Cigar Aficionado Top 25 - 2019

[BoliDan]

10 minutes ago, SenorPerfecto said:

Here's your CA 2019 Cigar of the Year:

 

 

Unimpressed. I like the rankings by vitola in the back of these issues. I think partagas and bolivar took top 2 in the PC cayegory. It seems more honest. The overall top 25 of all regions and all vitolas is just silliness. 

[ha_banos]

Did it leak that was #1 or something they only announced 2-10 and My Father La Promesa only scored a 87 that would be one hell of a turnaround 

My friend has an uncle who works in the editorial department.......

[BoliDan]

32 minutes ago, db13 said:

It would be funny if they’ve been storing their Cuban cigars at the same RH levels as non-Cuban which has thrown off their smoking experiences. That and advertising dollars are the only two explanations I can think of. 

Well, im sure youre correct. It also depends on what they sample. They certainly arent sampling every cigar from every region. They select a finite number of cigars and remove the bands for the testing phase. Those that gift cigars or advertise probably get the most samples. I imagine cubans get the least samples. Id say medio siglo should have taken the token cuban spot over coro this year. 

[SmokyFontaine]

Fully understanding that we're all on what has to be the world's best forum for all things Cuban cigar it makes sense for so many to be turned off by a top 25 that is so light on Cubans, but frankly, I'd bet the guys over there go through fewer Cuban cigars than even an average member of FOH in a year. Throw in uncertainty of if they're smoking young, with age, "bad box code" (again, just using this forum as an example - most scoff at people smoking young Cubans here, or value particular box codes), that means they're smoking a small handful of various vitolas. Ehem...you have to be honest in saying that if you grab 5 blind CC's there is a very real chance that you will have 5 completely different experiences. Sounds like some years are better than others when it comes to consistency, but still, that seems to just be a fact of CC's. You might like the flavor of Cubans far more...any review or list is inherently subjective, that shouldn't come as a surprise, but if you have a Padron cigar, then you smoke the same one a month later, the two will be damn-near identical. You might hate them both, but they'll be consistent.

As someone who really enjoys both origins a ton, I just shake my head and chalk it up to consumer behavior and wanting to justify ones' personal tastes stronger. There are AWESOME cigars around the world. Celebrate that we have some great options and smoke what you like. 

[Puros Y Vino]

While this list is fun to talk about every year, I dont think it has any bearing on those who frequent FOH or other CC forums.  CA gets a lot of flack for their picks every year. More so, for their methodology in assessing the cigars.  And while it may cater a bit too much to the Rolex and Rolls Royce demographic.    I'm glad it's around and hope it continues on for many years to come.  I think the CA editors, deep down love CC's but they can't pay their bills.  They have CC's in their hearts but NC's on their mind. 

 

 

[bbguardsp]

2 hours ago, The Squiggler said:

Never had a 4 month old Cohiba rate 93 for me, but who knows...

Had three singles TOU MAY 19 from a fresh box and they are in fact 93+ for me.  Never had a better box of CoRo based on the 3 I've smoked from it.  Rich, complex, mouth watering long finish.  Surprising the hell out of me.

[SenorPerfecto]

1 hour ago, juri said:

Did it leak that was #1 or something they only announced 2-10 and My Father La Promesa only scored a 87 that would be one hell of a turnaround ?

Just a guess...

[The Squiggler]

5 minutes ago, bbguardsp said:

Had three singles TOU MAY 19 from a fresh box and they are in fact 93+ for me.  Never had a better box of CoRo based on the 3 I've smoked from it.  Rich, complex, mouth watering long finish.  Surprising the hell out of me.

Seems like people are saying the fermentation has seemed a bit less rushed recently, and as a result a lot of the CCs coming out are smoking better sooner.  I haven't broken into many 2019s yet personally, so I can't attest to the accuracy of that hypothesis, but based on some of the reviews I've been seeing I'm ready to believe it

[The Squiggler]

3 hours ago, VRATJV07 said:

The Oliva V Lancero which cracked their top 10 is actually a very good cigar. I had one this summer and really enjoyed it.

I was glad to see this as well.  I love the V lancero.  I'm hoping this makes it on the list as well (I usually smoke the coronas but I'm sure the lanceros are good too):

[JoeyBones777]

3 hours ago, SenorPerfecto said:

Here's your CA 2019 Cigar of the Year:

 

 

Not a bad guess considering My Father hasn't made the list yet. It would be more likely the lancero which rated 91. Two other big advertisers with them are missing from the list as well, La Flor Dominicana and Alec Bradley. I would be shocked if the cigar of the year wasn't from one of those 3 producers.

[bbguardsp]

42 minutes ago, The Squiggler said:

Seems like people are saying the fermentation has seemed a bit less rushed recently, and as a result a lot of the CCs coming out are smoking better sooner.  I haven't broken into many 2019s yet personally, so I can't attest to the accuracy of that hypothesis, but based on some of the reviews I've been seeing I'm ready to believe it

I always dry box a single cigar from a fresh box for a week and try it.  How good it is decides how fast I'll go through the box.  I love the experience of aging a box of cigars by intermittently sampling and taking note of the changes.  This way I'll never worry about "smoking past it's prime" so to speak.  Ultimately though, each person has different preferences and experience.  I wholeheartedly believe what you find subjectively beneficial to your cigar experience is what you should follow.

[TTP21]

4 minutes ago, juri said:

For people bashing CO for their reviews remember they don’t look at factory codes or box dates you might be better off looking here and tell me how many NC scored 100, I’m not as much as a age snob but I know I won’t buy blind factory codes are a must or PSP rating for anything Trin most monte RyJ and D4

 

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/connoisseurscorner

They do share Month and Year on all CC reviews.  A JL2 ranked tops a few months back and it was a 2015 cigar.  No box codes though.  I'd bet it's safe to assume that they get prime examples of every CC they try as they are still somewhat of a lifeline for Cuba in the US. 

[SenorPerfecto]

1 hour ago, JoeyBones777 said:

Not a bad guess considering My Father hasn't made the list yet. It would be more likely the lancero which rated 91. Two other big advertisers with them are missing from the list as well, La Flor Dominicana and Alec Bradley. I would be shocked if the cigar of the year wasn't from one of those 3 producers.

Agree. AB is meh, and LFD won with the Bull not long ago.

[heftytome]

They are unveiling their list this week. So far only 10-5 have been released and shocker, no CC’s so far.  The usual suspects, Oliva Melanio, Rocky Patel, Opus X etc so far.  I know most on here scoff at their selections (myself included) and perceived bias towards advertising dollar$, but I find it somewhat interesting to hear what they have to say. Last year only 3 CC’s made the list and I wonder who will make their cut this year. I have had a few of their cigar of 2018, Carrillo Encore, and have really enjoyed it. I would compare it to a San Cristobal/Por Larranaga hybrid with a Nicaraguan punch.  Better than a Siglo VI which barely cracked the list?  Not so much. 

It’s like reading the ads in the magazine. It’s a nice pay to play format


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mtapia3]

4 hours ago, SenorPerfecto said:

Here's your CA 2019 Cigar of the Year:

 

 

It has two giant bands and a ribbon. It must be great...

[DeeBeezy]

I think they shock us and a cuban wins cigar of the year

[BlueRidgeFly]

6 hours ago, VRATJV07 said:

The Oliva V Lancero which cracked their top 10 is actually a very good cigar. I had one this summer and really enjoyed it.

Agreed, it is pretty good.

[Lotusguy]

It's a repeat of the same discussion, accusations, and conspiracy theories every year. 

I'm just happy that there is a reasonably successful magazine supporting our hobby. The more cigar smokers out there, the better for us. Even better if these smokers also become members of the CRA to help maintain our right to smoke and hold off on draconian regulations.

[SenorPerfecto]

1 hour ago, dan benhamou said:

I think they shock us and a cuban wins cigar of the year

It could happen.

[SenorPerfecto]

1 hour ago, juri said:

 

if you really wanted to give Cubans a fair shot you would need to pick from the best factory and have at least 3 years of age 

Interesting POV... is ROTT smokeability worth points on a cigar's rating?

 

I say yes, emphatically. So to me, cigars that don't have to be aged to be good are better than those that do, to a retail-sensible magazine like this. The VAST majority -- I'd guess close to 100% -- of premium cigar smokers buy a cigar out of a box and smoke it, or buy a box and start smoking them until they're gone. No thought of "aging." The "FOH sensibility" is very rare.

 

We may recoil from the moniker, but we are the true cigar aficionados.

[BlueRidgeFly]

11 hours ago, SigmundChurchill said:

My feeling about Cigar Aficionado, has always been that it is a great magazine that is providing us a very valuable service.

The longer they can con people into thinking NCs are as good as, or better than CCs, the longer they keep these people out of the CC market.  This is better for everyone.

If NC smokers all decided at once that they suddenly like CCs better, it will only drive up prices and increase shortages.  I don't want the CA list to be full of Cuban Cigars.  That would be very bad.  I like the list just the way it is.

I'm feeling the same way. And there are some good NCs, so may all those people continue to be happy ?

[Wookie]

23 minutes ago, BlueRidgeFly said:

Agreed, it is pretty good.

Oliva V, IMO, is one of the great value priced NC sticks. One can find the monster DC size for $5-6 apiece in USA with available discounts. 

[Derboesekoenig]

I'm curious as to how much it would cost to self finance and self publish a Cuban cigar-related magazine subscription in the United States. Eventually, the goal would be worldwide distribution, but just starting out, I'm very curious...has anyone attempted in recent years? We wouldn't advertise cigars for sale so it would be completely legal. Would there even be enough interest? It could start out as a quarterly periodical or twice a year in the same sense as MRN's book: include regular production reviews, and new releases or upcoming releases (new reg production or ERs), and then have an issue regarding the ELs, etc. There would be plenty of information you could include. Could even add a section about interviewing people about Cuban cigars, current news on Cuba, reader Q&A, history, anything and everything really. There will always be plenty to write about.

Thoughts?

[El Presidente]

Print media is a hard game.....and getting harder. 

It is one of the reasons that I have the utmost respect for CA and their team. 

Sure from time to time they cop some flak but by any measure their contribution to the cigar industry/hobby has been immense. Kudos!

I wonder if they would have started CA today from scratch in its current form . I suspect not. 

[Islandboy]

20 hours ago, Derboesekoenig said:

Doubtful. Only 1 CC makes the list each year. 2 if they're being generous. I feel like it's always a formality. Always include 1 or 2 just to make the rest look more prominent.

Actually....for the last 4 years in a row, or as long as I’ve been paying attention, there’ve been EXACTLY 3 CC’s in the top 25: one in the top 5, one somewhere near the mid point, and one in the final third. After 4 years in a row observing the same pattern (more perhaps, I’ve not paid attention earlier than 2015), I’m starting to question the coincidence here. Curious to see how this year plays out with CC’s.