CI Legends Series

CI legends is a series of cigars you can't do without.

Save some time and click here for a quick guide to compare each blend!

Legends started out as a small project. We originally asked four top cigar manufacturers to create the best damn cigar they could for $5 retail or under. The only condition is, the cigar had to be 5.75” x 54 in size. To get their competitive juices flowing, I let them know that they'd be competing for supremacy with other top makers! That was 6 years ago. Today, six more manufacturers have entered the ‘competition’, with several others chomping at the bits for a chance to join the fun. Enjoy the delicious fruits of their labor, blends that are among the very best for the money that can be had...on the planet.

Legends Camacho - White Label: Perhaps best known for creating dense, full, powerhouse cigars such as Camacho, the Eiroa family again put their considerable blending skills to the test. This rendition of the CI Legends is truly remarkable, a masterful, memorable handmade cigar. Very densely packed without any soft spots to speak of, this puro offers a dark, smooth, vein-free Habano wrapper gracing a healthy portion of earthy, grade 1 Honduran long-fillers. It’s clear at a glance that they’ve done all of us cigar nuts a favor. Upon lighting, you’ll notice an instant hit of peppery flavor that coats your mouth. Moments later, the tingling is tamed by a toasty flavor with dry hints of nuts. In true Camacho form, you notice a slight rush, as the powerful blend takes over. But fear not! The strength subsides, developing beautifully into a mellow, well-rounded smoke with slight hints of vanilla until it peaks at the 2/3 point, the blue-gray smoke feeling almost silky in the mouth. Gradually, just as you’d begin to contemplate nubbing it out, the peppery notes return, building to a crescendo - offering a robust and heady finish to this extraordinarily flavorful cigar.

Legends Drew Estate - Copper Label: Drew Estate has entertained the world over with innovative, delicious super-premiums that include infused, gourmet blended and (of course) traditional handmades. Using the rich, hearty tobaccos of Esteli, Nicaragua as a cornerstone for each blend, Drew Estate has set itself a cut above the rest thanks to countless trips around the world for the sole purpose of discovering rare tobaccos, then bringing them back to the blending table where countless man-hours are spent. Their Legends submission was created in this same fashion. A rich Nicaraguan backbone of long-fillers is complemented by Dominican Piloto, then carefully influenced by the subtle nuances of amaretto and hazelnut. A slightly sweet Ecuadorian wrapper glistens in the spotlight, completing the cigar. Creamy throughout, this beautiful handmade delivers ample flavor created to relax the palate as thick, billowing clouds exit the foot with each puff. Medium bodied, with enjoyable hints of pepper and hazelnut.

Legends Graycliff - Purple Label: Avelino Lara’s achievement as the creator of the Cuban Cohiba blend could be considered a curse to some, as each of his new blends must live up to the incredibly lofty standards he set....for the industry and for himself. And time after time he clears that bar, as evidenced by his outstanding array of Graycliff blends. As you can imagine, Graycliff’s entry into the CI Legends series is bound to be an exciting one. A dark and oily Habano wrapper from Nicaragua cloaks a fine 2-country blend of supremely aged tobaccos from the Dominican and Nicaragua. This balanced mixture produces an explosion of rich and hearty nuances, noting hints of leather, earth, and coffee bean throughout the slow, smooth burn. Medium in body, balanced, and complex, this Legends is indeed delicious.

Legends La Aurora - Black Label: Known to the world as the Dominican Republic’s oldest and longest running cigar factory, La Aurora is a giant among giants. Guillermo Leon and Jose Blanco, the men controlling the high-end blends coming from this factory have taken this daunting task by the horns, in order to continue La Aurora’s legendary lineup of top-shelf classics and rival the already existing, highly popular Legends blends. Using a mouthwatering blend of aged tobaccos, their entry accomplishes both. Within a toothy Nicaraguan leaf, lies a fine blend of Corojo, Cubano Piloto and Nicaraguan tobaccos that has been aging since 2001. Experience an eventful bouquet of flavors with this mild to medium-bodied beauty. A subtle peppery note mingles with an amaretto-like sweetness, complemented by an enjoyable, woodsy aroma and spicy aftertaste that lingers just long enough to satisfy til the next puff. Smooth from start to finish and pushing out plumes of thick, white smoke, Legends by La Aurora is a treat for the senses.

Legends Matasa - Blue Label: Manuel Quesada is the legendary hall-of-fame cigar maker responsible for such brands as Fonseca, Cu-Avana, and the original Dominican Romeo y Julieta blend. Yet his CI Legends offering is a marked departure from those milder blends. Utilizing a seriously complex blend of choice Dominican Piloto fillers wrapped in a toothy, chestnut-brown Ecuadorian Sun Grown (ESG) wrapper, Quesada has crafted a blend here that will be cherished by any cigar lover, particuarly veterans looking for complexity. This premium combination of fine tobaccos issues a veritable explosion of cedary flavor right off the bat, accompanied by a touch of natural sweetness from the toothy, elastic ESG wrapper leaf. The mature, round, flavorful smoke stays consistent yet interesting as it burns. Like a cigar safari, it offers exciting developments that keep you wondering what will come next - all the while slowly building towards a robust conclusion, topped off with a definable hint of spice.

Legends Nestor Plasencia - Maroon Label: Nestor Plasencia was a natural fit for the Legends Series. He is one of the world's leading tobacco growers, owning fields throughout Central America and beyond. In fact, most of the cigars you enjoy on a regular basis contain tobaccos grown by him and his father, Nestor Senior. His supply and variety of fine tobaccos is limitless, granting him the potential to blend masterful cigars, which he has down with the Maroon Label. Dressed in a rich, redolent, and oily broadleaf maduro wrapper from Honduras, this fine cigar utilizes a long-leaf mixture of aged, Nicaraguan-grown ligeros bound by a dark Nicaraguan leaf. The result is remarkable, a medium to full-bodied array of flavor, including leather, earth, and coffee delivered throughout the smooth, chewy core. A pleasant sweetness finishes each savory puff, completing an eventful and memorable smoke.

Legends Pepin Garcia - Yellow Label: To keep it simple, Pepin Garcia is ‘blowing up.’ Famous for creating the heavily sought Tatuaje and Padilla Miami 8&11 brands, expect nothing short of spectacular from this intoxicating submission. Upon first glance, it’s easy to see Pepin’s Cuban heritage. The veiny, natural-colored wrappers and well-placed triple-caps. A spicy, earthy pre-light aroma. Handmade in his new Nicaraguan factory, this impressive blend utilizes Pepin’s prized, 1st Generation Habano seed tobaccos, all grown in the black soils of Nicaragua. The Corojo wrapper is top-notch, delivering a strong, spicy flavor even before the cigar is lit. Inside, a well-aged mixture of select Habano-seed long-fillers combine to deliver an assortment of satisfying flavors. Sit down before lighting, because this gem is a powerhouse. Expect a peppery burst of flavor upfront, which gradually mellows into chewy notes of wood and earth. This transition makes the cigar’s spicy character an afterthought, lingering long on the aftertaste urging you back for another puff. Naturally, construction is incredible. Enjoy the even, cool burn thanks to a beautiful, solid roll. Delicious.

Legends Perdomo - Red Label: Nick Perdomo, founder of Tabacalera Perdomo, went against the grain by producing the only figurado in the bunch. But it’s hard to argue after looking at the end product. In fact, it’s hard not to be downright giddy before, during and after sparking this beauty. Aesthetically, the cigar is stunning, a tightly wound, bullet-shaped smoke with a dark, positively first-grade sun-grown Nicaraguan maduro wrapper leaf. This leaf is eye-popping: smooth with nary a vein, glistening with natural oils, and giving off a lovely sheen. The tip of this torpedo is masterfully formed into a sharp, very pointy head. Filled to the brim with an intricate blend of aged Nicaraguan fillers, Perdomo’s medium to full-bodied treat instantly awakens your taste buds with a potpourri of wide-ranging flavors. It’s not overly rich however, and the well-balanced smoke mellows as you go, occupying the palate with clearly discernible earthy notes, followed by a slightly cedary undertone and mellow spiciness. The draw is impeccable - slow, cool, and deliberate - making this cigar journey one you’ll want to take over and over.

Legends Puros Indios - Green Label: Cigar master Rolando Reyes, Sr.’s Puros Indios is an excellent cigar with a unique, robust and aromatic taste. And it's usually easy to spot, due to the splotchy, almost marbleized Ecuadorian-grown wrappers. For his CI Legends entry, however, Rolando indeed displays the artful blending genius he is known for, but gives us a cosmetically beautiful cigar as well - so it not only smokes like heaven, it looks angelic too! Employing a hand-selected, supple Ecuadorian-grown Connecticut shade leaf, he introduces a well-aged blend of choice Dominican and Honduran long leaf. What results is an intensely flavorful smoke, but one that’s surprisingly mild in strength. Consistent throughout, this hefty Honduran-made toro loads your palate with thick volumes of velvety smoke, giving off smooth notes of toasted wood that are complemented by a variety of mellow earthy undertones. The slow, cool burn allows you to fully appreciate the deep depths of flavor of this soothing premium. Outstanding!

Legends Rocky Patel - Orange Label: Within the past few years, Rocky Patel has reached super-stardom in the cigar industry. Indian Tabac helped put him on the map just 10 years ago, and more recently his astounding RP blends, including RP Vintage, RP Sun Grown and Edge have taken things up a notch. Each successive new blend seems to instanteously become a darling, not only of Cigar Aficionado but of cigar smokers everywhere - pleasing the most discriminating of connoisseurs. So we're proud to bring you Rocky’s entry into the sales juggernaut that is the CI Legends saga. In fact, I anticipate that CI Legends by RP will quickly be in competition among the top spot among all the Legends blends ....and that's some rarified air to begin with. His blend features a rich, patiently-fermented Corojo wrapper leaf that’s simply gorgeous – oily and toothy. The supremely-aged Honduran long-leaf fillers are plentiful, resulting in layers upon layers of deep, complex flavors including a toasty, coffee-like character and sweet creaminess, complemented by a pleasing charcoal aroma and medium-bodied profile.