Over the years, we have published a value component for our Top 30 Cigars of the year. The question is meant to answer one simple question, what cigar delivers the most bang for the buck for how it landed on the Cigar Coop Countdown. This year, we have revamped how this is calculated and present our findings.
When looking the the value component, this is a common hypothetical scenario: Cigar A and Cigar B each cost $10.00. Cigar A ranks at #10 on the Countdown while Cigar B ranks at #20 on the Countdown. Under this scenario, Cigar A is going to deliver more bang for the buck based on the fact that while both cost the same, it landed 10 positions higher on the Countdown.
Therefore we have taken this principle and developed a simple algorithm. First we look at the price of the cigar and divide it where it ranks on the Countdown. A cigar that ranked #1 received 30 points, a cigar that ranked #2 received 29 points, etc – all the way down to #30 which received 1 point. We then take the price of the cigar and divide it by its rank points and we get something we term Value Per Rank (VPR). VPR represents the cost each cigar had to achieve a ranking on the list. The lower the VPR, the more value the cigar delivers.
The Value Rankings for the 2020 Cigar of the Year Countdown
| VPR Rank | Top 30 | Cigar | Price | VPR | Score (2020) | Value Rating (2020) |
| 1 | 4 | Aladino Cameroon Robusto by JRE Tobacco Co. | $8.80 | $0.33 | 92 | Box Purchase |
| 2 | 6 | Esteban Carreras Unforsaken Toro Grande | $9.20 | $0.37 | 92 | Box Purchase |
| 3 | 8 | La Galera Anemoi Eurus by IndianHead Cigars | $9.25 | $0.40 | 92 | Box Purchase |
| 4 | 18 | Undercrown Maduro Corona Pequeña by Drew Estate | $5.50 | $0.42 | 91 | Box Worthy Consideration |
| 5 | 3 | Perdomo Estate Selección Vintage Limited Edition Box-Pressed Maduro Regente | $12.00 | $0.43 | 92 | Box Purchase |
| 6 | 7 | HVC 500 Years Anniversary Teseros | $10.60 | $0.44 | 92 | Box Purchase |
| 7 | 10 | 601 La Bomba Warhead V by Espinosa Cigars | $10.00 | $0.48 | 92 | Box Worthy Consideration |
| 8 | 12 | Undercrown Shade Suprema by Drew Estate | $9.60 | $0.51 | 92 | Box Purchase |
| 9 | 17 | Micallef A Churchill | $7.50 | $0.54 | 91 | Box Worthy Consideration |
| 10 | 9 | Southern Draw Jacobs Ladder Brimstone Perfecto | $11.99 | $0.55 | 91 | Box Worthy Consideration |
| 11 | 11 | Perdomo Estate Selección Vintage Limited Edition Box-Pressed Sun Grown Regente | $12.00 | $0.60 | 92 | Box Worthy Consideration |
| 12 | 1 | The American Toro by J.C. Newman Cigar Company | $18.50 | $0.62 | 92 | Box Purchase |
| 13 | 13 | Southern Draw Rose of Sharon Desert Rose Belicoso FIno | $11.99 | $0.67 | 92 | Box Purchase |
| 14 | 16 | Mi Querida Triqui Traca No. 552 by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust | $10.75 | $0.72 | 91 | Box Worthy Consideration |
| 15 | 19 | Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real Nicaragua Toro | $9.03 | $0.75 | 91 | Box Worthy Consideration |
| 16 | 2 | La Flor Dominicana Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 7 | $23.20 | $0.80 | 92 | Fight Chuck Norris for Them |
| 17 | 5 | Asylum Seven 70 x 7 | $25.00 | $0.96 | 92 | Buy Multiples |
| 18 | 15 | Powstanie SBC18 | $16.00 | $1.00 | 92 | Box Purchase |
| 19 | 26 | La Gloria Cubana Spanish Press Robusto | $6.29 | $1.26 | 92 | Box Purchase |
| 20 | 24 | Saga Solaz Churchill by De Los Reyes Cigars | $9.00 | $1.29 | 91 | Box Worthy Consideration |
| 21 | 20 | Plasencia Alma del Fuego Candente | $15.00 | $1.36 | 91 | Box Worthy Consideration |
| 22 | 25 | Rocky Patel Cigar Smoking World Championship Mareva | $8.76 | $1.46 | 91 | Box Worthy Consideration |
| 23 | 23 | Pichardo Reserva Familiar Habano Toro by ACE Prime | $12.00 | $1.50 | 91 | Buy Multiples |
| 23 | 27 | Villiger Cuellar Black Forest Toro Gordo | $8.40 | $2.10 | 92 | Box Purchase |
| 25 | 22 | Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 2019 by My Father Cigars | $19.00 | $2.11 | 91 | Buy Multiples |
| 26 | 21 | Alec Bradley Fine & Rare HOF / 506 | $21.90 | $2.19 | 91 | Buy Multiples |
| 27 | 29 | Cuevas Reserva Natural Robusto by Casa Cuevas Cigars | $9.50 | $4.75 | 91 | Box Worthy Consideration |
| 28 | 14 | Cohiba Spectre CS19 | $90.00 | $5.29 | 92 | Buy One |
| 29 | 28 | Joya de Nicaragua Cinco Décadas Diadema | $19.00 | $6.33 | 91 | Box Worthy Consideration |
| 30 | 30 | La Aurora 107 Cosecha 2007 Corona Gorda | $11.00 | $11.00 | 91 | Box Worthy Consideration |
Legend
- Value Rank: Numerical rank of VPR from lowest to highest
- Top 30: The position of the cigar on the 2020 Cigar of the Year Countdown
- Cigar: The cigar that landed at the position listed in the Top 30
- Price: The cost of the cigar
- VPR: The Value Per Rank (see above). This is how the Value Rankings are tabulated and ranked.
- Score (2020): The numerical score when the cigar was reviewed on Cigar Coop (used for reference, not calculations)
- Value Rating: The value rating when the cigar was reviewed on Cigar Coop (determines purchasing recommendation, used for reference and not calculations)
| Avg Price | Avg VPR | |
| Average Top 30 | $15.03 | $1.71 |
| Average Top 30 (Minus $90.00 Cohiba) | $12.44 | $1.58 |
Top Ranked Value Cigar: Aladino Cameroon Robusto by JRE Tobacco
The Aladino Cameroon Robusto was the #4 Cigar of the Year for 2020. It is priced at $8.80. Earlier this year the cigar scored 92 points and was recommended for Box Purchase. With the lowest VPR at $0.33, it lands as our #1 Value Ranked Cigar for the 2020 Cigar of the Year Countdown.
Other Findings
- The average price for a cigar that landed on the Cigar Coop Countdown was $15.03 with a VPR of $1.71.
- The Cohiba Spectre CS19 was the most expensive cigar at $90.00. This was $65.00 more expensive than the second most expensive cigar, the Asylum Seven 70 x 7, which was priced at $25.00. Considering the CS19 cigar an outlier and removing it from the computation brings the average price for a cigar on the Countdown to $12.44 with a VPR of $1.58.
- Six of the top ten cigars by VPR were given a “Box Purchase” rating when reviewed. The remaining four were “Box Worthy Consideration.” The ratings combined with the cost provided validation for these ratings.
- The top five cigars come from companies that have their own factories, which usually contributes to being able to be more price competitive for the cigar delivered.
- Our highest scored cigars for 2020 delivered a 92 score. Seven of the top ten cigars by VPR achieved that score.
- The lowest priced cigar at $5.50 was the Undercrown Maduro Corona Pequeña by Drew Estate. It placed #18 on the Countdown, but came in with #4 on the VPR rankings.
- The highest ranked cigar (2020 Cigar of the Year) was The American Toro by J.C. Newman. Priced at $18.50 it was the 6th most expensive cigar. This cigar still came in #12 on the VPR rankings.
- The Cohiba Spectre CS19 was the highest priced cigar. It finished #14 on the Countdown and still came in #28 in terms of VPR.
- The lowest ranked cigar on the Countdown was La Aurora 107 Cosecha 2007 Corona Gorda. Despite a below average price for a Countdown Cigar, it also finished #30 in the VPR Rankings
- The VPR rating increases somewhat exponentially the lower the cigar was ranked in the Top 30.
I understand the math but I dont see how useful this list is. A reader looking for a value list is concerned with cost.
Do a list of best cigars under $X. 5 or 6? All current production cigars no matter when released are eligible. They do not need to already be on any list. That would give the reader that has a restricted budget a real list of other cigars to try.
Tom, appreciate the comments. There are lists that do the best cigars under $X dollars already (Cigar Aficionado) and we didn’t see a need to replicate the process.