james suckling's top ten

[Ken Gargett]

i've seen some seriously dodgy lists this time of year but i reckon that this one is pretty good. no one is ever going to agree with all choices but i'd be happy to smoke these.

The Top 10 Cigars of 2016

1. Hoyo de Monterrey Double Corona
2. Partagas Serie D No. 5 Tubo
3. Partagas Lusitania Double Carona
4. La Gloria Cubana Revolution Exclusivo Asia Pacific
5. Bolivar Super Coronas Edicion Limitada 2014
6. Montecristo No. 2
7. Partagas Serie P No. 2 Tubo
8. Diplomatico No. 2
9. H. Upmann No. 2
10. Edmundo Dantes Conde Belicoso

 

[Fugu]

Well, the best ones are missing. Simply goes to show that he couldn't smoke all and everything. Certainly a bunch of good smokes on that list, I agree, but those (of that list I had smoked) were not the ones particularly sticking out for me.

He seems to have a soft spot for the Piramides format...

[RijkdeGooier]

A solid list without any real exotics. 

Should be enjoyable and attainable for most other affecionados. 

[JohnS]

53 minutes ago, Fugu said:

He seems to have a soft spot for the Piramides format...

http://www.havanainsider.com/cigar/james-sucklings-top-10-cuban-cigars-2016/

To quote the first paragraph of his article...

"My Top 10 list this year makes a statement: Large, classic cigars like double coronas and torpedos remain some of the benchmarks of Cuba. They continue to offer some of the greatest smoking experiences and cigar production expressions from the island."

[OZCUBAN]

Suckling combined with best cigar list = here we go again 

[Puros Y Vino]

Probably the only list I'd agree with this year.  Serious Piramide representation.

[Franko]

I enjoy James reviews in general solid dude!!!


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[godpheonix]

its a good list. i would have the Lusitania at #1 before the HDM DC though.

[LandCruiser]

Cant argue with much of that at all, love the fact its not loaded with a bunch of obscure Regionals and EL non-sense... some legit classics that are staples in my rotation 

[Lotusguy]

Well, it's better than the CA top 25

[ErikB]

Must say I've been enjoying the D5's as well this year


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[Ken Gargett]

4 hours ago, godpheonix said:

its a good list. i would have the Lusitania at #1 before the HDM DC though.

agreed.

[NSXCIGAR]

Haven't heard much about the Hoyo DC this year but the Lusis have been getting high marks for sure. Seems like the Hoyo DC is the only model that's been under the radar this year. With the EE smoking so well I'm surprised it's not on the list. A shame if he hadn't tried it which I find surprising.

Have to agree the D5 has been excellent as have the D4s.

Heard some mixed things about the LGC Revolutions. An interesting pick.

Great to see the Dip 2 there as it would be a crying shame for it not to be right up there. It's a legitimate top performer of the year.

Monte 2 has been strong this year but so has Monte in general. I'm ok with this pick.

Can't argue with the HU No 2 but I think no mention for the Connie A or Mag 46 is a bit of a snub.

 

[spivey6690]

With a list like this, are we to assume these are all 2016 boxes?  

[Ken Gargett]

1 hour ago, spivey6690 said:

With a list like this, are we to assume these are all 2016 boxes?  

good question. i assume a qualified yes, or at least the most recently released so in reality unlikely all of them.

one assumes that the bolivar LE 2014 is 2014, for example.

[avaldes]

If you follow the links in the OP he lists the dates for some of the cigars he rated. NOT all 2016.

[Fugu]

13 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

good question. i assume a qualified yes, or at least the most recently released so in reality unlikely all of them.

one assumes that the bolivar LE 2014 is 2014, for example.

No, majority would be non-2016 (which appears decent to me, who seriously smokes 2016 cigars right now?!! ). As Avaldes sais, he states e.g. a boxcode of March 2014 for the HU2 and a bxc of May '14 for the Lusis. For others it seems to be a sample of cigars across a longer period, with his notes dating sometime in 2015 (e.g. P2, M2).

[NJP]

Pay that. Not a bad one. 

[Ken Gargett]

8 hours ago, Fugu said:

No, majority would be non-2016 (which appears decent to me, who seriously smokes 2016 cigars right now?!! ). As Avaldes sais, he states e.g. a boxcode of March 2014 for the HU2 and a bxc of May '14 for the Lusis. For others it seems to be a sample of cigars across a longer period, with his notes dating sometime in 2015 (e.g. P2, M2).

agree with the not smoking 16s now but would assume (and have not read anything accompanying) it would be all current releases. not much point in doing older ones. becomes irrelevant. but to be honest, i have no idea what years all the various latest releases are.

bit like doing wine lists - usually little point doing older wines, except for seriously interested wine geeks, so it is the latest releases. in some cases, that would be 16 (at least in the southern hemisphere) for some wines, mostly whites, and not for others.

[JohnS]

Hey @planetary, should we add James Suckling's top ten for 2016 into the Personal Top 10 for 2016 thread and tally?

[Fugu]

On 29/12/2016 at 10:55 PM, Ken Gargett said:

agree with the not smoking 16s now but would assume (and have not read anything accompanying) it would be all current releases. not much point in doing older ones. becomes irrelevant. but to be honest, i have no idea what years all the various latest releases are.

bit like doing wine lists - usually little point doing older wines, except for seriously interested wine geeks, so it is the latest releases. in some cases, that would be 16 (at least in the southern hemisphere) for some wines, mostly whites, and not for others.

Haha, Ken you are quite right indeed. Was just a little jesting. Am smoking 2016 production myself as well of course. But that's mostly more for sampling rather than for real enjoyment... 

That said, in those cigar "en primeur" tastings, I rather check for quality than for taste. The true taste in maturity is almost impossible to be seriously evaluated in a cigar in its first year after boxing. But I think I found my own measures and proxies for that. So, I don't buy too much into the analysis of others than myself here.

[Ken Gargett]

1 hour ago, Fugu said:

. So, I don't buy too much into the analysis of others than myself here.

no better advice for anyone, especially beginners, than that.

[Hurltim]

I wonder if he caught some heat for his previous Top XXX's. He had a bunch of RE's in his Top 10 last year and 2014 IIRC. 

Not one Cohiba in the Top 10 from Suckling. That has to be a 1st for him. 

I must be the only goofball that didn't like the Dip 2. I had two and both were super spicy. 

The HU#2 is definitely in my top 10 this year. I had a 2014 that was brilliant. 

[PigFish]

... well there's a first...! Only smoked one named cigar on the list, and those are from '08. Ahhh... to be an anachronism!

-Piggy