Which First Cigar to Buy in Morocco? A Beginner’s Guide

First cigars often go wrong, and almost never because of the cigar. A vitola too powerful, chosen to impress, smoked too fast, on an empty stomach, cut with a penknife and lit with a petrol lighter: the experience falls flat and leads to the wrong conclusion, that “cigars just aren’t for me”. A pity, because a first cigar well chosen and well paced is a moment genuinely apart — and in Morocco, it costs less than you might think: between 35 and 200 DH on the official list, for a genuine Havana or a Davidoff.

This guide covers what matters: which cigar to buy, at what price, where to find it, when and how to smoke it, along with the classic traps that spoil the discovery.

Which first cigar to buy in Morocco: six choices from the list

In Morocco, the price of every cigar is set by the State and identical throughout the official channel; our 2026 price list details it brand by brand. Here are the vitolas we recommend for a first evening, all sold by the stick at the counter:

Cigar	Format	Duration	Strength	Official price
Quintero Panetelas	short panetela	30 min	mild	35 DH
H. Upmann Half Corona	half corona	30 min	mild	110 DH
Montecristo No. 4	petit corona	45 min	medium	150 DH
Romeo y Julieta Coronas	corona	45 min	mild to medium	150 DH
Hoyo de Monterrey Petit Robusto	petit robusto	40 min	mild	180 DH
Davidoff Grand Cru No. 5	petit corona	40 min	mild	200 DH

The Quintero Panetelas at 35 DH is the no-stakes first try: a Havana rolled in Cuba, short and simple, that teaches the gestures without committing a banknote. The H. Upmann Half Corona at 110 DH is, to our mind, the true discovery cigar: half an hour, an easy draw, a creamy mildness that lets you perceive something from the very first time. The Montecristo No. 4 at 150 DH is the classic on which generations of aficionados have started — a touch fuller-bodied, but exemplary in its consistency, and its band can be found in every serious tobacconist in the kingdom. The Hoyo de Monterrey Petit Robusto at 180 DH bridges the way to the thicker format, all roundness. Finally, the Davidoff Grand Cru No. 5 at 200 DH, Dominican rather than Cuban, is the “no nasty surprises” option: the house is renowned for the consistency of its cigars — flawless draw, burn and wrapper — and the Grand Cru No. 5, mild and creamy, is its historic introductory vitola. Its little brother, the Primeros at 95 DH, offers the same signature in twenty-five minutes.

Two options on the margins of the table. Below it, the small format: a cigarillo such as the Montecristo Mini at 14 DH or the Cohiba Mini at 16 DH gives a taste of a brand for the price of a coffee, without replacing a cigar. Above it, the temptation of the Cohiba: the Panetelas at 330 DH or the Siglo I at 400 DH are excellent cigars, but a beginner’s palate will find nothing more in them than at 110 DH. Keep them for the third or fourth.

Choosing your first cigar

The format: short, but not skinny

The beginner’s reflex is to reach for either the most impressive cigar or the smallest. Both miss the mark. A big full-bodied vitola means an hour and a half of burning and a nicotine load sized for a seasoned smoker. A very thin cigarillo, on the other hand, heats up fast and burns harsh; it is less forgiving than it looks.

The right training ground is a short format with a medium diameter: a petit corona (half an hour) or a robusto (45 minutes to an hour). A medium diameter, a ring gauge of 40 to 50, gives a comfortable draw and reasonably cool smoke, and the duration stays within what a first-timer’s attention can sustain.

The strength: mild to medium, and proud of it

Tasting vocabulary distinguishes body (the texture of the smoke), strength (the effect of the nicotine) and the aromas; our glossary unpacks these nuances. For a first cigar, the rule is simple: light to medium body, mild strength. An untrained palate perceives nothing beyond that; starting full-bodied is like listening to an orchestra with earplugs in.

And let it be said: mildness is no admission of weakness. The shade of the wrapper, for that matter, says nothing about strength: a pale cigar can be powerful, a dark maduro all roundness. Trust the tobacconist’s advice, not the colour.

Where to buy it in Morocco: at the official counter, nowhere else

No need to begin with a grand collector’s vitola; you would not yet have the bearings to appreciate it. But steer clear of the dubious bargain too: in Morocco, more than 30% of cigars circulate as contraband, often badly stored when they are not outright counterfeit, and a dried-out or tampered cigar dooms the experience from the start. Since the tariff is administered, a cigar noticeably cheaper than the official price is never a bargain: it is a fake or a damaged stick.

So buy within the official channel: the five Habanos counters — the Casa del Habano in Casablanca, Rabat and Marrakech, the Habanos Especialist at M Avenue —, the humidor of a grand hotel or a licensed tobacconist that keeps its cigars in a humidor. The staff at a Casa del Habano are happy to advise a beginner and sell by the stick; our guide to where to buy covers the channel city by city. A sound cigar reveals itself to the touch: supple under gentle pressure, no crackling, the wrapper smooth and free of cracks.

Setting the scene

A cigar is not a cigarette grabbed between two doors: it is 45 minutes that cannot be compressed. The setting is half the experience:

• After a meal. Never on an empty stomach, which is the leading cause of beginner’s nausea. Coffee or mint tea make excellent companions; alcohol is in no way required, and still water is in fact the best revealer of aromas.
• Somewhere calm, outdoors or in a place meant for it. A terrace in the gentle hours, a smoking lounge, and time ahead of you. A hurried cigar is a wasted cigar.
• With the right tools. A clean cut and a proper light change everything: our guides to cutting and the torch lighter cover both gestures in detail. For the first evening, remember the minimum: guillotine through the cap, never below the shoulder, and toast the foot before the first puffs.

Smoking, in practice

1. Draw gently, as on a straw in a milkshake. The smoke settles in the mouth for a second or two, is tasted, then exhaled. It is never inhaled: that is the fundamental difference from the cigarette, and rule number one.
2. One puff per minute, more or less. Any faster and the tobacco overheats and turns harsh; any slower and the cigar goes out. That slow rhythm is precisely the pleasure: a cigar makes you slow down.
3. Let the ash live for two to three centimetres before rolling it off against the ashtray, without tapping: it regulates the burning temperature.
4. Try retrohaling at the halfway point: exhale a small share of the smoke through the nose, gently. That is where the bouquet truly unfolds, in small touches, as the nasal lining dislikes excess.
5. Stop when the pleasure stops. The final third is the strongest; no code of honour obliges you to finish. Rest the cigar in the ashtray: it will go out on its own, with dignity. A cigar is never crushed.

If the cigar goes out along the way (it happens to the best), relight it without a second thought: first blow gently through it to clear the stale smoke, then repeat the lighting ritual as on day one.

Decoding what you taste

Do not hunt, on a first cigar, for the “notes of leather and forest floor” of the reviews: the palate builds itself in broad families before it goes into detail. Four are enough to begin:

• woody (cedar, dry wood): the backbone of most cigars;
• earthy (damp earth, mushroom, cellar): the signature of Cuban tobaccos and of many Dominicans;
• spicy (pepper, nutmeg): sometimes a clean bite on the tongue and in retrohaling;
• sweet (honey, cocoa, coffee, dried fruit): discreet, often carried by the wrapper.

Notice, too, the progression by thirds, a cigar’s true dramatic arc. The first third is the mildest, when the cigar “opens up”; this is the moment of delicate aromas. The second settles into body and cruising rhythm. The last concentrates strength and heat: this is where the beginner stops without remorse, and where the seasoned smoker finds their reward. Sensing that build, even roughly, is already tasting; the rest is a matter of flight hours, and the vocabulary will attach itself naturally.

The five mistakes that spoil a first cigar

1. Aiming too big: the full-bodied double corona “to mark the occasion”. Start modest, climb later.
2. Smoking it like a cigarette: inhaling, drawing fast, crushing it at the end. Three habits to unlearn from the outset.
3. Ignoring the cigar’s condition: a dry or spongy vitola was doomed before the first puff. At the slightest doubt, our guide to storage in a hot, dry climate explains what a cigar should feel like.
4. Empty stomach, no water: the nausea combo. A meal before, a glass of water during, something sweet within reach in case of a slump.
5. Letting yourself be intimidated: band on or off, the perfect ash, the vocabulary. The folklore is not the point. A beginner who takes their time smokes better than a hurried poseur.

And after the first?

If you enjoyed it, what follows is a game: smoke the same cigar a second time (the palate always finds more on the second pass), then vary one thing at a time: the format first, the origin next. A few notes after each cigar (format, perceived strength, what pleased you or did not) build your bearings faster than any ranking.

And the day three or four boxes pile up, the question of storage will arise; it has its simple answers, with a humidor or without. Welcome to a pleasure that will never be rushed.