The 10 Best of… Cigars

” A good cigar is as great a comfort to a man as a good cry to a woman”

Edward G. Bulwer- Lytton

When mentioning life indulgences, cigars make it in the top 10 to most connoisseurs. Personally I am totally against smoking ,  a small bowl of chocolate chips and a large mug of peach falvored black tea would make me feel in heaven anytime. However the history and the details pertaining to cigars and their making never seizes to amaze me, its why I will be kicking off my ” 10 Best of…” section with the top 10 cigars.

Authors of ” The Cigar Connoisseur” have come up with a top ten list  starting with the worldwide most popular, Cohiba.

1- Cohiba

Origin: Cuba

Cohiba cigars were introduced in 1968 and became the symbol of Cuban cigars. It was marketed heavily in 1982. The initial sizes were the Lancero, the Corona Especiale, the Panetela, and in 1989 they added the Esplendido, Robusto, and Exquisito.

Cohíba was originally a private brand supplied exclusively to Fidel Castro and high-level officials in the Communist Party of Cuba and Cuban Government.

2- Trinidad

Origin: Cuba

Trinidad was not marketed until 1998, but was already well known  to connoisseurs everywhere because of a variation of it available in 1969. Trinidad had been produced for Fidel Castro himself.

3- Arturo Fuente Opus X series

Origin:  Dominican Republic

The Fuente family has been making these cigars for 3 generations, the Opus X is conseidered one of their best among others.

4- Montecristo

Origin: Cuba

Montecristo started in 1935 named after the famous novel ” The Count of Montecristo”. It is known for the tangy taste, and superb aroma.

5- Sancho Panza

Origin: Cuba

This is a very poplar cigar in Spain thus the reason behind its name which is after the character in the famous Spanish novel Don Quixote. These are usually recommended to beginners or daytime cigar smokers.

6- Padron Anniversary Series

Origin: Nicaragua

This series came out in 1994, uses 4 year old tobacco, dark rich, box-pressed, and according to the author of the original review: “absolutely delicious”.

7- H. Upmann

Origin: Cuba

originally created by a German banker who switched jobs because of his passion for cigars. This brand won 7 gold medals between 1862 and 1893. These cigars are known to be very smooth.

8- Ashton VSG

Origin: Dominican Republic

The blend used in these cigars has been aged four- five years. The brand however was founded in the mid 1980’s by Philadelphia tobacco retailer Robert Levin.

9- Graycliff

Origin: Bahamas

The company producing this cigar is owned by Nassau resort owner in the Bahamas along with Avelino Lara who is a cigar expert who used to make Cohibas for Fidel Castro. The cigar is known to be refined and very flavorful.

10- Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur

Origin: Honduras

This is a very popular cigar initiated by Lew Rothman and Frank Llaneza in the late 1970’s. This is an excellent non-Cuban cigar.

Sources: cigarobsession.com       cigar.com          National Geographic Guide to Travellers