Ask a British cigar lover to name a Havana and the answer rarely takes long. A small group of names has filled humidors from St James’s clubs to country houses for generations, and their bands are as familiar as the label on a good claret. Yet anyone who has smoked their way through those classics eventually asks a different question: what comes next? What follows covers both: the Cuban cigars Britain knows by heart, and the rarer ones the most curious smokers go looking for.
Britain’s Favourites: The Havanas Everyone Knows
These are the names that keep appearing at the top of British retailers’ best-seller lists.
Montecristo No.2
The No.2 is a pirámide, or torpedo, tapering to a point at the head, and at 156 mm with a 52 ring gauge it is the shape most people picture when they think of a Havana. The brand took its name from Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo, a favourite of the readers who once entertained rollers on the factory floor. The smoke is medium to full, with cedar, cocoa and coffee, and the tapered head gathers it neatly on the palate.
Cohiba Siglo IV
Cohiba began life as the cigar Cuba kept for heads of state and diplomatic gifts, and its name is the Taíno word for tobacco. The Siglo IV belongs to Línea 1492, the range launched in 1992 to mark five hundred years since Columbus reached the Americas. Siglo means century, and each size in the original line stood for one of those five. A corona gorda of 143 mm x 46, it is medium-bodied, creamy and honeyed, with a light thread of spice.
Partagás Serie D No.4
If a single cigar explains Britain’s affection for robusto cigars, it is this one. Three of the five favourites here share the same 124 mm x 50 format: short, generous, and full of flavour in a sitting that fits between dinner and a nightcap. The Serie D No.4 is the quintessential Cuban robusto and the most forceful of the trio, full-bodied and earthy, with spice and a leathery depth. Partagás has rolled cigars in Havana since 1845, and this is the house style at its most concentrated.
Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No.2
Same dimensions as the Partagás, entirely different temperament. The Epicure No.2 is light to medium in body, creamy, floral and nutty. The brand’s name refers to a hoyo, a dip in the land, on the Vuelta Abajo estate where founder José Gener grew his tobacco in the nineteenth century. Plenty of seasoned smokers keep a box of each robusto and choose by the hour: the Hoyo after a light lunch, the Partagás once the evening has properly begun.
Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill
Winston Churchill was one of Romeo y Julieta’s most devoted customers, and the house named its long, stately Churchill format in his honour. The Short Churchill keeps the character and trims the commitment, arriving as the familiar 124 mm x 50 robusto. Medium in body, with cedar, cocoa and a light sweetness, it is the easiest of the five to love: a sensible first box for a newcomer and a safe gift when you are unsure of the recipient’s taste.
The Insider’s Pick: The Rarities Mr Cigar Shop UK Is Asked For Most
Once the favourites feel familiar, curiosity takes over. For this half of the story, we turned to the team at Mr Cigar Shop UK, who kindly shared the rarer premium cigars their customers ask about and buy most. Our thanks to them for their collaboration. Their selection leans towards limited releases and generous ring gauges, with one notable detour outside Cuba.
Saint Luis Rey Pura Vida, Regional Edition Costa Rica 2020
“Pura vida” is Costa Rica’s national motto, and here it names a cigar made for that country alone. Habanos produces Regional Editions in limited numbers for a single market, and once that allocation has gone, there is no more. For a British collector, the scarcity is the whole attraction: an edition never intended for the UK is, by definition, hard to find here. At 120 mm x 54, the Pura Vida is short and stout, rolled with aged Vuelta Abajo tobacco. Saint Luis Rey also has a long-standing following among British smokers. Mr Cigar Shop UK lists it at £398.30 for a box of 10, around £40 a cigar.
Hoyo de Monterrey Le Hoyo de San Juan
The Le Hoyo series is Hoyo de Monterrey’s answer for smokers who want a large ring gauge without a heavy smoke. Le Hoyo de San Juan, a Geniales of 150 mm x 54, takes its name from San Juan y Martínez, one of the most respected tobacco districts of the Vuelta Abajo. It smokes mild to medium, with hazelnut, cedar and honey. A thick cigar burns cooler than a slim one, so these gentle flavours stay clean and composed for well over an hour of smoking. The price is £258.93 for a box of 10, around £26 a cigar.
Hoyo de Monterrey Le Hoyo de Río Seco
The Río Seco is the San Juan’s sibling, shorter and fuller in the hand at 140 mm x 56. Its name comes from the same tobacco country of the Vuelta Abajo, and its strength sits in the same mild to medium register. The character shifts, though. Where the San Juan leans towards sweetness, the Río Seco is drier and more herbal, with cedar, hay and a touch of nutmeg. Smoked on consecutive evenings, the pair show how much personality a blend can carry at a gentle strength. It costs £267.85 for a box of 10, around £27 a cigar.
Davidoff Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2025
This is the only cigar in the selection made outside Cuba. Davidoff moved its production to the Dominican Republic in 1990, and today Dominican cigars sit comfortably beside Havanas in serious collections. The Winston Churchill line is named after the statesman whose cigar became part of his public image, a link few British smokers can resist. The 2025 Limited Edition is a classic Churchill of 178 mm x 48, and its notes of nougat, coffee and cedar evolve as it burns down. It is the grandest smoke of the selection, at £375.51 for a box of 10, around £38 a cigar.
Where the Journey Leads
As for what to pour, a Speyside single malt flatters the gentle Hoyos, an older cognac suits the Cohiba’s honeyed side, and an aged rum sits happily beside almost anything on this list. The favourites are where most of us start, and there is no shame in returning to them often. The rarities are where it gets interesting.
Discover more HERE.
This article is intended for readers aged 18 and over.
All imagery courtesy of Mr. Cigar Shop.