Often, the difference between a successful tobacco shop and one that has to close its doors comes down to the right inventory. Understanding your market, balancing price points, and knowing what products to stock are critical.
But stocking the right cigars isn’t just about filling your tobacco store with the latest “flavor of the month” product.
You need to understand your customer base and popular cigars, and stock a selection that keeps beginners coming back as they develop their palate, provides regular customers with reliable options they trust, and attracts experienced smokers willing to invest in premium selections.
Get it wrong and you're left with expensive inventory that sits while customers walk out empty-handed.
In this guide, we'll break down the cigar categories you need to know, recommend nine specific cigars across all experience levels and price points, and show you how to manage your inventory effectively.
Understanding Cigar Categories: A Foundation for Stocking the Most Popular Cigars
Before you start filling your humidor, you need to understand what makes some cigars fly off your shelves, and what leaves others gathering dust.
Popular cigars share a few key traits: consistent quality you can count on, strong brand recognition that customers trust, solid value for the price point, and recognition from industry experts like Cigar Aficionado. Select cigars with strong ratings in all these areas and you’ll be off to a good start.
Related Read: Inventory List for Tobacco Store Startup: 8 Top Products
Then, you need to consider your selection and variety. You’ll build and organize your stock based on four main categories:
By manufacturing method:
- Premium hand-rolled cigars: Premium tobacco quality with expert craftsmanship.
- Machine-made cigars: Affordable, consistent options that appeal to budget-conscious customers and daily smokers.
- Cigarillos: Quick smokes that make for great impulse buys at the register.
By wrapper color:
- Claro (light tan)
- Colorado (medium brown)
- Maduro (nearly black)
By shape:
- Parejos: Traditional, straight-sided cigars, like Corona, Robusto, Churchill, and Toro.
- Figurados: Shaped cigars, like Torpedo, Belicoso, and Pyramid.
By strength:
- Mild
- Medium-bodied
- Full-bodied
Now that you understand the basics, let's look at the specific cigars today’s customers are asking for in smoke shops around the country.
Beginner-Friendly Cigars (Mild to Medium Strength)
The first category of cigars to stock in your store is beginner-friendly options. Mild to medium-strength cigars are approachable for new cigar smokers, helping customers develop their taste without prohibitive price tags or overly intense flavors.
Related Read: Building a Smoke Shop Products List: 6 Staples and Trending Items
Some of the most popular cigars in this category:
- Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Eye of the Shark: A hand-rolled cigar featuring a blend of aged Dominican tobaccos wrapped in African Cameroon leaf. It’s described as having a creamy flavor with notes of cedar and nuts.
Price: $15-20
- Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchill: This Cuban classic (now based in the Dominican Republic) has a medium-bodied profile described as creamy with notes of wood and coffee. Plus, the Cuban pedigree gives customers a conversation starter, even if it is at a high price point.
Price: $40
- Brick House Churchill: This Nicaraguan cigar is described as smooth and easy going. It has mild spice and cocoa notes, making it perfect for new smokers who want to explore cigars without spending top dollar.
Price: $8-12
Stock these three cigars and you'll have several great answers when new customers ask, “What should I start with?"
Mid-Range Options (Medium to Medium-Full)
Next, you’ll want to stock some crowd-pleasing, mid-range cigars. These medium to medium-full bodied cigars will appeal to both newer and more experienced smokers. These aren’t just for special occasions — they’re everyday cigars for your seasoned smokers, making them some of your natural bestsellers.
Some options to stock in this category:
- Oliva Serie V Melanio Maduro Torpedo: This Nicaraguan cigar won Cigar Aficionado’s “Cigar of the Year” in 2021, and it’s been a popular option ever since. It features notes of pepper, earth, and espresso in its flavor profile and will sell well enough to justify premium shelf space.
Price: $12-15
- La Aroma de Cuba Pasión: This cigar is famous for being Winston Churchill’s favorite brand. It’s described as bold and smooth, with a flavor profile that includes notes of cocoa, cedar, and molasses.
Price: $8-12
- Flor de las Antillas: This 2012 release is one of the newer options on the list. It’s often described as savory with a leathery profile and hints of marzipan. It also comes in various sizes, ranging from 5” to 6.5” in length, and with ring gauges from 50 to 60, allowing you to offer customers their preferred size without suggesting a different cigar.
Price: $8-10
These three cigars move consistently because they offer a high-quality smoke without a premium price tag. Stock these options to win loyal customers who come back each week or month for their regular restocks.
Serious cigar lovers want the best, and they're willing to pay for it. These premium selections will attract collectors and connoisseurs. They’re also the high-margin items that will help boost your profits and your store’s reputation as a destination for serious smokers.
A few popular cigars to stock in the premium category:
- Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series: This collection was released in 1994 to commemorate the company's 30th anniversary. They’re described as full-bodied and contain notes of Brazil nut, cocoa, earth, and coffee. They come in both Natural and Maduro wrappers, and you’ll encounter collectors who are looking for the individually numbered double bands.
Price: $20-30 - My Father The Judge Grand Robusto: This cigar regularly tops Cigar Aficionado’s top cigars lists, and won Cigar of the Year in 2024. It’s described as having a nutty flavor, accompanied by notes of leather, cedar, pepper, and earth. The cigar comes in four shapes and is often sold in a sampler pack.
Price: $13-15 - Cohiba Maduro 5 Mágicos: All Cuban cigars have a level of prestige, but Cohiba is one of the pinnacles. This cigar is often described as spicy and bold. The ideal customer for this option is an established enthusiast looking for a special occasion smoke.
Price: $50-80+
Premium cigars like these are key to carry because they help position you as a top-tier smoke shop, raise your profit margins, and attract customers who tend to spend more per visit.
Related Read: Is a Tobacco Shop Profitable? 6 Key Considerations
How To Effectively Stock and Manage the Most Popular Cigars
The nine cigar varieties we’ve discussed are all great options to stock in your store, but to protect your investment and keep customers happy, you need to do more than just order the right products.
Begin by understanding ring gauges and lengths, and consider these measurements when ordering. This step will help you maximize your humidor space and organize your inventory more logically. Be sure to maintain proper conditions at 70°F and 70% humidity for all stock at all times.
Related Read: Smoke Shop Equipment & Tools: 5 Must-Haves
Next, be sure to balance your smoke shop inventory. You’ll want a mix of beginner-friendly options and premium selections to reach a broader customer base. Think of your products as falling into one of three tiers, and be sure to stock adequate amounts and varieties in all categories to satisfy your target customer base.
- Entry-level ($5-10 range): Stock these for walk-in traffic, impulse buyers, and customers investing in everyday smokes.
- Mid-tier ($10-20 range): These items are your core inventory that appeals to your regular customers. Most of your sales happen here.
- Premium ($20-50+ range): These cigars will sell in lower volume than the other two categories, but they carry much higher margins. These attract serious cigar enthusiasts who expect quality service and care.
Managing these different categories and processes can be a headache, especially when you factor in the other challenges of tobacco retail.
You need to track individual cigar SKUs with specifications like ring gauge, length, and wrapper type. You’ll need to be able to break cases to sell singles, print custom barcode labels, and run reports to see what’s selling and what you need to reorder.
If you’re trying to manage all of this in a manual spreadsheet, things will get out of hand fast.
Instead, you need a point of sale and inventory management system designed for smoke shops. The right system will offer tobacco scan data reporting integrations, custom label printing, automated age verification at checkout, robust reporting, and more.
Look for a solution like Cigars POS, designed specifically for tobacco and smoke shops to avoid investing in a generic POS tool that has a ton of fancy bells and whistles but none of the actual features you need to succeed.
Stock the Most Popular Cigars With Confidence
Building a winning cigar business comes down to making smart choices, and stocking the right cigars is one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your shop. Start with the cigars on this list, but don’t think your decision-making journey ends there.
Once you’re up and running, track your sales carefully. See what sells and what doesn’t, track inventory turnover rates, test new products in small quantities to see if they sell, and seek feedback from your customer base. Real data takes the guesswork out of your ordering process and lets you make better decisions based on reality, not your gut.
The best place to start tracking that data is in your point of sale and inventory management tool.
Cigars POS is an all-in-one POS and inventory management system built specifically for tobacco shops like yours. Our solution handles the unique challenges of cigar inventory, like breaking cases, printing labels, and managing detailed SKUs. You'll spend less time buried in spreadsheets and more time helping your customers find their next favorite smoke.
Ready to streamline your cigar inventory? Schedule a demo to see how our tobacco shop POS system can help you stock smarter and sell faster.
