Byron Cigars

About Byron Cigars

The house of Byron

Byron's packaging reads “Fundada en 1850.” Byron's own history credits two cousins, Jose and Eusebio, who ran a small factory of about twelve workers on Macías Street in Santiago de Las Vegas, in Havana province, grew their own leaf there and in Tapaste, and named the brand for the English poet Lord Byron, an avid cigar smoker; they later moved to a larger factory on O'Reilly Street in Havana. Cigar Aficionado traces the brand to Nelson Alfonso's own ancestors, and Byron says the family recovered the name in 1998. In 2025 Byron marked its 175th anniversary with a numbered humidor of 60 cigars, Cigar Aficionado reported.

Nelson Alfonso, a Cuban artist credited with the Cohiba Behike branding, now makes Byron in Costa Rica. Byron says its cigars rest for years after rolling, against the roughly 60 days it calls typical; its own size pages give two to five years. Cigar Coop describes the 19th, 20th and 21st Century series as one line for each century the brand was active, each paying homage to that century's Cuban cigars. Selección 1850, called Byron 1850 in the trade, is the fourth line, which Nelson Alfonso called a “bolder representation of the Byron blend.”

Byron at Sun of a Gun

19th Century: the Poemas

Byron gives the 19th Century blend as an Ecuadorian wrapper and binder over Nicaraguan ligero and seco with Peruvian volado, each leaf aged four years, and rates every size medium to full. Each cigar wears a Lord Byron portrait band over a colored “RESERVA” band: blue “4 AÑOS” on the Petit Poemas and Épique Poemas, black “5 AÑOS” on the Grand Poemas and red on the Poemas. halfwheel notes that a darker-than-usual Ecuadorian wrapper has typically been reserved for select Byron sizes, the Épique Poemas among them. Stogie Press scored the Petit Poemas 96 in January 2023.

The Épique Poemas Exclusive Edition humidor

Nelson Alfonso spent seven years designing it, Cigar Coop reported. The humidor stands upright and opens through two magnetic doors: 20 cigars stand in the center and five angled cigars sit in each door, and each door carries its own hygrometer and thermometer. The finish is hazelnut, with hazelnut-wood cigar strips. Selected Tobacco launched it in 2022 as 500 individually numbered humidors, with cigars aged four years after rolling, and the launch package added a carton of 50 refills. We offer the humidor with its 30 cigars; we have not confirmed the run or vintage of the current humidors.

The Byron Century Humidors

The Grand Poemas, Habaneros and Elegantes are sold in limited-edition humidors of 25, a series that began in 2021 with one humidor for each century: white for the 19th, yellow for the 20th and black for the 21st. The 2021 and 2022 humidors were lacquered and lined with French white oak, the 2021 release with embossed hinges, a temperature gauge, a hygrometer and a push-button closure; Cigar Coop and The Cigar Authority describe the 2023 humidors as lacquered African Oak. halfwheel counted 200 humidors per size in 2022 and 300 in 2023; in those editions the Grand Poemas and Habaneros were aged five years after rolling and the Elegantes four. The Elegantes first came to the United States in 2016 as 200 humidified cabinets of 25, Cigar Coop reported. We have not confirmed the vintage or edition size of the current humidors; call the shop and we will tell you what is on hand.

20th Century

The Londinenses and Habaneros were in the line by 2014 and 2015; the Venecianos belicoso and the Mesolongis followed at the 2019 IPCPR trade show. Cigar Aficionado's 2023 ratings list an Ecuadorian wrapper and a Peruvian binder over Dominican, Nicaraguan and Peruvian filler, as our distributor does. Byron rates every 20th Century size medium to full; Cigar Insider rated the three it reviewed in 2023 medium, scoring the Venecianos 91, the Londinenses 90 and the Mesolongis 88. Byron's catalogue spells it Londinenses; some retailers write Londineses.

21st Century

The 21st Century boxes are black piano lacquer, and the cigars wear a black Byron script band over a blue “RESERVA 4 AÑOS” band. Our distributor, Cigar Coop, halfwheel and Cigar Aficionado list an Ecuadorian wrapper over a Dominican binder; Byron's own site gives a Peruvian binder for the Elegantes, Honorables and Aristócratas, and a Nicaraguan wrapper for the Distinguidos, a size halfwheel says has typically worn a darker leaf; it also comes in a cedar sleeve. Byron rates the Distinguidos medium to full and the other three medium; Cigar Aficionado scored the Honorables 92 in December 2025 and rated it mild-medium. The Aristócratas here is the regular 8 x 52, not the separate Aristócratas 10-Year Aged release.

Selección 1850

Selected Tobacco unveiled Selección 1850 at the 2022 PCA trade show in Las Vegas. halfwheel, Cigar Aficionado and Cigar Coop give the blend as an Ecuadorian wrapper and a Peruvian binder over Dominican and Nicaraguan filler, and halfwheel reports the cigars rest in cedar and French oak aging rooms. The box is a dark, glossy walnut-look lacquer with embossed hinges and a push-button clasp, its lid marked “SELECCIÓN 1850.” Cigar Coop reported 200 boxes of each Selección Privada size for 2022; the Grand Bouquets and Líricos were held for retailer events at launch, with 150 boxes made between them. Byron rates the No. 3, No. 4 and Grand Bouquets medium to full and the No. 1, No. 2 and Líricos medium; Cigar Aficionado rated the Grand Bouquets full.

Byron ratings

Cigar Coop also placed the Selección Privada No. 3 at No. 30 on its 2023 Cigar of the Year Countdown. The Cigar Authority, a retailer, rated the Distinguidos 99, the Petit Poemas 98 and the Habaneros 95 in 2015, the last when that size was 6 x 56, and the Poemas 97 in 2014.

Common questions

Who makes Byron cigars? Selected Tobacco, owned by Nelson Alfonso, which rolls the whole brand at Tabacos de Costa Rica in Santiago de Puriscal, Costa Rica. United Cigars distributes Byron in the United States.

When was Byron founded? Byron's packaging reads “Fundada en 1850,” and 2025 was its 175th anniversary; Byron's own history places the creation of the “Lord Byron” brand around 1848, in Havana province. Byron says the family recovered the name in 1998.

What is the difference between the 19th, 20th and 21st Century lines? Cigar Coop describes each as a homage to the Cuban cigars of the century it is named for. They differ in blend and dress: the 19th Century has an Ecuadorian binder and white boxes, the 20th a Peruvian binder and yellow boxes, and the 21st, per our distributor, a Dominican binder and black boxes.

How strong are Byron cigars? On Byron's own scale, every 19th and 20th Century size is medium to full. In the 21st Century the Distinguidos is medium to full and the rest medium; in Selección 1850 the No. 3, No. 4 and Grand Bouquets are medium to full and the No. 1, No. 2 and Líricos medium. Cigar Insider rated the 20th Century sizes it reviewed medium, and Cigar Aficionado rated the Honorables mild-medium and the Grand Bouquets full.

What does Byron taste like? Byron has not published tasting notes. Critics' notes by line are in the table above: caramel and dark chocolate from Stogie Press in the 19th Century, graham cracker, almond and coffee from Cigar Insider in the 20th, nougat from Cigar Coop and cappuccino from Cigar Aficionado in the 21st, and leather, earth and coffee bean from Cigar Aficionado in Selección 1850.

Which Byron cigars come in humidors? The Grand Poemas, Habaneros and Elegantes, in limited-edition humidors of 25, and the Épique Poemas, in the upright Exclusive Edition humidor of 30. The Épique Poemas is also sold in boxes of 25.

Where can I buy Byron cigars in Yuma, AZ? At Sun of a Gun Cigars & Spirits, 1651 S Arizona Ave, an official J.C. Newman Diamond Crown Cigar Lounge with a walk-in humidor and a full bar. Call 928-276-3500 to ask which Byron sizes are on the shelf today, or see our cigar lounge in Yuma.

How much is shipping? $9.99 flat shipping, free on orders of $125 or more. Every order ships with a Boveda humidity pack.

More from Selected Tobacco is on Atabey, Alfonso and Bandolero. Every cigar we carry from Costa Rica is on Costa Rican Cigars, the whole portfolio United distributes on United Cigars, and every house we carry on Cigar Brands A–Z.