The Performance Rankings were introduced in 2012 as a statistical analysis based on the average numerical score of all cigars assessed on Cigar Coop. It is meant to serve as a barometer in terms of how the cigars were assessed
Today we slice this data by Vitola – a new category introduced for 2015. This is not meant to be an award, but a look at how scoring went, and what can we learn from it.
For 2018, a total of 199 (down from 205 in 2017) cigars were considered for this analysis. The average score for the entire set of 199 cigars was 90.74. (Statistically, this was down 0.10 points from 2017 when the average was 90.84)
- The cigar must have its score published during the 2018 Cigar Coop Cigar Year that ran from November 24, 2017, to November 22, 2018.
- All cigars scored were eligible regardless of release date. The goal here is to see how a vitola performed during the Cigar Coop Cigar Year.
- For this analysis, sampling data was broken up into three sets: Small (5 Cigars or Less), Medium (6 to 20 Cigars), and Large (Greater than 20 Cigars).
- Robusto Grande and Toro Grande were separated from Robusto and Toro respectively- with the Grande size having a 54 to 56 greater ring gauge. Traditional Robusto and Toro have ring gauges 50 to 52.
- Gordos had 58 and 60 ring gauge.
- Regardless of ring gauge or length, all sizes of Torpedo, Perfecto, and Gordo were each put into a single category.
- Box Pressed cigars were not separated out and were included with the rounded vitolas.
For each of the sample sets below, the number of cigars in the set is listed in parentheses.
Large Sample Sets (> 20 Cigars Reviewed)
.
| Rank |
Brand |
Score |
| 1 | Toro Grande (21) | 90.86 |
| 2 | Toro (47) | 90.57 |
| 3 | Robusto (37) | 90.35 |
Medium Sample Sets (6 to 20 Cigars Reviewed)
.
| Rank |
Brand |
Score |
| 1 | Corona Gorda (10) | 91.60 |
| 2 | Lancero (5) | 91.50 |
| 3 | Perfecto (8) | 91.38 |
| 4 | Double Corona (6) | 91.33 |
| 5 | Robusto Grande (8) | 91.13 |
| 6 | Torpedo (17) | 90.76 |
Small Sample Sets (<=5 Cigars Reviewed)
.
| Rank |
Brand |
Score |
| 1 | Short Gordo | 92 |
| 2 | Lonsdale (3) | 91.67 |
| Salomon (3) | 91.67 | |
| 4 | Corona (4) | 91.40 |
| 5 | Churchill (4) | 91.25 |
| 6 | Ninfa (2) | 91.00 |
| Petite Lancero (1) | 91.00 | |
| 8 | Rothschild (3) | 90.67 |
| 9 | Gordo (4) | 90.25 |
| 10 | Short Churchill (5) | 90.20 |
| 11 | Super Gordo (1) | 89.00 |
| 12 | Culebra (3) | 88.67 |
Assessing the Results
- For the third year in row, Toro Grande led the vitola size. However, for the third year in a row, this average score declined (In 2016 the average was 91.34 for Toro Grande while in 2017, the average was 91.04.
- While all three of the large sampling sizes were down in average score, Robusto saw the furthest drop from 91.00 to 90.35 – a drop of 0.65. The Toro size took a drop of 0.14.
- Despite the fact Robusto finished third in the large sampling set, the vitola took #1 and #2 on the 2018 Countdown.
- In each of the past four years the Vitola Performance ratings have been done, the Toro size has been the most sampled. The 2018 sampling was no exception as Toro led the way with 47.
- The Medium Sampling Set seemed to include many sizes that are considered connoisseur sizes.
- There seemed to be a slight uptick in Perfecto and Salomon releases across the industry. This year we assessed 8 Perfectos and 3 Salomons – both performed well with scores of 91.38 and 91.67 respectively.
- Gordo (58 to 60 ring gauge) sizes had fewer reviews than in previous years. It is down from 14 reviews in 2017 to only four this year. While we at Cigar Coop have traditionally tried to cover Gordo sizes, we definitely strayed from this in 2018.
- The Smaller Sampling Set was included mostly for reference. The sample set is too small to make any significant trend conclusions.
