January 4, 2011 will be a day Indie Cigar Maker Andre Farkas will never forget – it was the day his company Viaje Cigars was put on the map in the cigar world. It was also the day Cigar Aficionado magazine named the Viaje Oro Reserva VOR #5 its #2 Cigar of the Year. In […]
While most of the gripes I’ve had with Cigar Aficionado’s Top 10 are still valid, there were some pleasant surprises in the remainder of the Top 25. I was pleased there were at least two of my Top 30 sticks to be mentioned. I didn’t go and comment on every stick, just the ones that […]
Gran Habano Azteca Aguila There is a myth out there – Mexican tobacco makes a bad cigar. This could not be less true. My selection for 2010 Cigar of the Year, the Avo LE10, makes uses of a Mexican binder. Another cigar that made my Top 15, the La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor makes […]
Great news for Avo Cigar fans – and especially me. I saw Edward Simon post on Twitter that an Avo LE 11 is in the works! I’ve put the Twitter post below. Forget what that publication says about a Cigar from Cuba being the 2010 Cigar of the Year. Hands down in my book – […]
We all had this one wrong. We were fully expecting another Cigar to be Cigar of the Year by Cigar Aficionado. In fact, last week I had heard in New York (from multiple sources) that Alec Bradley’s Family Reserve T11 was going to take the honor. Instead the Cigar World is shocked that the Cohiba […]
The second review for 2010 is the cigar that I ranked the #2 Cigar of the Year in my Top 30, the Tatuaje Gran Cojonu 2009. This might be one of the most impressive big ring gauge cigars I ever had. The Tatuaje Gran Cojonu 2009 was a late release in 2009. It came out […]
Yesterday, I was actually pleased with the way Cigar Aficionado started their Top 10 list with the selections that were made. Today, for the most part (with the exception of one surprise), I feel Cigar Aficionado regressed to the same old stuff. If you remember, there have been three primary reasons that I am critical […]
After one month of “30 Cigars in 31 Days”, it is time to get back to the business of Cigar Reviews on Cigar Coop. The first review of 2011 will be a stick that I ranked #12 on my Top 30 Cigars for 2010 – the San Lotano Maduro. If you have been following Cigar […]
I’ve been pretty critical of Cigar Aficionado’s Top 25 list of Cigars over the past few years. While many of us might gripe about this list, this is still the barometer for what our industry looks at. When your cigar makes this list, you have arrived. When you are a retailer and you have a […]
Best Vitola: Oliveros King Havano Black Knight Mace One thing that I done differently from Cigar Aficionado in ranking cigars for the year is to distinguish ranking the blend from the vitola (size/shape). For my Top 30 list, every cigar represented a new blend (while Cigar Aficionado includes new vitolas in their countdown). However, there were […]
