Top 10 Cigars 2012
Another year is over and that means it’s time for another Top 10. For review, here are my previous Top 10s:
A few notes of caution: 1. I didn’t review a ton of cigars in 2012 and 2. Taste is subjective. You already knew that but it had to be said. Also, this ranking isn’t just straight from my scores. Rather, I use a very unscientific methodology that includes memorability, price and my ratings of these cigars.
Without further ado, here’s my Top 10 Cigars of 2012:
A very solid offering from Drew Estate that made me really appreciate medium bodied cigars again. As the rest of this list will attest, I prefer stronger cigars but this medium bodied cigar hit the spot. I purchased a box and went through it too quickly. Fortunately, I still have a couple of sticks hiding somewhere.
I have to admit that I could have made a Top 10 with just those cigars made by My Father Cigars. This one is also in the medium bodied realm and was blended by Pete Johnson in honor of Janny Garcia.
The “hl” stands for Holy Lance (if memory serves) and this was an excellent cigar. Gifted to me by a friend, I smoked a few of these cigars and enjoyed each one immensely.
In my opinion this is the best value on this list; it’s ridiculously cheap (less than $4 a stick on occasion) and packs a ton of flavor. It is fairly full bodied but not overwhelmingly so.
Great story behind the maker of this cigar and the cigar was pretty amazing too. I won some at the Chattanooga Tweetup and was kind of indifferent about my winnings because I did not recognize the cigar in the least. And then, after a long day of smoking, I lit one up and the flavor profile just cut through the detritus like a laser through a sheet of paper. It’s a special cigar.
5. Joya de Nicaragua Antaño 1970
Full bodied, tons of flavor and a good price. This review was of the 4.5″ x 40 short corona and for months it was my go-to cigar.
This blend has reached something of an iconic status amongst cigar smokers and for good reason. Extremely flavorful cigar hovering on the border of medium and full bodied this cigar should appeal to every smoker.
3. Padron Serie 1926 80 Years Maduro
Extremely expensive and extremely good. If you are looking for a refined cigar experience for a special occasion then you should give serious consideration to this cigar. (I’ve always liked the maduro Padrons the best but you might prefer the naturals.)
That is not a misprint; this year I am awarding two #1 cigars. (HACK!) The Tatuaje Avion 11 actually scored the highest out of all cigars I have ever reviewed earning 98 points. It is an amazing cigar and I have since purchased a box, which is a rarity for me for a cigar that is this expensive (like many cigar smokers I buy in ones and twos and, sometimes, threes). Full bodied, spicy and loads of flavor makes this one of my two most favorite cigars I have ever had the pleasure of smoking.
1. La Flor Dominicana Litto Gomez Diez 2012 Chisel
In a cigar of equals this is perhaps the most equal cigar I have ever smoked. Even though I gave it a rating of 97 points, which is one point lower than the Avion 11 earned, my opinion has slightly switched where I could be swayed into saying this is my favorite cigar of all time. (But then I will smoke an Avion 11 and get swayed a little in the other direction.) Like the Avion 11, this cigar is full bodied, spicy and has loads of flavor packed into it. Like the Avion 11 it has a special shape (trademarked in the Chisel’s case). Basically, I can’t go wrong with either of these cigars so I’m giving them both top honors this year.
Cigars I didn’t Review but they Deserve Recognition
I smoked these cigars but, for whatever reason, I didn’t review them. That’s an oversight on my part and one I intend to rectify as soon as possible.
- Cromagnon Aquitaine: Superb cigar and I liked it better than the original CroMagnon (which was 7th on my 2011 Top 10)
- Room 101 Namakubi: This was just one of those cigars that clicked for me and when I was smoking one late last year I went to check my review and found out that I haven’t published one. Room 101 has some excellent cigars (the Daruma just missed my list this year).
There’s probably some others that I have smoked but haven’t reviewed yet that will be strong contenders for the 2013 Top 10 but I cannot recall them at this time.
Love it? Hate it? Fortunately, there’s literally dozens of other cigar lists of varying length and quality for you to peruse. I’m not going to link to them lest you find one you like more and cease coming to this site from time to time.
Here’s to a great 2013!
Merry Christmas!!!
Another year is almost over and I wanted to thank all of you who have checked in on The Perfect Draw. Before the end of the year I plan on posting a Top 10 for 2012. Until then, have a Merry Christmas and, if you’re in the mood, watch this Christmas special featuring America’s most popular fat, orange cat.
A Grinch Halloween
Actually, the title is “Halloween is Grinch Night” and, to be honest, I hadn’t seen this before last night but I’m willing to bet watching this will be nostalgic for some of you old farts.
You’re welcome, old farts.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!
We Have a Winner!!!
Yup, that’s right, we have a winner for the box of personalized cigars. His name is Michael W. and, based off of his comment, he’s a comedian.
I want to thank CigarCountry.com for sponsoring this competition. It was great and the post has received the most comments of any of the posts on this site.
Here’s the box of personalized cigars that Michael won
For those who didn’t win I definitely feel your pain. I’ve lost pretty much every one of these contests I have entered. Hopefully, in the future, we will do some more of these contests. So check back. Well, really, you should be checking back every once in a while for the great cigar content too.
Thanks everyone. That’s all.
Win a Box of Personalized Cigars
This competition is now over and the winner is… commenter #23, Michael W. Congrats Michael! I will be in touch shortly. Thank you all who entered.
CigarCountry.com contacted me recently wanting to give away a box of personalized cigars. Basically, the way they personalize cigars is by printing up to three lines of text with up to 32 characters per line on the cellophane each cigar comes in. You can also put a logo on the cellophane, which is great for promotional purposes for your company or as just another way to show off to your friends.
It’s actually a pretty cool idea and it doesn’t cost much to do the personalization, just $10 for text and a one time $50 setup fee for logos. If you want to impress your friends or clients this is a great option.
Now to the contest. One lucky reader will win a box of personalized cigars (text only) and all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. The comment can be about anything but something about how you would personalize your cigars would be awesome.
Here’s where it gets interesting.
If less than 50 people leave a comment on this post the box of personalized cigars the winner will receive will be the Romeo y Julieta Aniversario Corona, which retails for about $165 on the site (which, I might add, is less than other sites are selling them for).
If 50 or more of you leave a comment on this post the box of personalized cigars the winner will receive will be the Romeo y Julieta Edicion Limitada Churchill, which retails on the site for about $290.
So, if you want a chance at winning the big prize tell all of your friends about this contest and get them to enter by leaving a comment on this post. The contest ends at 11:59pm PST on September 30, 2012 and I will announce the winner, who will be picked randomly by me using the random number generator on random.org, the following day. And if the winner would be kind enough to post a picture of their loot on Twitter or Facebook or anywhere else please notify me so I can share it with all those who weren’t lucky enough to win.
Remember, the success of this contest rests solely on your shoulders so do yourself a favor and share this with everyone so that we can give the eventual winner a box of customized Romeo y Julieta Edicion Limitada Churchills.
