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.

We have returned to using the adjusted cigar year method that fits our site – namely November 1, 2019, through October 31, 2020. For the 2020 year, a total of 172 (down from 174 in 2019) cigars were considered for this analysis. The average score for the entire set of 172 cigars was 89.45. (Statistically, this was down 0.54 points from 2019 when the average was 89.99))

We used the following criteria to implement this:

1. The cigar must have its score published between November 1, 2019, and October 31, 2020
2. 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.
3. 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).
4. 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 of 50 to 52.
5. Gordos had 58 and 60 ring gauge. Anything over 60 was classified as Super Gordo.
6. Regardless of ring gauge or length, all sizes of Torpedo, Perfecto, Gordo, and Super Gordo were each put into a single category.
7. 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 sample set is listed in parentheses.

Large Sample Sets (> 20 Cigars Reviewed)

Rank	Brand	Score
1	Robusto (27)	89.59
2	Toro (50)	89.36

Medium Sample Sets (6 to 20 Cigars Reviewed)

Rank	Brand	Score
1	Robusto Grande (8)	90.13
2	Corona Gorda (7)	90.00
3	Toro Grande (18)	89.94
4	Belicoso (10)	89.36
5	Other (7)	89.11
6	Gordo (10)	87.70

Small Sample Sets (≤5 Cigars Reviewed)

Rank	Brand	Score
1	Double Corona (2)	91.00
2	Perfecto (5)	90.80
3	Corona (4)	90.50
4	Churchill (4)	90.25
5	Lonsdale (2)	90.00
6	Petite Corona (3)	89.33
7	Short Robusto (5)	89.16
8	Super Gordo (4)	89.00
9	Presidente (1)	89.00
	Rothschild (1)	89.00
11	Lancero (2)	87.50

Assessing the Results

1. Toro and Robusto have remained the two largest sampling sets of vitolas assessed over the past few years. The bottom line is these are, according to most retailers, the two bestselling cigar sizes.
2. For the first time since 2017, the Robusto size on Cigar Coop had an higher average than the Toro piece.
3. Consistent with the decrease in average scores across many of our Performance Ranking categories, both Robusto and Toro had lower averages than the previous years.
4. In each of the past six years the Vitola Performance ratings have been done, the Toro size has been the most sampled. The 2020 sampling was no exception as Toro led the way with 50.
5. The top three actually remained the same in the medium-sampling category with Robusto Grande finishing at the top. Both Robusto Grande and Corona Gorda flipped positions with Corona Gorda falling to second. It was the second year in a row Toro Grande finished third.
6. The two most controversial vitolas – Gordo and Lancero – finished at the bottom of the medium and small-sample categories. It is worth noting only two lanceros were reviewed this year. Back in 2016, five lanceros made the Cigar Coop Countdown. Fewer reviews seems more of an indication that many company’s love affairs with the lancero seem to be coming to an end.
7. The Smaller Sampling Set was included mostly for reference. The sample set is too small to make any significant trend conclusions.