#19 2023 Cigar of the Year: Weller by Cohiba 2022

SPECIFICATIONS

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf, Bourbon Barrel Aged
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan (Estelí), and Honduran (La Entrada, Jamastran and Olancho San Agustin)
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: General Cigar Dominicana
Toro: 6 x 50
Price: $24.99

Sponsor: Yes
Samples Provided for Initial Review: No
Review: Weller by Cohiba 2022 (Toro) (4/28/23)
Appearances on Countdown (By Year/Company): 10 (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023)

The Details

The #19 2023 Cigar of the Year is Weller by Cohiba 2022.

The cigar comes from General Cigar Company. Over the past few years, Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG), General’s parent company, has collaborated with the Buffalo Trace Distillery. The brands from Buffalo Trace that STG has worked on include Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, Fireball Cinnamon, and Weller. The first collaboration between STG and Weller was the release of the Weller by Cohiba in 2021. The Weller by Cohiba aimed to provide a cigar that could complement Weller Bourbon. For those who don’t follow the spirits world, Weller refers to a line of premium bourbons sold under the W.L. Weller brand. W.L. Weller stands for William Larue Weller (1825–1899). The following year, there was another release featuring an all-new blend, appropriately called the Weller by Cohiba 2022. Since then, there has also been a 2023 release. All three differ, but we’ll focus on the Weller by Cohiba 2022 release.

The original 2021 Weller by Cohiba was a blend developed to complement Weller Bourbon, but did not contain any bourbon barrel-aged tobacco. The 2022 goes a step further where the binder leaf is actually aged in authentic Weller Bourbon barrels. The Connecticut Broadleaf binder covers a filler blend of Dominican, Nicaraguan (Estelí), and Honduran tobaccos. The cigar is finished with an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper. Weller by Cohiba 2022 comes in one size – a 6 x 50 Toro. By the way, each cigar is packaged in an aluminum tube.

The Weller by Cohiba delivered notes of coffee bean, earth, citrus, pepper, vegetal and meaty notes. This isn’t a flavor profile where you will taste the Weller bourbon, but it’s nice to see the influence of the bourbon barrel aging. The Weller by Cohiba delivered medium-bodied flavors countered by medium strength.

For STG, this is the tenth appearance on the Countdown – including seven of the past eight years. This is the sixth Dominican-made cigar to make the 2023 Countdown thus far.