The 2016 Cigars of the Year list from Cigar Aficionado kicked off with a 96-point powerhouse blend from La Flor Dominicana. Packed with Dominican tobacco and wrapped in an Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper, the judges praised its notes of hickory, leather, and exotic spice. It was an outstanding achievement for blender Litto Gomez, and his first #1 win.
#2 was a fantastic broadleaf blend from Rocky Patel. The Sun Grown Maduro combined Nicaraguan long-filler tobacco with a down-home Connecticut broadleaf. These trunk-pressed beauties had earthy bittersweet chocolate notes, along with nuttiness that was hard to resist. In a huge blend portfolio, it can be hard to select a “best ever,” but this is a strong candidate for Mr. Patel’s finest cigar, along with the Decade and a few others.
The #3 cigar on the 2016 Cigars of the Year rankings was a Cuban Partagas cigar – not available in the US. Next to it at #4 was the E.P. Carrillo Selección Oscuro, a cigar that incorporated tobacco from Nicaragua, Ecuador, and Mexico. This dark blend had surprising fruit notes and heralded the Cigar of the Year blends that were on the way in coming years for Perez-Carrillo.
The 2016 Cigars of the Year list continued with a perennial favorite – a Padrón. As a company that practically lives on this list, Padrón is never a surprise to find here. This year it was the 1926 blend that had 94 points and was the pride of the brand. The signature cocoa, earth, and coffee were all there, much like an old friend you can always rely on. If you want a blend from the 2016 Cigars of the Year list that is almost guaranteed to be good, no matter when you buy it, this is probably it. Padrón simply doesn’t disappoint.
The #6 spot belonged to a company with a similar pedigree: Arturo Fuente. The Rosado Sungrown Magnum R showcased the company’s delicious Dominican tobacco and added a ten-year-aged Ecuador wrapper to create a blend that showed restraint and balance. The flavors are desserty and completely satisfying, offering notes of cinnamon, dried fruit, nuts, and maple.
Number 7 on the 2016 Cigars of the Year rankings was a stealth Drew Estate blend from master blender Willy Herrera – the Norteño. Using Nicaraguan, Honduran, and Mexican tobacco, this cigar was built to deliver spice and rich flavor, but somehow wound up being a candy bar smoke in the hands of the Cigar Aficionado judges. They loved the notes of “raw cocoa bean, refined milk chocolate, and nougat.” You may want to pair this one with something sweet, whether it’s a Cafe Con Leche, cocktail, or simply dessert.
Cigar 8 from the 2016 Cigars of the Year set was the Oliva Serie V Melanio, which used an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper to create an interesting and balanced set of flavors. As Cigar Aficionado noted, it isn’t super common to put this type of wrapper with Nicaraguan tobacco, and so the blend showed serious talent and skill on the part of the blenders at Oliva.
Hoyo de Monterrey’s Cuban operations produced the #9 cigar of the year, and the #10 cigar was another brand with both Cuban and non-Cuban divisions: Punch. The Gran Puro Santa Rita gave cigar lovers all the Honduran leaf they could handle. As the name indicates, this blend is a potent, full-flavored Honduran puro that incorporates a proprietary San Agustín tobacco that gives the cigar its rich character.
Please browse our selection of the 2016 Cigars of the Year at your leisure.
