2024 Cigar of the Year Criteria

2024 Cigar of the Year Countdown Criteria

Eligibility

  • The cigar must have been released within a two-year window ending July 4, 2024. Cigars are not limited to new lines; new vitolas for existing lines are eligible.
    • Must be released between July 5, 2022, through July 4, 2024.
  • The cigar must have a published review within one year before November 1 of the current calendar year.
    • For 2024: Cigar Must Have Been Reviewed on Cigar Coop between November 1, 2023 – October 31, 2024.
  • Exclusions from Eligibility
    • Shop, Chain, Website Exclusives.
    • Cigar Club Exclusives not available to brick-and-mortar stores
    • Regional Releases within a single country
    • Event Cigars
    • Branded-Lounge Exclusive Cigars
    • TAA Exclusives
    • Re-issued lines with the same blend
    • Cigars sold only in samplers or bonus cigars. A sampler is defined as an offering that includes more than two blends. For those with two blends, the blend must comprise a minimum of 50% of the unit to be considered.
  • For the 2024 Countdown, a minimum score of 90 must have been achieved for consideration for the Countdown.
  • Once the list begins publishing, all decisions on whether a cigar qualifies for the list are final and not subject to change.

In past years, the PCA Trade Show was used as the cutoff for new releases. This year, the Trade Show will move to the spring, and the cutoff will be July 4. For reasons for the two-year window and why this timeframe, click here.

Process and Schedule

Process

For the 2024 Countdown, any cigars that met the eligibility criteria were re-smoked at least one additional time following the publication of the cigar’s review. The “Value” rating is not factored into the ranking. The performance of the re-smoke combined with the performance of the cigar from the original assessment cycles are both factored in. An initial ranking is done prior to the re-smoke. Following the re-smoke, the cigar’s position on the ranking is adjusted, and a final ranking is done. The most important factors are merit, but distribution and availability could also factor.

Re-smokes take place 30 to 45 days following the publication of the original assessment.

The top thirty cigars coming out of the ranking process will make the Countdown.

Schedule

The Countdown begins December 13, 2024, and runs through January 13, 2025. Starting with #30, one cigar will be unveiled each day. No Countdown entries will be unveiled on December 25, 2024, December 31, 2024, or January 12, 2025.