Gellis Family Cigars Saunter
Gellis Family Cigars' Saunter placed No. 16 on Cigar Aficionado's Top 25 Cigars of 2025, with a 95-point score from the magazine's tasting panel. That result is one of the strongest yet for founder Kyle Gellis's cigar brand.
The short answer
Saunter is a 5 1/4 x 48 robusto with an Ecuadorian Connecticut-seed wrapper over an Ecuadorian binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan filler tobacco. It costs $15 per cigar in boxes of 12. Cigar Aficionado scored it 95 points and ranked it No. 16 on the magazine's Top 25 Cigars of 2025. Saunter first shipped in the summer of 2024. It was the second of Gellis Family Cigars' two launch blends, and it has stayed in regular retail rotation since.
What's confirmed
| Detail | Confirmed |
|---|---|
| Brand | Gellis Family Cigars |
| Line | Saunter |
| Wrapper | Ecuadorian Connecticut-seed (Desflorada) |
| Binder | Ecuadorian |
| Filler | Dominican Republic and Nicaraguan |
| Rolled at | Tabacalera La iSLA, Santiago, Dominican Republic |
| Vitola | Robusto, 5 1/4 x 48 |
| Price | $15 per cigar |
| Box size | 12 cigars |
| First shipped | Summer 2024 |
| Cigar Aficionado ranking | No. 16, Top 25 Cigars of 2025, 95 points |
Cigar Aficionado's tasting notes for Saunter describe cream, fruit, honey, white pepper, and caramel. That's a lighter profile than the dark-wrapper blends the boutique category tends to lean on. Saunter ships in a single vitola only. Gellis Family Cigars hasn't added a toro, torpedo, or any second size to the line since the 2024 launch, so the 5 1/4 x 48 robusto is the only way to buy it.
Why Saunter outlasted Gellis Family Cigars' other early releases
Gellis Family Cigars launched with two blends at the March 2024 PCA Convention & Trade Show. Marevas came first. It's a closed-foot 5 1/8 x 43 built on an Ecuadorian Habano 2000 wrapper, packaged in 25-count boxes at an $11 launch price. Saunter followed that summer at a slightly higher $15, in smaller 12-count boxes and a more conventional open-foot robusto shape. Marevas drew attention for its unusual closed-foot construction, a style that changes how a smoker lights and draws the cigar. But Saunter is the blend that picked up the 95-point score, and it stayed the brand's steadiest seller two years on.
That staying power sets Saunter apart from the brand's newer limited runs. Piece Unique is the annual one-off series Gellis Family Cigars started in 2024. It sells out its capped production and never returns in the same blend. Saunter carries no such cap. A retailer that stocks it once can generally reorder it, which is part of why it shows up more consistently on shop shelves than either Marevas or any single Piece Unique vintage.
What Cigar Aficionado's 95-Point Score Means
Cigar Aficionado scores cigars on a 100-point scale. Its own stated cutoffs treat anything at 90 or above as "outstanding." The magazine reserves 95 and up for cigars its panel calls "classic," a tier it uses sparingly across the hundreds of blends it rates each year. A Top 25 placement narrows that further. It ranks Saunter against every cigar the panel reviewed that year, a tougher bar than ranking well only among boutique releases. Gellis Family Cigars was not yet three years old at the time of the ranking. Landing at No. 16 put Saunter ahead of blends from far larger, longer-established factories.
Where Gellis Family Cigars fits among boutique brands
Kyle Gellis had spent 17 years in the premium cigar industry by the time he launched Gellis Family Cigars under his own name in March 2024. That included a decade running Warped Cigars, the brand he founded in 2014. He also founded DROP Cigar Club, a subscription service built around limited and hard-to-find releases. A second active brand from the same founder is less a bet than a continuation of a résumé already built on small-batch cigars.
Both companies use Tabacalera La iSLA in Santiago, Dominican Republic, for production. That keeps quality control inside a factory relationship Gellis already trusted from his Warped years. For shoppers, that lineage is a reasonable signal that Saunter was built for people who already track boutique releases. It's not built as a mass-market everyday smoke. Distribution for Gellis Family Cigars runs through Warped's existing retail network rather than a separate sales team. That explains why Saunter reached shop shelves quickly after its 2024 debut, instead of taking the slower path a brand-new distributor usually needs. The best boutique cigars guide covers other small-batch labels worth tracking down.
Where to buy
Search for Gellis Family Cigars Saunter at Famous Smoke Shop. We earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Because Saunter isn't capped the way Piece Unique is, availability tends to be steadier. Still, a 95-point score from Cigar Aficionado moves stock faster than an unranked release. The buying cigars online safely guide covers how to vet a retailer before checking out.
Saunter is the Gellis Family Cigars release with the track record. It's a 2024 launch blend that went on to score 95 points and a Top 25 ranking. It still carries none of the scarcity that defines the brand's newer limited runs. Log a box in the Humidor Tracker to remember exactly what you smoked and when.
FAQ
What wrapper does Gellis Family Cigars Saunter use?
An Ecuadorian Connecticut-seed wrapper, sometimes listed by retailers as "Ecuadorian Connecticut Desflorada," over an Ecuadorian binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan filler tobacco.
How much does Saunter cost?
$15 per cigar, sold in boxes of 12. The how much cigars cost guide covers how that stacks up against other premium price tiers.
What size is Saunter?
A robusto measuring 5 1/4 inches by a 48 ring gauge, rolled at Tabacalera La iSLA in Santiago, Dominican Republic.
Has Saunter won any awards?
Yes. Cigar Aficionado ranked it No. 16 on its Top 25 Cigars of 2025 list with a 95-point score, the highest recognition any Gellis Family Cigars release has received so far.
Is Saunter a limited release?
No. Unlike the brand's Piece Unique series, Saunter has no stated production cap and has stayed available since its 2024 launch, so a sold-out shop can typically reorder it.
Is Saunter a good cigar for a beginner?
It's a reasonable one to try. The tasting notes (cream, fruit, honey, white pepper, caramel) point to a medium-bodied, approachable profile rather than the darker, fuller blends that can overwhelm a new smoker. New smokers unsure where to start should still check the best cigars for beginners guide first.
How does Saunter compare to Gellis Family Cigars Piece Unique?
Saunter is a standing, reorderable blend at $15 a cigar. Piece Unique is an annual, one-time-only release that costs more, currently $40 a cigar for the 2026 edition, and never repeats its blend once a year's production sells out.
How does Saunter compare to Marevas, the other Gellis Family Cigars launch blend?
Marevas came first, a closed-foot 5 1/8 x 43 on an Ecuadorian Habano 2000 wrapper at $11 a cigar. Saunter followed months later at $15, in a more conventional open-foot robusto shape. It went on to earn the higher-profile result: a 95-point score and a Top 25 ranking that Marevas hasn't matched.
Is Saunter mild, medium, or full-bodied?
Neither Gellis Family Cigars nor Cigar Aficionado has published a formal strength rating for Saunter. The tasting notes, cream, fruit, honey, white pepper, and caramel, point to a medium-bodied smoke built for flavor rather than raw strength. That reads lighter than the dark, San Andrés-wrapped blends common elsewhere in the boutique category.
Where was Saunter first shown?
At the March 2024 PCA Convention & Trade Show, alongside Marevas, as one of Gellis Family Cigars' two debut blends. It began shipping to retailers that summer.
Does Saunter come in more than one size?
No. Saunter has shipped in the same 5 1/4 x 48 robusto since its 2024 launch, with no second vitola added since. That's different from many boutique lines, which often add a toro or torpedo size within the first year or two if a blend sells well.
Why is it named Saunter?
Gellis Family Cigars hasn't published an official explanation for the name. But "saunter" means an unhurried, leisurely walk, a fitting description for a medium-bodied cigar built for a relaxed smoking session rather than an intense, attention-demanding one. That framing lines up with the flavor notes reviewers reported: cream, honey, and caramel rather than pepper-forward intensity.
Is Saunter widely available at cigar retailers?
More widely than most boutique releases, though it's still a specialty item rather than a shelf staple at every shop. Because Warped Cigars already had an established retail network before Gellis Family Cigars launched, Saunter reached specialty tobacconists and online retailers faster than a first-time brand typically manages. A 95-point score and a Top 25 ranking only add to that demand, so checking stock before a special trip to a shop is still worth doing.