E.P. Carrillo La Historia Doña Elena（93分，$13.15） 家庭的重要性是雪茄行业的一个共同主题，而E.P. Carrillo La Historia系列就是一个很好的例子。该系列的每个尺寸都是以品牌所有者Ernesto Perez-Carrillo家族的不同成员命名的；Doña Elena尺寸是以他的妻子命名的。这款雪茄在多米尼加共和国的新重生的Casa Carrillo工厂生产，由墨西哥的San Andrés烟叶包裹、厄瓜多尔的Sumatra粘合剂和尼加拉瓜的填充物制成。这款盒压环面雪茄具有丰富的辛辣胡椒、酸涩木香、甜葡萄干以及巧克力覆樱桃般的收尾。 查看完整的品鉴笔记。
H. Upmann 银行家日内交易者鲸（93分，$14.19）
在1844年进入雪茄行业之前，H. Upmann雪茄品牌的创始人赫尔曼·乌普曼是一名银行家。日内交易者是母公司Altadis USA最新推出的以金融为主题的系列，以纪念该品牌的起源。为了体现信托主题，这一系列以光泽的绿色盒子和带有蜡烛图样图案的带子包装，这些图案让人想起股票交易者使用的烛台图。这款雪茄的第一口辛辣，但随后会平息下来，呈现出可可、核桃皮、泥土和海盐的香气，最终达到一个蜜烤花生般的收尾。 查看完整的品鉴笔记。
古巴激情丘吉尔（93分，$12） 生活如果没有一点激情（或者用西班牙语说是pasión），那还有什么意义呢？这款庄严的丘吉尔混合型香烟的亮点是其古巴种子包装纸，这种包装纸是在尼加拉瓜的一个名为Namanji的地区种植的，由加西亚家族种植，他们也在自己的工厂生产这一系列。实际上，这种叶子正是加西亚家族用于他们的Flor de las Antillas品牌的，但那种包装纸是生长在阳光下的，而不是在阴凉处的。烟味有一种木质、森林底层的品质，核心部分则是丰富的烟草，最终呈现出一种甜美的口感。 查看完整的品鉴笔记。
奥利瓦·塞雷维V梅兰尼奥·马杜罗No. 4（93分，$10.11）自2012年推出梅兰尼奥系列以来，自然型和成熟型都表现极其一致，多次获得高分，并多次出现在《雪茄爱好者》Top 25榜单中。这款于2021年发布的4.5 x 46粗壮雪茄是马杜罗系列中最新的成员之一，也是最小的，但尺寸并不重要：它具有浓郁的坚果烟味，温暖、烤焦的口感以及微妙的草药和茴香味道，效果丰富。零售价格略高于10美元（税前），这是本列表上最实惠的雪茄。查看完整的品鉴笔记。
The November/December Cigar Aficionado covered a wide array of topics to cap off the year, from making the Perfect Manhattan to gambling in New York City and a one-on-one interview between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cigar Aficionado editor and publisher Marvin R. Shanken. Of course, the tasting section was just as noteworthy, delivering no shortage of impressive scores. Forty-one of the 72 ratings in that issue were 90 points or higher. With so many great cigars to highlight, we managed to whittle it down to just 14 great cigars, each of them scoring no lower than 92 points.
Every cigar rated by Cigar Aficionado is smoked blind by our panel of editors. The tasting coordinator removes the cigars’ identifying bands and replaces them with plain white, numbered labels before handing them out. Members of the tasting panel have no idea what they are smoking and cigars are evaluated without biases such as price, country of origin and brand.
This blond Churchill is clad in a genuine Connecticut Shade cover leaf, an increasingly rare sight as the Nutmeg State’s presence in the tobacco industry has shrunk in recent years and cigarmakers have increasingly turned to Ecuador as a source for lighter wrappers. The smoke has a botanical, minty quality to it with a creamy note of vanilla providing some sweetness. The finish is like sipping a glass of crème de menthe with touches of roasted chestnut and cocoa powder. See full tasting note.
Arturo Fuente Hemingway Untold Story
Arturo Fuente Hemingway Untold Story (93 points, $16.50)
While most of the Hemingway line is available in either Cameroon, Ecuador sun grown or dark Connecticut broadleaf wrappers, the Untold Story is available only as a maduro. Measuring an imposing 7 5/8 inches long by 54 ring gauge, this dark perfecto has an excellent draw. Its toasty core is framed by notes of vanilla, oak, nutmeg and caramel. An earthy quality comes in partway through for some added strength. See full tasting note.
Cohiba Lancero
Cohiba Lancero (93 points, £80.30)
While cigars of increasingly stout dimensions are taking a larger share of today’s market, there still is a place for more elegant shapes such as panetelas, including the subset of the category known as lanceros. This vitola is prized by aficionados for not only its slimmer profile, but for how its modest girth allows the wrapper to take a larger part in shaping the flavor of the smoke. This Cohiba—perhaps the world’s most famous lancero—starts off floral and nutty but is bolstered by bolder notes of earth and leather with a caramel sweetness preceding a zesty orange finish. See full tasting note.
Cuaba Salomon
Cuaba Salomon (93 points, £56.60)
While not as big a name as Montecristo or Cohiba, the Cuaba brand has certainly made a place for itself since its introduction in 1996. The name originates from the Taino people, the indigenous inhabitants of Cuba before the Spanish discovered the island in the fifteenth century, and was the word used for the type of bush the Tainos used to light tobacco. This well-made figurado packs in a lot of flavors, with a toasty, nutty smoke that is layered with notes of graham cracker, leather and hazelnut and culminates in a finish like a spoonful of honey. See full tasting note.
E.P. Carrillo La Historia Doña Elena
E.P. Carrillo La Historia Doña Elena (93 points, $13.15)
The importance of family is a common thread in the cigar industry, and the E.P. Carrillo La Historia line is a prime example. Each size in the line is named after a different member of brand owner Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s family; the Doña Elena size is named after his wife. Made in the Dominican Republic at the newly-rechristened Casa Carrillo factory it consists of a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Ecuador Sumatra binder and Nicaraguan filler. This box-pressed toro has a rich array of spicy pepper, tangy wood, sweet raisin and a finish smacking of chocolate-covered cherries. See full tasting note.
Graycliff Chateau Grand Cru Salomon
Graycliff Chateau Grand Cru Salomon (93 points, $30)
While most of the cigars on this list hail from what we call The Big Four (Cuba, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Honduras) there are other countries that also make great cigars, such as the Bahamas. This gracefully tapered Graycliff figurado is rolled in the Bahamas, but its four-country blend does not feature any tobacco from that country. No matter the blend, it draws and burns evenly, layering the palate with a mélange of baking spices, gingerbread, butterscotch and oak. See full tasting note.
H. Upmann The Banker Daytrader Whale
H. Upmann The Banker Daytrader Whale (93 points, $14.19)
Before moving into the cigar business in 1844, Hermann Upmann, founder of the H. Upmann cigar brand, was a banker. The Daytrader is the latest of parent company Altadis U.S.A.’s financially-themed releases to honor the brand’s origins. To carry the fiduciary theme, the line is packaged in glossy green boxes and bands with motifs reminiscent of the candlestick charts that are used by stock traders. The first puffs of this grande are spicy, but it settles down for notes of cocoa, walnut skin, earth and sea salt that leads to a honey-roasted peanut finish. See full tasting note.
La Aroma de Cuba Pasión Churchill
La Aroma de Cuba Pasión Churchill (93 Points, $12)
What is life without a little passion (or pasión in Spanish)? The star of this stately Churchill’s blend is its Cuban-seed wrapper, which is grown under shade in Nicaragua in an area called Namanji by the Garcia family, who also make the line at their factory. In fact, it is the same leaf the Garcias use for their Flor de las Antillas brand, but that wrapper is grown in the sun rather than in the shade. The smoke has a woody, forest-floor quality atop a core of rich tobacco, culminating in a sweet finish. See full tasting note.
Oliva Serie V Melanio Maduro No. 4
Oliva Serie V Melanio Maduro No. 4 (93 points, $10.11)
Since the introduction of the Melanio line in 2012, both the natural and maduro versions have been extremely consistent with many high scores and multiple appearances in Cigar Aficionado Top 25 lists. Released in 2021, this 4 1/2-by-46 robusto is one of the newest additions to the Maduro line and the smallest but size matters not: It has an opulent nutty quality to the smoke with a warm, toasty character and subtle touches of herbs and anise to rich effect. Retailing for a bit more than $10 (before taxes), this is the most affordable cigar on this list. See full tasting note.
Olmec Claro Double Corona
Olmec Claro Double Corona (93 points, $16)
Nick Melillo, brand owner of Foundation Cigar Co., created Olmec as a tribute to both the ancient Olmec civilization, and to Mexico where its wrapper leaves are grown. The brand comes in two varieties, Claro and Maduro. This box-pressed Churchill from the Claro line is the larger brother to the No. 20 Cigar of 2023. It has a sweet-and-savory character rich with almond, honey and caramel melding with red pepper spice and oak. See full tasting note.
Debonaire Habano Belicoso
Debonaire Habano Belicoso (92 points, $18)
Some believe that the pointed heads of belicosos allow the flavors to become more concentrated. Whether that’s true or not, the easy draw of this cigar certainly allows the flavors to ring out loud and clear. Its woody, nutty character has a pronounced sweetness to it that frames subtler notes of vanilla, café au lait and honey. The finish has a pronounced mix of spices and zesty orange. See full tasting note.
El Septimo Sacred Arts Collection Da Vinci
El Septimo Sacred Arts Collection Da Vinci (92 points, $24)
This is the only cigar on this list that was made in Costa Rica, a rarity in the handmade cigar industry. Owned by Zaya Younan, each size in the Sacred Arts Collection is named after a famous artist. Topped with a pigtail cap, this dark panetela has a pronounced chocolaty character that lingers throughout, providing a base for impressions of raisin bread, white pepper and coffee. It’s well-constructed with an open draw and even combustion from first puff to last. See full tasting note.
Padrón Serie 1926 No. 9 Maduro
Padrón Serie 1926 No. 9 Maduro (92 points, $22.75)
The all-Nicaraguan Padrón Serie 1926 brand was created to honor the birthyear of founder José Orlando Padrón, and to provide a stronger alternative to the popular 1964 Anniversary line. Measuring 5 1/4-by-56, this box-pressed robusto has all the strength its dark wrapper suggests but also the balance and complexity Padrón is known for with sweeter elements of coffee bean and dark chocolate melding seamlessly with notes of red pepper spice and rich earth for a toffee-like finish. See full tasting note.
Released in 2010 to celebrate Rocky Patel’s 15 years in the cigar business, this grande is the bigger brother to the No. 20 Cigar of 2018 and in 2024 the blend still delivers even in a 6-by-60 format. Made at Patel’s Tavicusa fatory in Nicaragua, it consists of a high-priming Ecuador Havana wrapper grown by Tampa's Oliva Cigar Co. draped over Nicaraguan binder and filler. Despite its thickness, this grande has an open draw that delivers a rich, nutty core buttressed by tangy wood that picks up intensity for a spicy black pepper finish. See full tasting note.
E.P. Carrillo La Historia Doña Elena（93分，$13.15） 家庭的重要性是雪茄行业的一个共同主题，而E.P. Carrillo La Historia系列就是一个很好的例子。该系列的每个尺寸都是以品牌所有者Ernesto Perez-Carrillo家族的不同成员命名的；Doña Elena尺寸是以他的妻子命名的。这款雪茄在多米尼加共和国的新重生的Casa Carrillo工厂生产，由墨西哥的San Andrés烟叶包裹、厄瓜多尔的Sumatra粘合剂和尼加拉瓜的填充物制成。这款盒压环面雪茄具有丰富的辛辣胡椒、酸涩木香、甜葡萄干以及巧克力覆樱桃般的收尾。 查看完整的品鉴笔记。
H. Upmann 银行家日内交易者鲸（93分，$14.19）
在1844年进入雪茄行业之前，H. Upmann雪茄品牌的创始人赫尔曼·乌普曼是一名银行家。日内交易者是母公司Altadis USA最新推出的以金融为主题的系列，以纪念该品牌的起源。为了体现信托主题，这一系列以光泽的绿色盒子和带有蜡烛图样图案的带子包装，这些图案让人想起股票交易者使用的烛台图。这款雪茄的第一口辛辣，但随后会平息下来，呈现出可可、核桃皮、泥土和海盐的香气，最终达到一个蜜烤花生般的收尾。 查看完整的品鉴笔记。
古巴激情丘吉尔（93分，$12） 生活如果没有一点激情（或者用西班牙语说是pasión），那还有什么意义呢？这款庄严的丘吉尔混合型香烟的亮点是其古巴种子包装纸，这种包装纸是在尼加拉瓜的一个名为Namanji的地区种植的，由加西亚家族种植，他们也在自己的工厂生产这一系列。实际上，这种叶子正是加西亚家族用于他们的Flor de las Antillas品牌的，但那种包装纸是生长在阳光下的，而不是在阴凉处的。烟味有一种木质、森林底层的品质，核心部分则是丰富的烟草，最终呈现出一种甜美的口感。 查看完整的品鉴笔记。
奥利瓦·塞雷维V梅兰尼奥·马杜罗No. 4（93分，$10.11）自2012年推出梅兰尼奥系列以来，自然型和成熟型都表现极其一致，多次获得高分，并多次出现在《雪茄爱好者》Top 25榜单中。这款于2021年发布的4.5 x 46粗壮雪茄是马杜罗系列中最新的成员之一，也是最小的，但尺寸并不重要：它具有浓郁的坚果烟味，温暖、烤焦的口感以及微妙的草药和茴香味道，效果丰富。零售价格略高于10美元（税前），这是本列表上最实惠的雪茄。查看完整的品鉴笔记。
The November/December Cigar Aficionado covered a wide array of topics to cap off the year, from making the Perfect Manhattan to gambling in New York City and a one-on-one interview between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cigar Aficionado editor and publisher Marvin R. Shanken. Of course, the tasting section was just as noteworthy, delivering no shortage of impressive scores. Forty-one of the 72 ratings in that issue were 90 points or higher. With so many great cigars to highlight, we managed to whittle it down to just 14 great cigars, each of them scoring no lower than 92 points.
Every cigar rated by Cigar Aficionado is smoked blind by our panel of editors. The tasting coordinator removes the cigars’ identifying bands and replaces them with plain white, numbered labels before handing them out. Members of the tasting panel have no idea what they are smoking and cigars are evaluated without biases such as price, country of origin and brand.
This blond Churchill is clad in a genuine Connecticut Shade cover leaf, an increasingly rare sight as the Nutmeg State’s presence in the tobacco industry has shrunk in recent years and cigarmakers have increasingly turned to Ecuador as a source for lighter wrappers. The smoke has a botanical, minty quality to it with a creamy note of vanilla providing some sweetness. The finish is like sipping a glass of crème de menthe with touches of roasted chestnut and cocoa powder. See full tasting note.
Arturo Fuente Hemingway Untold Story
Arturo Fuente Hemingway Untold Story (93 points, $16.50)
While most of the Hemingway line is available in either Cameroon, Ecuador sun grown or dark Connecticut broadleaf wrappers, the Untold Story is available only as a maduro. Measuring an imposing 7 5/8 inches long by 54 ring gauge, this dark perfecto has an excellent draw. Its toasty core is framed by notes of vanilla, oak, nutmeg and caramel. An earthy quality comes in partway through for some added strength. See full tasting note.
Cohiba Lancero
Cohiba Lancero (93 points, £80.30)
While cigars of increasingly stout dimensions are taking a larger share of today’s market, there still is a place for more elegant shapes such as panetelas, including the subset of the category known as lanceros. This vitola is prized by aficionados for not only its slimmer profile, but for how its modest girth allows the wrapper to take a larger part in shaping the flavor of the smoke. This Cohiba—perhaps the world’s most famous lancero—starts off floral and nutty but is bolstered by bolder notes of earth and leather with a caramel sweetness preceding a zesty orange finish. See full tasting note.
Cuaba Salomon
Cuaba Salomon (93 points, £56.60)
While not as big a name as Montecristo or Cohiba, the Cuaba brand has certainly made a place for itself since its introduction in 1996. The name originates from the Taino people, the indigenous inhabitants of Cuba before the Spanish discovered the island in the fifteenth century, and was the word used for the type of bush the Tainos used to light tobacco. This well-made figurado packs in a lot of flavors, with a toasty, nutty smoke that is layered with notes of graham cracker, leather and hazelnut and culminates in a finish like a spoonful of honey. See full tasting note.
E.P. Carrillo La Historia Doña Elena
E.P. Carrillo La Historia Doña Elena (93 points, $13.15)
The importance of family is a common thread in the cigar industry, and the E.P. Carrillo La Historia line is a prime example. Each size in the line is named after a different member of brand owner Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s family; the Doña Elena size is named after his wife. Made in the Dominican Republic at the newly-rechristened Casa Carrillo factory it consists of a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Ecuador Sumatra binder and Nicaraguan filler. This box-pressed toro has a rich array of spicy pepper, tangy wood, sweet raisin and a finish smacking of chocolate-covered cherries. See full tasting note.
Graycliff Chateau Grand Cru Salomon
Graycliff Chateau Grand Cru Salomon (93 points, $30)
While most of the cigars on this list hail from what we call The Big Four (Cuba, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Honduras) there are other countries that also make great cigars, such as the Bahamas. This gracefully tapered Graycliff figurado is rolled in the Bahamas, but its four-country blend does not feature any tobacco from that country. No matter the blend, it draws and burns evenly, layering the palate with a mélange of baking spices, gingerbread, butterscotch and oak. See full tasting note.
H. Upmann The Banker Daytrader Whale
H. Upmann The Banker Daytrader Whale (93 points, $14.19)
Before moving into the cigar business in 1844, Hermann Upmann, founder of the H. Upmann cigar brand, was a banker. The Daytrader is the latest of parent company Altadis U.S.A.’s financially-themed releases to honor the brand’s origins. To carry the fiduciary theme, the line is packaged in glossy green boxes and bands with motifs reminiscent of the candlestick charts that are used by stock traders. The first puffs of this grande are spicy, but it settles down for notes of cocoa, walnut skin, earth and sea salt that leads to a honey-roasted peanut finish. See full tasting note.
La Aroma de Cuba Pasión Churchill
La Aroma de Cuba Pasión Churchill (93 Points, $12)
What is life without a little passion (or pasión in Spanish)? The star of this stately Churchill’s blend is its Cuban-seed wrapper, which is grown under shade in Nicaragua in an area called Namanji by the Garcia family, who also make the line at their factory. In fact, it is the same leaf the Garcias use for their Flor de las Antillas brand, but that wrapper is grown in the sun rather than in the shade. The smoke has a woody, forest-floor quality atop a core of rich tobacco, culminating in a sweet finish. See full tasting note.
Oliva Serie V Melanio Maduro No. 4
Oliva Serie V Melanio Maduro No. 4 (93 points, $10.11)
Since the introduction of the Melanio line in 2012, both the natural and maduro versions have been extremely consistent with many high scores and multiple appearances in Cigar Aficionado Top 25 lists. Released in 2021, this 4 1/2-by-46 robusto is one of the newest additions to the Maduro line and the smallest but size matters not: It has an opulent nutty quality to the smoke with a warm, toasty character and subtle touches of herbs and anise to rich effect. Retailing for a bit more than $10 (before taxes), this is the most affordable cigar on this list. See full tasting note.
Olmec Claro Double Corona
Olmec Claro Double Corona (93 points, $16)
Nick Melillo, brand owner of Foundation Cigar Co., created Olmec as a tribute to both the ancient Olmec civilization, and to Mexico where its wrapper leaves are grown. The brand comes in two varieties, Claro and Maduro. This box-pressed Churchill from the Claro line is the larger brother to the No. 20 Cigar of 2023. It has a sweet-and-savory character rich with almond, honey and caramel melding with red pepper spice and oak. See full tasting note.
Debonaire Habano Belicoso
Debonaire Habano Belicoso (92 points, $18)
Some believe that the pointed heads of belicosos allow the flavors to become more concentrated. Whether that’s true or not, the easy draw of this cigar certainly allows the flavors to ring out loud and clear. Its woody, nutty character has a pronounced sweetness to it that frames subtler notes of vanilla, café au lait and honey. The finish has a pronounced mix of spices and zesty orange. See full tasting note.
El Septimo Sacred Arts Collection Da Vinci
El Septimo Sacred Arts Collection Da Vinci (92 points, $24)
This is the only cigar on this list that was made in Costa Rica, a rarity in the handmade cigar industry. Owned by Zaya Younan, each size in the Sacred Arts Collection is named after a famous artist. Topped with a pigtail cap, this dark panetela has a pronounced chocolaty character that lingers throughout, providing a base for impressions of raisin bread, white pepper and coffee. It’s well-constructed with an open draw and even combustion from first puff to last. See full tasting note.
Padrón Serie 1926 No. 9 Maduro
Padrón Serie 1926 No. 9 Maduro (92 points, $22.75)
The all-Nicaraguan Padrón Serie 1926 brand was created to honor the birthyear of founder José Orlando Padrón, and to provide a stronger alternative to the popular 1964 Anniversary line. Measuring 5 1/4-by-56, this box-pressed robusto has all the strength its dark wrapper suggests but also the balance and complexity Padrón is known for with sweeter elements of coffee bean and dark chocolate melding seamlessly with notes of red pepper spice and rich earth for a toffee-like finish. See full tasting note.
Released in 2010 to celebrate Rocky Patel’s 15 years in the cigar business, this grande is the bigger brother to the No. 20 Cigar of 2018 and in 2024 the blend still delivers even in a 6-by-60 format. Made at Patel’s Tavicusa fatory in Nicaragua, it consists of a high-priming Ecuador Havana wrapper grown by Tampa's Oliva Cigar Co. draped over Nicaraguan binder and filler. Despite its thickness, this grande has an open draw that delivers a rich, nutty core buttressed by tangy wood that picks up intensity for a spicy black pepper finish. See full tasting note.
