2019 Cigar of the Year Countdown: #1: Saga Short Tales Tomo VI: The Sixth Element: El Tabaco by De Los Reyes Cigars

“..it’s gotten to a level where it is performing as well as any cigar I’ve smoked in 2019. In the end, the Saga Short Tales Tomo VI: The Sixth Element: El Tabaco rose to the top and captured the 2019 Cigar of the Year!”

Wrapper: San Andres Maduro
Binder: Dominican San Vincente
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan, and North American
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: De Los Reyes S.A.
Robusto Extra: 5 1/2 x 58
Price: $9.99
Review: Saga Short Tales Tomo VI: The Sixth Element: El Tabaco by De Los Reyes Cigars (10/27/19)
Appearances on Countdown (By Year/Brand): 3 (2016, 2017, 2019)

The 2019 Cigar of the Year is the Saga Short Tales Tomo VI: The Sixth Element: El Tabaco by De Los Reyes Cigars.

Based in the Dominican Republic, De Los Reyes Cigars a company owned by the Reyes family. The Reyes family has been involved in all aspects of the cigar industry, and over the years it has earned a reputation as one of the elite tobacco growers in the world. Chances are if you smoked a cigar with Dominican tobacco, the tobacco could be sourced back to the Reyes family.

The Reyes family has also been making cigars, and in 2015 they launched the Saga brand. A year later, they started to roll out an ambitious project known as Saga Short Tales. The concept behind the line is a series of unique cigars – each with a different blend, different vitola, and different theme. The themes in the Short Tales series each pay homage to the art of tobacco and/or tobacco making. For the most part, these have been cigars skewed toward the smaller side. There are ten installments to the Saga Short Tales line, and since the initial launch, Saga has showcased six of the ten releases – each called a “Tomo” (chapter). The sixth installment is known as “Tomo VI: The Sixth Element: El Tabaco.”

As mentioned, Saga Short Tales pays homage to tobacco. Saga Short Tales Tomo VI has a theme that focuses on the elements of tobacco growing. There are four key elements used to grow tobacco: earth, air, fire, and water. A fifth element is passion. Passion is used as a “catalyst” in the process and when combined with the other four elements creates a sixth element – the tobacco itself.

The cigar is presented in ten-count boxes that resemble library books, consistent with all of the Short Tales releases. Each book also contains the story behind the theme.

Tomo VI showcases Dominican tobaccos grown by the Reyes family. The blend also uses a San Andres Maduro wrapper, marking the first Maduro release under any of the Saga branded cigars. The wrapper covers a  Dominican San Vicente binder, and a combination of Dominican, Nicaraguan, and North American filler tobaccos. The cigar itself is a chunky 5 1/2 x 58 – just slightly shorter and slightly thinner than a 6 x 60. As with all De Los Reyes cigars, Tomo VI is produced out of the company’s factory in the Dominican Republic.

Tomo VI De Los Reyes lands the company and the Saga brand on the Countdown for a third year. It’s the first time a San Andres Maduro has ever captured the #1 Cigar on the Countdown. The 58 ring gauge is also the thickest cigar to date to capture the Cigar Coop Cigar of the Year.

The 2019 Countdown put a bigger emphasis on performance and flavor, and that’s where Tomo VI won out. It’s a cigar that delivered notes of mocha (a fusion of coffee and chocolate), earth, red pepper, cedar, classic wood, and dried fruit. The flavors balanced out perfectly, and also had a great synergy between them. Strength and body-wise, the Tomo VI is a medium – and it’s pretty much a cigar that can be smoked by everyone, any time of the day. Over time, this cigar just seems to get better and better with age.

Cigar Coop is proud to name the De Los Reyes Cigars’ Saga Short Tales Tomo VI: The Sixth Element: El Tabaco as the Cigar of the Year for 2019.

For details of the 2019 Cigar of the Year Countdown, see our 2019 criteria.

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop