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2015 Stogie Fresh Honor Roll: Part 1

by David "Doc" Diaz
Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Stogie Fresh 2013 honor rollThis year marks the 9th Annual Stogie Fresh Gold Star Awards for our favorite cigars of the year. Part 1 of this two part series of articles will feature our FAVORITE REVIEWED CIGARS of the year. In part two, we will reveal DOC'S FAVORITE NEW CIGARS of 2015.

We provide these yearly awards because we believe that, whether large, medium, or small, cigar manufacturers and brands should be recognized for their efforts to create CONSISTENTLY HIGH QUALITY CIGARS.

To create a list of the "Best" cigars of the year is presumptuous. In truth, the best cigars are those that the individual smoker thinks are best, not those considered best by the reviewer. So instead of claiming our honor roll is filled with the "best" cigars, the Stogie Fresh Honor Roll represents our "favorite" cigars of 2015. These cigars have either been featured on the weekly Stogie Fresh 5 podcast, or have been reviewed by Stogie Fresh in the regular cigar review cycle and have been given our highest ratings.

This year, we once again include an Age Factor score that recognizes cigars that have performed well on several occasions over a period of time. By reviewing cigars multiple times over the course of many months, we can separate what we call, "flash in the pan" cigars, from those that are consistently good. The Stogie Fresh Honor Roll identifies cigars that are CONSISTENTLY EXCELLENT IN FLAVOR AND CONSTRUCTION. Our reviews help to answer the question of consistency and value by reviewing the same batch of cigars over a long period of time. No other review site that I know of can make this claim. Because of our methodology, the Stogie Fresh reviewing system is the only system in the industry that can make definitive statements about the results of prolonged aging.

PART 1: FAVORITE REVIEWED CIGARS

Favorite Reviewed Cigars

(click on cigar names below for a full review)

1. Tatuaje 10th Anniversary Havana Cazadores
Type: Lonsdale
Country: Nicaragua
Size: 6.375 x 43

Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua

Tatuaje 10th Anniversary Havana Cazadores

2. Nomad Estelí Lot 8613
Type: Toro
Country: Nicaragua
Size: 6 x 50

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua

Nomad Esteli Lot 8613

3. Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve
Type: Robusto
Country: Nicaragua
Size: 5.25 x 52

Wrapper: USA/Kentucky Fire Cured, Mexican San Andres
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua

Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve

4. Gran Habano STK Zulu Zulu Habano
Type: Lancero
Country: Honduras
Size: 7.5 x 40

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua

Gran Habano STK Zulu Zulu Habano

5. Las Cumbres Tabaco Señorial by José Blanco
Type: #5 Corona Gorda
Country: Dominican Republic
Size: 5.5 x 46

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaragua/Esteli
Filler: Dominican Corojo, Dominican Piloto Cubano

Señorial by Jose Blanco

6. Room 101 Cigars Master Collection Three
Type: Mutante (Lancero)
Country: Honduras
Size: 7 x 38

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Nicaragua

Room 101 Master Collection Three Mutante

 

LONG LIST: Listed in the table below are 20 of the top reviewed cigars of 2015. These cigars have been reviewed one or more times, with each review involving smoking 2-3 samples, minimum. For cigars that have been reviewed multiple times, we have averaged the review score, then we apply an Age Factor adjustment, which can add to the average score based on a combination of average score and age of the cigars (all ties broken by my own adjustment). The Age Factor adjustments are as follows:

AGE OF CIGAR
<6 months
6 mo—1 yr
1 yr—1.5 yr
1.6 yr—2 yr
2 yr—2.5 yr
PTS +/-
0 PTS
.5pts
1pt
1.5pts
2pts

 

Brand

Name

Type

Avg Score

Age Factor

Adjusted Score

Tatuaje

10th Anniversary Havana Cazadores
92.9
1
93.9

Nomad

Estelí Lot 8613 Toro
93.3
0
93.3

Pappy Van Winkle

Family Reserve by Drew Estate Robusto
92.7
.5
93.2

Gran Habano

STK Zulu Zulu Habano Lancero
91.1
2
93.1

La Cumbres Tabaco

Señorial by Jose Blanco #5 Corona Gorda
92.5
.5
93.0

Room 101 Cigars

Master Collection Three Lancero
92.4
.5
92.9

Sindicato Cigars

Hex Figurado
92.3
.5
92.8

La Palina

Maduro 50 (Toro)
90.7
2
92.7

RoMa Craft Tobac

Intemperance BA XXI A.W.S. IV (Lonsdale)
92.6
0
92.6

Nomad

2012 Limited Edition Fugitive (Perfecto)
90.5
2
92.5

H. Upmann

The Banker Annuity (Toro)
92.4
0
92.4

Punch

Signature Torpedo
92.1
0
92.1

La Palina

Black Label Robusto
91.5
.5
92

H. Upmann (Cuba)

Regular Production No. 2 (Torpedo)
90.9
1
91.9

HR by Hirochi Robaina

Habano Maduro Toro
91.3
.5
91.8

Tatuaje

Avion (Fausto Special Selection) 12 (Short Perfecto)
91.2
.5
91.7

Ashton

ESG 23-year salute (Toro)
90.1
1.5
91.6

Davidoff

Limited Edition 2015 Year of the Sheep (Torpedo)
91.0
.5
91.5

La Aurora

100 Anos Cameroon Burns Tobacconist Edition Lancero
90.9
.5
91.4

Padrón

Family Reserve No. 45 Maduro Toro
91.3
0
91.3

Click on links in Brand field above for the most recent full review.


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