The Best Of 2012: Cigars In Review
It’s hard to believe, but we are now in to 2013! As I look back at 2012, it was yet another great year for the cigar smokers. Typically we see the bulk of the new releases after the IPCPR trade show, which this year was the first weekend in August. There were a few note worthy releases early in 2012 from Room 101(the limited edition O.S.O.K), La Flor Dominicana(2012 editions of the LG line and the Double Claro) and the Cain F Lancero which finally made it’s much awaited debut. Of the cigars being released in the first quarter of 2012, to me the “early release” winner was the Ortega Serie D Maduro. The Serie D Maduro has a great profile and is offered at a great price point. Eddie Ortega hit a home run right out of the gate with this one.
We also saw the debut of Christian Eiora’s newly formed Tabacalares Unidas company release CLE, Asylum and Wynwood to the market after IPCPR. CLE’s releases consisted of the Corojo, the Cuarenta and the Connecticut lines, all of which were offered at a great price point. Asylum and Asylum 13 continued on with the “great price point” theme with the Asylum 13 offering big sizes and big flavors from it’s Nicaraguan puros. Wynwood Honduras offered a more refined flavor, which also came with a higher price point. Really looking forward to what will come next from Tabacalares Unidas with their factory now set up in Miami’s Wynwood art district.
The big ring gauge trend continued on in 2012 with several new releases and line extensions, some of which extending beyond the 60 ring gauge! Some of the new releases featuring big ring gauges were the E.P. Carrillo Inch, which went up to a 64 ring gauge and the Asylum 13 lineup featured a monster of a cigar at 7 x 70! A few line extensions came from La Aroma de Cuba with El Jefe as well My Father Cigars released the 62 ring gauge version of the Blue Label line as well as the 62 ring gauge box pressed My Father #6.
Now we move on to my personal top 5 cigars for 2012:
Coming in at #5 is the La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Reserva Beso. This beautifully constructed box pressed cigar is an excellent medium to full bodied cigar. With notes of sweetness, earthiness and some spice, this complex cigar is truly a delight for those who prefer medium to full bodied cigars. The Mi Amor Reserva is blended for Ashton by Don “Pepin” Garcia at his My Father factory in Nicaragua. With cigars like this, it is easy to see why “Pepin” is constantly awarded high ratings.
Normally a line extension is just the same blend offered in a different size and doesn’t vary that much from the regular line. In the case of the Undercrown Corona Viva, this isn’t necessarily true. The blend was “tweaked” for this particular size resulting in a bit more flavor and strength. Couple the new blend and a traditional Corona size, it was an easy pick for me as my #4 Cigar of the Year.
Next up, we have the CyB Lonsdale Club(formerly known as Cuenca y Blanco) from Joya de Nicaragua. While I mostly enjoy full bodied cigars, the CyB is an excellent medium bodied cigar that is packed full of flavor. Jose Blanco and Dr. Cuenca did a great job with this blend. CyB is unique for Joya de Nicaragua in the fact that it contains tobaccos from 4 different countries. One of my favorite things about this cigar is the fact that it was produced in more traditional sizes such as Corona, Robusto, Lonsdale, Toro and Torpedo. I have smoked several of each size and enjoyed them all very much. Coupled with an affordable price point between $7 and $10, it was an easy pick as my #3 cigar for 2012..
La Palina is a resurrected brand that has been on the rise over the last two years. I particularly enjoy the El Diario line and when the Kill Bill II(KBII) was introduced in a Lonsdale format I was extremely excited to give it a try. The cigar did not let me down one bit! Full of flavor and depth, this was a cigar I burned down to my fingers every time I smoked one. When a cigar is one you consider reaching for whenever you want to have one, it is worthy of your #2 pick for Cigar of the Year.
After much consideration, I present my #1 Cigar of the Year. This top spot goes to the Headley Grange Estupendos by Crowned Heads. Crowned Heads has had great success with the Four Kicks line so I was excited to see what they came up with next. The Headley Grange debuted at IPCPR in one size only as a “preview” of the full line to be released in 2013. The Estupendos is 5 ½ by 50 cigar that has a slight box press to it. Rolled in the Dominican Republic and blended by E.P. Carrillo, this medium bodied cigar offers a ton of flavor. I smoked through more of these cigars in the last quarter of 2012 than I did any other single cigar throughout the year. Really looking forward to the full release of this line, especially in a Corona format. The pick of the Headley Grange Estupendos as my Cigar Of The Year was an easy one when I looked at quality, flavor and value.
I think it is obvious to see that my personal preference is towards smaller ring gauge cigars. I like the concentration of flavors that they offer and it also allows you to enjoy more of the flavor the wrapper imparts on the cigar. I do enjoy cigars in ring gauges up to a 54-56, but more often than not find myself gravitating to smaller ring gauges. I hope everyone enjoyed my year in review and I look forward to doing this again next year!
Craig Moore is the EmersonsCigars.com Website Manager and has been smoking cigars for 20+ years. He is an avid contributor to the Brothers of the Leaf Cigar Forum and considered one of the premier cigar enthusiasts in Hampton Roads. Read many of Craig’s cigar reviews at blog.emersonscigars.com/craig or follow him @emersonscigars on twitter and Instagram.
