The Top 25 Cigars Of 2023 Reveal Schedule
It has been yet another strong year for the handmade cigar industry. “The New Cigar Boom” appears to be holding steady, thanks to widespread, quality production and sustained demand for smokes. Cigar Aficionado dished out no shortage of high ratings, with multiple cigars earning the “Classic” status of 95 points and more in just about every issue. With an abundance of impressive cigars, the stage is set for an intriguing reveal of Cigar Aficionado’s Top 25 cigars of 2023.
We will start unveiling the Top 25 on Monday, December 18 and continue throughout the week. As always, the reveal is not the by-product of a year-end project, but a 12-month journey that involves hundreds and hundreds of cigars and countless blind tastings.
Every week throughout the entire year, the Cigar Aficionado tasting is continuously smoking and rating cigars that are given to them via the tasting coordinator. The smokes vary greatly in makeup, including every size, shape, strength, country and brand. Every cigar is Cigar Insider throughout the year.
Ultimately, a list of top-scoring cigars from the year is created, and cigars are rebanded and retasted in order to find out which will make it to the Top 25 and what cigar will be crowned No. 1. Each cigar that makes it to this list goes through rounds of blind smoking in a kind of March Madness-like bracket to decide which ones are the best.
The daily announcements will begin on December 18 and carry on through December 22. Each stage will be revealed at 10 a.m. Eastern on cigaraficionado.com. See the full schedule for the Top 25 reveal below:
Monday, December 18: 10, 9, 8
Tuesday, December 19: 7, 6, 5
Wednesday, December 20: 4, 3, 2
Thursday, December 21: Cigar of the Year
Friday, December 22: 11 through 25
Each stage of reveals will be accompanied by video reviews from executive editor David Savona and managing editor Gregory Mottola, alongside the full cigar details and tasting notes.
Last year, we saw a Cuban take home the Cigar of the Year honors for the first time cigaraficionado.com.
For all past winners, see the table below.
Cigar Aficionado's Cigars Of The Year
| Year | Cigar | Country | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | H. Upmann No. 2 | Cuba | 98 |
| 2021 | Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series Torpedo (Natural) | Nicaragua | 97 |
| 2020 | E.P. Carrillo Pledge Prequel | Dom. Rep. | 98 |
| 2019 | Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Maestro | Nicaragua | 96 |
| 2018 | E.P. Carrillo Encore Majestic | Dom. Rep. | 96 |
| 2017 | Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Eye of the Shark | Dom. Rep. | 97 |
| 2016 | La Flor Dominicana Andalusian Bull | Dom. Rep. | 96 |
| 2015 | My Father Le Bijou 1922 Torpedo Box Pressed | Nicaragua | 97 |
| 2014 | Oliva Serie V Melanio Figurado | Nicaragua | 96 |
| 2013 | Montecristo No. 2 | Cuba | 96 |
| 2012 | Flor de Las Antillas Toro | Nicaragua | 96 |
| 2011 | Alec Bradley Prensado Churchill | Honduras | 96 |
| 2010 | Cohiba Behike BHK 52 | Cuba | 97 |
| 2009 | Padrón Family Reserve No. 45 Maduro | Nicaragua | 95 |
| 2008 | Casa Magna Colorado Robusto | Nicaragua | 93 |
| 2007 | Padrón Serie 1926 No. 9 | Nicaragua | 97 |
| 2006 | Bolivar Royal Corona | Cuba | 94 |
| 2005 | Fuente Fuente OpusX Double Corona | Dom. Rep. | 95 |
| 2004 | Padrón Serie 1926 40th Anniversary | Nicaragua | 93 |
