you’re looking for limited or rare blends, this probably isn’t the club for you. But Cigar.com is an excellent choice if you’re just beginning to dabble in cigars.

ProsCons
Flexible subscription options
Good variety of quality cigars$3.95 shipping fee
Members receive a 10% discount on purchasesNo live chat support
Full refund for returns
A newsletter detailing every cigar in your monthly shipment
Humidified shipping
No contract; cancel anytime
Excellent website resources, including industry-leading online forum, videos, articles, and more
Good customer service

Pricing

They have two plans to choose from: single or double. Cigars.com Cigar of the Month Club offers an excellent “First Month Bonus”: three free cigars and a free cutter ($61 value). Club members also enjoy 10% discounts on most of their products.

  • Club: $29.95 per month for 5 cigars (plus $3.95 shipping)
  • Double Club: $53.95 per month for 10 cigars (plus $3.95 shipping)
  • Choice of month-to-month plan or prepaid 2-12 months
  • View all options

What About JR Cigar & Thompson?

The following cigar clubs just missed our top three rankings, but we recommend you take a look at them if you’re considering a cigar subscription, as they may have just what you need.

JR Cigar | Thompson Cigar Of The Month

JR Cigar Club Review

JR Cigar Club logo

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What is JR Cigar’s main selling point? It’s the world’s largest cigar store, carrying thousands of brands from cheaper machine pressed to premium hand-rolled cigars. JR Cigar is newer to the “club” model and launched a cigar of the month club that selects five premium cigars every month.

If you don’t know much about cigars, JR Cigar could be a great place to start. Their online resources alone are a fun and extremely informative way to discover the cigar world. They offer past club choices, a blog, and even JR University to help you grow your knowledge.

If you’re already a cigar aficionado, however, you probably won’t find the unique selections you can get with some other monthly cigar clubs.

ProsCons
Competitive pricingNot as many subscription and delivery options as other plans
Free shippingNo member discounts
Premium cigars are hand-selected for club membersNo satisfaction guarantee and no return policy for monthly club sales
Excellent website learning tools, including a blog, videos, articlesDoesn’t ship in humidified packaging
No contract; cancel anytimeJust the cigars – no informational newsletter included

Pricing

  • $30.95 per month for 5 cigars
  • Free shipping
  • Choice of ongoing monthly shipments or prepaid 6 or 12-month subscriptions

Thompson Cigar Of The Month Club Review

Thompson Cigar logo

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Thompson Cigar, founded in Key West, Florida, in 1915, is the oldest mail-order cigar company in the country. Thompson’s private-label cigars and monthly club selections offer some of the finest cigars at a fraction of what comparable national brand products would cost.

Thompson, like JR Cigar, is a large-scale online store that offers cigars for purchase in addition to their cigar of the month club. Thompson Cigar, unlike JR Cigar, offers more subscription options and a 100% satisfaction guarantee. But their slightly higher monthly pricing keeps them out of our top three picks.

ProsCons
Free shipping for club and non-club membersOne of the more expensive clubs
Good variety of subscription choicesCigar selections are not as unique
100% satisfaction guaranteeNo humidified shipping
An informational newsletter is included in every shipment
No contract; cancel anytime
Free cigar cutter with your first shipment

Pricing

You get a free cigar cutter with your first shipment and can cancel your subscription anytime before Thompson Cigar processes your next shipment.

  • Starts at $29.99 per month for 5 cigars (month-to-month or prepaid 3, 6, 9, or 12 months)
  • Starts at $49.99 per month for 10 cigars (only available as a month-to-month cigar subscription)
  • View all options

How Do You Cut A Cigar? (Video)

In a recent online poll conducted by Cigar Aficionado, 81% of readers reported using a double-blade guillotine. If you’re a cigar newbie, you may not know that there are several methods you can use to cut your cigars. But check out this video by the experts that show you the correct way to slice.

What’s The Best Humidor To Store My Cigars?

If you don’t plan to smoke your cigars right away, consider getting a humidor to store them properly. We review the best humidors for your cigars.

Think you’ll sign up for a cigar subscription? Let us know which one you’re leaning toward in the comments!

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The information provided through this website should not be used to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease; it is not intended to offer any legal opinion or advice or a substitute for professional safety advice or professional care. Please consult your health care provider, attorney, or product manual for professional advice. Products and services reviewed are provided by third parties; we are not responsible in any way for them, nor do we guarantee their functionality, utility, safety, or reliability. Our content is for educational purposes only.

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