This is it. The big dance. The whole shebang. The best cigars of the year.
Here you’ll find the year’s best cigars that stood out from the crowd and that got blessed by tastemakers like Cigar Aficionado in blind testings. With top ratings, they’ve become the famous elevated smokes that transcend mere tobacco, and that reach levels of rarified quality that all craftsmen should aspire to. They use outstanding, perfectly grown, and aged leaves. They’re blended by tobacco artisans who somehow still have refined palates after decades of smoking. They’re rolled by torcedores who could probably make a seamless cigar even with both eyes closed while sitting in the backseat of a Jeep going top speed across a rocky desert.
These cigars are the best of the best, and we always feel blessed when we find one that we really like.
The top cigars of the year (as per Cigar Aficionado) often feature famous names. These are generational brands that go back decades, if not centuries: Padrón, Fuente, Garcia, Plasencia. They also feature the “upstarts” – new names that have made waves and who have pushed their way into the conversation by putting a fresh spin on things. These cigar makers still hold themselves to high standards and have earned the respect of an industry rooted in longstanding tradition: Drew Estate, Tatuaje, Illusione, and more.
The experience of smoking the best cigars of the year is hard to put into words. It’s why the reviews gush and the ratings are sky-high. You know one as soon as you light it up. Sometimes, you can even tell it just from the smell coming off the wrapper. You just know it’s going to be a bomb-ass smoke. But then when you get a few draws in, the magic starts to happen. While many cigars are funky, earthy, and even a little stanky, stogies that have made it onto the top cigars of the year lists are totally different. There’s no bitterness, no “off” tastes, and none of the unwelcome aromas that have turned people off to cigars.
In short, they’re heavenly.
It’s the difference between eating at Applebee’s and the best steakhouse in your state. It’s the difference between cracking a Busch Light and sipping the first drafts from a rich brew that your favorite bar can barely keep on tap before people run the keg dry yet again. As soon as you get the smoke going, you think “Holy shit. Is this what I’ve been missing? My whole life has been a lie. This is a real cigar. Everything else is crap!”
Smoking a Cigar Aficionado cigar of the year that you really like can kind of ruin you when it comes to other cigars. It reveals just how good a cigar can get, and can make other cigars seem pretty poor by comparison. We prefer to think of each cigar as having a time and a place, though. Honestly, we’re not in the mood for My Father’s very best sticks every single day. Sometimes we just want a nice little spicy Camacho that’s easier on the wallet, a standard Connecticut, or even a flavored smoke. But always, we know that the special cigars are there – waiting to help us enjoy ourselves on more special occasions. No matter what’s going on in our lives, we can always look forward to one of these cigars of the year. So, whether you’re searching for Aging Room, A.J. Fernandez, E.P. Carillo, Oliva, or some other sophisticated brand, you can find them all here.
We’re not worthy, but that won’t stop us from lighting up and puffing away on the world’s very best cigars with the highest ratings and most glowing reviews.
Please browse our selection of the best cigars of the year at your leisure.
