El Septimo cigars are a Swiss-founded luxury cigar brand owned by Zaya Younan. Tobacco is grown without pesticides at high altitude, fermented for 12 months (versus the 1–2 month industry standard), and aged 5–15 years. The result is a uniquely “clean” flavour on the palate found in no other brand. VDG Cigars has reviewed nine cigars across the collection and conducted two in-depth interviews with Zaya Younan himself — making this the most comprehensive El Septimo resource available.
1. The Brand: What Is El Septimo?
El Septimo — Spanish for “The Seventh” — is a Swiss-founded ultra-premium cigar brand headquartered in Geneva.
The brand was originally created for royalty. Before Zaya Younan acquired it, El Septimo was not available to the general public.
What makes El Septimo different:
- Grown at high altitude without pesticides — bacteria cannot survive at that altitude, eliminating the need for chemical spraying
- Fermented for 12 months versus the 1–2 month industry standard, to fully eliminate all ammonia and nitrates
- Aged a minimum of 5 years, up to 15 years, across the standard range
- Exclusively uses Double Grade A tobacco — the highest classification available
- Zero preservatives, nitrosamines, tars, or residual impurities — verified by instrument measurement
- The result: a “clean” sensation on the palate that is the brand’s calling card across every blend
El Septimo has seven collections: the Sacred Arts Collection, the Zaya Collection, the Emperor Collection, the Culinary Art Collection, the Alexandra Collection, the Gilgamesh Collection, and the Luxus Collection.
2. Who Is Zaya Younan? The Full Story
“One day my wife wanted an El Septimo, and I didn’t have one. She refused to smoke anything else. That’s when I realised how powerful the brand was — and that’s when I decided to buy it.”
Zaya Younan’s story is one of the most remarkable in modern business. Born in Tehran, Iran, in one of the city’s poorest neighbourhoods, he contracted polio as a child, leaving his right leg partially paralysed. He faced daily hardship and abuse. His family of seven lived in a single room. Despite having nothing materially, his mother practised extraordinary hospitality — feeding strangers and welcoming anyone who came to their door. It is a value Zaya has never forgotten.
The Bicycle That Changed Everything
At 12 years old, Zaya noticed that every bicycle in his neighbourhood was black. He found discarded paint, repainted old bikes in different colours, and sold them for a few dollars. It was his first business. Within a year he had saved enough to buy a plane ticket to America.
One day, an American school principal named Father Hood got lost in the neighbourhood. Zaya’s mother invited him in and fed him with what little they had. Father Hood offered Zaya a place at St Viator School in Chicago for one year — get yourself there, and it is free. Zaya packed his bags. His parents found out the night before he left. He arrived in the United States at 12 years old, alone.
Building an Empire
Zaya studied mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois, starting with manual labour and building upward. He went on to build a global business empire — becoming one of the world’s most successful businessmen.
The Loss That Forged a Vow
A defining moment in Zaya’s life was the death of his sister from cancer. The family could not afford treatment. He made a vow that no one close to him would ever again lose their life because of financial limitations. It has shaped everything since.
The Night El Septimo Changed Hands
One New Year’s, Zaya’s family was celebrating in Berlin when he stepped into an elevator and met King Abdul. They ended up sharing cigars. The cigars were El Septimo. Zaya was stopped in his tracks by the quality. Back at the hotel, King Abdul had sent 10 boxes as a personal gift. Zaya smoked through all of them. When the last one was gone, he came home one evening with a different brand. His wife Sherry refused to smoke it.
He showed up at the El Septimo offices on a cold December day, set up a table at a nearby two-star Michelin restaurant in the snow, and asked the owner to write a price on paper. By the following day, the money had been transferred.
Raising Five Children Without a Nanny
Despite his wealth, Zaya and Sherry chose to raise their five children without hired help — a deliberate decision to ensure their children would learn to appreciate life, work for what they have, and understand real value. It connects directly to how he was raised: not with money, but with character.
Read the full interview: The Story of Zaya Younan and El Septimo
3. Why Do El Septimo Cigars Taste So Clean?
After smoking through the entire El Septimo collection, the same question kept returning: why do these cigars feel so clean on the palate when other premium cigars do not? The answer lies in three areas where El Septimo deviates fundamentally from industry standard.
No Pesticides — Ever
In conventional cigar production, tobacco plants are sprayed with pesticides approximately 200 times during the 8-month growing period. That residue settles into the leaves and activates when the cigar is lit, contributing to harsh smoke and the smell that clings to clothes.
El Septimo grows all its tobacco at high altitude, where bacteria cannot survive. No pesticide spray is used — not once. This is one of the core reasons the flavours feel clean and the smoke does not linger on clothes the way most cigars do.
A Fermentation Process 10–11 Months Longer Than Standard
Industry standard fermentation is 1–2 months. The goal is to eliminate ammonia and nitrates from the tobacco. For most producers, this is considered sufficient. It is not.
El Septimo’s own instrument measurements showed that at 2 months, significant quantities of both remain in the leaf. Full elimination takes 12 months. El Septimo ferments to zero — not to a calendar date. The tobacco is only approved when the instruments confirm there is nothing left. This requires turning thousands of tobacco bales by hand, three to four people per turn, six to twelve hours per session. El Septimo carries that cost and that risk because the result is in the smoke.
Aging: 5–15 Years as Standard
Most producers age tobacco 1–3 years, with longer aging reserved for special editions. El Septimo’s baseline is a minimum of five years. Their top blends use tobacco aged up to fifteen years. Extended aging rounds out the flavour profile, reduces any remaining harshness, and builds the layered complexity that defines every cigar in the collection.
“Which cigar is actually cheaper — a $10 cigar fermented for 8 weeks and aged 3 years, or a $40 cigar fermented for 52 weeks to eliminate all chemicals and aged for 8 years?” — Zaya Younan
Read the full science breakdown: What is extra special about El Septimo cigars tobacco?
4. Are El Septimo Cigars Cheap Compared to What You Get?
“You may think I’m crazy or downright stupid now, but I think $50 for a great premium El Septimo cigar is cheap.”
After noticing that El Septimo consistently tasted cleaner than other premium brands — and yet was priced lower than it seemingly should be — Zaya was contacted directly with the question. His explanation covers every stage of production.
The terroir. El Septimo’s plantations are grown in mineral-rich mountain terroirs where rocky soil and cooler air build stronger, more complex flavour development. Some exclusive tobaccos are grown in rainforests, where natural biodiversity and humidity add depth that cannot be replicated elsewhere.
Precision farming. Where most cigar makers rely on tradition alone, El Septimo uses scientific instruments to monitor soil composition, leaf health, moisture, and nutrient balance at every stage of growth.
Double Grade A tobacco only. The highest classification available. Every leaf is hand-selected from the most prestigious growing regions in the world. Nothing below this standard enters a blend.
12 months of fermentation. Most makers ferment for 1–2 months. El Septimo ferments for 12 — fully breaking down all ammonia, nitrates, and impurities. The extended fermentation allows natural sugars to develop, enriching cocoa, coffee, spice, and dried fruit notes while producing a cleaner, healthier smoke.
5–15 years of aging. Standard across the entire range. Not just special editions.
Why hasn’t he raised the price? The answer is straightforward: Zaya wants to give more people the opportunity to smoke an ultra-premium cigar — not just the wealthy. While others raise their prices, El Septimo holds theirs.
Read the full article: Why are El Septimo cigars cheap compared to what you get? Zaya explains.
5. All 9 Reviews at a Glance
| Cigar | Vitola | Body | Smoke Time | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rebelde Blue | Robusto | Full | 75 min | 98/100 | Incredibly cheap vs quality |
| 20th Anniversary | Toro | Med-Full | 90 min | — | Where it should be |
| Bomba Orange | Gordo 6½×60 | Med-Full | 75 min | — | Low at $70 for what’s delivered |
| Van Gogh Diadema | Diadema | Med-Full | 115 min | — | Underpriced |
| Da Vinci Lancero | Lancero 7½×40 | Medium | 90 min | — | Underpriced |
| Raphael Robusto Extra | Robusto Extra | Med-Full | 75 min | — | Slightly low for its class |
| Salvador Dali Toro | Toro 6×52 | Med-Full | 85 min | — | Where it should be |
| Rembrandt Torpedo | Torpedo 7×54 | Medium | 75 min | 86/100 | Where it should be |
| Michelangelo Perfecto | Perfecto 5½×50 | Med-Full | 50 min | — | Slightly low |
6. El Septimo Michelangelo Perfecto — Review
The Michelangelo is a 5½×50 Perfecto — a double-tapered shape that is difficult to roll and immediately signals craftsmanship. Named after Michelangelo, best known for the Sistine Chapel and The Creation of Adam.
Wrapper: Undisclosed | Binder: Ecuador | Filler: Dominican, Ecuador, Nicaragua
Body: Medium-Full | Smoke time: 50 minutes | Aftertaste: Walnut
Construction: Firmly rolled with a matte texture — a distinctive tactile quality rarely found in other brands.
Aroma & Cold Draw: Wrapper — sweet cedar with lighter fruitiness. Cold draw — fruitiness, nougat chocolate, oat.
Tasting Notes
A creamy texture with a slight oiliness runs throughout, and every flavour arrives with remarkable clarity and freshness. Dominant notes: general spiciness, leather, hay, cedar woodiness, cacao. Background: pine, herbs, saltiness. Retrohale: woody nuances with a light tickle. The defining quality is a balance that is hard to articulate but immediately felt — everything tastes clean.
Verdict: An incredibly balanced cigar with clean, prominent flavours. Suited to aficionados who prefer medium-full body. Price vs quality: slightly low — it would justify more.
Read the full Michelangelo Perfecto review
7. El Septimo Raphael Robusto Extra — Review
Raphael (1483–1520) was known for clarity, precision, and the frescoes of the Vatican’s School of Athens. The cigar matches: clean and precise, with a flavour that appears only once or twice in a reviewing career.
Wrapper: Undisclosed | Binder: Ecuador | Filler: Dominican, Ecuador, Nicaragua
Body: Medium-Full | Smoke time: 75 minutes | Aftertaste: Walnuts
Construction: Firmly rolled with a thicker, oily feel.
Aroma & Cold Draw: Wrapper — lighter nuttiness. Filler — farmyard. Cold draw — oats and maltiness.
Tasting Notes
1st third: Teasing the palate — general spiciness, woodiness, nuttiness, anise. Background: cacao, fir needles, herbs, brown sugar.
2nd third: A genuinely rare flavour arrives. Salty dark-roasted coffee with brown sugar, oaky woodiness, dried herbs, nuttiness toward peanuts and walnuts — and then it appears: a maltiness that unmistakably evokes beer. Not metaphorically. The maltiness is there.
3rd third: Raisins, anise, dark chocolate with espresso, saltiness, sweet almond nuttiness. Then malt combines with citrus — a sour-sweet combination reminiscent of craft beer — giving the cigar its most memorable moment.
Verdict: The malt-and-citrus combination is one of the most unusual flavour moments in any cigar reviewed on this site. Priced slightly low for the experience it delivers.
Read the full Raphael Robusto Extra review
8. El Septimo Da Vinci Lancero — Review
A 7½×40 Lancero — the thinnest format in the Sacred Arts Collection and one of the most demanding to roll and smoke well. Named after Leonardo da Vinci.
“Leonardo Da Vinci created Mona Lisa. But El Septimo created Da Vinci.”
Wrapper: Undisclosed | Binder: Ecuador | Filler: Dominican, Ecuador, Nicaragua
Body: Medium | Smoke time: 90 minutes | Aftertaste: Walnut
Construction: Firmly rolled, no veins, slightly oily.
Aroma & Cold Draw: Wrapper — hay and hint of vanilla. Cold draw — sweet fruitiness toward green grapes.
Tasting Notes — Four Distinct Acts
The Da Vinci is one of the rare cigars that divides cleanly into four parts, each with its own character:
1st quarter: Creamy texture, honey sweetness, hay, leather, grape fruitiness (rare), nutmeg, anise, white pepper, faint coconut.
2nd quarter: Fruitiness, hay, cacao, nutmeg, cedar, honey. Background: raisins, buttery, saltiness, coconut — extraordinarily rare in cigars. This is the note that defines the cigar.
3rd quarter: Hay, anise, pistachio nuttiness, dried herbs, coconut oil. Background: fruitiness, raisins, honey, butter. Retrohale: chilli-direction pepperiness.
4th quarter: Fruitiness, pistachio and cashew nuttiness, hay, leather. Background: vanilla bean, coconut oil, green chilli, honey-caramel sweetness. Final notes: minerals and stone-oven bread.
Verdict: Complex, with almost unique flavours — coconut above all. Well-balanced, easy to enjoy. Underpriced: I would pay more to smoke it again.
Read the full Da Vinci Lancero review
Cigar of the Month July: El Septimo Da Vinci Lancero
9. El Septimo Salvador Dali Toro — Review
A 6×52 Toro dedicated to Salvador Dalí — master of the surreal, creator of The Persistence of Memory. This cigar is defined by a dark fruit thread — cherries and dark berries — that runs from the first light to the final third without ever disappearing.
Wrapper: Ecuador | Binder: Ecuador | Filler: Dominican, Ecuador, Nicaragua
Body: Medium-Full | Smoke time: 85 minutes | Aftertaste: Walnut
Construction: Incredibly firm, evenly rolled, slightly oily.
Aroma & Cold Draw: Wrapper — chocolate and hay. Cold draw — chocolate and hay.
Tasting Notes
1st third: Buttery and creamy — a rare combination. Fresh herbs, anise, dark cherries, woodiness. Background: coffee with brown sugar sweetness, minerals, dark chocolate.
2nd third: Pure creaminess. Complexity arrives: woodiness, nuttiness, brown sugar, leather, dark berries and cherry, pink pepper, chocolate. Background: coffee, raisins, vanilla bean, minerals.
3rd third: Anise, hay, espresso, nuttiness, brown sugar, woodiness, saltiness, chocolate, leather. Background: dark berries, vanilla pod, pink pepper, ground coffee.
Verdict: Exceptionally well balanced with a complexity that builds and is sustained through three full thirds. The dark fruit thread is the cigar’s soul. Suited to more experienced aficionados.
Read the full Salvador Dali Toro review
10. El Septimo Bomba Orange — Review
The Bomba Orange is El Septimo’s flagship prestige cigar — part of the Zaya Collection, bearing Zaya’s own name. At 6½×60 it is one of the most substantial smokes in the lineup. Like the Rebelde Blue, it features a signature pig’s tail at the foot of the cigar — a construction detail unique to El Septimo and a mark of the roller’s artistry.
Wrapper: Undisclosed | Binder: Dominican | Filler: Dominican, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica
Body: Medium-Full | Smoke time: 75 minutes | Aftertaste: Wood
Construction: Evenly rolled, incredibly firm, slightly matte feel.
Aroma & Cold Draw: Aroma — fruitiness, chocolate, and hay. Cold draw — milk chocolate and light maltiness.
Tasting Notes
1st third: A creamy yet buttery texture, rich without ever feeling dry. Chocolate, fruitiness, cedar, lime with soft acidity. Background: florality, general nuttiness, raisins, honey, espresso.
2nd third: The butteriness recedes, the creaminess grows richer. Hay, leather, hazelnuts, sweet floral, espresso with a faint caramel-syrup sweetness. Background: nougat chocolate, roasted salty nuts, raisins, citrus peel, herbs.
3rd third: It almost explodes. Woodiness, hazelnuts, espresso, leather, saltiness, anise, dark sweet tobacco. Background: vanilla bean, floral, fruity, herbs, dark chocolate, citrus peel, dark roasted coffee, raisins, brown sugar, a combination of milk chocolate and nougat.
“It’s not often that you feel like there’s a little bit of everything.”
Verdict: Complex in a way that is almost overwhelming — not because of harshness, but because of sheer flavour density, especially in the final third. Carries El Septimo’s signature cleanliness throughout. At $70, judged as slightly low in price for what is delivered.
Read the full Bomba Orange review
11. El Septimo Rembrandt Torpedo — Review
A 7×54 Torpedo dedicated to Rembrandt van Rijn and his painting The Storm on the Sea of Galilee — the account of Jesus calming the storm. A lesson in keeping calm under pressure and trusting knowledge over emotion.
Wrapper: Undisclosed | Binder: Ecuador | Filler: Dominican, Ecuador, Nicaragua
Body: Medium | Smoke time: 75 minutes | Aftertaste: Walnuts
Construction: Firm and evenly rolled with an oily texture.
Aroma & Cold Draw: Wrapper — cacao. Filler — hay. Cold draw — chocolate.
Tasting Notes
1st half: Creamy texture, nutmeg, hay, chocolate, nuttiness. Background: vanilla bean, floral, fir needles.
2nd half: General nuttiness, dark chocolate with cacao, coffee beans, pine needles and spruce woodiness. Background: nutmeg, vanilla bean, hay.
Verdict: A well-balanced, less complex cigar perfect for moments when you want good flavours without intense focus. Earthy, nutty, chocolate-forward — an accessible entry point to the brand.
Read the full Rembrandt Torpedo review
12. El Septimo Van Gogh Diadema — Review
A Diadema dedicated to Vincent van Gogh. At 115 minutes of smoke time, this is a cigar for a long evening. The flavours build from fresh to dessert-like across four distinct acts.
Wrapper: Undisclosed | Binder: Ecuador | Filler: Dominican, Ecuador, Nicaragua
Body: Medium-Full | Smoke time: 115 minutes | Aftertaste: Woodiness
Construction: Firm, no veins, a thicker oily feeling.
Aroma & Cold Draw: Wrapper — lighter dark chocolate. Cold draw — oats.
Tasting Notes — Four Acts
1st quarter: Hay, cacao, general spiciness, cedar wood, anise. Background: raisins, milk chocolate, dried herbs, saltiness.
2nd quarter: Chocolate with cocoa, almond nuttiness, raisin sweetness, cedar. Background: ground coffee, anise, old-fashioned toffee candy — one of the most distinctive notes in the collection.
3rd quarter: Chocolate towards nougat, cacao, woody leaf notes, herbs, almonds. Background: anise, classic liquorice, raisins.
4th quarter: Oak woodiness, nougat, raisins, dark chocolate and cacao, dried herbs, salt liquorice. Background: vanilla sugar, old-fashioned caramel, ground coffee, almond. Retrohale: an autumn leaf bonfire.
Verdict: Incredible balance and complexity. Although approaching full body, smooth enough for less experienced aficionados. A lot of cigar for the money — underpriced.
Read the full Van Gogh Diadema review
13. El Septimo Rebelde Blue — Review (Rated 98)
“El Septimo Rebelde Blue has it all in one cigar. An incredibly smooth and complex cigar.” — Score: 98/100
Rebelde means rebellious in Spanish and Portuguese. True to the name, the Rebelde Blue breaks the rules visually: it features a pig’s tail embellishment on the foot of the cigar — not the head. In many years of reviewing cigars, this is the first time that construction detail has been seen. It was also selected as Cigar of the Year 2025 on vdg-cigars.com.
Wrapper: Undisclosed | Binder: Dominican | Filler: Dominican, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica
Body: Full | Smoke time: 75 minutes | Aftertaste: Woodiness
Construction: Unique pig’s tail at the foot. Creamy and smooth from the first puff.
Aroma & Cold Draw: Wrapper — chocolate and fruitiness. Cold draw — lighter maltiness and florality.
Tasting Notes
1st third: The classic El Septimo clean feel is present immediately. Floral and fruity with lighter citrus — like a luxury perfume. Cacao, soft honey, cedar wood, fresh herbs, leather. Background: pepper, hay.
2nd third: Texture becomes richer. Oak-like woodiness, leather, cacao, herbs, a combination of raisins and honey that is rare — usually these notes arrive separately, not together. Background: florality, white pepper, espresso, dark maple syrup.
3rd third: Hay, leather, anise, cacao, floral, sweet herbs, fir needles, sweet oak with a hint of cedar, old-fashioned caramel. Background: earthiness, raisins, honey, brown sugar, roasted ground coffee beans.
Verdict: A full-bodied cigar so smooth it suits beginners curious about full body. Complex, unique, with a flavour profile that defies easy comparison. Price vs quality: incredibly cheap compared to what you get.
Read the full Rebelde Blue review
Rebelde Blue Rating: 98/100
Cigar of the Year 2025: El Septimo Rebelde Blue
14. El Septimo 20th Anniversary — Review
“When complexity, balance and unique flavours emerge, you get perfection.”
The 20th Anniversary is a celebration cigar in every sense. Tobacco aged between 7 and 10 years. The construction reflects that occasion: not a single visible seam on the wrapper.
Wrapper: Undisclosed | Binder: Dominican | Filler: Dominican, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica
Body: Medium-Full | Smoke time: 90 minutes | Aftertaste: Chocolate and walnut
Construction: Incredibly firm. White band. No visible seams.
Aroma & Cold Draw: Wrapper — chocolate and fruitiness. Cold draw — fruitiness and maltiness.
Tasting Notes
1st third: Creamy, smooth texture. A citrus note toward lemon takes up significant space on the palate. Background: vanilla sugar, honey, cashew nuttiness, nougat chocolate. Retrohale: faint white pepper — and then fruitiness in the retrohale itself, which is almost unheard of.
2nd third: Citrus remains dominant alongside leather, nougat chocolate, espresso, citrus peel, vanilla bean, orange fruitiness.
3rd third: Fruitiness increases. Peach peel appears — an extraordinary note in a cigar. Florality, salted roasted nuts, nougat and dark chocolate, espresso with syrup sweetness, woodiness, hay. Background: vanilla bean, and a note resembling parma ham — impossible to fully explain, but undeniably there.
The nub: New flavours emerge at the very end: woodiness, chocolate, leather, espresso, fruitiness, citrus, florality.
Verdict: A smooth cigar of extraordinary complexity anchored by a persistent citrus thread. Fruitiness in the retrohale is something rarely, if ever, encountered in any other cigar.
Read the full 20th Anniversary review
15. Freezing an El Septimo Cigar — Does It Taste Better?
During an El Septimo event hosted by Zaya Younan, something was said that challenged everything the cigar world has always taught: freeze your cigar before you smoke it. The flavours will improve.
The established wisdom says freezing damages cigars — it dries them, cracks the wrapper, destroys the oils. The test was done anyway with two identical Rebelde Blue cigars: one from the humidor, one sealed in a bag and frozen for three days.
What happened: The frozen cigar did not crack. The wrapper was intact. The firmness was unchanged. The oil had a faintly richer, stickier feel. It lit as easily as the humidor cigar. And the flavours arrived richer in texture, slightly fuller in body, and somehow fresher.
“Flash-freezing doesn’t damage the cigar or its oils; it preserves moisture, lowers the starting temperature, and creates a sharper temperature gradient when lit. This gradient releases the natural plant oils more efficiently, producing a denser, cooler, and more flavorful smoke. Premium cigar oils don’t freeze solid at normal freezer temperatures — so instead of becoming hard, they stay pliable and release beautifully once heated.” — Zaya Younan
Recommendation: seal an El Septimo in a resealable bag and freeze for two to three days before smoking. Compare it to one from the humidor. The difference is real.
Read the full freezing experiment
16. Zaya Younan on Taste, Emotion & the Architecture of Flavour
In a second in-depth interview, Zaya spoke not about his life story but about his philosophy of taste.
On what taste really means:
“Taste cannot be faked for long. It exposes everything — the quality of the tobacco, the patience of the maker, the honesty of the process.”
On the architecture of flavour:
Zaya describes taste as architecture: it has structure, rhythm, evolution, surprise, and emotion. A cigar is not judged only by what it tastes like in the first third, but by how it changes, builds, and resolves — like a piece of music. He is not chasing efficiency. He is chasing mastery.
On time:
“Time is chemistry, not a marketing claim.”
Extended fermentation and aging are not premium positioning language. They are the actual mechanism by which harshness is eliminated and three-dimensional flavour is built. A cigar that skips this process cannot taste the same — regardless of the quality of the raw leaf.
On what he will never accept:
Bitterness is not a flavour profile. Harshness is not a sign of strength. The flavour must be clean, smooth, deep, and stable — every smoke, every time.
On quality:
“Quality is not added. It is revealed.”
Looking forward:
Zaya believes the future belongs to slowness. As the world accelerates and becomes more digital, people will crave the opposite: time, presence, and depth. The cigar — the ritual, the patience, the flavour — will become more valuable, not less.
Read the full interview: Taste, Emotion and the Architecture of Flavour
17. Which El Septimo Should You Start With?
New to El Septimo / cigars in general
Start with the Rembrandt Torpedo. Medium body, nutty and chocolatey, lower complexity, shorter smoke time. A perfect introduction without being overwhelmed.
Experienced smoker looking for complexity
The Da Vinci Lancero. Ninety minutes, four distinct flavour acts, a coconut note that almost never appears in cigars. It will change what you expect from a cigar.
Curious about full body
The Rebelde Blue. Rated 98/100 — a full-bodied cigar so smooth it suits beginners who are curious but haven’t yet built the palate for full body.
A special occasion
The 20th Anniversary. Tobacco aged 7–10 years, seamless construction, and a citrus complexity that is the most unusual flavour experience in the collection.
A long evening
The Van Gogh Diadema. 115 minutes, growing from fresh to dessert-like across four acts. Pour something excellent and set aside the night.
Exploring the collection systematically
Follow the reviews in order: Michelangelo → Raphael → Da Vinci → Salvador Dali → Bomba Orange → Rembrandt → Van Gogh → Rebelde Blue → 20th Anniversary.
FAQ About El Septimo cigars
Yes — and Zaya keeps the price deliberately low. He wants more people to be able to smoke an ultra-premium cigar, not just the wealthy. While other brands raise their prices, El Septimo holds theirs. When you factor in Double Grade A tobacco, 12-month fermentation, 5–15 years of aging, precision farming, and pesticide-free growing, a $40–$70 El Septimo represents better value than comparable cigars from brands that charge more for less process. Read Zaya’s full explanation here.
Three factors: no pesticides (grown at high altitude where bacteria cannot survive), fermentation extended to 12 months to fully eliminate ammonia and nitrates, and aging 5–15 years as standard. The result is a palate feel that is distinctively fresh and clean compared to any other premium brand. Read the full science breakdown.
The Rebelde Blue, rated 98/100 — also selected as Cigar of the Year 2025.
Born in Tehran, Iran, in one of the city’s poorest neighbourhoods, Zaya survived polio, emigrated alone to Chicago at 12, studied mechanical engineering, and went on to become one of the world’s most successful businessmen. He acquired El Septimo after encountering the cigars through royalty on a New Year’s trip to Berlin. He has conducted two in-depth interviews with vdg-cigars.com — his life story and his philosophy of taste.
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