Top 25 Cigars of the Year – 2020

JRE Aladino Cameroon

The JRE Aladino Cameroon gets its inspiration from the old Camacho Select that came out in 2006. Julio Eiroa made that cigar before he sold the Camacho brand to Davidoff and was designed to be something totally different from the normally corojo filled cigars they were known form. It used Cameroon tobacco grown in Africa by the Meerapfel family. Fast forward to 2020 and Julio wanted to create another Cameroon blend, but this time wanted to grown his own version of Cameron tobacco. The Cameroon used for the Aladino Cameroon is grown in Honduras. He procured the seeds from an international leaf broker after 3.5 years finally came up with the Cameroon he was satisfied with. The blend took some time to tweak as the original test blends were too close to existing cameroon wrapped cigars on the market. The final product uses a good balance of corojo. It comes in three sizes: Robusto (5 x 50) – $8.80, Lonsdale (6 x 43) – $7.80, and Super Toro (6 x 52) – $9.80.

Read Review >

Joya de Nicaragua Número Uno Le Premier

In May 2020, Joya de Nicaragua announced a new size in their Número Uno line: Le Premier. The Número Uno Le Premier is a 6 ⅞ x 48 Churchill of which only 800 boxes were made. The line started as the No. 1 in 2017, and was only offered to World Leaders by Nicaraguan ambassadors. in 2018 a small amount of bundles were sold at Joya de Nicaragua events, and in 2019 the cigar was changed to the Número Uno and saw a limited release to the world earning the #8 spot on our top 25 cigars of 2019 list. Número Uno is part of the Obras Maestras, or “Masterpieces” collection meaning Joya’s top of the line offerings.

The original Número Uno L’Ambassadeur size was limited in the United States to 800 boxes and this new Le Premier size will see the same production. It went on sale in July 2020 exclusively at brick and mortar retailers that participate in the Drew Diplomat Retailer Program. A smaller number of cigars were sold at global markets. The blend uses an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Nicaraguan fillers. The Le Premier comes in boxes of 25 that sell for MSRP $414.93/box or $16.60/stick.

Read Review >

Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Mi Querida Triqui Traca No. 652

The Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Mi Querida Triqui Traca launched last year in two sizes and took the #1 cigar of the year on our Top 25 list. This year Steve Saka added two new sizes, No. 652 and No. 764, whose names correspond with their sizes 6 x 52 and 7 x 64 respectively. Both use the same blend as the first two sizes including a Connecticut broadleaf No. 1 dark corona wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. The cigars are rolled at Nicaragua American Cigars S.A. (NACSA) in Estelí, Nicaragua.

The Triqui Traca is a stronger blend of the original Mi Querida which originally started out as the Two Guys Smoke Shop Exclusive Firecracker. The different specifically in the blend is the stronger Dominican-grown ligero in the filler. The name Triqui Traca is actually related to the Nicaraguan term for Firecrackers. The Triqui Traca line is also different from the regular Mi Querida line in that it uses a red and gold band opposed to the Mi Querida blue and gold.

ACE Prime Luciano The Dreamer

ACE Prime and Crowned Heads announced a new size in the Luciano line in 2020 called: Luciano “The Dreamer.” This is the second cigar in the line, following 2019’s Luciano “The Traveler.”

It is the second cigar in the line named after the owner and co-founder of Tabacalera Pichardo and Ace Prime, Luciano Meirelles. The name comes from the book “The Artisan Soul” (Erwin McManus). The Dreamer is a Lancero designed to have construction making the best draw experience. The lancero measure a traditional 7½ x 38. The blend uses an undisclosed wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and filler from Nicaragua and Peru.

Read More >

Southern Draw Rose of Sharon Desert Rose Lonsdale

Southern Draw announced two new line extensions to the Desert Rose cigar in 2020, the Famous Exclusivo (Exclusive to Famous Smoke Shop) and the Lonsdale. The company also announced that the original Desert Rose Belicoso Finos 5.5×54 will now be a regular production cigar in both 20 count boxes and 20 count bundles.

The Desert Rose Lonsdale measure 6 x 44 and is of course rolled at AJ Fernandez Cigar Co. It has a “flag” cap comes in artful 12 count box designed by Humidif Group USA, a shelf friendly design that offers an eye-catching display for the new size. Only 4,000 boxes of the Lonsdale were made and retail partners can now pre-order the first 1,000 boxes that are expected to ship October 2020. MSRP is $121.00 for the 12 count box and $115.99 for the 12 count replacement bundle. The blend for all three Desert Rose cigars uses an Ecuador “cloud grown” Claro wrapper, Nicaragua Habano binder, and filler from Honduras and Dominican Republic – Corojo 99 and Piloto Cubano.

Read More >

Tatuaje TAA 2020

Every year, Tatuaje has released an exclusive cigar for the Tobacconists’ Association of America (TAA). This has become one of Tatauje’s most sought out releases. Some years, Pete Johnson releases a similar blend as a previous year in a different size, some years it’s a new blend, and some years he will bring back previous releases. The Tatuaje TAA 2020 is a completely new blend with a wrapper that he’s never used on a TAA before.

2020’s version uses a Sumatra wrapper and comes in a 5 5/8 x 54 box-pressed size. The rest of the blend uses Nicaraguan tobacco. The price for the Tatuaje TAA 2020 is $11.95 per cigar and comes in boxes of 20. Only 3,000 boxes were released.

Read Review >

Crowned Heads Mil Días

In 2020, Crowned Heads announced a brand new line “Mil Días,” which is described as an ultra-premium cigar and a partnership with Tabacalera Pichardo. This is not the first Crowned Heads line to be made at Tabacalera Pichardo as the Juraez brand has been made there since it launched in 2018. This is the first new product from the two companies since they announced a partnership back in April of 2020 where Crowned Heads is now distributing ACE Prime cigars, whose home happens to be Tabacalera Pichardo.

Mil Días translates in Spanish to ‘one-thousand days,’ and is a reference to the amount of time, about three years, it takes to bring a cigar to life from Conception to execution. This project started in the Summer of 2017 when Don Eradio Pichardo and Luciano Meirelles gave some blend samples to Jon Huber of Crowned Heads at the IPCPR Trade Show.

The blend for Mil Días uses an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, filler tobaccos from Nicaragua, Peru, and Costa Rica. The company descries it is a medium-plus body and full flavor. It comes in four sizes: Corona Gorda {46 x 6), Edmundo (52 x 5 3/8), Double Robusto (50 x 6 3/8), and Sublime (54 x 6). It is rolled at Tabacalera Pichardo in Esteli, Nicaragua, under the supervision of Don Eradio Pichardo. Mil Días will ship August 2020 and the price will be $9.25 to $11.50 per cigar.

Read Review >

Black Label Trading Co. Bishops Blend 5th Anniversary

After shipping the lancero version earlier than anticipated in March of 2020, Black Label Trading Company started shipping the rest of the vitolas to retailers in May.

2020 marked the fifth year of the annual Bishops Blend, and this version celebrates the anniversary. It is rolled at Fabrica Oveja Negra in Esteli, Nicaragua. The remaining vitolas being shipped were the Corona Larga and Robusto. The blend uses an Ecuador Habano Maduro wrapper, Ecuador Habano binder, and Nicaragua, Connecticut & PA Broadleaf filler. The available sizes were the Lancero 7 x 42 (12 count) MSRP $12.00 – 150 box production, Corona Larga – 6.25 x 46 (20 count) MSRP $11.50, and Robusto – 5 x 48 (20 count) MSRP $11.00.

Read More >

Drew Estate Liga Privada Year of the Rat (2020)

Drew Estate came out with the Liga Privada Unico Year of the Rat back in 2016 as a cigar lounge exclusive. In 2020, the company announced that they would be expanding that cigar to Drew Diplomat Events to coincide with the Chinese New Year and it was shown off at the TPE trade show 2020.

Liga Privada Unico Year of the Rat comes in one vitola, a 5 ½” x 46 corona gorda featuring a fan tail. The blend features a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Brazilian binder, and Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers. Each cigar is wrapped in gold foil and those come in a wooden box with embossed blue Liga Privada Unico lining. Year of the Rat is only available for purchase at Drew Diplomat Retail events, which are now virtual due to COVID-19. Each event is limited to 4 boxes at most. The cigar comes in boxes of 10 cigars and sell for $159.97.

Read Review >

Aganorsa Leaf JFR Lunatic Torch

Aganorsa Leaf brought back the JFR Lunatic Torch in the year 2020, a rare brush foot cigar with the wrapper missing from the first half inch of the vitola to expose the binder and filler allow to be smoked before joining the wrapper. The blend uses 100% Aganorsa Leaf tobacco, featuring a Corojo 99 wrapper leaf from Jalapa, a double binder and fillers from Esteli and Jalapa.

The blend uses a Corojo 99 wrapper. They updated the packaging and expanded the sizes. It shipped in May 2020 at Aganorsa Select accounts and the opened to all accounts in Summer. It comes in three vitolas: Visionaries (6.5 x 52), Dreamlands (6.5 x 60), and Mad Folk (4.75 x 70). All come in 10 count boxes and range in price from $9.99 for the Visionaries to $10.50 for both the Dreamlands and the Mad Folk.

Read More >

HVC 500 Years Anniversary Selectos

In 2019, HVC released the 500th Anniversary cigar to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the formation of the city Havana, Cuba. That cigar made #7 on top Top 25 list. HVC stands for Havana City Cuba. In 2020, that 500th Anniversary got two new vitolas. The original “TESOROS” measured 5 7/8 X 52, then they added a 4 1/2×52 SHORTS and a 5 5/8×46 SELECTOS. The SHORTS are exclusive to online stores, and SELECTOS exclusive to brick and mortar. There were only a combined 1200 boxes made of new sizes.

HVC’s Reinier Lorenzo blended this Nicaraguan puro with all AGANORSA tobacco starting with a corojo 99 wrapper from Jalapa, undisclosed binder from Jalapa, and criollo 98 and corojo 99 fillers from Jalapa from Estelí. 500th Anniversary is made at TABSA, Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A. in Esteli Nicaragua. Lorenzo says the new sizes have been aging in Nicaragua at Aganorsa Agricola Norteña S.A.

Read More >

Crowned Heads Las Calaveras Edición Limitada 2020

In 2020, Crowned Heads announced seventh annual release of their Las Calaveras line, Las Calaveras EL 2020. The line debuted in 2014 as a tribute to those who passed away the previous year and to celebrate life and memories, as opposed to a mournful symbol of sadness and death. Each year the line pays tribute to 4 specific people who passed the previous year with a set of initials on each of four coins on the band.

The cigars come, as in previous years, in 24-count boxes with three rows of eight cigars each, as the number “8” is a symbol of infinity as in everlasting life, and the three rows signify the beginning, middle, and end of life’s cycle.

The Las Calaveras EL 2020 blend uses a Habano (Oscuro) wrapper, with Nicaraguan binder and fillers. The profile is described as medium-plus to full-minus. It comes in three sizes along with an exclusive 4th size, a Torpedo (61/8″ x 52) only found in the sampler pack. The other sizes are: LC48 (51/2 X 48) $10.95, LC52 (5 X 52) $11.95, and LC56 (6 X 56) $12.95. It is rolled at at My Father Cigars S.A., in Esteli, Nicaragua and production is limited to 1,000 24-count boxes per vitola, and with five-hundred total samplers. This is less than the 1,700 boxes per size made last year and 2,500 samplers.

Read More >

Viva La Vida Atlantic Cigar Exclusive Box Pressed

Viva La Vida is a brand from Artesano Del Tobacco started by brothers Gus and Billy Fakih and distributed by AJ Fernandez. The brand launched in 2019 with 5 sizes and only available brick and mortar, later adding the Jester and a couple online shop exclusives, one of those being the Atlantic Cigar exclusive Box Press measuring 6 x 56.

The blend for Viva La Vida is a Nicaraguan puro using a Habano Oscuro wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Nicaraguan fillers. The wrapper is grown by AJ Fernandez himself. The band contains AJ Fernandez’s name, although it is not an official AJ Fernandez brand. The original five sizes were: Diadema Fina (6 1/2 x 52), Gran Toro (6 x 60), Robusto (5 x 54), Toro (6 x 54), and Torpedo (6 1/2 x 54). The company has since added the Jester (5 x 56), 500 Club 6 x 60 Box Pressed, Atlantic Cigar Exclusive Box Pressed 6 x 56, and Famous Smoke Exclusive Box Pressed 6 x 52.

Read Review >

Aganorsa Leaf Supreme Leaf

Aganorsa Leaf brought a new line to TPE 2020, Supreme Leaf. The blend features tobacco grown 100% from Aganorsa farms and packaging has a look that is unique to the company. The blend uses a lot of Corojo 99 which is the only specifics given about the internals. It is a Nicaraguan puro and comes in boxes of 10. Supreme Leaf came in one vitola and launch, a 5 x 52 robusto and had a very small run of only 500 boxes.

Since then there has also been a Toro released with 1000 boxes made, and a Corona Gorda announced for early 2021 with 1,500 boxes made. Pricing is set at $9.95 a cigar. The vibrant colors of the packaging and bands are meant to convey the passion and enthusiasm that created the brand, and are quite a different look for the portfolio.

Read Review >

J.C. Newman Yagua

J.C. Newman showed off Yagua at the 2019 IPCPR trade show, but it would not ship until August of 2020. The story behind Yagua is fascinating and best told by J.C. Newman PENSA’s General Manager, Lazaro Lopez:

“At our family farm, my grandfather would take fresh tobacco leaves from the curing barns and roll cigars without any molds or presses. In an attempt to give his cigars a traditional shape, he would tie a handful of them together using pieces of the Cuban royal palm tree, known as the yagua. When he was ready to enjoy his personal cigars, he untied the bundle. He loved how every cigar had its own unique shape. I still remember the rich aroma and taste of my grandfather’s cigars. Today, I’ve recreated Yagua, rolling them exactly how my grandfather did a century ago.”

“After hearing Lazaro describe the beautiful Yagua cigars he remembers from his youth in Cuba, I asked Lazaro if he could make this special cigar at our factory in Nicaragua,” said Drew Newman. “We are calling it Yagua, after the palm leaves that give the cigars their distinct shape.”

Only 1,000 boxes of the J.C. Newman Yagua were sold this year and it is now pretty hard to find. Each box contains 20 cigars that roughly measure 6 x 54. Since the cigars are pressed together while still wet, they each have a different shape, some more “cigar-like” than others. Yagua is rolled at J.C. Newman PENSA in Estelí, Nicaragua.

Read Review >

My Father Fonseca

My Father purchased the Fonseca brand from Quesada in December of 2019. The Fonseca brand has been in the U.S. for over 40 years. The deal was made possible because of the friendship between between Janny Garcia of My Father Cigars and Patricia Quesada of Quesada Cigars. The two collaborated with Patricia’s sister, Raquel, on a cigar line called Tres Reynas, that was released in 2012. The Fonseca brand actually predates the Quesadas when it was a Cuban brand starting in 1892.

The My Father Fonseca uses exclusively Nicaraguan tobacco, including a shade grown corojo 99 rosado wrapper. It comes in 6 sizes: Petit Corona (4 1/4 x 40), Robusto (5 1/4 x 52), Cosacos (5 3/8 x 42), Belicosos (5 1/2 x 54), Toro Gordo (6 x 55), and Cedros (6 1/4 x 52). Pricing ranges from $7 to $11.20.

Read Review >

Tatuaje Anarchy Kaos

The original Tatuaje Anarchy was the first cigar in the Smoke Inn Microblend Series back in 2010. The Microblend series is a collection of collaborations between smoke in and cigar manufacturers to make exclusive blends. The Anarchy made a comeback in 2012 with the Tatuaje Anarchy Apocalypse, a slightly tweaked spinoff, and the return of the original Anarchy in 2015.

2020 Brought the original Anarchy blend in a new size 6¼” x 49 and was called Tatuaje Anarchy Kaos. The cigar has an exaggerated pigtail/bun head with the shape of the cigar being a traditional 109-style cap (a combination of traditional parejo and a torpedo). The cigars were rolled at the My Father Cigars factory in Estelí under the guidance of Pete Johnson (owner of Tatuaje Cigars) and the García family. The blend uses all-Nicaraguan binder/fillers and an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. Only 2,000 boxes of 10 cigars were made.

Powstanie Wojtek 2020

Powstanie started shipping the 2020 versions of their limited edition cigar Wojtek “War Bear” in Noember of 2020, now in a toro size. The 2020 release was limited to 500 boxes. 2019’s release was a 5 x 50 perfecto that sold for $12. The toro size measures 6 x 52 with a blend comprised of Ecuadorian Habano and San Andreas Barber Pole, Indonesia Binder, and Nicaraguan Fillers. The blend is a modified version of the company’s Habano cigar. Each cigar sells for $13 and comes in boxes of 21 cigars. The company has already started shipping to retailers nationwide.

Powstanie cigars are rolled at Skip Martin and Mike Rosales’s Fabrica de Tabacos NicaSueño S.A. in Estelí, Nicaragua. Mike Szczepankiewicz describes the reason behind the name: “The war bear was a Syrian brown bear that was bought by Polish Soldiers. He eventually became a soldier in the Polish army in order for him to receive rations. Wojtek is famous for bringing ammo to Polish soldiers that were under fire.”

Read More >

Aganorsa Leaf Casa Fernandez Aniversario Cuban 109 Maduro (2020)

For the third year in a row, Aganorsa Leaf released a new exclusive to their Casa Fernandez Aniverario lineup, Casa Fernandez Aniversario Cuban 109 Maduro. This years version uses the companies proprietary Aganorsa Shade Grown Corojo Maduro wrapper also found on their Signature Shade Grown Corojo Maduro series as well as the Guardian of the Farm Nightwatch.

The 2020 version of this cigar is a 6.25 x 54 box-pressed vitola featuring a rare 109 head. 109 heads are like a combination between a parajo and torpedo. The blend uses 100% Aganorsa Leaf tobaccos is wrapper in that proprietary Aganorsa Shade Grown Corojo Maduro wrapper. Every cigar in this release was rolled by one torcedor in Miami without the use of a Lieberman machine. As with previous versions, only 250 boxes of 10 will be available. Casa Fernandez Aniversario Cuban 109 will sell for $13.09 and will begin shipping in July.

Read More >

E.P. Carrillo Pledge

In 2020 E.P. Carrillo added a new line: Pledge. This new release is on the same level as their La Historia and Encore brand. The cigar is made in Santiago, Dominican Republic at Tabacalera La Alianza S.A.. The blend uses a Connecticut habano wrapper, Ecuadorian binder, and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua.

It comes in two sizes: 5 x 50 Prequel and 6 x 52 Sojourn. Each are packaged in boxes of 10. Pledge is a regular production cigar, but only 1,250 boxes of each viola were made for 2020. Prequel sells for $10.75 and Sojourn sells for $12.

Read Review >

Tatuaje Karloff

While 2020 was the first year since 2008 that Tatuaje didn’t release a Monster Series cigar, it had a cigar that was closely related: The Karloff. In 2008 Pete Johnson said that he was going to create a series to go along with the Monster Series called the Actors Series that would honor the actors playing the roles in the Monster series.

The first in the Monster Series was The Frank (aka Frankenstein’s Monster) the first in the Actors series would be the Boris, named after. There was a trademark issue with Corona Cigar Co. and they ended up agreeing to call it the Little Boris. Now the next iteration is The Karloff, a 6 5/8 x 49 grand corona. The blend is similar on paper to the Boris using an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper with Nicaraguan double binder and filler. Pete Johnson did say that the blend had been tweaked from the Borus to be fuller. 4,000 dress boxes of the Karloff were released and each had 13 cigars that sold for $13.

Read Review >

Perdomo Firecracker

The Firecracker series comes from Two Guys Cigars as an annual release, each year with a different manufacturer. The first Firecrackers was made in 2007 by Don Pepin Garcia as a version of the Blue Label. It measures 3 x 50 and had a long pigtail cap that resembled a fuse. All other releases since then have kept this aesthetic. This years version in the series is the Perdomo Firecracker.

The Perdomo Firecracker measures 3 1/2 x 50 containing all Nicaraguan tobacco. The wrapper is the same as on the Perdomo 20th Anniversary Sungrown. Production for the Peredomo release is limited to 1,000 boxes of 20.

Read Review >

Cavalier Genève USA Exclusive Petit Corona

Cavalier Genève made the USA Exclusive Petit Corona at the 2020 Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE) in late January after previously being an event-only cigar. The cigar measure 5 x 44 and uses a Mexican San Andrés wrapper with a binder and filler that both come from Nicaragua. The cigar is exclusive to retailers in the United States as part of the USA Exclusive series which used to be called the Black Series.

The Black Series debuted in 2016 at the IPCPR trade show along with the White Series. The White Series was previously sold internationally and then introduced to the US, while the Black label was exclusive to the US and only sold at events. Eventually it was sold at retail, but the name was changed to the USA Exclusive series to avoid confusion, and the Black Series II was born from that.

RoMa Craft Tobac CRAFT 2020

The 2020 edition of CRAFT from RoMa Craft Tobac is not one cigar, but many different cigars in one box meant to show off the skills of the rollers at Skip Martin’s Fabrica de Tabacos NicaSueño in Estelí, Nicaragua.

The CRAFT first came out in 2013 as a cone-shaped figurado five inches long with a 60 ring gauge foot and 46 ring gauge at the head. It also had a different wrapper leaf near the foot which created an interesting pattern. That same shape made a return in 2018 but this time with candela making the pattern and a Pennsylvania broadleaf wrapper.

Then, in 2019 the project changed to a 6 1/2 x 44 lonsdale with intricate patterns and was limited to just one seller. Now, in 2020, there is yet another new size, a 5 3/4 x 46 corona gorda that not only has different patterns but different combinations of wrappers. Some of those combinations are Connecticut broadleaf and Ecuadorian Connecticut wrappers with Mexican San Andrés accents and American broadleaf and Ecuadorian habano wrappers with Ecuadorian Connecticut accents.

The rest of the blend is undisclosed. Only 10 sellers in the country got the CRAFT 2020 with each one having 150 boxes.