Cigar Aficionado

Connoisseur's Corner: A Perfect Hoyo

(From the August 2015 issue of Cigar Aficionado ) The year 1992 was a fine one for Cuban cigars. Using Corojo seed wrappers and making cigars in an unhurried fashion, Cuba's state-owned cigar industry crafted powerhouses with care. Two of them, one a long, stately Churchill …

Connoisseur's Corner: A Very Special-Edition Cuban

(From the June 2015 issue of Cigar Aficionado ) In 1992 the Cuban cigar industry created an individually numbered series of cigars presented in special humidors. The packaging was unique, but the cigars inside were the real story. These 1492s, named for the year Columbus …

Connoisseur's Corner: Pre-Boom Cubans

(From the April 2015 issue of Cigar Aficionado ) The year 1991 was a fine one for Cuban cigars. Cigars were still being wrapped in tobacco leaves grown from rich Corojo seed, and the pre-boom industry was still in a calmer, unhurried state. Cigars from this year are wonderful …

Connoisseur's Corner: Three Classic Cubans

(From the February 2015 issue of Cigar Aficionado ) Cigars can be delicate things. Leave one naked on your desk for a few hours and the wrapper will begin to go dry. Forget one in your golf bag for months and the cigar might be stripped of its humidity and flavor, never the …

Connoisseur's Corner: A Perfect Punch

(From the April 2014 issue of Cigar Aficionado ) Perfect smokes are very rare, and they take time to find. Cigar Aficionado has never given 100 points to a new cigar, only to ones that have aged gently, with the hands of father time smoothing the edges of superb cigars and …

Connoisseur's Corner: Five Cubans from the 1988 to '94 Period

(From the October 2013 issue of Cigar Aficionado ) The years 1988 to 1994 were exceptional for the production of Cuban cigars. The country still wrapped its cigars in Corojo-seed wrapper, which was hard to grow but possessed remarkable flavor. By 1994 the effects of the cigar …

Connoisseur's Corner: Two 100-Point Dunhills

(From the December 2012 issue of Cigar Aficionado ) Perfection is rare, and here at Cigar Aficionado we seldom award 100-point scores to cigars. It has never happened for a current production smoke, and we’ve only given a relatively small number of such scores in this …

Connoisseur's Corner: A Classic El Rey Del Mundo Scores a 98

(From the August 2012 issue of Cigar Aficionado ) This was a lovely selection of cigars ranging in age from 14 to 54 years old. Four rated 95 points or higher, classic on our 100-point scale. The best was an El Rey del Mundo Coronas de Luxe from 1983, a relatively diminutive …

Connoisseur's Corner: A Massive Montecristo Scores 98 Points

(From the April 2012 issue of Cigar Aficionado ) Unlike fine wines, which are typically the product of one vintage year, most great cigars are made by blending tobacco from different crops. While that alone makes vintage dating harder to determine in the cigar industry, there …

Connoisseur's Corner: A Near-Perfect Cuban Davidoff

(From the February 2012 issue of Cigar Aficionado ) Father time is something many people fear, but he can work absolute wonders on cigars. Age can mellow the rough edges of a fine cigar, balance out inequity and let flavors marry and transform. While years will never turn a …