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 – in this case November 1, 2020, through October 31, 2021. For the 2021 year, a total of 163 (down from 172 in 2019) cigars were considered for this analysis. The average score for the entire set of 163 cigars was 89.06. (Statistically, this was down 0.39 points from 2020 when the average was 89.45)

We used the following criteria to implement this:

1. The cigar must have had its score published between November 1, 2020, and October 31, 2021.
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.
8. Firecracker was given its own vitola category in 2021.

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 (21)	89.10
2	Toro Grande (22)	89.05
3	Toro(47)	88.91

Medium Sample Sets (6 to 20 Cigars Reviewed)

Rank	Brand	Score
1	Perfecto (11)	89.36
2	Corona Gorda (11)	89.09
3	Gordo (7)	88.71
4	Robusto Grande (8)	88.38

Small Sample Sets (≤5 Cigars Reviewed)

Rank	Brand	Score
1	A (1)	92.00
2	Firecracker (2)	90.50
3	Short Churchill (3)	90.33
	Churchill (3)	90.33
5	Short Robusto (5)	90.00
6	Lonsdale (3)	89.67
7	Lancero (4)	89.00
8	Rothschild (1)	89.00
9	Belicoso (5)	88.80
10	Super Gordo (2)	88.50
	Other (2)	88.50
12	Corona (2)	88.00
13	Petit Lancero (1)	88.00
14	Double Corona (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 second year in a row, the Robusto size won the “large” sampler category. 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 seven years the Vitola Performance ratings have been done, the Toro size has been the most sampled. The 2021 sampling was no exception as Toro led the way with 47
5. Toro Grande returned to the large sample category in 2021.
6. In the medium category, Perfecto led the way while Corona Gorda finished second for the second year in a row.
7. The Smaller Sampling Set was included mostly for reference. The sample set is too small to make any significant trend conclusions.
8. One interesting note of the Small Sample category is Belicoso (which includes Torpedo and Piramide) fell into this category. It’s easy to assume we reviewed less belicosos, but it might be an indication of fewer belicosos on the market.