Today, we look at the performance of cigars on Cigar Coop by Company for 2023. 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 be a barometer regarding how well companies scored overall for the year.
For the 2023 year, a total of 148 cigars (down from 152 in 2022) were considered for this analysis. The average score for the entire set of 148 cigars was 88.59. (Statistically, this was down 0.13 points from 2022, when the average was 88.72). This is not necessarily an award but a look at how the scoring went and what we can learn from it.
We used the following criteria to implement this:
- The cigar must have its score published between November 1, 2022 and October 31, 2023.
- Rankings are done by companies. Before 2019, rankings were based on brands and also combined companies that distributed for other companies.
- All cigars scored were eligible regardless of release date. The goal is to see how a vitola performed during the Cigar Coop Cigar Year. At the same time, the emphasis of the review set is on new cigars.
- A company must have four scored cigars to be eligible. Since our focus is new releases and as a result, some companies land more cigars than others.
- While there were no ties, if there had been one, we would have had the manufacturer with more cigars assessed breaking the tie.
| Rank | Company | Count | Avg Score |
| 1 | Selected Tobacco | 4 | 90.75 |
| 2 | Drew Estate | 4 | 89.50 |
| 3 | E.P. Carrillo | 5 | 89.20 |
| 4 | Espinosa Cigars | 7 | 89.14 |
| 5 | HVC Cigars | 4 | 89.00 |
| 6 | Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust | 6 | 88.83 |
| 7 | Tatuaje | 12 | 88.58 |
| 8 | STG | 14 | 88.14 |
| 9 | Davidoff | 5 | 87.80 |
Assessing the Results
- A total of 64 companies had cigars assessed on Cigar Coop during the assessment period (In 2022, the total was 63).
- Selected Tobacco was the only company with an average score of over 90. This was fueled by two Cigar of the Year Countdown spots. All of Selected Tobacco’s scores were above 90.
- Tabacos de Costa Rica, the factory that produces Selected Tobacco, topped the 2023 Factory Performance Rankings.
- Only nine companies met the minimum threshold of four cigars. A goal on Cigar Coop was to go wider with the companies we assess.
- The nine companies totaled 61 reviews, representing 41% of the reviews from 2023.
Previous Company Performance Rankings #1 by Year
2012 E.P. Carrillo (93.00)
2013 La Palina (93.80)
2014 Regius Cigars (93.40)
2015 Debonaire (92.60)
2016 Davidoff (92.63)
2017 Bombay Tobak (92.00)
2018 Crux Cigars (91.80)
2019 Crux Cigars (90.60)
2020 Joya de Nicaragua (90.00) * (via tiebreaker w/ EP Carrillo and JRE Tobacco)
2021: Espinosa Cigars (90.50)
2022: Quesada Cigars (91.33)
2023: Selected Tobacco (90.75)
Other Averages
Those cigars that had less than four cigars assessed are included here for reference:
| Company | Count | Avg Score |
| Daniel Marshall | 1 | 92.00 |
| Oveja Negra Brands | 1 | 91.00 |
| La Flor Dominicana | 3 | 90.00 |
| Meerapfel Cigars | 2 | 90.00 |
| Boutique Blends | 1 | 90.00 |
| Casa Cuevas | 1 | 90.00 |
| Ferio Tego | 1 | 90.00 |
| Micallef Cigars | 1 | 90.00 |
| Plasencia Cigars | 1 | 90.00 |
| Arturo Fuente | 3 | 89.67 |
| Quesada Cigars | 3 | 89.67 |
| United Cigars | 2 | 89.50 |
| La Palina | 3 | 89.00 |
| Kristoff Cigars | 2 | 89.00 |
| My Father Cigars | 2 | 89.00 |
| 7-20-4 Cigars | 1 | 89.00 |
| ADVentura Cigars | 1 | 89.00 |
| Esteban Carreras | 1 | 89.00 |
| Global Premium Cigars | 1 | 89.00 |
| Luciano Cigars | 1 | 89.00 |
| Padron | 1 | 89.00 |
| Ultimate Cigar Club | 1 | 89.00 |
| Foundation Cigar Company | 3 | 88.67 |
| Gurkha | 3 | 88.67 |
| Altadis USA | 2 | 88.50 |
| Crowned Heads | 2 | 88.50 |
| Joya de Nicaragua | 3 | 88.33 |
| All Saints Cigars | 2 | 88.00 |
| La Galera Cigars | 2 | 88.00 |
| Oliva | 2 | 88.00 |
| AJ Fernandez Cigar Company | 1 | 88.00 |
| Arnold Andre | 1 | 88.00 |
| Crux Cigars | 1 | 88.00 |
| Fratello Cigars | 1 | 88.00 |
| Freud Cigar Company | 1 | 88.00 |
| JR Cigar | 1 | 88.00 |
| Patina Cigars | 1 | 88.00 |
| PDR Cigars | 1 | 88.00 |
| SP1014 | 1 | 88.00 |
| Viaje | 1 | 88.00 |
| Villiger | 1 | 88.00 |
| Aganorsa Leaf | 2 | 87.50 |
| Casa 1910 Cigars | 2 | 87.50 |
| Illusione | 2 | 87.50 |
| Rocky Patel Premium Cigars | 2 | 87.50 |
| JC Newman Cigar Company | 3 | 87.00 |
| West Tampa Tobacco Co | 3 | 87.00 |
| Tabacalera/VegaFina | 2 | 87.00 |
| Cavalier Geneve | 1 | 87.00 |
| CLE Cigar Co | 1 | 87.00 |
| German Engineered Cigars | 1 | 87.00 |
| Powstanie | 1 | 87.00 |
| Southern Draw | 1 | 87.00 |
| Toscano | 1 | 86.00 |
| Protocol | 1 | 85.00 |
