Today, we post the award for Best Cigar Value for 2023. The Best Cigar Value category is quite simple. We look at the 30 cigars that landed on the Cigar Coop Countdown and determine what cigar provides the most bang for the buck. We have developed an algorithm to do this. This algorithm looks at the price of a cigar and where the cigar landed on the Countdown. The lower the price and the higher the position on the Countdown, the better value the cigar provides.
This year, the average cigar price on the Countdown skyrocketed from $14.30 in 2022 to $19.31 in 2023. It was a $10.50 price point combined with a #4 Cigar of the Year that saw the Black Label Trading Company Deliverance Porcelain Robusto take the #1 spot for Best Cigar Value.
Using an algorithm, we calculate VPR (Value Price Rating). The cigar with the lowest VPR is crowned Best Cigar Value.
2023 Best Cigar Value
Rankings
| Value Rank | COTY Rank | Cigar | Score | Rank Points | Price | VPR |
| 1 | 4 | Black Label Trading Company Deliverance Porcelain Robusto (3/6/23) | 91 | 27 | $10.50 | $0.39 |
| 2 | 8 | Kristoff Guardrail Robusto (8/13/23) | 91 | 23 | $9.50 | $0.41 |
| 3 | 1 | My Father Le Bijou 1922 100 Años Limited Edition Corona Extra (5/1/23) | 92 | 30 | $13.00 | $0.43 |
| 4 | 13 | Micallef Black Toro (10/30/23) | 90 | 18 | $8.00 | $0.44 |
| 5 | 5 | La Flor Dominicana Solis (Toro Extra) (9/3/23) | 91 | 26 | $13.20 | $0.51 |
| 6 | 9 | Tatuaje Havana VI Verocú Blue No. 1 (9/30/23) | 90 | 22 | $12.00 | $0.55 |
| 7 | 14 | HVC Selección No. 1 Natural Poderosos (10/19/23) | 90 | 17 | $10.40 | $0.61 |
| 8 | 12 | Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Sonata (10/25/23) | 90 | 19 | $13.24 | $0.70 |
| 9 | 15 | E.P. Carrillo INCH Nicaragua No. 60 (6/21/23) | 90 | 16 | $11.50 | $0.72 |
| 10 | 17 | La Palina KB Part Three (12/7/22) | 90 | 14 | $10.25 | $0.73 |
| 11 | 16 | 601 La Bomba Warhead VIII by Espinosa Cigars (8/31/23) | 90 | 15 | $11.00 | $0.73 |
| 12 | 7 | Las 6 Provincias CMW by Espinosa Cigars (9/25/23) | 91 | 24 | $18.00 | $0.75 |
| 13 | 11 | Mi Querida Black SakaKhan by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust (5/9/23) | 90 | 20 | $15.95 | $0.80 |
| 14 | 6 | Macanudo Estate Reserve Flint Knoll Churchill (2022) (6/6/23) | 91 | 25 | $21.99 | $0.88 |
| 15 | 21 | Blackened M81 Toro by Drew Estate (6/10/23) | 90 | 10 | $9.85 | $0.99 |
| 16 | 10 | Plasencia Alma Fuerte Colorado Claro Eduardo I (9/17/23) | 90 | 21 | $22.23 | $1.06 |
| 17 | 18 | Knuckle Sandwich Maduro Toro H (3/26/23) | 90 | 13 | $13.95 | $1.07 |
| 18 | 2 | Alfonso Añejo No. 2 by Selected Tobacco (5/15/23) | 92 | 29 | $35.00 | $1.21 |
| 19 | 22 | E.P. Carrillo Allegiance Sidekick (10/9/23) | 90 | 9 | $12.00 | $1.33 |
| 20 | 20 | Manolo Quesada 75th Anniversary by Quesada Cigars (5/16/23) | 90 | 11 | $15.00 | $1.36 |
| 21 | 25 | Allegria Corona by Illusione Cigars (10/23/23) | 90 | 6 | $9.80 | $1.63 |
| 22 | 19 | Weller by Cohiba 2022 (Toro) (4/28/23) | 90 | 12 | $24.99 | $2.08 |
| 23 | 23 | Muestra de Saka – The Bewitched by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust (4/10/23) | 90 | 8 | $19.75 | $2.47 |
| 24 | 26 | Casa Cuevas Sangre Nueva Double Perfecto (4/7/23) | 90 | 5 | $14.75 | $2.95 |
| 25 | 3 | Meerapfel Richard Double Robusto (8/27/23) | 92 | 28 | $86.00 | $3.07 |
| 26 | 24 | Red Anchor Admiral by United Cigars (6/1/23) | 90 | 7 | $25.00 | $3.57 |
| 27 | 28 | Ferio Tego Timeless Limited 10 Years (4/19/23) | 90 | 3 | $18.50 | $6.17 |
| 28 | 27 | Davidoff Limited Edition 2022 Gran Toro (Discovery Series) (4/2/23) | 90 | 4 | $32.00 | $8.00 |
| 29 | 29 | Joya de Nicaragua Dos Cientos (Gran Toro) (4/11/23) | 90 | 2 | $17.00 | $8.50 |
| 30 | 30 | Byron Selección 1850 No. 3 (10/15/23) | 90 | 1 | $45.00 | $45.00 |
Pricing used in the chart above is based on the price point at the time of the review. No adjustments are made for changes that might have been made after the review.
A Note on Pricing
The average price of the cigar on the Countdown went up from $14.30 to $19.31 – just over $5.00 per cigar. Last year, there were no cigars over $30.00. This year featured four cigars over $30.00, including an $86.00 cigar (the most expensive cigar to land on a Countdown). The number of cigars under $10.00 went down from eight last year to four this year. Combine this with general price increases, and it’s pretty easy to explain the $5.00 jump.
The My Father Le Bijou 1922 100 Años Corona Extra ranked as the Cigar Coop #1 Cigar for 2023. This cigar is priced at $13.00. That is $6.31 less than the average price of one of the Top 30 cigars.
Algorithm Description
Over the years, we have published a value component for our Top 30 Cigars of the Year. It answers the question, “What cigar delivers the most bang for the buck for how it landed on the Countdown?”
When looking at the value component, this is a common hypothetical scenario: Cigar A and Cigar B each cost $10.00. Cigar A ranks #10 on the Countdown, while Cigar B ranks #20. Under this scenario, Cigar A will deliver more bang for the buck because while both cost the same, Cigar A landed ten positions higher on the Countdown.
Therefore, we have taken this principle and developed a simple algorithm for Best Cigar Value. First, we look at the price of the cigar. Next, we divide it by 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 one point. We then divide the cigar’s price by its rank points, giving us what 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.
