We have reached another award season here at Smokin Tabacco as well as an industry. But it is important to recognize the hard work so many people in this industry, most you have never heard of, put in to help bring these cigars to market and have them be a hit. Awards are fun to release, but not so fun to put together since it isn’t easy. No matter how hard we analyze these awards, good stuff always misses the list. But that’s how it goes.
Few things to mention, when you look at this list please remember the award guidelines. As a reminder, we do include line extensions and re-releases as part of our eligible cigars. Last year, the 2024 Cigar of the Year was the Perdomo 30th Anniversary Sun Grown Epicure.
Top 25 Cigar of the Year List
1. Perdomo Legacy Nicaraguan Shade Grown Epicure
- Perdomo Cigars
- Tabacalera Perdomo S.A. – Nicaragua
2. Tatuaje 7th Corojo
- Tatuaje Cigars
- My Father Cigars S.A. – Nicaragua
3. Perdomo Legacy Connecticut Belicoso
- Perdomo Cigars
- Tabacalera Perdomo S.A. – Nicaragua
4. My Father Blue Toro
- My Father Cigars
- My Father Cigars S.A. – Honduras
5. Perez Carrillo Endure Toro
- Casa Carrillo
- Casa Carrillo – Dominican Republic
6. Bandolero Premium Bravos
- Selected Tobacco
- Tabacos de Costa Rica – Costa Rica
7. Fuente Fuente OpusX La Edición de la Sociedad
- Fuente The Opus X Society
- Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia – Dominican Republic
8. Romeo y Julieta 150th Anniversary Balconet
- Altadis U.S.A.
- Tabacalera de García – Dominican Republic
9. Aladino 85 Aniversario Reserva Robusto
- JRE Tobacco Co.
- Fábrica de Puros Aladino at Las Lomas Jamastran – Honduras
10. La Aurora Family Creed Series Fuerte Sol
- La Aurora
- La Aurora Cigar Factory – Dominican Republic
11. Perdomo Legacy Maduro Epicure
- Perdomo Cigars
- Perdomo Cigars S.A. – Nicaragua
12. Umbagog Bronzeback Robusto
- Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust
- Nicaragua American Cigars S.A. – Nicaragua
13. Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Concerto
- Aging Room
- Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A. – Nicaragua
14. Plasencia Alma del Cielo Amanecer
- Plasencia Cigars
- Plasenica Cigars S.A. – Nicaragua
15. Diamond Crown Tampa
- J.C. Newman Cigar Company
- Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia – Dominican Republic
16. Raíces Cubanas Liga de Reyes Salomón
- Raíces Cubanas
- Fábrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas S. de R.L. – Honduras
17. Don Pepín García Series JJ 20th Anniversary Toro
- My Father Cigars
- My Father Cigars S.A. – Nicaragua
18. Hot Cake Fresh Out of the Oven Broadleaf Half Corona
- HVC Cigars
- Fábrica de Tabacos HVC S.A. de Reinier Lorenzo – Nicaragua
19. Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Year of the Duque
- Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust
- Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua S.A. – Nicaragua
20. Davidoff Year of the Snake Lancero
- Davidoff
- Cigars Davidoff – Dominican Republic
21. Montecristo M Toro
- Altadis U.S.A.
- Tabacalera AJ Fernández Cigars de Nicaragua S.A. – Nicaragua
22. Aging Room La Bohème Poeta
- Aging Room
- Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A. – Nicaragua
23. Black Label Trading Company Orthodox Toro
- Black Label Trading Company
- Fabrica Oveja Negra – Nicaragua
24. Cohiba Rubicon Box-Pressed Robusto
- General Cigar Company
- STG Danlí – Honduras
25. Villiger 1888 Gran Reserva
- Villiger Cigars
- Villiger de Nicaragua – Nicaragua
This was a hard fought battle. From the beginning, there were a handful of cigars that I was impressed with, most notably the Perdomo Legacy Nicaraguan Shade Grown, the Tatuaje 7th Corojo and the My Father Blue. I knew that provided nothing heavily changed, these cigars would be hard to sort out in the end and I was right. I am proud to say that in Perdomo’s case, I think the company is going to do just fine when Nick Perdomo Jr is long gone and Nicholas Perdomo is the one calling the shots. But we aren’t in a hurry to see that day either – we love having Nick around. But to put it in football terms, they have their next quarterback.
Tatuaje once again comes in right near the top of the list in what I would call our best performing boutique brand year after year. It is also worth noting that while I have been incredibly impressed with all of the Corojo releases this year from Pete Johnson, the 7th was just perfect. My Father released the Blue which was their first cigar from their new Honduran factory. That cigar has exceeded all of my expectations and once again keeps My Father as one of the more dominating factories on our list year after year.
Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust also repeated this year, a trend I do not see going away anytime soon. In fact, we had a good amount of repeat brands on the list this year and some that have returned like J.C. Newman. At the end of the day, this is only how we feel so go out and buy these cigars and smoke them for yourself. But once again, a huge congratulations to the Perdomo family on a back-to-back win. For a company who doesn’t release many cigars frequently, it is hard to do. But it is certainly well deserved.
Interesting Notes
- Companies with multiple cigars on the list include Altadis U.S.A., Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust, My Father Cigars, Perdomo, and Tatuaje.
- Company repeats from 2024: Arturo Fuente, Casa Carrillo, Davidoff, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, General Cigar, HVC, JRE Tobacco, La Aurora, Selected Tobacco, Plasencia and Tatuaje.
- Arturo Fuente and Tatuaje to date have never missed our list.
- First time that a manufacturer has received back-to-back Cigar of the Year wins with Smokin Tabacco
