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Podcast

Inside the October Creekside Club Boxes

by Creekside Cigar Co. · Oct 23, 2026

Creekside Podcast Ep. 073: What's In A Cigar Subscription Box

From Creekside Podcast Ep. 073: What's In A Cigar Subscription Box, aired Oct 23, 2026. Recorded at Creekside Cigar Co. in Maineville, Ohio.

October is club month at Creekside, so this episode is the one members wait for: the reveal of both the quarterly Creekside Select box and the monthly Creekside Cigar Club box. Josh is back on the pod after some time away, CP is on the couch, and everyone smokes a blind pick from the humidor between box reveals. Along the way the crew announces Crowned Heads Night with Jon Huber on November 12 and the dates for Creekside's three-year anniversary party.

Shop every cigar from this episode.

What's in the October Creekside Select box?

Creekside Select is the quarterly club. It usually includes four cigars at a higher price point than the monthly box. This quarter's lineup happens to be all Dominican-made, which the crew admits was a happy accident. It mixes heritage names, a newer maker and a Creekside staple.

EGM Empyrean Paraisos

The box opens with the EGM Empyrean Paraisos, a 6 3/4 x 52 Torpedo from EGM's top-tier line. The cigar was picked for this box after two or three smokes in the past couple of months, which is a lot at this price. The crew describes it as an amped-up version of the EGM Coroline and calls it a fun one to experience if you haven't had it.

Ashton ESG

The second Select cigar is the Ashton ESG (Estate Sun Grown). One of the crew says it's one of the most complex cigars he's smoked and one he still buys with his own money. On the show they explain that it's made at Fuente using wrapper from the same Chateau de la Fuente farm as Opus X. It starts mild to medium, then builds to full-bodied leather, nuts, coffee and espresso in the final third. The crew stresses it is nothing like the more intense Ashton VSG. Getting enough ESGs for the box took some work.

Davidoff Anniversario Special R

The third pick is the Davidoff Anniversario Special R, a robusto and one of the brand's longest-running classics. It is so popular that the lounge's Davidoff regulars bought out the in-store supply within a day. The crew describes it as Davidoff to the max: floral, bright and bready, with a lot of complexity on the retrohale. They call it mild in strength and medium in flavor.

Avowed The Vow 11.25

The Select box closes with the Avowed The Vow 11.25 Grand Robusto, CP's favorite Avowed and one of his favorite cigars in the store. The crew heard there may be a gap in availability for a few months, and the cigars are smoking great right now, so this quarter was the right time to include it. CP's other favorite in the line is the Avowed Awakening. The Avowed New Dawn Toro also gets a shout-out as a longtime crew favorite.

What's in the October Creekside Cigar Club box?

The monthly Creekside Cigar Club box includes five cigars picked by the crew. October's box features new arrivals, a brand new to the store and a Warped classic that's back in top form.

Surpassion Valor Toro

T-Money's pick this month is the Surpassion Valor Toro, from a brand that just landed at Creekside. The crew calls Valor a delicious habano. They explain that Surpassion makes all of its cigars at La Isla in the Dominican Republic and says brand owners Manny and Assad are some of the best people they've met in cigars. The Valor Robusto and the broadleaf Tun Legacy LE are also on the site now.

Warped Isla Del Cocodrilo Robusto

Fresh off the truck from Warped, the Isla Del Cocodrilo Robusto won over CP, who says he historically hasn't been a Cocodrilo fan. Compared with the Toro and Corona Gorda, he describes the Robusto as sweeter, richer and deeper, with very dense smoke. He tastes citrus, leather, wood and dry woody spice, with a consistent vanilla bean note throughout.

Crux Epicure Connecticut Corona Gorda

The Crux Epicure Connecticut Corona Gorda is the crew's go-to suggestion for a morning cigar with an espresso. Most of Crux is made at Plasencia in Nicaragua, a factory that doesn't make a Connecticut in its own line. That makes this a smart choice for Plasencia fans who want a Connecticut shade wrapper, or for smokers who want to try Crux in a milder, smaller format.

Warped La Hacienda Superiores

The Warped La Hacienda Superiores is a 5 5/8 x 46 Corona Gorda with a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper and a Criollo 98 and Corojo 99 interior. For one of the crew, it was a staple during his early boutique days in 2016 to 2018. He calls it one of the best expressions of Corojo, with pistachio, cinnamon, bread, nutmeg and baking spice. After a stretch where it didn't taste the same, a new batch arrived about a month ago. He says it's back to how he remembers it, and in his all-time top 10 when it hits.

Dapper El Borracho Broadleaf

The box closes with a new brand at Creekside: Dapper Cigar Co. One of the crew recalls that Ian from Dapper was the first cigar maker to say yes when he ran a cigar photography page called Society Cigars. The El Borracho in this box is the newer broadleaf version, which he describes as dense, rich, chocolatey and espresso-like. He also explains that Dapper lists the specific farm and priming for each tobacco, so every smoke teaches you something. Note for members: the booklet shows the wrong photo for El Borracho, but the information is correct. Another crew member recommends the orange Dapper Desvalido Disla, which a fellow crew member handed him within two minutes of their first meeting. For the full brand story, read Meet Dapper Cigar Co.: The Newest Brand in Our Humidor.

What were the blind smokes?

Each crew member was handed a cigar from the humidor that someone thought they would enjoy, not one meant to trip them up.

Josh smoked the Warped La Hacienda Gran Robusto, the bigger sibling of the Superiores in the club box. He guessed Serino and admitted it would usually be the last stick he'd grab from the Warped wall, but he really liked it.
CP smoked the Herrera Esteli by Drew Estate, blended by Willie Herrera. He guessed a Principle Aviator. Another crew member calls it the best cigar Drew Estate makes.
The third blind was the Serino Royale Medio Robusto Extra. It tasted more Dominican and had more body than expected, and the guess was an upcoming release called Shinobi.

What's coming up at Creekside?

Crowned Heads Night with Jon Huber is Thursday, November 12, from 6 to 11 PM at the lounge in Maineville. Creekside has two collaboration cigars with Crowned Heads coming over the next six weeks. Which one launches that night depends on whether the boxes for the second one are finished in time. The other will be the Black Friday release. The night will also feature an event-only Crowned Heads release and deals on the rest of the Crowned Heads line. RSVP on the events page.

Creekside's three-year anniversary party is April 9 through 11, 2027, with Saturday the 10th as the main day. Friday will feature two seatings of a private, ticketed cigar dinner. Ticket details are coming soon.

The crew also points listeners to the redesigned Creekside site, where you can now sign up for memberships online and take the Find Your Cigar quiz for recommendations. They also mention Scoutmaster Coffee's Cigar Blend, with cigar-and-coffee pairing samplers on the way.

Key takeaways

The October Creekside Select box is all Dominican: EGM Empyrean Paraisos, Ashton ESG, Davidoff Anniversario Special R and Avowed The Vow 11.25.
The October Creekside Cigar Club box includes the Surpassion Valor Toro, Warped Isla Del Cocodrilo Robusto, Crux Epicure Connecticut Corona Gorda, Warped La Hacienda Superiores and Dapper El Borracho Broadleaf.
Surpassion and Dapper are new to Creekside this month.
Jon Huber and Crowned Heads come to Creekside on November 12 for the launch of a Creekside x Crowned Heads collaboration.
Creekside's three-year anniversary party runs April 9 through 11, 2027.

Cigars from this episode

Shop, smoke and listen

Want next month's box at your door? Join the Creekside Cigar Club or Creekside Select, or see how it works on the cigar subscription page. Shop the cigars from this episode in the Ep. 073 collection. Watch the full episode on YouTube, and catch the rest of the show on the Creekside Podcast page.