There is no grouping of cigars as elite as Cigar Aficionado magazine’s Top 25, nor any industry honor as high as Cigar of the Year. And with good reason. The list is not a mere compilation of high scores or arbitrary awards—the requirements are stringent and every position from No. 1 to No. 25 must be earned.
To qualify for consideration, each cigar has to first turn in a stellar performance during the year in a blind taste test. Then, the top-scoring cigars from throughout the year are smoked blind yet again, this time in a tournament where they are competing against each other. In the blind tasting process, identifying bands are removed by a tasting coordinator and replaced with a numbered label. Cigar Aficionado’s panel of judges—editors with a century…
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Cigar Aficionado (Digital) - 1 Issue, January/February 2024