Alfonso Gran Selección Preciosos

Last year, Selected Tobacco S.A.—best known for the Atabey and Byron brands—released a new brand: Alfonso.

It’s named after Nelson Alfonso Egüed, the founder of the company, and it was the first of what currently sits at four different lines that use a unique aging process. Part of the sales pitch behind Selected Tobacco S.A.’s cigars is that they often undergo much longer aging periods than what other cigar companies claim. Cigars that have been aged for five years aren’t all that uncommon; this year, the company released a cigar that had been aged for 10 years.

What makes these new lines unique within the Selected Tobacco S.A. portfolio is not the length of time they are aged for, but rather, the rooms they are aged in. Selected Tobacco S.A. ages its other cigars in rooms lined with Spanish cedar, a relatively common practice in the cigar industry. However, Alfonso was curious if he could use French oak, a wood used in winemaking, to age cigars. So, the company built another aging room that has walls lined with French oak.

The Alfonso Extra Añejo—a cigar that went on to win halfwheel’s Top 25 in 2022—was the first release, followed by the Byron 1850, the Alfonso Gran Selección and, most recently, the Atabey Black Ritos.

Selected Tobacco S.A. says the Gran Selección is a darker version of the Extra Añejo. It was aged for a total of five years between the Spanish cedar and French oak rooms. Blend-wise, it uses an Ecuadorian habano wrapper over a Peruvian binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.

Interestingly, production for 2023 and 2024 is limited to 200 boxes of 25 cigars per size per year. The company increased the number of cigars it rolled, meaning that the 2025 release will be a larger quantity.

• Cigar Reviewed: Alfonso Gran Selección Preciosos
• Country of Origin: Costa Rica
• Factory: Tabacos de Costa Rica
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Habano)
• Binder: Peru
• Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
• Length: 7 1/2 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 40
• Vitola: Lancero
• MSRP: $42 (Box of 25, $1,050)
• Release Date: November 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

The first thing I notice is a reminder that Selected Tobacco S.A. does its cellophane differently; each piece is cut to length so it only extends to the foot and doesn’t go over the foot. Once the cigar is removed from cellophane, the Alfonso Gran Selección Preciosos’s dark and oily wrapper becomes apparent. I’ve got more thoughts on the wrapper appearance in the Final Notes, but the wrappers are pretty. The aroma from the wrappers is a bit concerning as ammonia is the strongest smell on two of the three cigars, the exception being one cigar where it’s on equal footing as some leather smells. Secondary scents include barnyard, cedar, leather and something that reminds me of an empty glass of red wine after the remnants have been left to dry. The intensities range from medium-plus to medium-full. This is one of the rare times when the aroma from the foot is substantially milder than the wrapper, something that might be the result of the cellophane helping to lock in some of the wrapper’s aroma, a luxury the foot doesn’t have. The mild aroma has some hints of Spanish cedar, floral flavors and something that reminds me a bit of sweet cherries. Cold draws are surprisingly aggressive with some sharp pepper—both red and white—acidity and woodiness over some sweet cinnamon, raisins and a generic Scotch whisky flavor. It’s medium-plus to medium-full; two cigars have a tight draw.

Unfortunately, none of the three cigars start with the type of combustion I’d like to see. Flavor-wise, it’s a medium-plus to medium-full start with cedar and other woody flavors, earthiness and some starchiness. Secondary notes vary depending on the cigar but include floral flavors, sweet waffle batter, saltiness, cashews and dry cereal. There’s also some bitterness, metallicness and/or sourness. None of it’s overwhelming, but I don’t like how it accents the profile. Unfortunately, my attention is more on the draw than the flavor. The first cigar I smoke is so tight, I try cutting it again to help. I suppose it helped, but not in a meaningful way. The second cigar appears to have a knot right around the top of the band, which won’t be remedied by anything short of a draw poker. The third cigar is better, but it’s still tighter than I’d like a lancero to be. Flavor-wise, there’s generic cereal, woodiness and some burnt earthiness over apple, oak, ketchup, dry nuts and black tea. Each cigar is a bit different but with enough similarities. Unfortunately, the cigars need to be smoked faster to stay lit and that produces harsher and sharper flavors. The finish can be great—sesame seeds, earthiness, tart citrus and vibrant pepper—but oftentimes, it’s too sharp or too bitter to be enjoyed. That’s a similar story as the retrohales where floral flavors and black tea are present at times, but other times, it’s sharp black pepper and bitter earthiness. The finish can be especially sharp, though sometimes some woodiness and sesame seed breakthrough. Flavor is medium-full, body is full and strength is medium-plus. The first cigar I smoke randomly goes out in the first third and requires a full relight, the second cigar needs a touch-up to help and the third cigar makes it through the first third without any additional assistance from the lighter.

Even on the cigar with the best draw, the Alfonso Gran Selección Preciosos is continuing to get tighter during the second third. That coincides with added dryness and sharpness. If those two attributes could calm down, it appears there’s a lot to enjoy. Brown mustard and floral flavors are present sometimes, but oftentimes, it’s bitter earthiness and sharp pepper. One cigar has a touch of a flavor that reminds me of Liquid Smoke, a nice addition but not enough to begin to overcome the various issues. The finish has earthiness, cereal flavors and, on one cigar, some cinnamon graham crackers. Again, sharpness, bitterness, dryness and sourness are all problems. Retrohales offer the best chance of a respite from those flaws with peanut shells and soft bourbon flavors emerging in the nose. It’s savory for a few seconds, but then harsh leather, herbal flavors—like smoked thyme—coffee and black pepper emerge. Flavor is medium-full, body is medium-plus and strength is medium. The first cigar is now on relight number two, the second cigar requires another relight and the third cigar—the one with the best draw—continues to burn fine so long as I puff on it at least once per minute. The tightening draws continue to make this a challenge.

Dry bread, minor hints of chocolate and earthiness can be tasted in the final cigar. I’ve given up trying to make notes about the other two, beyond that they taste like cigars that have been relit multiple times. The finish is interesting as it tastes like I just ate a bunch of white sandwich bread, dry but enjoyable. Cinnamon and other spices mix with some sawdust and creaminess. There’s also a sugary sweetness as an aftertaste. Unfortunately, the dryness and bitterness are still present. Retrohales have a very sharp white pepper before the mouth begins to bitter out, though I can taste things that remind me of white rice and bread on the finish. Flavor is full, body is medium-full and strength is medium-plus. Due to how much the draw has tightened, the second cigar is legitimately difficult to smoke in the final third. After using the lighter three times in five minutes, I just give up. Even the best cigar needs regular touch-ups to keep combustion going. The draw has broken the cigar.

Final Notes

• As I write way too often in reviews, construction issues affect flavor. In this case, I have no confidence about how good this blend might be because the bunching of the three cigars I smoked never gave the tobacco a chance. Hopefully, you have a better experience than me and I certainly look forward to trying this blend in a different vitola.

• Selected Tobacco S.A. published its own images of the boxes and individual cigars. These images show a wrapper color that I would describe as a 3.5/10 in terms of darkness. The cigars that I smoked were more like a 7/10. Not dark broadleaf in color, but certainly darker than average with lots of red and purple coming through. Over the last few years, Brooks Whittington and I have spent at least 50 hours working on color accuracy of cigar wrappers, so I know how difficult of a task it is to get correct. That said, the pictures that Selected Tobacco S.A. put out aren’t close.
• I’m not here to chastise the pictures but to point out a potential problem. If a consumer sees the picture above and buy the cigars, there’s a really good chance that they will wonder if they got the wrong cigars, or a darker box of that cigar.

• If you are wondering, here’s a picture of a different box of these cigars which looks to be the same color as the cigars I smoked and also not close to the images from Selected Tobacco S.A.

• This is one of the more unique cigar bands you’ll see as it’s just one band. It looks like it would be two, but it’s one piece of paper that has a cut-out to show a small part of the wrapper to help make it look like two bands. The advantage is that the text in the bands will always be aligned.
• The draws started off tight and got worse from there. With two cigars, they reached the level of plugged/unsmokeable during the final third. There was so little airflow that I needed to use the lighter every third or fourth puff to get remotely adequate smoke in the mouth.
• I don’t think lanceros have an increased amount of draw issues compared to other vitolas, but largely because it’s a self-selecting sample size. Lanceros don’t sell that all that well, are largely going to be bought by passionate consumers and are difficult to make. As such, if a factory is willing to make a lancero, it’s taken seriously. In this case, something was off.
• We don’t use draw pokers during reviews because it would seem to punish the cigars that have good draws out of the box.
• Cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time is just under two hours.
• Site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Cigars Direct and Corona Cigar Co. carry the Alfonso Gran Selección Preciosos.