Ten years in the premium cigar business is certainly a milestone worth recognizing, and Warfighter Tobacco Company is marking its first decade with the Warfighter 10th Anniversary.
Warfighter Tobacco Company was formed in 2016 by combat veterans Scott Jansen and Jon Simons, who had served together after meeting at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Their shared appreciation for cigars eventually developed into a company built around military culture, camaraderie, and an approachable portfolio aimed in part at active-duty military, veterans, first responders, and working-class cigar smokers.
The 10th Anniversary debuted at the 2026 PCA Convention & Trade Show and began shipping in May. Rather than making the commemorative blend a limited release, Warfighter added it to its regular-production portfolio. The cigar is produced at Tabacalera Carreras in Estelí, Nicaragua.
For this review, I sampled the Warfighter Tobacco Company 10th Anniversary Toro.
Warfighter 10th Anniversary Toro
- Country of Origin: Nicaragua
- Factory: Tabacalera Carreras, Estelí
- Wrapper: Ecuadorian-grown Sumatra seed
- Binder: Honduran
- Filler: Nicaraguan
- Vitola: Toro
- Size: 6 × 52
- Production: Regular production
- Box Count: 20
- MSRP: $12.75/cigar; $255/box of 20
Warfighter’s own current lineup identifies the 10th Anniversary by its Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper. Before the cigar’s debut, Simons explained that the company wanted its anniversary blend to represent what it had learned about creating cigars over its first decade.
Pre-Light Examination
The Warfighter 10th Anniversary Toro presented as a slightly rugged-looking cigar, dressed in a dark brown wrapper with noticeable veins and bumps running throughout the barrel. Some marbling added visual character to the leaf, while a light oily sheen provided a subtle luster.
The Warfighter 10th Anniversary is adorned with an oversized band that maintains the company’s rugged, military-inspired identity rather than taking the more ornate route often seen with anniversary releases. The predominantly black and charcoal-gray design uses white and muted-gold accents over a distressed background. At its center is the circular Warfighter Tobacco Company logo, depicting the familiar bearded, cigar-smoking figure wearing tactical-style headgear and glasses.
Beneath the logo, 2016 – 2026 marks the company’s first decade, with a prominent 10TH ANNIVERSARY designation completing the main portion of the band. An extended shield-shaped panel carries the message “Celebrate With Us”, followed by “10 Years of Work – 10 Years of Passion – 10 Years of Warfighter.” The panel finishes with “Handmade in Nicaragua.”
The cigar was solidly constructed and firmly packed from head to foot, with no obvious soft spots. Running the cigar beneath the nose revealed pungent barnyard aromas from both the barrel and foot.
I sliced the cap with my double-blade cutter and gave it a few cold-draw puffs. The draw offered an acceptable restriction and immediately introduced a peppery spice that steadily intensified, creating a warming sensation across the lips and cheeks. Beneath the spice was an interesting rye-like note that caught my attention and had me wondering whether it would return once the cigar was fired up. It eventually would.
The Cigar Journey
First Third
I started the Warfighter 10th Anniversary Toro by warming the foot with my dual-flame torch. The first puffs greeted the palate with a smooth and easy pepper note. It wasn’t an aggressive blast of spice but rather a comfortable opening that allowed the cigar to settle in quickly. Oodles of smoke filled the palate with each puff.
A medium-gray ash began developing above a medium-thick char line as sweet tobacco aromas wafted from the foot. There was also a noticeable tactile sweetness coming from the wrapper at the head of the cigar. The combination of the smoke volume, wrapper sweetness, and fragrant foot made the first third particularly enjoyable from both a flavor and aromatic perspective.
The ash held strong through most of the first third before finally dropping in a solid chunk and revealing a decent burn cone beneath.
Second Third
Moving into the second third brought the most noticeable transition of the journey. Dark chocolate and cream began developing on the palate, providing a richer character than the opening pepper and sweetness. A touch of leather soon joined the mix.
One thing that continued to stand out was just how fragrant the cigar was. The smoke rolling from the foot produced a pleasant aroma that complemented the flavors coming through the draw. The combination of chocolate, cream, leather, and lingering sweetness made this the most flavorful portion of the cigar for me.
Final Third
As I moved into the final third, the profile shifted once again. The earlier sweetness began fading as a slightly bitter earth note entered the mix. Interestingly, the rye character detected during the cold draw returned, giving the finish a drier and somewhat grain-like quality. That rye note provided a nice callback to the pre-light experience and helped distinguish the final third from the creamier middle portion.
The earth and rye carried the cigar toward the nub, closing out a journey that progressed from pepper and sweetness through chocolate and cream before finishing on its darker notes.
Construction was solid throughout the experience. The cigar produced plenty of smoke, while the ash held for most of the first third before dropping and exposing a decent burn cone. I experienced no significant construction problems that distracted from the smoking experience.
The Warfighter 10th Anniversary Toro required 1 hour and 30 minutes to smoke down to the nub and finished at a medium strength.
Final Analysis
The Warfighter Tobacco Company 10th Anniversary Toro proved to be an enjoyable commemorative blend that offered enough transitions to keep my attention throughout the 90-minute journey. I particularly enjoyed the progression from the opening pepper and natural sweetness into the dark chocolate, cream, and leather of the second third. The return of the unusual rye note in the final third was also a nice touch, especially since it connected directly back to what I detected on the cold draw.
The cigar wasn’t without a minor blemish. The slight bitter-earth character that developed late in the experience took a little of the shine off an otherwise enjoyable profile. Still, it never became dominant enough to derail the cigar. Construction was dependable, smoke production was excellent, and the aromatic qualities coming from the foot added another enjoyable dimension.
At an MSRP of $12.75, this is also a reasonably priced anniversary cigar in today’s market, and the fact that Warfighter chose to make it a regular-production release means smokers won’t necessarily have to chase it down before it disappears. I would certainly smoke this one again, and I think a five-pack is warranted to see how the blend develops with some additional humidor time.
