Cigar Review: Byron Serie Siglo XXI Elegantes

Havana-born Nelson Alfonso is the graphic designer behind Selected Tobacco, an ultra-premium outfit that produces cigars under the Atabey, Byron, and Bandolero brands, among others. Even if you’re unfamiliar with these cigars, you’ve almost certainly appreciated Alfonso’s work; his firm, Golden Age Visual Developers, has contributed to the packaging and design of many iconic Cuban brands, including Behike (which explains why Atabey looks so Behike-esque).

The Byron line is named for Lord Byron, an English poet and a leader of the Romantic movement. It is the revival of an old Cuban brand from the mid-nineteenth century. “Many cigar factories produced numerous brands with Anglo-American names to attract U.K. and U.S. markets, which had tremendous demand for premium cigars at the time,” according to the United Cigar website (United is Selected’s U.S. distributor).

Today, Byron is made in three different blends—Siglo XIX, Siglo XX, and Siglo XXI—to represent “what Cuban cigars were in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries.” They are handmade in Costa Rica, stored in an aging room for one year, and then packaged in beautifully ornate porcelain jars or individually humidified tubes.

The Byron Serie Siglo XXI Elegantes (6.1 x 55), introduced in 2016, is squarely in the super-premium category, with a per-cigar price that’s north of $30—even when bought by the box of 25 (the box does double as a humidor, though). For that cost, you should expect a lot.

Fortunately, the cigar’s appearance lives up to the lofty expectations set by the price. This is a remarkably beautiful and well-constructed cigar. Beneath three intricate bands of black, blue, and white with silver and gold accents, you’ll find an incredibly smooth, almost vein-free Colorado-colored Ecuadorian-wrapped cigar with a perfect cap. The cold draw is smooth with just the right amount of resistance. At the foot, I find pre-light notes of dried apricot and marshmallow sweetness.

The profile—which is, in my opinion, consistent from light to nub—is medium-bodied and balanced. Flavors range from bread and honey to cedar spice and dry oak. There’s a background note of herbal tea. I also find a range of earthy flavors and a familiar sensation I can only describe as warm tobacco. On the finish, there are warm spices, including clove, cinnamon, and cayenne heat.

As far as construction goes, the white ash can be a tad flaky but, honestly, that’s pretty nitpicky. I don’t think you’ll encounter any issues. The draw is perfect, the smoke production solid, and the burn line requires zero touch-ups.

Only 200 boxes of 25 Elegantes have been made available in the U.S. That makes this cigar not only exceptionally expensive; it’s also pretty rare. Is it worth your money and time? That’s a hard question to answer, and one that likely depends on your own unique circumstances. For me, the Byron Serie Siglo XXI Elegantes is a tasty, interesting cigar, but not one I would regularly seek out at this price point. For that, I’m awarding it three stogies out of five.

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–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys