The Cuban catalog median is $20.40. These 12 non-Cuban cigars are rated 4.8 to 4.9 and cost less than that.
They came out of 33 non-Cuban cigars rated 4.8 or higher and priced under $20.40, one per brand. The E.P. Carrillo Pledge Prequel is rated 4.9 at $10.75. The Ashton VSG Belicoso is rated 4.8 at $8.33. The dearest cigar on this page is $18.00, still $2.40 under the Cuban median, and it is not the best-rated.
Price of all 12 non-Cuban picks against the $20.40 Cuban median
All 12 picks stop short of the Cuban median of $20.40. The best rating in the set, 4.90, belongs to the E.P. Carrillo Pledge Prequel at $10.75 — $9.65 under that median. Ratings across the list move 0.10 of a point; prices move 2.2×.
best rating (4.90) — $10.75the other 11 picks
- Ashton VSG Belicoso$8.33
- La Mission L'Atelier 1959$8.50
- Liga Privada No. 9 Robusto$9.58
- Alec Bradley Prensado Churchill$10.25
- E.P. Carrillo Pledge Prequel$10.75
- Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Maestro$10.95
- Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Eye of the Shark$12.25
- Padron 1964 Anniversary Series Hermoso$13.20
- My Father The Judge Grand Robusto$13.30
- La Flor Dominicana Andalusian Bull$15.00
- Davidoff Winston Churchill Late Hour$17.50
- Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Nicaragua Espeso$18.00
The 12 Best Non-Cuban Cigars Under the Cuban Median, Ranked
Ranked by catalog rating, one brand each. Two cigars tie at 4.9, three at 4.85, and seven at 4.8 — inside a tie the order is alphabetical, not a verdict, so choose on price, size and origin instead. Every price is for a single cigar.
1. E.P. Carrillo Pledge Prequel
- Rating: 4.9
- Price: $10.75
- Strength: Medium-Full
- Size: 5 x 50 Robusto, U.S.A. Conn. Habano wrapper, Dominican Republic
The E.P. Carrillo Pledge Prequel is rated 4.9 at $10.75. Two cigars in this set reach 4.9, and this is the cheaper of them, by $2.55. Five inches on a 50 ring is the reference robusto, Dominican-made, under a U.S.A. Conn. Habano wrapper. The Cuban median is $20.40; this cigar is $9.65 under it.
Buy it if you want the top rating on this page and you want to pay the least for it.
2. My Father The Judge Grand Robusto
- Rating: 4.9
- Price: $13.30
- Strength: Medium-Full
- Size: 5 x 60 Robusto, Ecuador wrapper, Nicaragua
The My Father The Judge Grand Robusto is rated 4.9 at $13.30. It shares the 4.9 rating with the E.P. Carrillo above, costs $2.55 more, and jumps from a 50 ring to a 60. Same 5-inch length, Nicaraguan, Ecuador wrapper. It is still $7.10 under the Cuban median.
Buy it if you want the 4.9 in a 60-ring robusto and Nicaragua is the origin you already buy.
3. Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Eye of the Shark
- Rating: 4.85
- Price: $12.25
- Strength: Medium-Full
- Size: 5.75 x 52 Figurado, Cameroon wrapper, Dominican Republic
The Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Eye of the Shark is rated 4.85 at $12.25. Three cigars tie at 4.85, and this is the cheapest of them. It is a 5.75 x 52 figurado with a Cameroon wrapper, Dominican-made, $8.15 under the Cuban median.
Buy it if you want a shaped cigar at 4.85 and you already buy Fuente.
4. Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Nicaragua Espeso
- Rating: 4.85
- Price: $18.00
- Strength: Medium-Full
- Size: 5.5 x 60 Gordo, Nicaragua wrapper, Nicaragua
The Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Nicaragua Espeso is rated 4.85 at $18.00. It is the most expensive cigar on this page at $18.00, and it is still $2.40 under the Cuban median. Catalog origin is Nicaragua, not Cuba. A 5.5 x 60 gordo is the fattest parejo in the twelve, and it ties the $12.25 Fuente and the $13.20 Padron at 4.85.
Buy it if you want this Montecristo. On score and price the Fuente and the Padron are the 4.85s to buy.
5. Padron 1964 Anniversary Series Hermoso
- Rating: 4.85
- Price: $13.20
- Strength: Medium
- Size: 4 x 56 Robusto, Nicaragua wrapper, Nicaragua
The Padron 1964 Anniversary Series Hermoso is rated 4.85 at $13.20. At 4 inches with a 56 ring it is the shortest cigar in the twelve, which is the format to pick when you want the 4.85 without the hour. Nicaraguan wrapper on a Nicaraguan cigar. The full Padron ranking is in the 12 best Padron cigars.
Buy it if you want the 4.85 band in under an hour.
6. Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Maestro
- Rating: 4.8
- Price: $10.95
- Strength: Medium-Full
- Size: 6 x 52 Figurado, Nicaragua wrapper, Nicaragua
The Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Maestro is rated 4.8 at $10.95. Seven cigars tie at 4.8. This is a 6 x 52 figurado, Nicaraguan puro, $9.45 under the Cuban median. It sits $0.70 above the Alec Bradley below and $2.62 above the Ashton, at the same rating.
Buy it if you want a Nicaraguan figurado at 4.8 and a full six inches.
7. Alec Bradley Prensado Churchill
- Rating: 4.8
- Price: $10.25
- Strength: Full
- Size: 7 x 48 Churchill, Honduras wrapper, Honduras
The Alec Bradley Prensado Churchill is rated 4.8 at $10.25. It is the only Honduran cigar in the twelve and the only churchill. Seven inches on a 48 ring, Full, Honduran puro. It is also on the Honduran cigars list, where it is the 4.8.
Buy it if you want the long format and Honduras is the origin you came here from.
8. Ashton VSG Belicoso
- Rating: 4.8
- Price: $8.33
- Strength: Full
- Size: 6 x 52 Torpedo, Ecuador Sun Grown wrapper, Dominican Republic
The Ashton VSG Belicoso is rated 4.8 at $8.33. It is the cheapest cigar in the twelve. Full strength, 6 x 52 torpedo, Ecuador Sun Grown wrapper, Dominican-made. Same 4.8 as the $17.50 Davidoff two entries down.
Buy it if you want the lowest price that still clears 4.8 under the Cuban median.
9. Davidoff Winston Churchill Late Hour
- Rating: 4.8
- Price: $17.50
- Strength: Medium
- Size: 5 x 50 Robusto, Ecuador Habano wrapper, Dominican Republic
The Davidoff Winston Churchill Late Hour is rated 4.8 at $17.50. It is the second most expensive cigar on this page and it ties the $8.33 Ashton at 4.8. Five inches on a 50 ring, Medium, Ecuador Habano wrapper, Dominican-made. You are paying $9.17 more than the Ashton for the same score in a smaller cigar.
Buy it if you want this Davidoff. On the numbers the Ashton is the 4.8 to buy.
10. La Flor Dominicana Andalusian Bull
- Rating: 4.8
- Price: $15.00
- Strength: Full
- Size: 6.5 x 64 Figurado, Ecuador wrapper, Dominican Republic
The La Flor Dominicana Andalusian Bull is rated 4.8 at $15.00. At a 64 ring gauge it is the widest cigar in the twelve, a 6.5-inch figurado, Full, Ecuador wrapper, Dominican-made. $15.00 is $5.40 under the Cuban median and $6.67 over the Ashton, at the same 4.8.
Buy it if you want the biggest ring gauge here and you already buy LFD.
11. La Mission L'Atelier 1959
- Rating: 4.8
- Price: $8.50
- Strength: Medium-Full
- Size: 4.75 x 52 Robusto, Mexico wrapper, Nicaragua
The La Mission L'Atelier 1959 is rated 4.8 at $8.50. At 4.75 x 52 it is the second shortest cigar in the twelve, $0.17 above the cheapest, Mexican wrapper, Nicaraguan, Medium-Full. Same 4.8 as six other cigars that cost as much as $17.50.
Buy it if you want a short robusto at 4.8 and you missed the Ashton.
12. Liga Privada No. 9 Robusto
- Rating: 4.8
- Price: $9.58
- Strength: Full
- Size: 5.5 x 52 Robusto, Connecticut Broadleaf Oscuro wrapper, Nicaragua
The Liga Privada No. 9 Robusto is rated 4.8 at $9.58. Five and a half inches on a 52 ring, Full, Connecticut Broadleaf Oscuro wrapper, Nicaraguan. It is rated 4.8 at $9.58, which is the same score the T52 Robusto hits in the Liga Privada ranking. $10.82 under the Cuban median.
Buy it if you want the Liga Privada No. 9 blend and a robusto is the size you smoke.
Which One Should You Buy
Buy the E.P. Carrillo Pledge Prequel, rated 4.9 at $10.75, if you want the top score. It is the cheaper of the two 4.9s, a 5 x 50 robusto, and it sits $9.65 under the Cuban median of $20.40.
Three reasons to buy something else:
- You want the cheapest 4.8. That is the Ashton VSG Belicoso, rated 4.8 at $8.33. The Davidoff on this page is the same 4.8 at $17.50.
- You want the 4.85 in a short cigar. That is the Padron 1964 Anniversary Series Hermoso, rated 4.85 at $13.20. Four inches, 56 ring.
- You want Honduras. The only Honduran cigar here is the Alec Bradley Prensado Churchill, rated 4.8 at $10.25.
Set your ceiling below and the picker names the best cigar in the twelve you can actually buy for it.
Interactive
Pick a non-Cuban cigar
All 12 ranked cigars, $8.33 to $18.00, each under the Cuban median of $20.40, drawn from 33 non-Cuban cigars rated 4.8+ under $20.40. Set your ceiling and it names the best one you can actually buy.
Start with E.P. Carrillo Pledge Prequel — rated 4.9 at $10.75, 5" x 50 Robusto, medium-full.
6 of the 12 cigars match at or under $11.50. Top 5 shown.
- E.P. Carrillo Pledge Prequel
- Ashton VSG Belicoso
- La Mission L'Atelier 1959
- Liga Privada No. 9 Robusto
- Alec Bradley Prensado Churchill
Nothing in this ranking scores higher than 4.9 on these filters. Spending more here buys size and wrapper, not a better score.
What the Cuban Catalog Actually Costs
Cuba in our catalog is 361 cigars. The median priced one costs $20.40. The average rating is 4.6. Prices run from $2.30 to $915.00, so Cuban is not a synonym for expensive — it is a synonym for a higher middle.
The H. Upmann No. 2 is rated 4.9 at $32.20. That is the same 4.9 as the E.P. Carrillo at $10.75, $11.80 above the Cuban median rather than $9.65 below it.
This page is the other side of that median: non-Cuban, 4.8 or better, cheaper than $20.40. Thirty-three cigars in the catalog clear the cut; these 12 are one per brand.
Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Honduras
Six of the twelve are Nicaraguan, five are Dominican, and one is Honduran. That mix is what the 4.8-and-under-$20.40 pool looks like after one-per-brand, not a verdict on which origin is better.
The origin catalogs behind them do not agree on price. Nicaragua's 1,457 cigars have a median of $9.64. The Dominican Republic's 878 have a median of $9.60. Honduras's 472 have a median of $8.28. Cuba's 361 have a median of $20.40. Pairwise catalog comparisons for those four origins sit at the bottom of this page.
Rating averages are closer than the prices: 4.55 Nicaragua, 4.56 Dominican, 4.54 Honduras, 4.6 Cuba. The gap this list is built on is the median price, not the average score.
More origin reading: Honduran cigars · Dominican cigars · Nicaraguan cigars · History of Cuban cigars · Cigar price index
Are Cuban cigars better than non-Cuban cigars?
Not on the numbers this page is cut on. The Cuban catalog's average rating is 4.6 at a median of $20.40. These 12 non-Cuban cigars are rated 4.8 to 4.9 and all cost less than that median.
A Cuban can still be the cigar you want. The H. Upmann No. 2 is rated 4.9 at $32.20. It is not a better score than the E.P. Carrillo Pledge Prequel at $10.75.
What is the best non-Cuban cigar under the Cuban median?
The E.P. Carrillo Pledge Prequel, rated 4.9 at $10.75. It is the cheaper of the two 4.9s in this twelve, which were cut from 33 non-Cuban cigars rated 4.8 or higher and priced under $20.40.
The other 4.9 is the My Father The Judge Grand Robusto, rated 4.9 at $13.30.
How much cheaper are these non-Cuban cigars than Cubans?
The Cuban median is $20.40. These 12 run from $8.33 to $18.00. The cheapest 4.9 here is $10.75, which is $9.65 under that median. The dearest cigar on the page is $18.00, still $2.40 under it.
Cuban prices in the catalog also run down to $2.30, so the median is the comparison, not the floor.
Which origin makes the best non-Cuban cigars on this list?
Nicaragua accounts for six of the twelve, the Dominican Republic five, and Honduras one. Both 4.9s are in that split: one Dominican at $10.75, one Nicaraguan at $13.30.
The origin catalogs' average ratings sit within 0.02 of each other. The gap is price, and that is why this list exists.