#24 2024 Cigar of the Year: Saga Golden Age Yamasá by De Los Reyes Cigars

SPECIFICATIONS

Wrapper: Dominican (Yamasá)
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: De Los Reyes S.A.
Gran Corona: 5 5/8 x 47
Price: $14.00

Sponsor: Yes
Samples Provided for Initial Review: Yes
Review: Saga Golden Age Yamasá by De Los Reyes Cigars (2023)
Appearances on Countdown (By Year/Company):5 (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2024)

The Details

The #24 Cigar of the Year for 2024 is the Saga Golden Age Yamasá by De Los Reyes Cigars. Saga is a brand owned and produced by the Reyes family in the Dominican Republic. The Reyes family launched the Saga brand in 2015, and one of the first vitolas was a Dominican puro known as the Saga Golden Age. The Reyes family has nearly 170 years of experience in all aspects of cigar making. They built their reputation as tobacco growers and tobacco brokers in the Dominican Republic, so it made sense to go to market with a Dominican puro. Now, the Reyes family takes the next step with Golden Age by introducing the Golden Age to Yamasá.

Yamasá is a region in the Dominican Republic where many have tried to grow tobacco but have failed. Monica Kelner, daughter of Henke Kelner and wife of Augusto Reyes, has been able to grow tobacco in that region. The wrapper used for Saga Golden Age Yamasá comes from Monica Kelner’s farm. The Golden Age Yamasá comes in one size – a 5 5/8 x 47 Gran Corona. The cigars were packaged in ten-count boxes, and 5,000 boxes were produced.

The Golden Age Yamasa delivers a straight-forward flavor profile of natural tobacco, cedar, earth, and pepper. The flavors aren’t overly exotic, but they are really good and balance each other nicely. This cigar follows a trend we have seen with many Countdown cigars – medium strength and medium bodied.

De Los Reyes has an excellent track record on the history of the Countdown. The Golden Age Yamasa earns the company the fifth time they have landed at least one cigar on the Countdown. De Los Reyes captured a #1 Cigar of the Year in 2019 with the Saga Short Tales Tomo VI. They also give the Dominican Republic its first cigar on this year’s Countdown.