Cigar Aficionado

The man on our cover should be a familiar face to anyone who watches NBA basketball, the Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry. He’s 35 years old, has four NBA Championships and is the all-time leader in three-point shots, among other things. Curry is the very definition of greatness on the court, but he’s a man who defied all expectations. One of his favorite adjectives is “underrated,” for that’s how he felt for much of his life. Despite growing up under the tutelage of his father Dell, who spent a career in the NBA, Steph’s relatively small size had people doubting his ability to play at the highest levels. He’s proven everyone wrong, and he does it all with a charming smile, an attitude that has earned him the nickname The Baby-Faced Assassin. Many, including Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal, call him the greatest shooter ever.

So what does Curry do when he wins or when he relaxes? He smokes great cigars and sips fine Bourbon. Cigar Aficionado visited Curry in San Francisco to bring his story to you. It begins on page 38.

From underrated to highly rated, our second major story of this issue is the ever-popular Top 25, our ranking of the finest cigars of the year. Once we concluded our final taste test of 2023, we looked at the very best from the year, assembled a new tasting and retested the best of the best to see which cigars deserved to rise to the very top. The 25 cigars we’ve named here are the best we’ve smoked all year, and we think you’ll enjoy smoking them just as much as we have. That begins on page 50.

One important note: just because these are the best cigars we’ve rated all year, that doesn’t mean they are the most expensive cigars we’ve rated all year. Handmade cigars—like so many other things—have become more expensive in the past few years, but high price does not always equal high performance, and high performance doesn’t always come at a dear price. When we test-smoke the cigars in any of our reviews, we smoke them blind, so we don’t know the price, the maker or any other identifying detail. Four of our Top 25 cigars have suggested retail prices of less than $10, and 20 out of our Top 25 sell for $20 apiece or less—including one Cuban.

Of course, there are fine cigars to be found at even less expensive prices, and that’s where our Best Buys come in. For the best bargains on the market—cigars selling for no more than $7, but scoring at least 87 points in one of our blind taste tests—see page 63.

There’s even more in this issue, including a story on the grand opening of the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas, the newest outpost of the classic Miami hotel, the heartwarming story of how golfer Camilo Villegas has emerged victorious after suffering unimaginable tragedy, our coverage of the Big Smoke Las Vegas, the Els for Autism Pro-Am, our Good Life Guide and the ever-popular My Favorite Cigar section.

Enjoy the read. Happy New Year.