2025 Cigar Analysis
A new year means turning over a new leaf—or at least burning some new leaves in the form of a cigar. Before deciding what to light next, consider what’s been smoked already. Last year, we smoked and scored a total of 620 premium cigars between the six issues of Cigar Aficionado and 24 issues of our twice-monthly digital newsletter, Cigar Insider. Of course, all the testing was done blind, meaning that our panel of tasters did not know the identities of the cigars, but what do all these scores mean in a larger context? Poring over the raw data is a daunting task so we spared you the headache and crunched the numbers to provide you with a comprehensive analysis.
Before we look at 2025, recall late 2020 when the industry entered the “New Cigar Boom,” a market upsurge with U.S. imports of premium cigars exceeding 400 million cigars, the best performance in decades. The import numbers rose in subsequent years. Though the Cigar Association of America’s numbers for 2025 aren’t complete, it does not seem the bubble has burst yet. By the third quarter, 318.6 million cigars were imported, a 4.6 percent increase over the same period in 2024. Nicaragua led with 190.4 million units shipped (2.1 percent increase), and the Dominican Republic and Honduras shipped 69.9 million (up 3.8 percent) and 55.5 million (up 14.8 percent), respectively, so the premium cigar industry last year was still quite robust—and of very high quality.
The Highest Scores
Of the 620 cigars rated last year, 329 (53.1 percent) received scores of 90 points or higher, a slight decrease from 2024. But roughly the same percentage of cigars scored 93 points or higher with 63 in 2025 (10.2 percent), versus 68 in 2024 (10.8 percent). Some of these high performers ultimately found their way onto our 2025 Top 25 list. (Note: This analysis does not include our Top 25, which undergoes a separate retasting.) Of that top-scoring group, 45 cigars scored 93 points, 14 scored 94 points and four achieved the extraordinary feat of 95 points—Classic status on our 100-point scale.
The bulk of Cigar Aficionado’s ratings come from what we refer to as The Big Four: Cuba, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Honduras.
In 2023, Nicaragua usurped Cuba as the leading source of top performers by volume and has maintained its lead with 29 cigars rating 93 points or higher (32 in 2024) compared to Cuba’s 17 cigars (18 in 2024). The Dominican Republic was not far behind with 12 cigars. Honduras delivered four and one emerged from Costa Rica.
Because Nicaragua is the largest producer of premium cigars, we naturally rated more smokes from Nicaragua than any country. This is a direct reflection of the market. At 270 cigars, 156 earned 90 points or more (57.8 percent) for an average overall national score of 89.88 points. While impressive, consistency is key. Two countries with smaller sample sizes had higher percentages of top scores. Of The Big Four, Cuba performed best with 52 out of 77 ratings receiving 90 points or more (67.5 percent), and an average overall score of 90.82. In fact, all four of 2025’s Classics were Cubans, including the Cohiba Ambar and Sancho Panza Belicoso, which went on to become the No. 2 and No. 19 cigars of 2025. Costa Rica, a marginal producer of handmade cigars, had five out of six cigars earning 90 points or higher (83.3 percent) for an average score of 90.33 points.
(To find out more about the Cigar Aficionado blind tasting process, see the first episode of the new Cigar Aficionado Podcast, below.)
Prices On the Rise
Quality is an issue of supreme importance when looking back on a year’s worth of ratings, but price is still a key factor—and sometimes even a point of contention—with cigar smokers. Cuba still quite comfortably retains its position as the most expensive source for premium cigars with an average price of $63.51. Nine of the 77 Cubans tasted in 2025 retailed for $100 or more—more than double the number in 2024. Seven of these expensive Habanos were Cohibas, with the Cohiba Esplendido (92 points) taking the crown as the most expensive cigar we rated in 2025. It sells for £112.60, or $155.29 for a single cigar.
The rising price of cigars in the United States has become an undeniable reality over the past few years with inflation, more high-end releases retailing for $100 or higher and, most recently, the Trump administration’s tariffs on imported goods, including cigars. Nicaragua is the world’s largest producer of cigars and in October, the Trump administration threatened to increase Nicaragua’s tariffs from 18 percent to “up to 100 percent.” It remains to be seen how this will affect Nicaragua’s standing in the current market if implemented. Despite the current tariff, Nicaragua’s average price of $14.92 was only 21 cents higher than the previous year, but that does not mean there weren’t expensive Nicaraguan cigars. A total of 14 Nicaraguans retailed for $30 or more, including the Padrón 60th Anniversary Perfecto (93 points, $75), which later became Cigar of the Year.
In contrast, 18 Nicaraguan cigars retailed for $8 or less, eight of which scored 90 points or more, including the La Aroma de Cuba Robusto (94 points, $7.25), the No. 23 Cigar for 2025—showing that exceptional quality can still be found at more approachable prices.
We rated 175 cigars from the Dominican Republic—76 scoring 90 points or higher (43.4 percent)—with an overall national average score of 89.24. Many of the biggest names in the cigar industry like Davidoff, Arturo Fuente and La Flor Dominicana hail from the Dominican Republic. Two of the highest “Outstanding” scores of the year were from Dominican cigars: the Davidoff Millennium Blend Series Piramides and the Fuente Fuente OpusX 25 Aniversario La Familia, both 94-pointers. They also were quite expensive at $36.30 and $63.80 and certainly factored in the Dominican Republic’s average price being slightly higher than Nicaragua’s at $15.98. Ten Dominican smokes have suggested retail prices of $30 or more, including the Cohiba Spectre 2025 (89 points, $149.99), the most expensive non-Cuban we tested.
We rated 80 Honduran cigars with a total average score of 89.11, making Honduras the lowest-scoring country of The Big Four. That isn’t to say there weren’t exceptional cigars to be found. Of those 80 cigars, 35 scored 90 points or higher (43.8 percent), a slightly larger percentage than the Dominican Republic. Honduras happened to be the most affordable of The Big Four, averaging $11.68 per stick—a welcome sight in today’s market of rising prices. Ten retailed for $8 or less and five of those earned 90 points or more.
Only 10 cigars made in the United States were tasted, with an average score of 89.10 points. Five scored 90 points or higher. Though U.S.-made smokes are typically expensive (averaging $17.90), the 92-point Don Pepin Garcia Original Invictos, rolled at the El Rey de Los Habanos factory in Miami, sells for only $10.
Costa Rica was the second-most expensive country in our tastings. We only rated six Costa Rican cigars and half retailed for $40 or higher—including the Byron 1850 Selección Grand Bouquet (93 points, $65)—for an average overall price of $37.83. A cigar apiece came from the Bahamas and Mexico but little statistical meaning can be derived from such small samples.
Size Matters
From perfectos to panetelas, cigars come in all shapes and sizes, but our scores suggest that a cigar’s format is more than just a matter of preference—it can impact how well a blend delivers. Cigar Aficionado has a set of 11 established size categories. Those that don’t quite fit under any classification are merged into a twelfth category called “miscellaneous.”
Three sizes had average scores of 90 points or greater. The first was the “A size” at 92 points. “A”s are imposing vitolas rarely seen today, with lengths anywhere from 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 inches long. Only one, the Cavalier Genève Project Broadleaf Wayfinders 9x48, was smoked in 2025, which does not provide much statistical insight. The next to average more than 90 points overall were panetelas, long, thin cigars at odds with the current market that favors shorter, thicker smokes. We smoked 14 panetelas, and they averaged 90.7 points. Third was the figurado category, a more commonplace size with a more elastic set of parameters, only requiring one or both ends to be tapered. Cigar Aficionado smoked far more figurados than panetelas or “A” sizes—98 to be exact, and they spanned a range of countries, manufacturers and prices with a total average score of 90.1—a much more telling indication of consistency and quality.
All but one of the next nine categories scored within a fraction of a point of one another, showing a high level of consistency. Robustos, one of the most popular sizes in the world, averaged 89.9 points for 109 cigars. Next was corona at 89.8 points, a size that leans somewhat shorter, like the robusto, but is slimmer. Fifteen were smoked. Tying with coronas was the miscellaneous category, which has no standard length or thickness, with 33 examples averaging 89.8 points as well.
Two similar sizes, Churchills and double coronas, had nearly identical average scores of 89.7 and 89.6 points. The main difference was the sample sizes of 84 and 13 cigars, respectively, with the longer, more niche double corona disappearing from the market.
For three years running, the toro has displaced the robusto as the most popular size according to our annual retailer survey in Cigar Insider. It also took the lion’s share of our ratings, as we smoked 148 toros last year for an average score of 89.6 points, making this size the best overall barometer of the entire cigar market. Consider a lonsdale size either a long corona or a skinny toro. It’s another traditional but rare format, and we smoked 27 for an average score of 89.4.
By contrast, the hefty grande size is defined as a straight-sided, non-tapered parejo at 60 ring gauge or even thicker. These girthy smokes are a staple in today’s cigar scene even though it typically is one of the lowest-scoring sizes in our ratings. Sixty-five were rated for an average score of 89.1. Last and also least was the diminutive petit corona. The 13 we reviewed averaged 88.9 points.
Conclusive Evidence of Quality
Despite rising prices, the industry is not only showing signs of steady growth but is also continuing to put out budget-friendly options. And cigarmakers from the major countries are still performing at a high level. We don’t know how or if tariffs will disrupt the cigar market in the future but we can only watch from the sidelines with a good cigar close at hand.
More importantly, the scores are staying relatively high regardless of import numbers. There is always a fear that increases in production will inevitably lead to a downward spiral in quality, as is often the case. Premium cigars defy this maxim and it’s no surprise. This continues to be one of the most unique industries in the world.
