Ashton Cigars was founded in 1985 by Robert Levin of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in partnership with Carlos Fuente Sr. and Carlos Fuente Jr. of Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia. The brand was named after a fictitious English gentleman to evoke a sense of old-world sophistication. All Ashton cigars are manufactured at the Fuente family's factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic, using Dominican filler and binder tobaccos with aged Connecticut shade-grown wrappers from Ecuador.
The brand's core lineup includes the classic Ashton Cabinet Selection, which uses aged Connecticut wrapper and is known for its smooth, creamy profile, and the Ashton Aged Maduro, which features a dark, fermented wrapper. The most prestigious offerings are the Ashton ESG (Estate Sun Grown) and the Ashton VSG (Virgin Sun Grown), the latter being a collaboration between Robert Levin and Carlos Fuente Jr. that uses a sun-grown Ecuadorian wrapper for a fuller-bodied smoking experience. The VSG line was introduced in 1999 and quickly became one of the most highly rated cigar lines in the industry.
Ashton also produces the Ashton Symmetry line, blended by Carlos Fuente Jr. using Nicaraguan, Dominican, and Ecuadorian tobaccos, representing a departure from the brand's traditionally all-Dominican blends. The company distributes through Ashton Distributors, the Levin family's distribution company based in Philadelphia, which also handles distribution for several other premium cigar brands.
Ashton maintains a deliberately limited production approach, and several of their vitolas are frequently in short supply. The brand is positioned as a high-luxury cigar with prices typically ranging from $10 to $30 per cigar, with limited editions commanding higher premiums. Ashton consistently receives ratings of 90 or above from major cigar publications.