What Is Cigar Monster? How It Works, What You Get, and Whether It’s Worth It

There’s a certain kind of cigar smoker who checks a few deal sites every morning before they even pour their coffee. If you’ve spent any time in that rabbit hole, you’ve seen Cigar Monster come up. And if you haven’t found it yet, you probably should.

Cigar Monster is one of the longest-running daily deal platforms in the cigar industry. It’s not a subscription box, it’s not a cigar club, and it’s not a standard retailer. It’s a deal engine – and when it’s firing, the savings are real.

Here’s the full breakdown.

What Is Cigar Monster?

Cigar Monster is a daily deal section operated by Famous Smoke Shop, one of the largest and most established online cigar retailers in the United States. In December 2006, Famous Smoke Shop published CigarMonster.com, a one deal a day website. It has since evolved into a rotating deal platform with multiple live offers at any given time, all carrying free shipping.

Cigar Monster is the go-to spot for free shipping and the deepest discounts on premium cigars. Fresh Monster deals become available each day, giving you the power to save more than ever. Every Monster deal ships free.

The core idea is simple. Famous Smoke Shop uses its buying power and inventory relationships to put specific cigars – boxes, bundles, and samplers – on sale at prices well below MSRP, for a limited window. When the deal expires or sells out, it’s gone.

Who Is Behind It – Famous Smoke Shop

Before getting into how Cigar Monster works, it helps to understand the company running it.

In October 1939, David and Rose Zaretsky opened the doors of Famous Smoke Shop in Midtown Manhattan. Initially, the store operated as a cigar and gift shop. In 1970, David and Rose’s son, Arthur Zaretsky, joined the family business. Recognizing the potential of mail-order marketing, Arthur spearheaded the launch of the company’s first catalog in 1974.

Famous has grown to become the country’s largest privately held, American-owned online cigar retailer. The company currently carries over 8,000 cigars and has direct sourcing relationships with major manufacturers. That scale is what makes Cigar Monster possible – you need serious buying leverage to put Montecristo, Drew Estate, and Rocky Patel on sale at 40-50% off and still make the math work.

How Cigar Monster Works

The platform lives on the Famous Smoke Shop website under its deals section. Monster Savings reach massive discounts on premium cigars, often up to 75% off MSRP. The platform features curated samplers, limited-time deals, flash sales, daily specials, and surprise offers.

Deals rotate daily – some run for 24 hours, some for 48 hours, some disappear when inventory sells out. The selection is unpredictable by design. You don’t know what’s going up until it goes up, which is part of what keeps regular visitors coming back.

Recent Monster Deals have included 48% off Montecristo Relentless Magnum 5 Packs, 29% off Padilla Vintage Reserve Toros, and 21% off Asylum 13 Split Personality cigars. Every Monster deal ships free regardless of order size, which saves you another $8-15 compared to standard shipping rates.

That free shipping on every deal is not a small thing. Most online cigar retailers require a minimum order to trigger free shipping. On Cigar Monster, the deal already comes with it built in – which means even a single 5-pack is worth picking up if the price is right.

The “Make Your Offer” Feature

One of the more interesting mechanics on the platform is the Make Your Offer tool – formerly called Name Your Price.

Make Your Offer brings a little excitement to shopping for deals with new animations. Customers get three attempts to make a deal, so they must choose wisely.

The way it works: Famous Smoke Shop puts a cigar up with a threshold price they’re willing to accept. You submit what you think is a fair offer. If it clears the threshold, the deal is yours. If it doesn’t, you get a second shot. Three attempts total, then the offer window closes.

It rewards smokers who know their prices. If you can accurately gauge what a box of Alec Bradley Black Markets should cost against MSRP, you have a real shot at landing something below even the listed Monster price. If you’re guessing, you’ll likely overshoot or get rejected.

What Brands Show Up on Cigar Monster?

This is where it gets genuinely interesting for casual smokers. These aren’t off-brand cigars or factory rejects.

Cigar Monster features hourly deals on some of the cigar industry’s best brands such as Drew Estate, Rocky Patel, Alec Bradley, and seemingly hundreds more.

Past deals have included Montecristo, Oliva, CAO, Camacho, Macanudo, Padilla, AJ Fernandez, and Trinidad – brands you’d recognize in any walk-in humidor. The deals tend to skew toward 5-packs, boxes of 20, and sampler formats rather than individual sticks, which makes the free shipping even more of a value proposition.

The catch – and it’s worth being honest about this – is that you don’t always get to choose the blend or vitola. Cigar Monster is the perfect destination for budget-conscious cigar enthusiasts who don’t want to sacrifice quality, but it helps to have some flexibility in what you’re willing to smoke. If you’re locked into one specific size from one specific brand, the platform will frustrate you. If you’re open to exploring, it rewards you.

What About Cigar Monster vs the Main Famous Smoke Site?

They’re the same company, but different experiences. The main Famous Smoke Shop site gives you full selection control – you search for what you want, compare options, and buy at whatever the current retail price is.

Cigar Monster is the opposite. The deal comes to you. You don’t choose the cigar – you evaluate what’s on offer and decide if it’s worth it. It’s a more active, check-back-frequently kind of experience.

One of the key advantages is the ability to discover unique and discontinued cigars at a fraction of their original cost – adding excitement to your cigar routine as you uncover new deals and hidden treasures. Some of the best finds on Cigar Monster are cigars that are being phased out or overstocked, which means you’re sometimes getting genuinely rare inventory at clearance prices.

Is Cigar Monster Worth It?

For casual smokers who are building their humidor and want to do it without spending full retail on every box – yes. The math is straightforward. If you’re buying premium cigars online anyway, adding Cigar Monster to your daily check costs you nothing and occasionally saves you 30-50% on brands you’d buy at full price without a second thought.

The platform works best if you check it regularly rather than sporadically. Good deals move fast – sometimes within hours. If you check once a week, you’ll mostly see the leftovers. If you check daily, you’ll occasionally land something worth talking about.

Our recommendation: bookmark the page, glance at it when you get your morning coffee, and set a mental budget for impulse buys. That’s the most honest way to use it without going overboard.

For more on which cigars are worth stocking up on when a deal comes around, check our best cigars for beginners guide for names worth knowing. And if you’re pairing your new haul with a proper setup, our cigar box guide covers everything about storage. For the full picture on cigar culture and what to do once you’ve lit up, browse our sports section and lifestyle section.

Our Verdict

Cigar Monster is a legitimate, well-established deal platform backed by one of the oldest and most respected names in the American cigar industry. The discounts are real, the brands are recognizable, and free shipping on every deal is a genuine perk. It’s not a replacement for your local tobacconist, and it won’t always have what you’re specifically looking for – but as a supplementary tool for stretching your cigar budget, it’s hard to beat.

If you smoke more than a few cigars a month, it’s worth checking daily. If you’re a once-in-a-while smoker, bookmark it and check in when you’re ready to stock up. Either way it costs you nothing to look.

Frequently Asked Questions About Cigar Monster