While Nick, Greg, and Secret Chris might get most of the screen time for the JR Cigar content team, it is truly a collaborative effort. When creating the samplers for all our Top Five videos, we work with a member of our product merchant team named Brendan.

It’s safe to say that when it comes to industry knowledge, Brendan is one of the few people even I could learn something from. He has tremendous knowledge and great taste when it comes to his cigar preferences.  So, for Brendan’s birthday, we dedicated this Top List to him where he picked some of his favorite birthday cigars. Check out the link below for this limited time sampler today.

Released in 2012, the Flor de Las Antillas is a box-pressed beauty that was created by Jamie Garcia. Birthed at the My Father factory in Esteli, Nicaragua, the Flor de Las Antillas pays homage in honoring Cuba, which is the largest island of the Antilles archipelago. The eye-popping band uses popular Cuban artwork from the early 19^th century.

This medium to full-bodied smoke is cloaked in an Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro wrapper, with a binder and filler from Nicaragua. This 5.62 x 46 smoke has flavorful notes of wood, espresso, chocolate, almonds, earth, and a touch of spice. This award-winning Flor de Las Antillas Maduro Corona is a true testament to the fine art of the cigar making that Jamie Garcia created for this delicious smoke.

When it comes to Steve Saka of Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust cigars, he always has something clever up his sleeve when it comes to his cigars. Fans plead for Steve to make a blend in a Lancero size. Even back when Saka worked at Drew Estate, he stressed that making this vitola is a challenging process. But eventually, Steve caved in and created his very own Lancero. The acronym, #NLMTHA stands for “Now Leave Me the Hell Alone”, which is a “loving” message to the ones who were begging for a lancero size under the Dunbarton portfolio.

The NLMTHA Lancero is a medium-bodied, Nicaraguan puro that comes in a 7 x 38 size, individually packaged in its own cedar coffin. Brimming with hearty full-bodied flavor notes of pepper, chocolate, nuts, earth, and dried fruits. Like every Saka creation, the NLMTHA has pristine construction along with a great burn. This masterpiece is available in limited quantities with only 1,500 boxes produced in total.

Created in 2014, the Illusione Fume D’Amor Clementes is manufactured at the Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A. Factory in Nicaragua. Before the Fume D’Amor, Illusione founder Dion Giolito didn’t create a cigar for almost three years. Coming back to create this gem paid off for Dion due to the D’Amor Clementes landing number 7 on the top 25 cigars of the year in 2014. The meaning behind this small boutique brand “D’Amor Clementes” means “smoke of love”.

This medium to full-bodied smoke is flawlessly rolled with 100% pure Nicaraguan tobaccos in the popular 6.5 x 48-ring in the double corona format. You will savor a slow-burning smoke that’s brimming with hearty flavor notes. Notes you’ll experience while smoking the D’Aor Clementes are roasted nuts, cocoa, rich tobacco sweetness, and some herbal components as well.

Made in Nicaragua by one of the most famous cigar families in the industry, the Padron family has quite a few styles that have received numerous accolades. One cigar that’s at the forefront of Padron’s success is the Padron 1964 Anniversary Series. This was created for the family’s 30 years in the business as well as a celebration of cigar making at its finest. The 1964 Anniversary is without a doubt, one of the best tasting Medium to full-bodied cigars you’ll ever enjoy.

The Padron 1964 Anniversary Series Principe is a 4.50 x 46 Nicaraguan puro that is full of delicious flavor notes throughout the smoke. Some notes you’ll experience while smoking the 1964 Principe Maduro is chocolate, sweet cocoa, earth, butter, and spice! The Padron 1964 Principe is the perfect nightcap for Brendan to end another birthday celebration!

Released in 2016, the CroMagnon Anthropology from Roma Craft Tobac is one of the best boutique brands all throughout the cigar industry. Tobaccos used for this dark and gritty offering hail all throughout Nicaragua that come from Esteli, Condega, and Pueblo Nuevo.

The CroMagnon Anthropology is a 5.75 x 46 smoke that’s cloaked in a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, with a Cameroon binder, and Nicaraguan fillers. This full-bodied smoke delivers delicious flavor notes of sweet spice, toast, dark coffee, cedar, and caramel. Master blender Skip Martin made this for the modern smoker, all while creating a unique distinctive three-nation blend.