Your Cigar Of The Year ? (and the worst)

[Padrino]

It's almost the end of another year. So which cigar has made it to the top and bottom of your list ?

*My cigar of the year* - Quai D'Orsay Corona AGO 02

Honorable Mention - HDM 2003 EL and Cuaba Salomones Nov 05

*The Worst* - Vegueros Especiales #2 Jul 02 - absolutely vile/disgusting.

[cigarros]

My fav list:

The best cigar of 2009 is Bolivar Fabulosos ER 2009 para Benelux OPA JUN 09 (picks)

The worst - Montecristo Open Master (picks)

Honorable mention - H.Upmann Magnum 48 EL 2009 MOA ABR 09 (picks)

[gfoster]

Ok I'm going to be tarred and feathered for having NC's on my list but...

Best: Illusione Epernay La Ferme (most complex cigar I've smoked to date... I wanted to break it open and eat it at one point)

Runner up: my first RASS ever (no idea of the box code, got it in a trade). Not my first cuban, but my best so far. My first box purchase from the czar will be these, I'm quite sure.

Worst: Nub Cameroon 460 (horrible bitter and angry little Rosemary's baby of a monstrosity)

I don't have the luxury of a humidor full of cubans (yet). Next year I plan on fixing that situation with Rob and Lisa's help, heh... I've also only been smoking cigars for a couple of months.

-- Gary F.

[jawofboston]

My best was an '08 Upmann Sir Winston. I can only imagine what these things will be like with some age on them.

Worst was a Camacho double maduro torpedo or some such thing. The only mercy was the thing was a wind tunnel, which is normally bad but in this case meant they packed less dog-**** tobacco into the cigar, thereby slightly reducing the horrid taste.

[BolivarSmoker]

Best: Edmundo Dantes El Conde 109 RE (original release) - been smoking about 10 years now and this cigar blew me away....

Honorable Mention: 1994 Punch Churchill SLB

Worst: Montecristo Open Master

[CigarmanTim]

1st place Party Lusitania '08

2nd Sir Winston H. Uppman '08

3rd Party Serie P 2 '08

Worst Bolivar Belicoso Finos '07

[bassman]

For this list I'll stick to recent production....

Best- 08 Party Lusi. The most flavor of any post 95 Lusi I've smoked.

Runner up- 09 Trini Robusto T. I didn't like Trinidads until smoking these.

Worst- Cohiba Genios. Vile flavor. Doesn't taste like a Cohiba to me.

[FireDigger]

Best: Partagas Lusitania (single)

Second: H. Upmann Sir Winston (single)

Most Surprising: Quai D'Orsay Coronas Claro (single)

Best NC: Oliva Serie V Lancero

Worst: Several NCs.

[perfectform]

Best of the year: Cubatabaco 1492

Worst of the Year: Bolivar Short Bolivar RE AP (sorry mates but PCC buggered us with this cigar)

Honorable Mention: Opus X Robusto

[Ken Gargett]

been a lot of great cigars so have t have a think about it but the worst would have to be a monte petit edmundo.

[demiurgic]

Best - early 08 RASS

08- Monte 4

07 Bolivar RC (maybe I had a dud box)

Best NC- Oliva V, Fuente Double Chateau, Cuban Crafters (cigar factory in Miami), Padron Maduro anything.

[Bahnofstrasse]

Best: 06 Cohiba Piramide EL

2nd: 08 Juan Lopez Maximo RE Swiss

3rd: 06 Monte Robusto EL

Worst: Oliva V Torpedo

[jquest63]

Recent Production

1. VR Famoso

2. Cohiba Siglo IV

Aged

1. JL Corona 2001

2. VR Don Alejandro 2002

Worst: I've been consistently disappointed by La Gloria MdOr 4

[mkz]

Best:

07 Punch Royal Seleccion 11

Worst:

CAO Brazilia Amazon

[kaleehb]

Best: Juan Lopez Selection #2

Worst: Bolivar Royal Corona

Best NC: Padron 80 years maduro

Worst NC: El Baton Double Torpedo

[El Presidente]

Best: Cohiba Gran Reserva from the Habanos festival rested 5 months.

Honourable mentions:

08 Partagas Lusitania

07 Montecristo Especial

09 Upmann Magnum 48

Worst: Montecristo Open Eagle/Master/Junior

[stephan]

Best - RyJ Duke 2009

Worst - Punch Punch 2008

[asmith]

Clear winner was Cohiba Gran Reserva

Honourable mention goes to the Sir Winnies and Upmann 46 both returning with great flavour

Bottom of the pile, R & J Exhibition No 4.

[bunburyist]

Best - RyJ Churchill NRG Oct 05.............fantastic. Can't believe I handed 4 of them out on a pissed up night out when I could have given away corona majors....

Honourable mention - Saint Luis Rey Pacificos 09. Really enjoyed this one. RyJ Duke and my regular BRCs and Unicos not far behind.

Worst - difficult. Fortunately not had anything too bad this year. I even enjoyed the aromatic Backwoods I smoked at a summer bbq.. Probably a La Gloria Cubana Taino, which failed to deliver anything across the entire smoke. Bit of a waste of time really.

[sloth]

My smoking Cuban cigars have taken a beating until about 4 months ago... so may selection was small

Best: '07 PLPC

Runner ups: Hoyo des Dieux, BBF, '05 La Fuerza

The Disappointment: Cohiba Siglo II (box date unknown)

Worst: La Fuerza (If I had to guess it was an '08, made the '05 La Fuerza seem like gold)

In the Non-Cuban catagory...

Best: Tatuaje T110

Runner ups: My Father Le Bijou 1922 Petit Robusto, Cabaiguan Guapos

The Disappointments: The Cain, FF Opus X Petit Lanceros

Worse: Fuente Don Carlos Edicion de Aniversario Robusto (I had more than one this year, blech!)

[ChanceSchmerr]

Best Cigar - Hoyo de Monterrey Le Hoyo de Roi - I seriously thought it was a flavoured cigar. I did not know Cuban cigars could develop such a sweet awesome taste!

Honourable Mention - Punch Black Prince - Very sad that these are extremely hard to find now

Worst Cigar: Juan Lopez Corona - Just plain awful

Dishonourable mention - RyJ Escudos LE 07 - Yecch!!!!!

Best NC Cigar - Fuente Don Carlos Lancero (from Vegas' Casa Fuente) - finest NC Lancero I've ever had

Worst NC Cigar - Ashton Maduro Churchill - No Comment.

[Ellery]

Best: Upmann Mag 46 08

Worst: Tie between Partagas SD4 08 and Cuaba EL

NC:

Best: Not sure if its these are the best, but I've been smoking a ton of Oliva V's and Tat's

Worst: Siglo not the Cohiba line, but the Altadis line...worst cigar ever, and to top it off, the blatantly steal Cohibas look.

[cigcars]

It's almost the end of another year. So which cigar has made it to the top and bottom of your list ?

*My cigar of the year* - Quai D'Orsay Corona AGO 02

Honorable Mention - HDM 2003 EL and Cuaba Salomones Nov 05

*The Worst* - Vegueros Especiales #2 Jul 02 - absolutely vile/disgusting.

*REALLY!!??? I almost ordered a Vegueros #2! Whew! What a thing! You know I had a Vegueros years

ago when they 1st came out. I wasn't impressed w/it then, and thought I'd give it another chance years

later...guess I'm glad I didn't. I trust your judgement!

[Habana Mike]

Well I must say I've been quite enamored with the RA Celestiales Finos RR from this year. I've had a few that just blew me away - great strength, flavor and body with a really nice oily feel to the smoke. Love the shape and size as well. Ordered a second box after the I smoked my second one and just ordered 2 more - these are going to be phenomenal in a couple of years!

One of my recent favorites with a bit of age has been the 03 Partagas 898V - shame I only picked up a tenner of those.

Less desirable have been the plethora of tight sticks I seem to have accumulated - at least some do come around after a few years.

[jacksfull]

CC

Best: Montecristo Especial (AUG 97) - Simply amazing what 12 years will do for an already great cigar. Only one more left from the box... have to be careful not to get it salty from my tears.

Worst: JLP Cremas (MAY 08) - Most were pretty mush OK for bargain basement TC, oops I mean pretty much OK, but a few were just gawdawful.

NC

Best (tie): Padilla "Habano" Torpedo (purchased '09) - Even better than its pricier Signature 1932 brethren at this young stage.

Best (tie): Columbus Brevas (circa ~'03) - Tufer-a-dollar closeout that would make you swear somebody switched the band on a Monty #4.

Worst: Cuba Libre Club Corona (purchased '09) - Bleeecccch!