The deadline for new releases to be considered for the 2024 Cigar of the Year Countdown passed on July 4th, 2024. No cigars released into the market after this date will be eligible for the 2024 Cigar of the Year Countdown and will have to wait until 2025. Qualifying cigars released two years prior (July 5, 2022) through July 4, 2024, will be eligible. Those cigars in the eligibility window must have been reviewed between November 1, 2023, and October 31, 2024.

These are pretty much the same deadlines Cigar Coop has operated under for the Cigar of the Year Countdown for the past few years. Previously, the eligibility window was cut off at the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show. With the trade show moving, the early July deadline remains.

The philosophy of Cigar Coop is to prevent last-minute entries from making the list and ensure that all of the cigars on the list have 100 days in the market. It also prevents a log jam of last-minute cigar reviews from making the list.