Cigar Journal’s Cigar Trophy competition gets fiercer each year. The 2018 winners were decided – as always – by public votes from across the world and were announced at this year’s InterTabak tradeshow in Germany to packed audience of the great and the good of the cigar world.
CUBA: MONTECRISTO, 80 ANIVERSARIO
First showcased back in 2015 when the famous old brand reached its 80th birthday, the eagerly awaited cigar took some time to reach the market. When it did, it proved to be worth the wait. A delicious, creamy, beautifully blended stick, which highlights why Cuba still holds its place at the top table in making cigars.
DOM. REP.: LA FLOR DOMINICANA, LA VOLCADA
From the stunning La Canela LFD factory in the Dominican Republic comes La Volcada, named after a famous tango move, and Litto Gomez – who founded La Flor – claims the dance itself hails from his homeland of Uruguay. Whatever the truth of that debate, there can be no denying the siren call of this dark, alluring cigar which features filler all grown at La Canela and a swarthy San Andrés wrapper.
HONDURAS: PLASENCIA, COSECHA 146 TORO
The Plasencias continue to dominate New World cigar production. Not only do they provide the leaf for a huge percentage of all Nicaraguan- made cigars, they also make some fine sticks themselves. The Cosecha 146 is a combination of leaves from the family’s one-hundred-and-forty-sixth tobacco harvest and a blend from Plasencia’s best Honduran and Nicaraguan plantations.
NICARAGUA: PADRÓN, 1964 ANNIVERSARY SERIES PRESIDENTE MADURO
Another giant in Nicaraguan cigar making – Padrón – wins this year’s trophy for the country’s best with the 1964 Anniversary Series Presidente Maduro. Wrapped, as ever, in a cloak of Padrón dark wrapper and also box-pressed, as usual, the cigar is notable also because it’s the first of the Anniversary line to be available in the Padrón box-pressed tubos. A lovely cigar, lovingly presented.
